270 wsm

Faster and heavier bullet than the .243
Faster bullet than the .270 Win and in a shorter stiffer action
Much faster bullet than the .308 Win
Faster bullet than the .30-06 and in a shorter stiffer action.

It is all about flat shooting. Gets there faster, wind doesn't have as long to blow it. .243 is about the lower limit for deer past 200 yards. Most hunters wouldn't think of using the .243 on anything larger than deer though. .270 WSM is a safe bet on pretty much all North American Game.

Take a 140 gr. bullet with a ballistic coefficient of .457, going 3000 fps.

If you sight it in for 100 yards it is going to hit ~51 inches low at 500 yards
Same bullet in a .270 Win going 2800fps is going to hit ~60 inches low at 500 yards

3200 fps should be easily achievable with a 140 gr bullet in the 270 WSM, especially out of a 26in barrel.

Real world advantage....none.

Other than the slight advantage in trajectory, the 270 WSM offers no advantage whatsoever.

The days of new rounds offering anything truly new are long gone, have been for at least 50 years, at least as far as hunting rifle rounds go. (one exception might be the 204 Ruger)

There have been some worthwhile developments in pistols that are more recent (40 S&W, 357 Sig, 10mm, etc.)

Carrying a magnum powered rifle that weighs a pound less is a real world advantage.

A pound less...

More like 1/4 of a pound less than a 270 Win in the same make of rifle.

The reason I got into the .270 WSM was I found a nice Winchester Classic Stainless made in Conn. for a good price and I had shot a .270 Winchester out of a 1953 one for 40 years prior with good success. On expensive "big " hunts I only take factory ammo and it seems some of the best combos of super premium bullets are available in .270 WSM ! That and the superior accuracy of the new combo sold it to me and the fantastic performance is just a plus. It has much less recoil than a 7mm Rem Mag IMHO BTW.

Ridgerunner665 said:

More like 1/4 of a pound less than a 270 Win in the same make of rifle.

Click to expand...

Regardless of the weight differential, there is the 200FPS velocity advantage that not only reduces wind drift but extends the range at which the round delivers a given amount of energy compared to the .270 Win. It is actually an improvement and has caught on fairly well as a result.

In addition to the weight and stiffness (though I've yet to see a tangible benefit on that with a hunting rifle) advantage, there is also the matter of mounting a scope. Many more options and much less of a pain to put a scope on a short action.

If you have the long range to practice at so you can learn your gun's ability, the WSM should gain you an extra 100 yards of effective range over the 270 Win. I have a 270 Win and could probably out shoot a buddy with a 270 WSM due only to the fact that he doesn't practice much. I haven't had to shoot a deer at greater than 200 yards, and most could have been taken with a slug, primarily due to terrain. I also hunt in some heavily wooded areas and the longer barrel of the WSM would be a detriment, in fact, I often though how nice it would have been in those areas to have a 308 with an 18" barrel. The WSM does have it's place where it can be more effective, but you have to know that you can be effective with it.

Real world advantage....none.

Click to expand...

I agree with you..........for most people.
There is definately a long range advantage with 200 extra fps, however the vast majority of hunters and shooters aren't at the skill level to realize it. I am included in this group. I'm comfortable out to about 300 yds, assuming I have a solid rest. A .30-06 or .270, and cartridges like them are fine at that distance, so for me, there would be no real world difference.

Having years of experence with 270 win and WSM let me break it down for you. The WSM does have a substantial longrange advantage, it is very impressive with a .460BC bullet at 3400+fps, no 257 Wby can shoot flatter with hunting weight bullets, so needless to say the old 270 win does not keep up. That said, I only used my WSM when hunting large wide open fields, because within normal ranges it has no real advantage over the 270 win. Last I checked good 270 win brass costs $.48 a brass while WSM costs me $.70 a brass, and the WSM usualy runs about 7gr more powder. As a handloader I slightly perfer the WSM, if I did not handload I would take an old 270 win, 30-06 or 308 over any WSM anyday because of the $35 (or more) a box WSM price

And my old .270 Win chronos 3190 fps with 130 gr Superformance. It's not that far behind.

I like mine,compact,light accurate,fast,low recoil. Rem mod 700 sps in stainless with a muzzle brake installed.

If you do not reload you will probably want a more traditional caliber as ammo is pricey.

I purchased the .270 WSM because it was faster then the .270 and cost was about the same. Standard American thinking bigger is better lol.

What do you plan on doing with the rifle? the reason I ask is if you plan on target shooting I would go with something else. I have a Weathby Vanguard in .270WSM I got for hunting long range (AZ) and it works great for that, I would feel safe taking 500yrd shots with mine. Now for the ugle ammo is pricy $35-40 for factory loads, and all the speed comes at a cost. Mine will heat up fast like 3 shots fast and I'm not doing and rapid bolt stuff. After 3 shots I need to wait 15-20min for the barrel to cool off or my sub-moa group opens up fast. It took me a good year of shooting it to learn how mine shoots but now I love it, and no deer, elk, or other critter is safe in Arizona unless it past 500 i guess

I almost bought one, but for me personally the disadvantages greatly outwayed the advantages. For the rare someone experienced enough to consistently make shots at +300 its great. For the rest of us... Typically shooting say inside of 200 you won't see the advantage of the WSM but you will always pay more in dollars, recoil, and muzzle blast. Kinda like buying a Ford F350 as a daily driver when you don't have anything to tow. You also have to worry about having too high of an impact velocity with certain bullets. When I was bear hunting last year I set up for a 100-200yrd shot. I was very suprised when I had one go barreling past me from behind after being spooked from something else. Never heard it till it was inside of 50! I would not have wanted to worry about a bullet holding together on Yogi at 20yrd and 3400fps.

