Hunting with 270 Weatherby
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jim in Anchorage
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My caribou hunting buddy had one in a mark v. Not much to say but every time he pulled the trigger a caribou went down. Darn near a perfect open country gun.
My fil shot a .270wby for years mostly at deer and a few pigs. Performance was pretty much comparable to a 7mm rem mag shooting the same weight bullets. Which is what i shot mostly (still do)
We both actually shot deer from the same herd and similar size from the same position, if either had run we wouldnt have been able to tell who shot which.
We both actually shot deer from the same herd and similar size from the same position, if either had run we wouldnt have been able to tell who shot which.
Gordon
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the .270 WSM is very close to the good .270 Weatherby which I had a few hunters from 70s and 80s swear by. They used Nosler Partition 150 grain bullets and killed African Plains game like lightning bolts from long distances . I shoot a .270 WSM for 15 years with that bullet on the same type animals from 200-900 pounds and it is exceptional.
Gordon
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big elk, moose or kudu 
actually the .270 weatherby is probably better than the .270 WSM because it is easier to get good loads with the 150 grain bullets that work well on big game , the cartridge is longer. I think Roy weatherby came out with it in 1948 and his old gunsmith I knew well- Joe Dutra (RIP) preferred it over all others he told me.
actually the .270 weatherby is probably better than the .270 WSM because it is easier to get good loads with the 150 grain bullets that work well on big game , the cartridge is longer. I think Roy weatherby came out with it in 1948 and his old gunsmith I knew well- Joe Dutra (RIP) preferred it over all others he told me.
Gordon
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The Barnes all copper bullets work VERY well in these .270 magnums also. infact they are the best 130 grain loads IMHO which is fortunate as I live in Calif where they are required and the deer and elk are small around here.big elk or kudu
old heeler
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big elk, moose or kudu
I hadn't heard that name in years, Joe Dutra. I can still picture him shooting a Wby and how he held one, I was living Willow Glen (San Jose) when I met him. I'm not shooting factor 270 Wby, used Rem 700 action with Rock Creek barrel @ 26" and doesn't have Wby FB. It's been on couple buck hunts here in Co, using 150gr ABLR.
sage5907
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I had a 270 Weatherby for several years and I hated the damn thing! I switched to a 270 Winchester and it was a far user friendly rifle and I couldn't tell any difference in the knock down power. The recoil was sharp and punishing which made the rifle not very much fun to use. My rifle with scope and sling weighed about 8 and a quarter pounds and that is too light for a rifle with recoil like that. I was using a 130 grain bullet with IMR 4831. Let me say it again, I hated the damn thing!
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I have a model 70 in .270 Weatherby. I absolutely love it. I find the recoil to be very mild. Performance on deer size game is simply wonderful. I shoot 140gr Nosler Accubond and have exceptional accuracy and terminal performance.
This rifle is my purpose built reach out and touch, deer, goat, sheep, pronghorn rifle and it does its job very well.
That being said I am not a fan of Weatherby rifles and have had generally bad luck with them over the years. I love the .270 Weatherby round but do not like the Weatherby Mark V rifle platform at all.
This rifle is my purpose built reach out and touch, deer, goat, sheep, pronghorn rifle and it does its job very well.
That being said I am not a fan of Weatherby rifles and have had generally bad luck with them over the years. I love the .270 Weatherby round but do not like the Weatherby Mark V rifle platform at all.
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It's a stainless New Haven CRF M-70 action wearing a 26" medium taper Lilja barrel. I can't remember but I think we twisted it at 1 in 9. The stock is a Pacific Composites, and it wears a Leupold VX-6, 2x12 CDS scope. The rifle was built by a buddy of mine in Gillette who is a master gun smith and a master machinist. The rifle shoots sub .5 MOA.
I load a couple of grains off of max using VitaVouri N560 which pushes a 140Gr Accubond right at 3200 FPS, about 100 or more less FPS than a max load. My very proudest group with this rifle is a 5 shot 3" group at 600 yards. This is my one and only geeked out, speed demon, flat shooting hunting rifle and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it in the field and on the range.
The rest of my rifles are boring old normal calibers like .308, .30-06, .338, .375H&H, 9.3x74R, .470NE, stuff like that.
sage5907
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The Weatherby rifle that I owned was a light mountain rifle with a slim 24 inch barrel. It was a joy to carry in the mountains but as I said the cartridge had way to much recoil for the basic rifle. I can see where H&Hhunter would get along better with a 26 inch medium taper barrel in a heavier rifle. With powders like Reloader 17 the velocity of a 270 Winchester 130 grain bullet can be well over 3000 fps and the disadvantages of the 270 Weatherby far exceeded the advantages. That 270 Weatherby rifle was the only Magnum rifle I have ever owned and it taught me a big lesson about how I should stay with rifle built on a 30-06 case like the 30-06, 270 Winchester and 25-06.
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I have a soft spot in my heart for the .270 Weatherby. My hunting mentor had been a world wide hunter. He was a Professional Hunter in Rhodesia for a time, he hunted all over Africa back when it was possible to do so. He had several grand slams and an incredible number of world class trophies taken. he was a died in the wool .270 Weatherby man and had taken some species with it that were way out of it's league. So for me the rifle is kind of a memento to my buddy. I agree that the standard old .270 Win will do most if not all of what the Weatherby will do. With modern optics there ain't much you cant do with a standard "boring" old .30-06.
I shoot a number of magnums, and honestly dont find them much more unpleasant than the .30-06, until you get to the .300s pushing 180+ at max velocity (like say a 8.5lb .300 and a 208 at 2900fps).
