‘Modern’ .270?

[finnbear270]

Hits harder than a 6.5 manbun, just not as flat as the stags it floors.

 

[skypie]

I am hoping so, I am new to rifles and have recently bought a second had .270 as my first rifle.

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

I am hoping so, I am new to rifles and have recently bought a second had .270 as my first rifle.

That’s a sound investment

 

[CookM]

If l had enough reason for more variations,eg.Scotland,l would buy one definitely.
And a 7x64...a 7x57.....oh a .264 WinMag for old times sake.
Stop it.

 

[VSS]

I am hoping so, I am new to rifles and have recently bought a second had .270 as my first rifle.

Wise man.

 

[wildfowler.250]

Its a tried and tested round with a solid supply of hunting bullets
Limited bullet choice outside of the 130gr staple
It doesnt suffer from twist issues with any bullet from 90-180gr in a standard 1:10"
even copper at 130gr is easily stabilised

But... and its a big but
Despite learning on one, using one and still owning two it is dwarfed by some other cartridges in every aspect of recoil, velocity, efficiency, accuracy potential, etc etc

Run a 130gr in 270 for a solid 3000fps in most barrels, it will drop below that in a 20" and the unburned powder %age on factory ammo will increase
step up to 15gr and the velocity drop is so significant that it negates the increase in weight.
The 130s delivery more energy and volcity across the whole range 0-300m

the 145gr ELD-X are a very good trade off and I managed to get them up to a solid 3000fps in a 22" barrel


However at the fat end of 60gr of powder it is a diminishing return

I now run 147gr at 2950 from a 22" barrel using 52gr of powder in a 6.5-284
Significantly less perceived recoil
better external balistics and accuracy at range


Although the noise of an unmoderated .270 going off in a Glen in Scotland is a joy to behold!

To be honest I struggled with mine with sako powerblade. They were amazingly accurate at 100 yards but out at 200 they were A4 paper at best - goodness knows what happened there.


Interesting replies folks. It certainly does seem to have a cult following still. Maybe it’s just that new gun itch for a PRC or an 06..

Then goes on to shoot deer at 150 yards all the same

 

[User00056]

the noise of an unmoderated .270 going off in a Glen in Scotland is a joy to behold!

The reverberations off woodland edges is also a thing of beauty

 

[enfieldspares]

I read, once, in an American magazine that if anyone turned up with a .270" WCF calibre rifle on a guided "hunt" (as they call it) in "the lower 48" (which as they call it is the continental USA - so all the States bar Alaska and Hawaii) that it showed a client that likely knew what they were doing. Those few words spoke much sense.

 

[wilbert]

I treated myself to a brand new rifle last year and it was in .270. Only ever shot copper in it apart for 2 or 3 sighting shots to get close to zero. Had no problems dropping deer with the copper bullets and have shot them out to 270m. Now I have got drawn into the world of reloading I'm looking forward to taking a deer with my own ammo rather than the Sako factory rounds. Most shops stock a reasonable range of .270 ammo so that says there is still a demand for it and it is still relevant in todays world.

 

[A Guy Out West]

The .270 Win is one of the best cartridges ever developed. Lead core or copper, it’s a dandy. I knew a Polar Bear guide who told me a .270 Win with a 150 gr. Nosler Partition was plenty good for Polar Bear. Tiny Spencer [RIP] did not give recommendations like that lightly.

 

[BE Precision]

I’ve built two 1:9 twist .270’s on trued Remington 700 actions and both owners have been very happpy. Saying that, 6.5 prc is very popular at the moment. Not all actions are easy to convert to magnum bolt face, so that may drive your decision along with variation processing times

 

[Mungo]

Do people still think this caliber is still ‘relevant’ in as much as, would you go and buy one new off the shelf next week? Does it use copper as well as other similar calibers? Would a specific/more modern twist suit it better for copper and is this easy to do?

I only ask because I’ve used one for nearly 20 years. It just works. I don’t shoot ‘far’ but it’s fairly point and shoot for my needs.

If I took a notion to rebarrel the rifle tomorrow, would I go the same? A 6.5PRC seems to do all the same but with more 6.5 bullet availability,(appreciate not a rebarrel option). A .30-06 will have more bullet availability in the long run. And a 7PRC would probably do everything ‘better’ than what I’ve got.

And yet it still works. I know it has a cult following in Scotland and still has popularity in the states due to Jack O’Connor. How do people on here see it going forward?

