270 Win

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I’ve shot Kudu and Wildebees with mine without any problems using regular old PMP 150gr. It got me thinking….Do I really need my .300 Mag?

What’s the largest game that you’d be comfortable shooting with a 270?

@KoedoePoesPienk
Zebra as well.
With the right projectiles I would still limit my shots on animals to700-750#
But that's me

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Congratulations on your kudu!

I feel like zebra and wildebeest (which I failed to mention earlier) are incredibly tough to bring down quickly with a single shot. A slightly misplaced first shot can make for a long day of tracking.

I’m a one-gun safari hunter (or two if my wife comes) and prefer the 375H&H with 300 grain Barnes TSX for almost everything. I carry some Woodleigh Hydros in the event they are needed.

@BeeMaa
The secret young grasshopper is not to misplace the shot. If'n the itty bitty 308 loaded with 150s works on pg then the 270 with 150s and a bit more horsepower should work.
But as you said if in doubt go bigger like the Whelen or the 375. Still have to place the first shot correctly tho.
Bob

 

[Gomer]

Elk, Kudu, Oryx and the like would be my upper limit. I have rifles in calibers better suited to larger animals. Come to think of it, I have used my 270 less often than most of my other rifles. I guess I must have a bias for the 30-06 and bigger.

The answer, of course, is to have both! In the lower 48, a 270 loaded with a simple cup and core bullet in the 130/140gr range makes a fantastic pronghorn/deer rifle. A 30-06 with tougher 180/200gr bullets is a great solution for elk/moose sized animals.

I like to have both!

But if the weather is snotty, I have a stainless 300 Win Mag. Shoots as flat as a 270 while using the bigger bullets like a 30-06.

 

[migrabill]

I have never shot anything with a .270, but my buddy took 2 nice Argentinian Red Stags with a .270. I recently picked up a Gorgeous Winchester Grand European Double Rifle in .270. I am anxious to kill something with it. I think next March when I go to the Rocking G Ranch for the Group Shoot I am going to take it to go after feral pigs. It even has a boar engraved on it.

 

[Fargo Boyle]

.270 win is very popular as a one calibre for all deer species here in Scotland. (We are often limited by law in being able to hold multiple rifles). Personally I use a .243win for smaller species / red deer hinds and a 7mm rem mag for stags / species abroad.

 

[375er]

I like the 300 TSX for the 375HH as well. I have used it on a few big game or PG critters including deer, Blue WB and Kudu as well as Cape Buffalo all with reasonable success. But, one thing has always nagged at me.

All the other PG that I have hunted was done with a 308 or a smaller 7mm/08. And both rifles seemed to kill the thin skinned game more effectively than the big boomer does. Why is that? I cannot say that I know. My 375 gets great MV from the factory Barnes ammo. I chrono it at about 2580fps which is faster than the box claims (I have a 26" bbl on one and a 24" bbl on the other). I have only captured two bullets and both were from the Blue WB which are tough critters. They expanded to 2.0x and 2.2x at 180y and 10y range. So, I know they open up. They penetrate well also.

I cannot claim that the higher recoil is spoiling my accuracy as my 375's are some of my most accurate hunting rifles. My theory is that all DG ammo is designed with tougher projectiles to drive into and thru large tough animals such as Cape Buffalo or Elephant, etc and as such they must be able to plow thru large bones without breaking up. As such they tend to expand more slowly in thin skinned game and do less damage than some of the smaller 7mm and 30cal bullets which would never be called upon to stop a buffalo. My 308 with 180g Fusions was not really much faster than the 375. Runs about 2650ish fps. So, it is hard to say that velocity or energy is much of a factor. But, what it is doing with the available energy might be part of the difference. The 308 seems to do a lot of damage in the first 12-18" of penetration. All of the animals shot with it either dropped in their tracks or fall after running 40-60y max. 7mm was not as effective but many of those shots were a bit longer.

My long winded point is only that I am not a fan of using the DG calibers for deer or plains game unless you also specifically choose a proper bullet. The big bullets will kill them but there seems to be better options.

Notice that you never see a 375HH loaded with Hornady SST bullets or Nosler Ballistic Tips for example. Sadly nearly all of the factory ammo is optimized for DG if only to protect the mfg from repercussions should some nimrod try to kill an Elephant with a varmint bullet, lol.

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The answer is that with smaller bodies than larger game there is less mass to slow the bullet and less energy is transferred. I recently experienced this exact thing. .375 on a Springbok that ran about 60 yards. Same set up on a zebra dropped it like a bag of rocks. The bullet did not exit the zebra.

 

[Nosler guy]

Yah - the 270 is a very versatile calibre. But where I come from - anything it can do, the same cartridge in 7mm can do it just a bit better, and anything a 7 can do, a .30 can do better . .270 Win / .280 Rem / .30-06

 

[CBH Australia]

@BeeMaa
The secret young grasshopper is not to misplace the shot. If'n the itty bitty 308 loaded with 150s works on pg then the 270 with 150s and a bit more horsepower should work.
But as you said if in doubt go bigger like the Whelen or the 375. Still have to place the first shot correctly tho.
Bob

Are you comparing the Whelen to the .375?