My opinion is if shots are long ill take an extra pound of gun weight and 200-300fps with the top end bullets which is about what most mags can out run 06 length cartridges by, the .270 included.
That reasoning is why my big 7s weigh 9lbs and 10.5lbs respectively.
My lightest gun currently is my '06 @ 8.25lbs. Thats not alot of fun to shoot with full house loads and the remaining 208s ive got, but it launches them surprisingly fast and they shoot under an inch, so i keep doing it.....
My opinion is if shots are long ill take an extra pound of gun weight and 200-300fps with the top end bullets which is about what most mags can out run 06 length cartridges by, the .270 included.
That reasoning is why my big 7s weigh 9lbs and 10.5lbs respectively.
My lightest gun currently is my '06 @ 8.25lbs. Thats not alot of fun to shoot with full house loads and the remaining 208s ive got, but it launches them surprisingly fast and they shoot under an inch, so i keep doing it.....
lastofthebreed
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My brothers wife bought him a Weatherby Mark V several years ago. She insisted it come with a Weatherby branded scope. It was in 270 Weatherby Mag. He hunted with it for a bunch of years and killed a boxcar full of deer. He has since relegated it to the safe and now hunts with a 7-08 Encore. It did what it was supposed to do with very little hassle.
In many of these areas there are tall grasses, where you would hunt with a magnum rifle. I have had a hard time shooting through grass going prone. Is the best way to lay it on some kind of overstuffed pack? Or sit with shooting sticks? I tried also kneeling with a monopod but did not feel real steady with that ( at least that day)
Thanks for the insight.I have a soft spot in my heart for the .270 Weatherby. My hunting mentor had been a world wide hunter. He was a Professional Hunter in Rhodesia for a time, he hunted all over Africa back when it was possible to do so. He had several grand slams and an incredible number of world class trophies taken. he was a died in the wool .270 Weatherby man and had taken some species with it that were way out of it's league. So for me the rifle is kind of a memento to my buddy. I agree that the standard old .270 Win will do most if not all of what the Weatherby will do. With modern optics there ain't much you cant do with a standard "boring" old .30-06.
One of the guys i hunt with alot keeps a pair of shooting sticks attached to the outside of his pack with velcro thats wraped around the legs and then theres a patch on his bag, its surprisingly sturdy. He pulls those off every time we do a stalk and they work well from sitting or kneeling. The onle place i go where i need some height and a rest i carry my little tripod for my chrono graph and ive just got a small padded vblock that attaches to the screw. It takes more time to set up but its light fits in my bag and provides a good rest sitting kneeling or standing.
I get to slightly higher ground and use a ground pad to lay a few feet of grass down. It's lightweight and quick. Alternatively, a taller bipod to be used from kneeling or sitting works well too.
GooseGestapo
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I had an acquaintance/client that was a trophy elk hunter. He used one with the factory 150gr Nosler Partitions. He was very fond of it. He'd killed several record book class bulls with it.
(He could afford to, 7figures annual income. $15,000 hunt was his annual hunting foray).
I managed to score some of his fired brass. Made .257wby out of them.
(He could afford to, 7figures annual income. $15,000 hunt was his annual hunting foray).
I managed to score some of his fired brass. Made .257wby out of them.
Gtscotty
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I made a set of shooting sticks because I kept running into that problem. Most of my longer shot opportunities are on the prarie and there is always a foot or so of grass. I carried the sticks last year, but didn't wind up using them on my antelope or elk. With the antelope, I didn't feel like at the end of my stalk I could sit up without being busted. When getting ready for the elk, I had just run up the other side of a hill, ditched the sticks and set up prone in a rocky saddle shooting steeply downhill. That said, I do think the shooting sticks are a good solution when the grass is too high and the topography isn't right to go prone. I'm certainly going to carry them again this year.
good info, thank you!
sage5907
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When I was in College I had a good friend that always talked against using a "crutch" to solve any problem. He didn't drink, smoke, chew or take drugs and through my life I have followed his example as best I could. Then it came to the problem of shooting animals with a rifle in hunting situations. I quickly found out that the only satisfactory method of doing this was to use a sitting position so most of my practice was from a sitting position and I became good at it. I would just sit down, prop my elbow on my knee and shoot. This worked good but I always looked for something better. About 25 years ago I discovered that I could take a piece of garden rake handle about 42 inches long with the steel reinforcement tube on the end and use it for a single shooting stick. The replacement rake handle can be purchased at a farm supply store. I take the garden rake handle, and use Bondo or JB Weld to bond a steel spike in the hole so it sticks out aboout 6 inches. I then paint the handle OD Green. When I get ready to shoot I stick the spike in the ground, sit down behind it, grab the handle with my left hand and lay the rifle over my wrist. With much practice I can shoot near minute of angle out past 300 yards. Very seldom do I have an animal escape if I see it before it sees me. I can be walking and get an aimed shot off in less than 10 second. The position is enhanced further if I sit with my back against a tree or fence post. With this method I can shoot out of grass and brush almost 30 inches tall and I never have to look for a stationary crutch.
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Omaha-BeenGlockin
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My buddy has a custom built ultra-light on a Remington action---its dropped everything he's aimed it at mostly with one shot and often at extreme ranges.
That said--he's pretty much switched to a 6.5 Creedmore Browning X-bolt after using the .270Wby for over 20 years.
That said--he's pretty much switched to a 6.5 Creedmore Browning X-bolt after using the .270Wby for over 20 years.
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