Anyone use the .270 Winchester?

[hawkeyesatx]

I’m getting info on the .270 Winchester.

What has your experience been with it, for those who have used it?

What range of game have you gotten with yours, including African game, too?

What’s the largest animal anyone has taken with theirs, and how quickly did it dispatch the animal?

What’s the longest anyone has taken a big game animal with theirs?

If there is something I may have missed, please let me know about it and the .270 Winchester.


Hawk

 

[MAdcox]

I am a 270 Win fan. It was my first bolt action scoped rifle and I still have that gun. It will always be my pet. I am a hand loader too and have shot Barnes bullets almost exclusively since the original X-bullet came out in my 270. Being from Oklahoma and only having one rifle for many years I used it primarily on Whitetail and predators. I experimented with some 90gr hollow points for predator calling. They shot very well, but hide damage was incredible so I stuck to the Barnes.
With 140gr TSX my 270 routinely takes Whitetails, coyotes an hogs from 20 to 250 yards. My rifle and loads have also taken 5 elk in New Mexico from 75 yards to 350 yards cleanly. I most recently used it successfully in New Mexico on a Pronghorn hunt.
That said, in Africa I used my 300WSM. I would have no fear on anything from Kudu down using my 270, it just wasn't the rifle I decided to take. This year I am going after Eland and Mt Zebra and will take a new 375 H&H and my 300.
Best of luck on your 270, I think you'll find it is a classic cartridge for a reason. I will always have a couple in the safe and ready to use.

 

[mdwest]

I think its a nearly perfect deer caliber (both whitetail and mule) for North America..

Soft on the shoulder, inherently accurate, reasonably flat shooting and easily useable at ranges of 300-400 yards when necessary... and more than enough energy delivery at ranges of 0-400 yards to drop any deer anywhere in the US in its tracks if the shooter does his/her part and puts the bullet where it belongs..

Whats not to like?

For me, for African game it is a bit light as a general/all around PG cartridge.. but, Im sure there are plenty of people that would argue that its more than adequate enough and have used it reliably for even larger sized, tougher PG..

 

[baxterb]

I knew a guy here in Idaho - about 5'-4" 135lbs soaking wet. Loved hunting Africa, hated recoil. Over his hunting he killed several eland with his 270. Limited shots to 200 yds.

That sounds light to me, but he (and his PH) had utter confidence in it and it seemed to work just fine for him.

I was working with a gunmaker once and he had just returned from an antelope hunt in Wyoming. Said he killed a nice one at about 350 yards. "What did you use - 300 Win mag?" I asked. He looked at me as if I had slapped his wife. "270. If I felt needed more than that I wouldn't have gone."

 

[sestoppelman]

I have never taken game with one, but own one now and have had several over the years. Good round, just as good as ol Jack said it was. Properly load its just as good as the .280 Remington.

 

[deewayne2003]

.270 Winchester was my first real hunting rifle at the age of 14 and .270win is also the caliber that got me interested in reloading at the age of 15.

For the areas I primarily hunt in Texas and Oklahoma whitetail deer and wild pigs are my main target; with mature whitetail bucks weighing 200lbs+ & large boars that can go 500+lbs.

After testing every bullet I could get my hands on for .270win both factory and hand loaded, it came to be that the 140gr accubond is the ideal do all for my hunting; with the 140gr Hornady BTSP being my hog & practice load.

It's been 23 years since I bought that first .270 and it's still my go to rifle for deer hunting; even though I have multiple other rifles in more exotic and larger calibers the .270win is still my favorite for deer.

 

[curtism1234]

Whats not to like?

For me, for African game it is a bit light as a general/all around PG cartridge.. but, Im sure there are plenty of people that would argue that its more than adequate enough and have used it reliably for even larger sized, tougher PG..

This is my concern. With 150 grain bullet being the heaviest (and not necessarily the best), it does worry me. I come from the long line of thinking that deer bullets start with 150grains, though I concede it does the job quite nicely on 250 pound game.

If you wanted a standard long action, I would personally go with the 3006. 165 and 180 gr bullets are not a problem at all and they pack a wallop.

 

[Nyati]

I used one on my last Safari, shot a Roan, Sable, Barbary sheep, Springbok and brown Hyaena.

All one shot kills, using 150gr. PMP ammo.

Farthest shot was on Barbary sheep, around 140 meters.

 

[jeanes]

All the one shot kills I have made on whitetails and feral hogs have been with my .270. I love mine.

 

[Art Lambart II]

If you do your job and make a good first shot the 270 is a fine round for African PG but if your shot is not so good the 270 is light for follow-up shots. My 270 prefers a 140 grain bullet and shoots a sub MOA with them.