^^^ True, unless someone hunts at 300+ they will probably never notice the difference between the two. As far as the bullet construction thing goes that is not really an issue. 130gr BTs hold together long enough to blow through any deer and 140gr Accubonds / 150-160gr Partitions WILL NOT come appart at any impact speed shy of a magnetic rail gun. The recoil and muzzle blast on the WSM is not that bad, much less then a 7mm Rem Mag, but a little more then a 270 win for sure.

Out of my Savage .270 WSM I have taken 3 hogs past 350 yards (furthest being 387 through a rangefinder). The recoil and muzzle blast are considerably more than my grandfather's .270, but you get use to it.

If this is a range gun....skip the WSM. Ammunition is too expensive. When I take mine to the range I typically only fire about 10-15 rounds through it to check zero at different ranges.

In theory, a hunter is better armed with the 270 WSM because it holds its velocity and energy figures way out beyond 300 yards. But in all my years of hunting, I've only shot one animal beyond 300 yards and that antelope was toppled with .308 rifle. Vast majority of my hunting shots have been less than 200 yards.

TR

To that post, TR, I understand what you are saying. Some of us though live and hunt in the open desert and are willing to go out and practice at longer ranges.

So far, I love my A-bolt in .270 WSM. not much of a kick and seems easy enough to handload for. I will put in a lot more practice with it before I'm ready for a 500 yard shot though.

The days of new rounds offering anything truly new are long gone, have been for at least 50 years, at least as far as hunting rifle rounds go. (one exception might be the 204 Ruger)

Click to expand...

For the most part I agree. But there are some. The RUM's come to mind.

As for the WSM's? Just a way for Winchester to make a buck. The .270 WSM may outclass the .270 win by a small margin, but there are many 7mm cartridges that offer superior performance to both.

I'm probably urinating in a lot of people's wheaties with this comment, but .277" was, is and always will be a dumb idea. The only reason the .270 Win is so popular is Jack O'conner. The reality is that anything it can do, the .280 Rem. can do better. Likewise, anything the .270 WSM can do, the 7mm WSM or 7mm RSAUM can do better.

MachIVshooter said:

For the most part I agree. But there are some. The RUM's come to mind.

As for the WSM's? Just a way for Winchester to make a buck. The .270 WSM may outclass the .270 win by a small margin, but there are many 7mm cartridges that offer superior performance to both.

I'm probably urinating in a lot of people's wheaties with this comment, but .277" was, is and always will be a dumb idea. The only reason the .270 Win is so popular is Jack O'conner. The reality is that anything it can do, the .280 Rem. can do better. Likewise, anything the .270 WSM can do, the 7mm WSM or 7mm RSAUM can do better.

Click to expand...

I beg to differ. The 270 WSM outclasses my 7mm rem mag with 2" less barrel a short action, less recoil, less weight, and burning less powder. There are the 7mmSTWs and ultra mags out there, but those are for people who don't mind replacing a barrel after a few trips to the range, and paying gosh awful money for brass and ammo. What does all that extra powder, recoil, pricey brass, burnt barrels and muzzleblast get you? w/200yd zero it gets 1 inch less drop @400yd 1 inch! Burning 31 MORE GR OF POWDER at max loads for each!! I'll take the WSM anyday over the Ultramag, it is just a hella better cartrage in more ways then I care to cover here. Now I am not in love with the .277 bore like I am with the 6.5s but heck if it works go with it. The 250fps advantage the WSM holds over the 270win is more then a slight advantage in my book. I can push 130gr to 3150fps in my win and 3400 in my WSM, that is hardly a "small margin" that is wider then the margin the 270 win holds over the old 300 Savage in identical bullet weights.
BTW for those who have not checked their reloading manuals the WSM runs neck and neck with the 270 Wby, again burning alot less powder in the process.
Now those who know me on here know that I rarely even hunt with my magnums, my go to gun is a 6.5x55 unless I am hunting WIDE open areas, but if you need super speed and ultra flat trajectory without spending a fortune the 270 WSM is the king of the hill.

Kachok said:

...but if you need super speed and ultra flat trajectory without spending a fortune the 270 WSM is the king of the hill.

Click to expand...

I'd give the 7mm WSM that title actually. The same muzzle velocity as the 270WSM with a heavier bullet boasting a better BC while burning roughly the same amount of powder. Lees overbore so it's more efficient and has better bullets available as well.

For speed and trajectory I give it to the 270 WSM for efficiency and downrange energy the 7mm WSM has it beat. The difference in overbore between a .277 and .284 cal burning the same amout of powder is splitting hairs but I will give that one to you. If you want to throw light bullets very very fast the 130 and 140gr 270 WSM is unreal, if you want to carry huge amounts of energy out to 600 yards and beyond a 7mm WSM loaded with 168 or 180gr VLDs is king of the hill, and a top notch 1,000 match rifle, yep the WSMs just broke ANOTHER 1,000yd match record with a 2.67" grouping. But it is totaly a fad of course, those guys were just holding back all these years waiting for a fad to come around that they could promote it right LOL People who think the WSMs are a fad that will die off tomarow are only kidding themselves. They have been saying the same thing for over a decade now and all the while the WSMs have cought on like wildfire and are still growing.