Poor Man's 270 Sherman Possibility?

[bigngreen]

Rebarreling is no issue!!!

 

[HARPERC]

Put me in the group saying master what you got. Tweak what can be tweaked in the rifle. Get basic reloading down. You don't mention optics. Do you have a range finder, and some of the other tools necessary to hunt long range? Shoot that barrel out, and reassess.

 

[JumpinLegs]

Put me in the group saying master what you got. Tweak what can be tweaked in the rifle. Get basic reloading down. You don't mention optics. Do you have a range finder, and some of the other tools necessary to hunt long range? Shoot that barrel out, and reassess.

I do have a rangefinder, albeit a budget rangefinder (Vortex Impact). My current scope is a Leupold VX Freedom 3-9x40, which will eventually need to be replaced with something bigger, but it works for now. I don't have a spotting scope, which does limit my long range practicing ability. I do have access to plenty of long ranges here in the desert. I'm thinking practice and reloading is the way to go for now.

 

[HARPERC]

That basic equipment will get you down the trail aways. Good Luck!

 

[thatguyshm]

I guess I'll be the downer. When I first started with all this, I was on a budget, college kid, all that. What I can recommend is to sit down and be realistic and write down what you need and the cost of what it will be. I think you will find out with all the upgrades you plan on doing, you'll still have a mossberg rifle that you've put a lot of money into. Factor in cost of dies, gunsmithing services, the errors that will be made in reloading due to inexperience, and I'm assuming you would be in it more than you would be for buying a 7mm RM from Tikka or something like that.

All I can say is make a spreadsheet and see costs of what you want to do and you'll be surprised at what it comes up to.

 

[Highvoltage]

I agree with the above post. With today's powders the performance to me it is not worth the rechambering. Nothing personal against the wildcat but you can buy 270 ammo anywhere. The 22" barrel will limit some performance. If that 270 won't shoot a 130 ballistic tip/ game kings with some imr 4350 the barrel might not have it. Again I think for what your wanting to spend you would be farther ahead to sell and buy a 7 mag or another 270. I've had 4 (270) and honestly for the price the tc venture or tikka was a lot of rifle for the money. Both shot everything sub moa factory or handload. I ended up selling the venture to a good friend for his wife. They love it! Best wishes to you.

 

[WahooYahoo]

I'd suggest that you save your money and start with reloading the 270. Putting a high performance chamber in a budget, slow twist barrel is not going to be money well spent. Keep an eye out for a tikka or Remington in the classifieds and when you can do it right, but a barrel and chamber it in the caliber of choice. I fell certain that you would be terribly disappointed in the outcome of rechambering your current set up.
Do some dry fire practice daily and work on your part, save your cash and you'll not be disappointed.

 

[TheSandman]

Brother JumpingLegs, You are on the right track getting into reloading. It will help you with whatever you choose. A rechamber of your barrel will not get you much of anything. 22" 1n10 is a better match to what you already have than a large overbore. What is trigger like? What is stock like? Wood? Pretty? These are questions that determine investment. I see nothing wrong with action itself, strength, operation, looks(fluted bolt). I like spanking expensive guns with cheapies. I would leave Mossberg
on gun for all to see. Makes for some long faces. But in reality it's best to go with what gets you there (accuracy and power) for least which is a new 7mag. One with 26" barrel or you are neutering it. Money you save on dies can be invested into gun purchase. I've shot 7mags since early seventies (24")and think it's one of the best off the rack calibers made for North America. You will like your gun more with trigger worked, bedded and pillared on a refinished stock shooting custom matched to gun ammo. And it's lots of fun getting there. Good luck

 

[rbTanzan]

Yes, as many above have mentioned, the place to start is with reloading. You may be able to increase your current 270 by 100 to 150 fps with judicious loading and powder combinations. (Always done carefully and safely !)

Why did I mention the last bit about velocity increase? Because many times calibers are compared between hyped maximal data versus run-of-the-mill data. For a sober comparison, forget about velocity claims and look at the case capacities when measured in equal ways. If another caliber has a 10% increase you might see a 75fps velocity increase. For example, with bullets on the lighter side the 308 is almost able to keep up with the 30-06 (within 100-150fps) despite a 20% case increase in the 30-06's capacity.