.270 is fine - it obviously still kills as well as it always did.

But there are modern cartridges that do what it does (plus a bit) with much less fuss.

6.5 PRC is the obvious modern equivalent. I’ve shot both extensively, and at one point had two .270s and a PRC at the same time. I now only have a PRC.

Much as I like the romance and nostalgia of a .270, the PRC is substantially easier to shoot accurately, has a much wider selection of bullets, and is just that bit more punchy.

 

[Zetter]

This is interesting. I have a bit of an odd .270 being a savage axis 2 precision (dont ask I sort of got talked into it) in an MDT chassis. The barrel is definitely on its way out and I am thinking of rebarreling it for club/ longer rage use rather than keeping it for the odd large deer outing.
Would it be worth rebarreling it in .270 again as a range fun gun (I am not planning on doing comps with it) or do I get it done in a different more range friendly calibre? If so what would people recommend as its a long action.

 

[Mike1979]

Boring ...but absolutely nowt wrong with a .270. Hard hitting and will do what it needs to ...though not as good as a 6.5 Creed

 

[Stevie/P]

WARNING
Do not go for anything with a 6 or a 5 in it or you’ll end up Morris dancing and drinking real ale

 

[wildfowler.250]

I’ve built two 1:9 twist .270’s on trued Remington 700 actions and both owners have been very happpy. Saying that, 6.5 prc is very popular at the moment. Not all actions are easy to convert to magnum bolt face, so that may drive your decision along with variation processing times

Do you find the 1 in 9 gives better copper options? I suppose most copper will be geared towards the 1 in 10 anyway? OR does the 1 in 9 still shoot the 120 power blades and similar better? I’ve got a Sako 75 which is still doing fine. I think a new barrel if it ever came to it would be the sensible option. I do fancy a semi custom T3x in 6.5PRC but I think finding magnum actions is hard and buying a whole rifle then a whole PSE stock on top becomes an expensive exercise..

.270 is fine - it obviously still kills as well as it always did.

But there are modern cartridges that do what it does (plus a bit) with much less fuss.

6.5 PRC is the obvious modern equivalent. I’ve shot both extensively, and at one point had two .270s and a PRC at the same time. I now only have a PRC.

Much as I like the romance and nostalgia of a .270, the PRC is substantially easier to shoot accurately, has a much wider selection of bullets, and is just that bit more punchy.

I’m very tempted by the PRC. I’m not entirely sure inside 300 yards there’s anything to split though? I want there to be! Similar recoil, similar trajectory. Possibly just better bullet options in 6.5? I think after 20 years I’m just trying to reinvent the wheel.
Is there any niches with loading the PRC? The .270 is pretty straightforward.


Cheers for the replies folks. Still a very popular caliber on here by the sounds of it!

 

[Mungo]

I’m very tempted by the PRC. I’m not entirely sure inside 300 yards there’s anything to split though? I want there to be! Similar recoil, similar trajectory.

There is noticeably less recoil in the PRC. I shot very similar rifles in PRC and .270. 24" barrel, moderated, within 100g weight of each other. Definitely more snappy jump with the .270 (I was also shooting an unmoderated .270 and an unmoderated .308 at the time, so had reasonable recoil tolerance). Trajectory: there is a bit less drop (not really enough to worry about), but substantially less drift (at least when comparing 147gr in PRC with 130gr in .270).

They are very similar, but I found the PRC much easier to make do what I wanted.

 

[wildfowler.250]

There is noticeably less recoil in the PRC. I shot very similar rifles in PRC and .270. 24" barrel, moderated, within 100g weight of each other. Definitely more snappy jump with the .270 (I was also shooting an unmoderated .270 and an unmoderated .308 at the time, so had reasonable recoil tolerance). Trajectory: there is a bit less drop (not really enough to worry about), but substantially less drift (at least when comparing 147gr in PRC with 130gr in .270).

They are very similar, but I found the PRC much easier to make do what I wanted.

Okay I’m sold

 

[Tom270]

My PH .270 is probably 40 to 50 years old , Barnes 130g on the money Partizan 130g 1 inch lower consistently, would I buy a new one, no need.

 

[Mungo]

Okay I’m sold

The ideal arrangement would be to have a classic wood stocked, blued rifle in .270, with a 6x42 scope on it, no mod. For use on high days and holidays.

And then an all singing all dancing tacticool PRC for slogging through clearfell in the rain.