In a FB group I am in a bunch of guys, whom I presume are from south of the border, go on and on about a .270 being a substandard cartridge for big game, and a .243 is far superior. These are elk hunters. I am from northern BC, where the .270 has been a standard cartridge since Jack O'Connor made it famous. I am only 67, and I have been reloading since I was 18, so naturally if I did have a .270 I would be loading it with the bullets of my choice. No one in the group said any of the things I might have expected, like perhaps 130 gr bullets waste a lot of meat, or they do not like long action rifles, or the .243 kicks less, or a .243 rifle is a bit lighter.. They just do not like it. Please, give the .270 a like or a dislike, and if you do not like it, let us know why.
Who hates a .270 Winchester?
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They are weird. Not that I don't appreciate a fast twisted 6mm and heavy bullets driven fast. But they're still weird.
Disliking a cartridge is weird too lol.
6.5 CM/7mm-08/308/260 rem/7x57/270/30-06/8x57 might as well all be the same cartridge the vast majority of the time.
Disliking a cartridge is weird too lol.
6.5 CM/7mm-08/308/260 rem/7x57/270/30-06/8x57 might as well all be the same cartridge the vast majority of the time.
Licensed to kill
CGN Regular
- Location
- Peace Country Alberta
I have a .270 Gibbs in a highwall that I like well enough. Shot my first deer with a .243 (Savage 99), also a nice calibre. I wouldn’t shoot an elk with one (.243) but that is not what it is made for. My son shot an elk and a few bears with the .270 Gibbs, all one shot kills so what’s not to like???
I haven't had a .270 in a very long time, nor would I buy one today as there are other cartridges in the same category that are either better or more interesting to me. But the .270 is of course a solid choice for pretty much all hunting in BC, especially with the bullets of today.
When it comes to big game hunting the only thing a 243 does better than a 270 is to recoil less. As a big game cartridge the 243 is the least capable of the 308 case based cartridges and inferior to other cartridges like the 6.5 CM. The 243 isn't a bad cartridge but same as the 270, there are other cartridges in the 243 class that are either better or more interesting.
When it comes to big game hunting the only thing a 243 does better than a 270 is to recoil less. As a big game cartridge the 243 is the least capable of the 308 case based cartridges and inferior to other cartridges like the 6.5 CM. The 243 isn't a bad cartridge but same as the 270, there are other cartridges in the 243 class that are either better or more interesting.
IronNoggin
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Alberni, Vancouver Island
Been running a 270 Win for 50+ years.
Killed a lot of critters including a decent handful of elk.
Been running a 270 Weatherby Mag for around 10 years now.
Kills them just as dead, simply further away.
Killed a lot of critters including a decent handful of elk.
Been running a 270 Weatherby Mag for around 10 years now.
Kills them just as dead, simply further away.
I always thought the 308,270 and 30-06 were boring. Then I discovered the Garand 30-06. Then another savage 99 in 308. The 270 the only rifle it’s chambered Id be interested in would be possibly a Remington pump. Nothing wrong with the 270 I just never got around to trying one. I have over other calibres to play with.
- Location
- Interior of BC
Shot my first deer with a .270 Winchester in 1977, and will probably shoot my last with one! I own multiple rifles/calibers and they all have their place, but my .270's have bagged deer, caribou, moose, elk and bears effectively. An aging friend gave me two boxes of original Nosler solid base 130's last year, and my X-bolt drops them into one elongated hole. Dropped a 4 point mulie DRT, no wasted meat. Some modern calibers are interesting and "different", but for an effective big game hunting rifle, there are no flies on the .270 Winchester, IMO.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I'm not nessesariy a 270 fanboy but I've shot several big game animals with it and seen quite a bunch more taken with it. All I can say is anyone who disses the 270 probably hasn't ever used one.