 

[HuntingGold]

Im on my phone so this will be brief.
I have shot dozens of mule deer and blacktail deer with a 270. In addition, I have taken one moose, a dozen and a half elk, and just a few pronghorn. The 140 grain bullet has been my favorite to date. You can get 165 grain and higher bullets but must consider the twist as most commercial barrels are 1:10.

In my limited experience with African plains game, I would be incredibly comfortable taking anything up to and including big kudu bulls.

Quite simply my favorite cartridge. Admittedly it's my favorite due to sentiment as much as performance. Opinions are like Bellybuttons... We all have one and that is mine on the .270.

I'm having another one built... If that tells ya anything.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I came to the 270 party about 10 years ago. I have taken Dall Sheep, antelope and NZ Red Stag with it, all one shot kills.

If you think about it, there isn't a huge difference in a 270, a 7x57 or a 7mm-08. Maybe even add the 308. Lots of game killed with all these mild recoiling calibers.

 

[MRBlack]

I used a 280 Remington (very similar ballistically to the 270) in the Limpopo this July. I really liked the cartridge with 165gr Swift A Frames. I used it on Kudu and Nyala. It was a little on the light side in my opinion for Kudu, but was perfectly adequate for Nyala size and smaller.

 

[BeeMaa]

My wife took this Kudu with one shot to the high neck at 100 yards. It never took another step. She was using 140 grain Swift A-Frames from a Savage Lady Hunter in 270WIN with a Trijicon 4-16x50. She was very comfortable shooting this rifle. Ironically, this would be the only shot she took at game in Africa. She said she was confident out to 250 yards on a 4" target from shooting sticks on all game up to something this size. I would agree with her, especially seeing as I spend most of my time with her inside the 250 yard range.

 

[BourbonTrail]

I like the 270 win well enough.

For long range performance, a 270 using 140gr accubonds stays above the expansion velocity (1800fps) to 725yds. It crosses the 1500 ft-lbs threshold (whitetail) at 480 yds, and the 2000 ft-lb threshold (elk) at 280yds. There may be better PG cartridges, but the 270 is nothing to snuff at…that said, I still have a 30-06 and a 300 wby to keep my 270 company.

 

[woods0824]

Love the .270 Win and used it exclusively for 10 years while living in the west. Several bull elk and mule deer were taken with 150 grain partitions. Also killed one bull with a 130 grain accubond. All one shot kills and none made it more than 50 yards.

My brother took his .270 with us to Africa and took a variety of plains game with it up to and including eland. He also took a very large croc with it. All animals were killed with one 150 grain triple shock loaded by superior ammo.

I've always believed that with modern bullets the .270 can go anywhere a .30-06 can, but with a flatter trajectory and a hair less recoil.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I‘ve used a very beautiful Savage Model 110 in .270 Winchester ( loaded with 160 Gr Nosler Partitions ) to take a lot of European roe stags . I’ve never had a reason to be unsatisfied with the performance . Nevertheless , I like the 7x57 mm Mauser and .30-06 Springfield somewhat more . Especially for African plains game , our local Chital stags or European red stags .

 

[Stephen Ausband]

I agree with the bulk of the comments above. I've used the 270 mostly on deer and hogs, including some very big ones, , and it kills quickly and cleanly. I've never taken it to Africa for PG, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so. One friend has killed elk and bears with it, and another has taken all sorts of PG including kudu and zebra with hers. With Swift A-frames or other modern projectiles, it is a very efficient cartridge.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I’m getting info on the .270 Winchester.

What has your experience been with it, for those who have used it?

What range of game have you gotten with yours, including African game, too?

What’s the largest animal anyone has taken with theirs, and how quickly did it dispatch the animal?

What’s the longest anyone has taken a big game animal with theirs?

If there is something I may have missed, please let me know about it and the .270 Winchester.


Hawk

@hawkeyesatx
My 270 is now my Whelen if that says anything.
I had never used a 270 before and decided to give it a go before the rebarreling.
With 100gn hornadayVMax it was devastating on pigs and goats but didn't do anything my 25 wouldn't. With the 130gn Australian ACPs similar to Barnes tsx it worked well on sambar deer. I rebarreled it because my 25 did the same job and I wanted a bigger caliber for Namibia, I wouldn't go back to the 270 but still have the barrel just in case.
Bob

 

[Graham Hunter]

Started with a 270 at age 14. Blame Jack O'Connor. Still have that rifle as well as 4 others. Use 130-150gr quality bullets. Have shot Big Horn Sheep, Whitetail and Mule Deer, Red Stag, Black Bear, Antelope, Moose, Elk and Hogs. Confident to 400 yds. One of my all time favorites!