.270 Winchester for plains game

Mike70560 said:

If you shoot big bores enough it will loosen your brain and the felt recoil goes away.

Seriously, it is important to wring out your rifle before you go. Africa is not the place to find you have a problem. I like to fire at least 200 rounds in each rifle before departing. It also builds confidence in my shooting ability.

Whatever you choose just learn to shoot it. And no matter what caliber and what bullet you use, some will say it is the greatest and others will say it does not work.

My minimum (Note "MY" it is my opinion only) for plainsgame would be a 300 Win Mag if not hunting DG (borderline to me for eland) or a 375 H&H if DG is on the menu also.

Once you learn to shoot a big bore (Even a 458 Lott) correctly and if the rifle fits properly the recoil is not that bad.

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I like the .375 H&H, I found the recoil to be more like a push (kind of like a Muzz. loader or a shotgun) than a smack (like a .300 Weatherby). Me and my dad both agreed that the .375 H&H is definitely within our level of recoil tolerance.

Hi, I am a Namibian Professional Hunter, my dad had a 270, and yes, we shot lots of game with it. All is about shot placement, does not mater which caliber you have, BUT, in the end, a 30 Caliber is best, even if one is a good shot. If I had to make that choice, I will go for the 30-06!
Why not get a 300 win mag, you shoot any plains game, even those over 300yrds. add the extras dollars, and you have a good all rounder.
Best regards

Louw said:

Hi, I am a Namibian Professional Hunter, my dad had a 270, and yes, we shot lots of game with it. All is about shot placement, does not mater which caliber you have, BUT, in the end, a 30 Caliber is best, even if one is a good shot. If I had to make that choice, I will go for the 30-06!
Why not get a 300 win mag, you shoot any plains game, even those over 300yrds. add the extras dollars, and you have a good all rounder.
Best regards

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I am done with .300 magnums, FOREVER. I bought a .308 Norma magnum (very similar to the .300 Win mag), because I wanted to join the magnum craze. Well after shooting 60+ rounds (and getting hit by the scope once) I told my dad to sell it. So he sold it and I bought a Ruger M77 in .270 Winchester and I don't miss the .308 Norma one bit. I'd rather hit my animals right with the .270 than poorly with a .308 Norma magnum.



BTW, as far as my comment on being able to handle the .375 H&H, I better wait QUITE a few years. Thinking back on it, I was wearing a very thick winter jacket and that probably made the .375 seem like it was withing my recoil tolerance. After shooting the .308 Norma magnum a lot, I highly doubt I can handle the .375 H&H.

Yep! The 300 Win Mag shoots quite a bit harder than a 270 Win., You have to grow into it with time. I think you have to have the right stock fit and a good recoil pad. I really like the 7mm Mag, for most stuff...flat shooting and you can shot 160 gr. give or take on the weight end...and it kills most animals.

Don't worry about it.

After 40 years of hunting on several continents I have concluded that "killing power" comes down to two things: Bullet performance and shot placement. My old .270 with 150-grain Noslers worked fine on African plains game. After struggling with a Ruger M77 .458 Win for some time on the range, I finally began to shoot it decently only to have problems with stock splitting, dented magazine front wall with solids loaded (always practice with rounds in the magazine!). I finally gave up and got a Kimber .375 H&H and used it very satisfactorily on one large Cape Buffalo. I would gladly hunt everything anywhere with a .270 and .375, although a 30-06 might make some logistical sense in terms of available ammo, etc. If one has a lot of trouble with these calibers, he needs to look in the mirror for clues.

I'll vote for the 150 gr Noslers - but not the 270. 165 gr Noslers in a 30-06 are even better and will give you 300 Win Mag range without the recoil. 270 can't comptete with 30 cal performance in the veld. I totally agree with Louw.

I never cease to be amazed at how much time, thought, ink, etc., are expended on matters that in the end prove to be trivial. The endless debates about .270 (.277") vrs 7mm (.284") are a good case in point. Does anyone really believe that .007" in bullet diameter makes any meaningful difference in the field? Can anyone claim to be able to reliably distinguish the effect on game of a .277" (.270) 150-grain Nosler from the effect of a .308" (30-06) 165-grain Nosler at essentially the same velocity? If so, be my guest. For me, this sort of thing is way down the list of things that matter.

AlSpaeth said:

I'll vote for the 150 gr Noslers - but not the 270. 165 gr Noslers in a 30-06 are even better and will give you 300 Win Mag range without the recoil. 270 can't comptete with 30 cal performance in the veld. I totally agree with Louw.

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I talked to quite a number of PH's at our Sportsmans show and they liked the sound of a .270 more than a .308 Winchester. In fact, they said that if I shoot the .270 well (which I do) then that is what I should use. They told me to use 150 grains and place my shots well and all would go over fine.

165 gr Noslers in a 30-06 are even better and will give you 300 Win Mag range without the

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The .270 150 grain will out penetrate any 165 out of a .30 cal. And as far as range, the .270 150 grain has a longer effective range on animals than the 165 grain '06 bullet.

kerymac said:

I never cease to be amazed at how much time, thought, ink, etc., are expended on matters that in the end prove to be trivial. The endless debates about .270 (.277") vrs 7mm (.284") are a good case in point. Does anyone really believe that .007" in bullet diameter makes any meaningful difference in the field? Can anyone claim to be able to reliably distinguish the effect on game of a .277" (.270) 150-grain Nosler from the effect of a .308" (30-06) 165-grain Nosler at essentially the same velocity? If so, be my guest. For me, this sort of thing is way down the list of things that matter.

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I agree 100%. I think people have to much time to over-think things. I personally have noticed no difference in killing power between the .270 and the .30-06.

Christian Snyder said:

I agree 100%. I think people have to much time to over-think things. I personally have noticed no difference in killing power between the .270 and the .30-06.

