.270Win at 400m?

Johnn Peterson said:
I've posted similar info or opinions previously on the .270 Win. Never having had one until fairly recently, and as the years seem to be stacking up rather quickly, I thought perhaps I should fill that void in my safe so I purchased a model 3000 Husqvarna from Why not?. I'm not a Jack O Connor fan and as/my posts and shooting interests, I'd have to say I lean more towards:) Elmer Keith. Another governing factor for deciding to get a 270 is because of the skills and opinion of an uncle. During WW II, he spent a good amount of time in Europe doing 'long range' shooting. Long story short, In the interior of B.C. where we lived, his personal choice was the .270 Win. for game in that area, Moose, Mule Deer, Bear and Caribou. I recall some of his shots, both close and out a ways and never do I remember seeing or hearing of him shooting at/hitting any animal more than twice to put it down.
I had intentions of using my 270 this year on my Antelope draw/hunt in AB this year but opted for my Schultz & Larsen in 7x61 S&H. It had the 'seniority' and hadn't yet drawn blood.



The 270 is next up to the plate:).
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Great photo Johnn.
Errr, uhm, cawf, whut, I mean, scuzza.........what did Ted feed ya?
Seems a ritual or man oover of hizz to bribe a sale on a boregahdsmord oh vittles.
He had the ka-bouy Kory in sweatletts.
 
bp2626 said:
I have been enquiring to various outfitters about going on an African hunting safari. The majority of them have told me .270 is fine but probably the minimum recommended. If it can kill Buffalo it can kill a deer.
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The Guy your talking too has been to Africa a few times, I don't ever recall him or Ardent, or anybody that's been over there using a .270 on one of the big five.
 
bp2626 said:
I have been enquiring to various outfitters about going on an African hunting safari. The majority of them have told me .270 is fine but probably the minimum recommended. If it can kill Buffalo it can kill a deer.
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You are not hearing what they are saying............it is the ABSOLUTE minimum for plains game. There isn't a single operator in Africa that would recommend a 270 for buff, period, besides the fact it is against the game laws in every country with buffalo. I can also guarantee you that if eland, kudu, gemsbok or wildebeest is on the menu they would urge you to consider something bigger.......06 or better. That has been my experience and conversations with the various PHs I have met in my 7 trips there. Of the 15 or so PHs I have met over the years only one sang the praises of the 270 Win, the rest all preferred to see a client with an 06 or better, a couple seemed OK with the 308.



OK, I was minimizing when I said the 270 was at best a marginal coyote rifle, just to make a point. I will openly admit that the 270 is an adequate coyote rifle and I'll even go so far as to say it is probably OK for wolves even...............everybody happy now??
 
The 270 is fine for moose and elk as well. My friends still use their 30-30s for moose.

I really don't get how the 270 could ever be "barely" enough for small game like coyote/wolf? That makes absolutely no sense at all. Unless the bullets are made of marshmallow, then I would totally agree.
 
What? you mean your bullets arnt marshmellow material??
here I am thinkin my 270 with marshmellow projiectile is the norm on the hunting scene! man we have it wrong downunder!

il have to git some of those lead ones!

WL
 
In my hunting experience, the only caliber that performs a little better in flat shooting than 270 is 7mm by 2" at 500M. The mighty 270 drops all North American games in 600m. It's the flattest shooting non-magnum caliber ever produced.
 
It has got to be sarcasm. Someone is trying to be funny or something. As if the 270 is barely enough for wolf or whatever. Have you ever seen what a 270 round does to a deer? FFS..
 
I have taken WT deer and moose with a 270 at ranges no farther than 300. Every animal was dead, quickly. All bullets performed well, 130 for deer and 150 for moose. The only animals in Canada I would prefer something larger would be Elk, Polar Bear, Grizzly, and Buffalo. For everything else the 270 is more than adequate.
 
I used to have a much lower opinion of the .270 than our pal Douglas, then a few things occurred over a relatively short period of time. I met Crazy Davey who regaled me with stories about his dad who was a big game guide who typically carried a .270, I suddenly realized that there was only .007" difference in diameter between the 270 and the 7mm, so with any given bullet, if the 7mm is good, how could the .270 be bad, and then without meaning to, I got one. Unfortunately for me this thing was built on a 98 Mauser, which I like, it cycled like butter, the Herters stock fit me like a glove, and it shot like a varmint rifle. So I sold it! Then when my son was looking for a left hand bolt gun, I started looking around for a good .30/06 but instead found him an as new LH Ruger Hawkeye topped with a Leupold 3.5-10X . . . yup it was a .270. I can't seem to get away from them, so I might as well just concede that the .270 is a bit better than I gave it credit for.
 
