Pleasant surprises with my old .270 winnie

[Mr. Magoo]

Definitely more to the Sherman designs than higher velocity.
The shorter and fatter cases SS and Max cases are easier to tune and keep there, and in his words "the efficient ones usually are."

10-4.
I'll be reading a bunch more about it, trying to learn. That's part of the fun for me.

Right now I'm working on consistency in my ammo and practicing my shooting technique. It's been too long since I burned much powder and I'm rusty.

 

[DylanWalsh]

Funny how things come full circle. That old 270 has great ballistics!

 

[Pilsner]

Yep. Before using the berger calculator I wouldn't have imagined stabilizing 170s in a 1:10 was possible even at my elevation.

I checked and got a 1.7 which is "marginal" at my altitude of 2370'
Said it should shoot well but BC numbers might not match or some such.
Not sure what that means but I'll pick up a box of heavy bergers if I see them to play around with.

 

[Capt Nag]

I I've played around with heavy for caliber bullets in my .270 and .270 WSM. Once I hit 165 gr. on up, I get keyholes. Your elevation has a lot to do with it as well.

Key holed because the twist rate doesn't support heavier bullets.
1-10 twist is the usual twist for a .270.
130-150 grain bullets are certainly in the Goldie Locks Zone.
I used 90, 100 110 grain Sierra bullets on smaller game like Coyotes and Antelope. The 100 & 110 were terrific on Antelope. They shot well enough but it was obvious that my Remington perfered the 140 gr Sierra SPBT to anything.
It was deadly on Elk and flew straight.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Key holed because the twist rate doesn't support heavier bullets.
1-10 twist is the usual twist for a .270.
130-150 grain bullets are certainly in the Goldie Locks Zone.
I used 90, 100 110 grain Sierra bullets on smaller game like Coyotes and Antelope. The 100 & 110 were terrific on Antelope. They shot well enough but it was obvious that my Remington perfered the 140 gr Sierra SPBT to anything.
It was deadly on Elk and flew straight.

The moral of this story is that it all depends on the elevation they're shot at. That has to be included in any conversation about twist and bullet weights. I thought that was super clear here but maybe not.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

HI Mr. Magoo, I always wanted to say that!!!! I load for FOUR different 270 Wins. Three of them are mine. I am primarily a White Tail Deer Hunter. My favorite White Tail Deer Rifle is my Weatherby Ultralight , with a 24 inch Krieger Fluted stainless steel barrel. It really likes 59.5 grans H 4831SC with the 130 Grn. Nosler Ballistic tips. For me it's the perfect 300-yard Whitetail load. At 76 years old ,that's my personal limit for deer with this rifle, in this caliber with that bullet. 3020 to 3028 fps Muz. Velocity Lab Radar . My buddies Win Model 70 Featherweight, 22 inch Barrel, seem to get the best groups using IMR 4350. All Win Cases. All separated by weight, All Win LR Primers, all use 130 Ballistic Tips. Both are very good deer hunting loads. My load has given me several one-shot kills. Even had a couple of "Dead Right There" kills. Almost no tracking on most deer. Usual shots about 100 yards. However ,one deer was killed about 40 yards, Two deer killed about 70 yards, one deer killed at 260 yards. The bullet was completely blown apart in every one of these deer!!!! I'm too pleased with this load to ever change it. Best of Luck to you Buddy !!!

 

[stazmania]

There is Jack O'Conner video on you tube, that has a lot of great info/history about the 270.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Well, this rifle and load dropped a couple of small bulls for 2nd season 1 shot each, DRT. We hunt for meat and like to kill younger animals, eslecially the bulls, as I think they taste better.

Brother and I used my rifle on 2 separate days since it was dialed in so well. Nothing very far- mine was 320 and his was 245. Wow those Bergers explode like it was hit with a shotgun at point blank, and put lead everywhere, but they sure do kill quickly with pure quartering to and quartering away lung shots. No bullets recovered, just lots of fragments and liquefied viddles inside.