My dad despises it. He wounded the first deer he ever shot with it and since 1986 has been talking bad about a 270. It now lives with me and It's been banished to the safe of shame until the end of days. If he seen me use it, I would be disowned and out of the will.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
This thread reminds me of a story I overheard at a banquet a few years ago. I was standing next to a table of guys in a hot conversation (liquid fueled) about biggame hunting and happened to overhear one guy talking about how he used to love the 270 Wby, it killed like lightning but he stated emphatically that you had to hit the aninmal in the right place.... I had to leave before saying something that might get me beat up!
- Location
- Delta B.C.
O.M.G. To say a .243 is superior to a .277 is from a vacant head. The math and ballistics will always rule. Cartridges can change the performance but cannot change the bullet. Apples and oranges will always be different fruit too. Cheers
At no point does the .243 produce more energy....
MosinMan13
CGN Regular
- Location
- Thornbury Ontario
I could have lived my whole life and never had 270 enter my mind.
It’s the Chuck Norris of calibers unfortunately, every 10-20th hunter you meet will be a 270 guy, talks 10,000 words per minute, big hand gestures, stories that defy the laws of the physical realm.
The premise of it just doesn’t sound appealing to me. A light weight laser beam projectile boogying at Mock-Jesus and delivering more pound feet of damage into the shoulder of the shooter. Pardon my ignorance I’ve limited exposure, I’m sure all jokes aside it’s a very capable cartridge, but they’ve all got a stereotype.
It’s the Chuck Norris of calibers unfortunately, every 10-20th hunter you meet will be a 270 guy, talks 10,000 words per minute, big hand gestures, stories that defy the laws of the physical realm.
The premise of it just doesn’t sound appealing to me. A light weight laser beam projectile boogying at Mock-Jesus and delivering more pound feet of damage into the shoulder of the shooter. Pardon my ignorance I’ve limited exposure, I’m sure all jokes aside it’s a very capable cartridge, but they’ve all got a stereotype.
- Location
- Delta B.C.
Recoil is relative. Less than a 30-06 unless the bullet is the same weight. but it is the same case design. Cheers
I respect the heck out of a 270 win but haven’t used it a bunch. Shot a 270 weatherby in a Ruger number one as my magpie to moose rifle for 20 years.
My favorite 270 win story happened at the range when my 150 grain hand loads were faster than my brother in laws “mighty 7mm mag” factory fodder.
My favorite 270 win story happened at the range when my 150 grain hand loads were faster than my brother in laws “mighty 7mm mag” factory fodder.
I don't see anything to hate here.
Too bad C-FBMI isn't still on here, he would have enjoyed this thread. He always had an irrational hatred for the .270.
I don't hate the cartridge, but so far I haven't owned one that stuck around. Probably I'm still waiting for just the right rifle to come along. I've never been able to achieve the velocities other commentators claim to get. It would be interesting to start over with some of the newer powders.
Saying the .243 is superior to the .270 is just silly.
I don't hate the cartridge, but so far I haven't owned one that stuck around. Probably I'm still waiting for just the right rifle to come along. I've never been able to achieve the velocities other commentators claim to get. It would be interesting to start over with some of the newer powders.
Saying the .243 is superior to the .270 is just silly.
Ha ha. Not the same story but reminds me of a co-worker back in the mid-eighties. First year out moose hunting with a 308. He sees a moose puts four shots into it and it walks away. All in the heart/lung area he claims. 308 doesn't have enough jam for a big animal he claims. They can shake it off. So he sells the gun and gets a 30-06 for next year. Very similar story for the next year. So he sells the 30-06 and gets a 300 mag. That year the moose falls. Obviously the 300 mag is the ONLY gun capable of knocking down a moose.
I even went so far as to ask him if he really thought he hit those other two moose. He was insulted. Oh well.
A 270 is the only popular cartridge I've never had a gun chambered for. Regardless, I would be curious to hear the "logic" explaining how the 243 is a superior cartridge for big game.
What caliber limitations?
