270 wsm, Long range target, all around hunting rifle

hunter-4-life

hunter-4-life

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Hey guys,

Im doing a build for a light(er) weight hunting/1500 yard target rifle, obviously not going to be a 5 pound rifle but not 12 either. My donor rifle will be a tikka t3 lite 270 wsm. However there are 2 things holding me back from actually doing this build.

1) Caliber choice. Is the 270 wsm a suitable caliber for this build? I want it to mow deer down at medium ranges (under 600 yards) but not be overkill at 200. Be big enough to shoot moose and elk with (shot my moose at 200 yards with it this year, so I know it'll do that just fine) but still be capable of ringing the gong accurately at 1200-1500 yards. With these new Nosler Accubond LR 150gr with a BC of 0.625 (3100 ish fps) or the Berger 170gr EOL Hunter with a BC of 0.662 (2900 ish fps) with a 26" benchmark barrel, I don't see why it couldn't do exactly what i'm asking.

2)The tikka mags not being long enough to seat these bullets long enough. Do the long action mags work in a wsm round? Or is there aftermarket bottom metal that will work for this purpose? Im assuming the action will be long enough for long bullets as well?

As far as other parts for this build, stock will be a B&C M40 Varmint/Tac style
Optics will either be a Vortex Viper PST Gen 2 5-25x50 FFP with zero stop or a Nightforce SHV 5-20x56.
Trigger will be a timney probably (unsure on exact specs)
Barrel will be a 26"(ish) benchmark #4 or #5 barrel in 1:8 twist (if that will work for the 170gr bullets) with threads so have option to thread brake on or off.

This will be my first build, so any advice will be considered and appreciated. However I dont want to build a 6br, or anything along those lines. I love the 270 wsm and thats why Im considering building one if the stars align :D

Cheers,
Hunter
 
I think it will work great. I've been interested in the .27 cal stuff for a bit but haven't gotten around to do anything with it. I think it'll do everything you ask of it plus some. I mean 1200+ M is a long shot with just about any caliber. Even 50's aren't point and shoot at that range.
I would suspect that a tikka mag for a 300winmag would work. Or switch to an AICS compatible DBM and run winmag magazines.
Keep us posted.
 
Last year I helped a friend work up several loads for his 7mm WSM. He only got 2500fps out of 24'' of barrel using 154gr Hornadys and it didn't matter if they were intrlocks or SST's. We tried several powders and thats the best we got. We put some 180 Bergers through it and the velocity was a joke. I've heard the 270 WSM is better for not having this issue although I dont know why, it just seems to not be the same problem. I think you should consider 7mm-08 if you want a short action, or maybe one of the 6.5's thats out there. If you're willing to got intermediate action, the 7x57 is an awesome cartridge that gets very close to 270 velocities. If you want long, I'm a 270 fan =D. I think 280 Rem is probably an awesome cartridge, but wont buy one because i've already got 30-06 and 270 which already look close enough alike that accidents can happen unless you're careful.
$0.02
 
7x57AI would be pretty fun. I bought some reloading gear to build one. Then traded my 7mm barrel for a heavier profile 6.5 barrel and went 6.5x55 instead. Still would like to try a 7x57 at some point
 
Usually, I am all about the .277 bore. It's a fantastic hunting caliber after all.

However, it isn't ideal for long range target shooting, nor are the WSMs in general. Due to factory twist rates, you have very limited options for heavy 277 pills over 150gr (most rifles won't stabilize heavier, so very few manufacturers make anything over 150gr), and the WSM case requires the long heavy bullets to be seated too deep, taking up valuable powder space, especially if you expect to cycle them through a magazine.

I would go with a 6.5mm or 7mm if I was building a long range hunting/target combo gun.
 
Sniper_485 said:
Last year I helped a friend work up several loads for his 7mm WSM. He only got 2500fps out of 24'' of barrel using 154gr Hornadys and it didn't matter if they were intrlocks or SST's. We tried several powders and thats the best we got. We put some 180 Bergers through it and the velocity was a joke. I've heard the 270 WSM is better for not having this issue although I dont know why, it just seems to not be the same problem. I think you should consider 7mm-08 if you want a short action, or maybe one of the 6.5's thats out there. If you're willing to got intermediate action, the 7x57 is an awesome cartridge that gets very close to 270 velocities. If you want long, I'm a 270 fan =D. I think 280 Rem is probably an awesome cartridge, but wont buy one because i've already got 30-06 and 270 which already look close enough alike that accidents can happen unless you're careful.
$0.02
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure 30-06 won't chamber in a 270 due to bullet/neck size differences, and 280 won't chamber in 270 because the 280 shoulder is moved forward from the 270/3006. I don't think there is much danger in mixing them up.