We have a ranch with irrigated meadows and have elk grazing on it all summer, but more often than not they split by the time hunting season comes around because the cattle ususally get turned in around October 15th and that runs them off to the neigboring wilderness. Which sucks, cause we feed the elk but don't ever get to harvest any of them before they split.

This year was different and we tried to keep the cattle off the place till after hunting season and it worked. The elk usually come out to our place to graze at night then go back to the neighbor's before daylight because our place doesn't have much cover and the neighbor's is full of timber and willows where they bed down.

So we camped out near the fenceline stupid early and froze our tails off waiting for enough light to see anything. (It gets stupid cold here..gonna be 14 tonight). Sure enough, just as we could finally see, we found the herd working it's way back across the fence. Shooting off the top of the tractor to get above the cross fences, I nailed the first one. I was prepared to shoot to about 600 if aboslutely necessary as that's how far I had practiced, but they were crossing closer than expected, so it wasn't too terribly difficult of a shot with a good rest. Those high bc bullets slung at 2900 at the muzzle are still bringing plenty of heat at 600 and are still minute of elk.

Next day I wasn't expecting them to come back and do the same thing but we camped out anyway and they did come back, and bro nailed one for himself but from behind little knoll- he had to sneak/ stalk up closer because they weren't in a good spot to get a shot from the tractor.

It's nice to get good clean fast kills without any running as they taste better and I hate to see animals suffer. That said, I'm not sure what these bullets would do hitting heavier bone before getting to the vitals. Do they penetrate after a shoulder shot?

 

[Mr. Magoo]

HI Mr. Magoo, I always wanted to say that!!!! I load for FOUR different 270 Wins. Three of them are mine. I am primarily a White Tail Deer Hunter. My favorite White Tail Deer Rifle is my Weatherby Ultralight , with a 24 inch Krieger Fluted stainless steel barrel. It really likes 59.5 grans H 4831SC with the 130 Grn. Nosler Ballistic tips. For me it's the perfect 300-yard Whitetail load. At 76 years old ,that's my personal limit for deer with this rifle, in this caliber with that bullet. 3020 to 3028 fps Muz. Velocity Lab Radar . My buddies Win Model 70 Featherweight, 22 inch Barrel, seem to get the best groups using IMR 4350. All Win Cases. All separated by weight, All Win LR Primers, all use 130 Ballistic Tips. Both are very good deer hunting loads. My load has given me several one-shot kills. Even had a couple of "Dead Right There" kills. Almost no tracking on most deer. Usual shots about 100 yards. However ,one deer was killed about 40 yards, Two deer killed about 70 yards, one deer killed at 260 yards. The bullet was completely blown apart in every one of these deer!!!! I'm too pleased with this load to ever change it. Best of Luck to you Buddy !!!

That's awesome!
I've killed a whole bunch of elk with my .270 with 130s. It's a great close range round for elk- kills really fast with lung shots.

With these high bc bullets, if your rifle will stabilize them, it really opens up it's range. No need for me to change to a more modern caliber now that I've found it likes the 170s.

Thanks for the luck Mr, we were successful!

 

[archeratlrg]

Is that using 270 win brass or something else?

I have lots and lots of good .270 brass....one of the reasons I stick with it.

280 AI is very impressive for the amount of powder it burns, I can't help but think a .270 with the shoulders blown forward and sharper would be equally efficient.

You a big boost with the 280 AI over the standard 280, o ly because the 289 is still loaded down. The 279 was loaded full speed to begin with, so even when improving it, you don't pick up as much extra omph as with the 280 AI. If you load the original 280 to its potential, you'll only see about 50-75 fps difference between it and the AI. Just a few thought. I have a 280, 280 AI, 270 and 270 AI. No animal I've ever shot with any has had bullets bounce off. When I want to reach out farther, I grab my long throat 7mm Rem mag or 7mm Mashburn Super.