I started with the .270 right after I got the money to put dad's 30-30 back in the rack forever. The biggest hurdle was pulling the shiney cartridges out of the box and seeing how tiny the bullets looked to an eye trained to 30 cals. I got over it real quick, but still remember the caved in feeling when I doubted JOC.

As time went on I moved to bigger, then bigger and faster, then bigger and slower all in the name of increased performance. Sometimes I even got it, but you had to take things to extremes to notice. That's fine because I like taking things to extremes, and although I have all three major flavors of .270s they don't get as much use as they should.

The .270 Win with any decent boat-tail is taking 2300 fps and 1600 foot pounds of energy to the quarter mile mark. That isn't going to bounce off much.
 
Bullet choice and velocity becomes more critical at this range. Hornady 140gr SST SuperFormance and the Winchester/Nosler 130gr Ballistic Silvertip are two appropriate factory loads, as they both maintain energy and deliver broad wounding at that range.
 
I have seen a coyote almost torn in half when hit just under 200 yards. The backbone's pelt was the only reason the back legs were still attached.

That was a 243 btw, I thought it was 270. For christ sake 270 naysayers. Give it up.
 
ok! not a great morning out but it started that way..

im not guna lie, it isn't great news but it has an alright outcome.

turned up to the property at pre dawn just on first light, I get up to a vantage point in the ute an glass from there as its pretty windy out, up on the hill 500 away I glass a fallow hind.. a quick scan around an I spot a big bodied sambar with a good set of antlers!
I drive up a bit closer to a big old dead tree an park, jump out an range the hill, 355m an slightly up hill 30 degrees . toward the bushline Im looking and I see one step out just about to disappear.. in my frantic dash to get setup It may of been the rookie mistake (more to that later)

I line up a hold over for 350 or so , a bit more than 300 but not as much as recently practised 400m hold.. over a backpack on the bonnet I sent one off up the hill in a rather rushed fashion.. seen the deer take off across the hill a bit then go, a moment later another Sambar appeared just where that deer was.. with the naked eye an low light I couldn't exactly make either out but the 2nd appeared a hind..

I drove up to the bushline an started looking for prints or blood.. I soon found blood making the way up a bank to the bush, reasonable blood at first then it faded out pretty quick, and the sign appeared to be from a hind!!??

I tracked for 400m contouring the hill into a deep steep gulley head.. with my knee recovering form a reconstruction 2 months ago I was not going to risk anything for what appeared to be hind tracks and all prints come together with no blood an the stag looked to be going fine..

long story short, I believe I mistaken identified the "Stag" an put a hole in a Hind from 355m with the .270, in what would appear a misplaced shot.... Spewing on it but hopin the stag will stick around!

Cheers

WL
 
Difficulty in recovering an animal is a horrible feeling that many hunters must endure at some point. Hopefully with you not pressuring him, he will lay down and die and you can find him tomorrow. Assuming it's more than a hide wound.
 
I would not take a poke at a Sambar size animal past 400 yards with a 270,
but I do know that a 270 with a 140 Accubond kills Muleys at 600 with a carefully executed shot.

Not advocating such a long shot, but, if you have practiced plenty with your 270, and have a laser range finder,
and know exactly where your bullet will be at longer distances, it can be done.

As much as I like the 270, I would feel a bit more comfortable with a 308 Norma Mag [or equivalent] in my hand for the larger deer at long range.
With a nice, sleek 180 grain bullet, it will mimic the trajectory of the 270/130, and will arrive with a lot more oomph.

Regards, Dave.
 
Careful with that recovery there Laddie.
Just when the pain gits itself where you challenge it is when
ole Murphy sneaks hizz ugly head around the corner.
He'll sit you back a week or two on recovery.
 
Yeah that's very true looky, im at the stage where im feeling alright but know my knee is not up to 100% at all.
that was a defining factor in walking back out to the farm land yesterday.

This morning there was only 2 fallow walking back up to the bush and I wasn't prepared to chase them down either.

im goin to camp down at the river this weekend an do some fishing, tone things back down again for a week or so!

Cheers fellas

WL
 
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