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I would disagree...there is a difference...with enough experience in the field...you will notice a difference.

The .270 150 grain will out penetrate any 165 out of a .30 cal. And as far as range, the .270 150 grain has a longer effective range on animals than the 165 grain '06 bullet.

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I wouldn't bet the bank, I think a 165 gr. 30-06 bullet could out penetrate a 150 gr. bullet from a 270 Win.

As a research psychologist I would love to put this to an empirical test. Human perception is notoriously unreliable and subject to all sorts of errors based on biases, faulty beliefs, etc. A good test would be to have you judge from observing game animals being shot and the resulting wounds with a .270 vrs 30-06 (150 gr. vrs 165 gr.), which caliber produced which result (obviously without actual knowledge of what caliber was being used in each instance and without cues such as muzzle blast sound, recoil, etc.). Think you could do this correctly ("that was the .270 and that was the 30-06") at a
statistically significant level? If you could my hat's off to you. But I think your idea of not betting the bank on it is a good one.

I think if we went culling for gemsbok in Namibia, we could see a difference in the 30-06 with 165 gr. bullets and a 270 Win with 150 gr. bullets.

There is a difference. Still I like the 270 Win. Mag. and have nothing against a person using one for hunting. Still since I own a 30-06....it is a lot more powerful.

This always seems to be a heavily debated topic.

My personal experience has been this - the rifle that will consistantly take home more game is the one that you can shoot comfortably and accurately from a variety of feild positions, period. My grandfather was an outfitter for Moose here in AB in the 70s. His partners both shot 340WBYs and often ribbed him about his puny 30-06. They were both so recoil shy that they wounded as many animals as they killed when hunting for themselves and were of no value as a back up for thier hunters.
At the gun range I handed an unloaded rifle to a couple different hunting buddies telling them that they were loaded, I suspected both of being recoil shy with their fancy new 30-378 WBYs. Both had as much flinch when the unloaded gun went off as they would have with a loaded gun LOL. Not much killing power there.

Premium bullets such as Barnes, nosler partition or Swift A-frame certainly make any rifle far more potent on those iffy shots and on poor angled follow up shots (texas heart shot).

I firmly beleive that proper shot placement within reasonable range (for accuracy and power/animal size ratio) is far more important than any special caliber or cartridge.

Gut shot is a gut shot, dead is dead. Period.

.270 Win. was the favorite of Jack Oconnor for taking 350-400lb sheep and goats at up to 500yds as well many elk and moose fell to his trusted .270 at closer ranges.

I have hunted and guided for big game in Wyoming for four decades and also hunted Africa, Asia and Europe and I know that I would not be able to tell the difference between the .270 and 30-06 with similar bullet weights and shot placement. But, I have never culled for gemsbok in Namibia, and so I will take your word on those. Isn't all this nonsense wonderful?

Today one of our clients hunted a great kudu bull with a 270 Win. He insisted in the caliber. Perfect shot, just behind the shoulder... and we tracked the bull for half a kilometer trough the thicest bush of the area... even with a perfect shot.

Definitely... you can hunt almost all the plains game species with that caliber, but 270 Win is very limited stopping power... and you will be forced to track many wounded animals. And REMEMBER if you hit any antelope, and there is blood, that is your animal and your hunt, you pay it... and nobody likes to pay a wounded and never founded animal.

Jose

As Kerymac points out, this is a silly argument thats been going on since before most of us were born. To say that the '06 is "a lot more powerful" than the .270 is inaccurate at best. Yes, the '06 may have the advantage of handling heavier bullets for larger game, but other than that, they are two peas in a pod and I seriously doubt any game animal hit by a .270 150 gr, or an '06 150-165gr could tell the difference. Both are dead, given the same quality bullet at the same velocity, hit in the same place. After all the .270 is nothing more than a necked down '06 so where is the big difference. And in theory at least the smaller caliber of the same weight bullet as the larger caliber will out penetrate the larger caliber, we all know that. O'Connor put it best about these arguments saying, "anyone trying to make a big case for one over the other is beating a pretty dead horse".

I think it is beating a dead horse. But you can load a 30-06 hotter than a 270 Win. And that 165 gr. bullet will out penetrate the 270 Win. in a 150 gr. bullet.

I do think the 30 caliber may have some merit. for being better..there is more mass.

And I think think there is a difference between the two calibers on game...not much to some. But I think if did gel tests...there would be differences.

Well OK but on the other hand...If you load them both with a 150 gr., then the advantage goes to the .270 for sectional density, no? Better flight path,(albeit slight), better penetration. Both can drive a 150 gr bullet to 3000fps with handloads. Do I think that overall the '06 is a slightly better large game caliber than the .270? Yes I do. But not much given similar loadings. Given the '06's slightly better bore ratio with its slightly bigger base to push it off, yes it can probably gain a very slight advantage with equal bullet weights, but again its very slight all else being equal. The difference between a .277 dia bullet and a .308 dia bullet just isnt all that much. The point is that using equal bullets in weight, velocity and quality, there will be no difference on game that can be proven. A lung shot kudu may indeed go a ways, but a few thousands inches of bullet diameter wont make a demonstrable difference.

I agree with both of you guys, an animal does not know whether he has been shot by a .270 or a 30-06 all he knows is he is having a bad day.

As far as penetration goes I give the edge to the better bullet not the slightly smaller diameter, remember they go in measuring 1 caliber but they immediately become much bigger in diameter. Also a bullet that enters an animal at 165 grains can exit at 165 grains or quickly drop to 90 grains or less, which begs the arguement which is better a 140 grain bullet that retains 100% or a 165 grain bullet that retains only 75%?

There is more to be gained studying game animal anatomy than ballistics.

Time on the range is more important than time in the gun store.