 

[archeratlrg]

Well, this rifle and load dropped a couple of small bulls for 2nd season 1 shot each, DRT. We hunt for meat and like to kill younger animals, eslecially the bulls, as I think they taste better.

Brother and I used my rifle on 2 separate days since it was dialed in so well. Nothing very far- mine was 320 and his was 245. Wow those Bergers explode like it was hit with a shotgun at point blank, and put lead everywhere, but they sure do kill quickly with pure quartering to and quartering away lung shots. No bullets recovered, just lots of fragments and liquefied viddles inside.

We have a ranch with irrigated meadows and have elk grazing on it all summer, but more often than not they split by the time hunting season comes around because the cattle ususally get turned in around October 15th and that runs them off to the neigboring wilderness. Which sucks, cause we feed the elk but don't ever get to harvest any of them before they split.

This year was different and we tried to keep the cattle off the place till after hunting season and it worked. The elk usually come out to our place to graze at night then go back to the neighbor's before daylight because our place doesn't have much cover and the neighbor's is full of timber and willows where they bed down.

So we camped out near the fenceline stupid early and froze our tails off waiting for enough light to see anything. (It gets stupid cold here..gonna be 14 tonight). Sure enough, just as we could finally see, we found the herd working it's way back across the fence. Shooting off the top of the tractor to get above the cross fences, I nailed the first one. I was prepared to shoot to about 600 if aboslutely necessary as that's how far I had practiced, but they were crossing closer than expected, so it wasn't too terribly difficult of a shot with a good rest. Those high bc bullets slung at 2900 at the muzzle are still bringing plenty of heat at 600 and are still minute of elk.

Next day I wasn't expecting them to come back and do the same thing but we camped out anyway and they did come back, and bro nailed one for himself but from behind little knoll- he had to sneak/ stalk up closer because they weren't in a good spot to get a shot from the tractor.

It's nice to get good clean fast kills without any running as they taste better and I hate to see animals suffer. That said, I'm not sure what these bullets would do hitting heavier bone before getting to the vitals. Do they penetrate after a shoulder shot?

Nope, you hit a shoulder bone and your lucky to make it to the ribs, let alone into the lungs. Stretch it waayy out there and you might get through a shoulder bone, but I doubt it. Never seen one do it yet.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

You a big boost with the 280 AI over the standard 280, o ly because the 289 is still loaded down. The 279 was loaded full speed to begin with, so even when improving it, you don't pick up as much extra omph as with the 280 AI. If you load the original 280 to its potential, you'll only see about 50-75 fps difference between it and the AI. Just a few thought. I have a 280, 280 AI, 270 and 270 AI. No animal I've ever shot with any has had bullets bounce off. When I want to reach out farther, I grab my long throat 7mm Rem mag or 7mm Mashburn Super.

I'd like to see some apples to apples, long throat vs long throat, .270 win to 7 mag or 7 prc data from reloaders who aren't trying to get 50 firings out of their brass (I.E. close to max) and see what they'll do head to head with same barrel lengths.

Seems you might have some data to compare?

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Nope, you hit a shoulder bone and your lucky to make it to the ribs, let alone into the lungs. Stretch it waayy out there and you might get through a shoulder bone, but I doubt it. Never seen one do it yet.

I'll be doing more testing of different bullets, trying to find some that have a bit tougher base for those kind of shots. Have not heard good things about the ablr accuracy wise but what else is out there in that high bc arena for the 270?

Jumping to 7mm caliber opens things wayyy up, but I'll test more with what I have before I do that...if I have to I will.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

Mr magoo. About 4 years ago I had a custom made long throat 270 Win made with a 29 inch very heavy Hart barrel with an 8 twist! It's on a 98 action! I have only taken it to the range once since it's been made ! I shot 150 Grn ABLR s at 300 yards with it !! I have 170 bergers I want to shoot . Soon I hope !!