The 270 Winchester has fondly been called the "poor man's magnum." If you want more reach or hunting power than a handloaded 270, you might be considering a significant difference, like a 300 WM/PRC or 338 WM. So start with the 270 and see what your rifle can do with careful handloading.

Then you can consider just how much more cartridge or rifle you might want to invest in. You will probably want more than 100fps with the same bullets. Or you may enjoy taking your well-tuned 270 with deep-penetrating bullets for anything up to 500 yards.

 

[Tree Farmer]

Definitely start by reloading. That in itself will consume every extra penny you have (press, dies, trimmer, caliper, bullets, powders, etc, etc). Learn how to make consistent loads and wring out all the accuracy you can from your Mossberg. Try different things to improve the rifle's capability (bedding, torque action screws, barrel cleaning) that are relatively cheap. By the time you're satisfied that you've done all you can with the basics, the next step will be easier.

 

[nksmfamjp]

I would spend my time/money on shooting(rest/technique improvement), scope, reloading and restocking/bedding in that order. Likely your rest and technique are holding you back most severely.

i would hold off on the Sherman conversion. Dies alone can be like 4-6 times the price of std dies. Then you have to consider case trimming, annealing, rifle modification etc. Still, the Sherman looks like a great round! What is your mag length? Rich recommends 3.6".....30-06 based rounds are often 3.4".

 

[codyadams]

I'll put in my $.02......there is nothing wrong with using that action, so don't stress about that. However, take your time and save another $300-$350 and get a good quality barrel blank, krieger, brux, broughton, or the like.

The shermans are awesome, I have worked with a couple of them, however they are not really for the new loader, or someone on a tight budget. On a standard bolt face action that you have, a .280 AI will get you really close to a sherman, and have dies and brass more readily available without having to form brass (more $) and have more expensive custom dies. 170-180 class bullets at 2850-2950 with a 26" tube (one of the 24.5" shermans we built only got 3000fps max with 170's and rl26) and factory ammo available.

A smith can use your action no problem. And honestly, when you consider the extra expense of dies and components to form brass for the Sherman, the extra $325 for a barrel blank for a standard saami .280AI with the proper 8.5" twist rate and whatever barrel contour you want comes out in the end to likely only $100-$150 more, and you have a gauranteed good barrel. If you use a good smith, you will likely have a rifle that will shoot half inch or better groups. I would be you will find that your 1.5" groups that you think is your best ability would drop to well under 1".

Just my thoughts.

 

[JumpinLegs]

I'll put in my $.02......there is nothing wrong with using that action, so don't stress about that. However, take your time and save another $300-$350 and get a good quality barrel blank, krieger, brux, broughton, or the like.

The shermans are awesome, I have worked with a couple of them, however they are not really for the new loader, or someone on a tight budget. On a standard bolt face action that you have, a .280 AI will get you really close to a sherman, and have dies and brass more readily available without having to form brass (more $) and have more expensive custom dies. 170-180 class bullets at 2850-2950 with a 26" tube (one of the 24.5" shermans we built only got 3000fps max with 170's and rl26) and factory ammo available.

A smith can use your action no problem. And honestly, when you consider the extra expense of dies and components to form brass for the Sherman, the extra $325 for a barrel blank for a standard saami .280AI with the proper 8.5" twist rate and whatever barrel contour you want comes out in the end to likely only $100-$150 more, and you have a gauranteed good barrel. If you use a good smith, you will likely have a rifle that will shoot half inch or better groups. I would be you will find that your 1.5" groups that you think is your best ability would drop to well under 1".

Just my thoughts.

I like your thoughts. I was looking at barrels yesterday, and I think the 280 AI could cater to my constant desire to have something a bit different and get good performance for only a bit more than all the dies, like you were saying. I liked X-caliber barrels that I looked at (easy to use website, lots of customization available). The price looked nice too. Any insight on them?

 

[bigngreen]

I like your thoughts. I was looking at barrels yesterday, and I think the 280 AI could cater to my constant desire to have something a bit different and get good performance for only a bit more than all the dies, like you were saying. I liked X-caliber barrels that I looked at (easy to use website, lots of customization available). The price looked nice too. Any insight on them?

There are many WAY better barrels!!