Also those velocity numbers seem crazy-low? Hodgdon reloading says you should be able to get 2900-3000fps with a 154gr in a 24" barrel...?
 
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I like the 270wsm but I think that .30 or 6.5 is a better choice in calibers for bullet selection and if you are replacing the barrel this is an easy change.
I know a guy that built a .300wsm on a .300RUM action and uses 210 grain bullets for some very good results with velocities around 3000fps.
With the Tikka you have the option of removing the bolt stop (they are all essentially long actions) to get extra length in the action and buy something like a magazine for a 300win magnum for the load length, I have seen this done with a .260 and 30-06 magazines with other Tikka's.
I suggest buying a better stock than the original one if your budget allows.
 
Thanks for the input guys. The other option on the table was a 6-300 wsm. Barrel burner? Yes. But all overbore cartridges are going to be. Am I stuck on a short action caliber? Nope. I would consider a long action, just thought I would do a WSM round as thats what the action is already. As stated in the OP the only factory part would be the action, and even then I would remove the bolt stop for sure so I could seat those long bullets.

Anyone ever shoot a 6-300 wsm or even a 6.5 WSM?
 
The velocities were very low. Some of the info we came across stated that to get the velocities you mentioned you needed a 29'' barrel.
 
Suther said:
I'm pretty sure 30-06 won't chamber in a 270 due to bullet/neck size differences, and 280 won't chamber in 270 because the 280 shoulder is moved forward from the 270/3006. I don't think there is much danger in mixing them up.

Also those velocity numbers seem crazy-low? Hodgdon reloading says you should be able to get 2900-3000fps with a 154gr in a 24" barrel...?
Click to expand...

Some of the info we came across was telling us that you needed a 29'' barrel to get those velocities.
 
Sniper_485 said:
Some of the info we came across was telling us that you needed a 29'' barrel to get those velocities.
Click to expand...

Something about that doesn't seem right. Why would the reloading manuals claim to test in a 24" barrel, but get velocities only obtainable in a 29" barrel?

Also, I highly doubt you would see that sort of velocity gain with a few more inches of barrel, you are talking in the range of 100fps per inch, which from what I've read about velocity vs barrel length, thats at least double what is to be expected.

Finally, wasn't one of the good features of the WSM case that it has a more efficient burn of the powder, and so you can use a slightly shorter barrel while still obtaining the desired velocity? Seems most WSMs have 24" barrels, while most full size mags come with 26ers (this could be just for shortening the overall length of the gun, which is the other advantage to the WSM? I'm not sure...)
 
Well to give you some ideas, since I was looking to do almost exactly like you. I settled on a winchester model 70 coyote lite. Google it. It comes with a real sharp stock that is great for carrying and for bench shooting. Barrel is a medium flutted contour. So heavy enough for accuracy but not too heavy for carrying. I swear by control feed actions especially when hunting. Quite honestly it's my perfect over the shelf rifle. I actually recently posted it on the EE only for one reason. And literally asked to trade for the same rifle but in different caliber. I have it in the 270wsm. Absolutely nothing wrong with this caliber. I would be more then comfortable hitting a moose at 400-500 yards (ballistics speaking). Carries a ton of ton range punch. Although without a trade for the same rifle I would not let it go. So I took it off.

I'm now just going to burn this barrel out. Then swap it to a 7mm WSM. I like that better only because I have a larger selection of bullets. And some of those high BC bullets are nice when I want to take the rifle out to extreme long range target shooting. I have successfully shot the 270wsm at paper at 1300 yards. It is for sure capable of further. But I find the 270 bullets just start to get mixed around in the wind a lot at that point. The 7mm would be 1 mile capable and that's what I want. Just my 2 cents.
 
Factory tikka magnum mags suck to try and get the wsm cases to work, get a new bottom metal and use accurate mags ment for the wsm or saum cases, as far as I know timney does not make a trigger for the tikka but I could be wrong, but just get yourself a yodave spring for about $12 and you'll be very impressed with the factory trigger. Caliber choice for me would be the 6.5 saum, supposed to have good barrel life can easily push a 140gr bullet at 3100fps, seating depth will work in a short action mag, recoil is manageable and ballistics are fantastic.
 
I had guntech build me a 270 Winchester on a M700 action and a medium heavy McGowan barrel. It is a phenomenal shooter. I wanted it for sheep and mule deer in the Kootenays. .277 can shoot very well but you get better bullet selection in the 7mm chamberings. Whatever you decide on it's hard to go wrong if you start with quality components and have a skilled builder put them together.
 
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