100 years of the .270 Winchester

[horsemen61]

Well here we are in 2025 and the .270 Winchester is still chugging along like nothing has changed in 100 years. While it’s not my favorite cartridge I willing admit it will do all I ask of it and then some. So my Hat is off to you the .270 Winchester your venerable old Warrior. May we see another 100 years of the .270 I doubt it but who knows? So let’s hear it for the .270 Winchester and please feel free to share your fondest memories of this great Cartridge. Winchester really Nailed this one’s design from the get go. My Fondest memory of it was being next to my wife when she shot the biggest Buck of her life with it I’ll never forget it as long as I live.

 

[jmr40]

There is no doubt that it's a good round and modern bullets have made it even better. 100 years ago, the 270 and 30-06 were completely different cartridges. Typical 30-06 load was 180 gr bullet that realistically was 2500ish fps whereas the 270 was shooting a 130 gr bullet at 3000-3100 fps. They filled 2 very different niches.

Modern bullet construction means 130-150 gr 270 loads are much more effective on larger game basically matching what 30-06 will do until you get to 200+ gr bullets. And modern 30-06 loads will push a 150 gr bullet to 3000-3100 fps coming very near 270 trajectory.

Fifty years ago when deciding on which cartridge I wanted my 1st big game rifle to be I narrowed it down to 30-06, 270, and 308. I drove to my old scout masters home to seek his advice. He simply said, "follow me". We went to his garage where he opened a footlocker full of military surplus 30-06 ammo still on belts. He pulled out about 10' worth of ammo and gave it to me and told me to come back for more when I shot it all up.

With access to lots of free ammo 30-06 was the obvious choice, but otherwise I'm certain I'd have been perfectly happy with either. In fact, at this point in my life I've moved to 308 for most of my shooting, but I still have that 30-06 that I bought 50 years ago.

Winchester didn't exactly set the woods on fire with the 270 when it was introduced. For the 1st 20 years sales were very slow. Shooters didn't trust light, fast bullets in what was perceived as a small caliber. Winchester was just about to pull the plug and stop production when some guy named Jack O'Connor started writing about how great it was.

There are too many 270 rifles out there for it to die anytime soon, but new rifle sales are way down on the list of popular cartridges anymore. Same with 30-06. Some rifle manufacturers no longer offer either of those as options.

 

[Boattale]

Jack O'Connor.

 

[JmacD]

I have a soft spot in my heart for the ol bugger. Taken several deer with it. None went far.

 

[Gun-Reck]

When one gets past the hype and marketing...

​

to what works.

 

[tdbmd]

Well here we are in 2025 and the .270 Winchester is still chugging along like nothing has changed in 100 years. While it’s not my favorite cartridge I willing admit it will do all I ask of it and then some. So my Hat is off to you the .270 Winchester your venerable old Warrior. May we see another 100 years of the .270 I doubt it but who knows? So let’s hear it for the .270 Winchester and please feel free to share your fondest memories of this great Cartridge. Winchester really Nailed this one’s design from the get go. My Fondest memory of it was being next to my wife when she shot the biggest Buck of her life with it I’ll never forget it as long as I live.

Just thinking about one of my Rem 700s in .270 Winchester today. Received a new suppressor yesterday and was thinking maybe cutting the 22 inch barrel down to 19 inches and threading it for suppressor use might be a great use of that rifle.

 

[WestKentucky]

I have a rem700 in 270 and love the rifle. It’s wore out from slightly overloaded ammo but it just needs a barrel. I made an offer today on a used chassis and some other odds and ends to slick it up into a rifle worthy of a nice new barrel. I wish I had popped for wood and blued way back in the 90s when I was 15 and saving money for a rifle. I mowed 8 yards all summer, paid my dad back for buying the mower, bought gas and whatnot, and spent what was left to buy the rifle and scope. If I had it to do over I would buy pretty instead of buying cheap.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Very flat shooter,I have one in my stable of TC Ventures.Just need one in 300 Win Mag to complete what I want in TC Venture line.

 

[Riomouse911]

Years ago I bought my .270 on sale as a close out, the price was right and I couldn’t say no. It is a straight pull Mauser 96 American. It’s kind of a goofy looking rifle compared to other bolt guns, but it shoots really well and cycles easily so I never thought of trading it away.

I have several other rifles chambered in various cartridges in the stable, but the .270 is close to the top of the heap for me.

Stay safe.

 

[Gun-Reck]

The .270 Winchester is an interesting cartridge.

It makes similar energy, both muzzle and at hunting ranges, with the 130 and 150 gr. bullets.

And, since it is far and away the most common cartridge for that caliber, the bullets are engineered for its velocity curve, and any old bullet seems to work.

Have settled on the 150 gr. Speer cup-n-cores at a modest 2800 fps as a do-it-all load.

Precision and performance is excellent, and it's a comfortable load to shoot all day.

Sighted for a 6" MPBR(+/-3"), which is ~ 2.7" at 100 yards, that load, using the 150 gr. Grand Slam, nets 2100 fps and 1500 ft-lbs at 300 yards, with a 6" drop.

The Hot-Cor 150 gr. shoots just as precise, and a little flatter.

 

[.45Coltguy]

My 'ol Sako Finnbear in .270 was/is a very accurate and capable rifle. It now resides in S/E Idaho and still gets hunted with. It took my only Elk in Colorado with a Nosler 160gr Partition. This guy.

 

[lightman]

I've never owned a 270 but you have to give it the respect that its due. Here it is 2025 and its still kicking butt and taking names!

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

We bought a Remington 721 in 270 back in the 90's for the wife to hunt with. Had to trim the stock for her but she shot a deer with it using my reloads.
She stopped hunting but we still have it. I found an old stock for it and I take it out now and then. It still takes the occasional deer if one shows up.

 

[sage5907]

I bought 2 pre 64 Model 70 Winchester standard grade rifles back in the 1970's and I still have them. They spoiled me because with 4831 and 4350 they would shoot Speer and Sierra 130 grain bullets into very small groups and it gave me the impression that all calibers were that easy to load. I eventually got away from standard grade rifles and went the featherweight because they were shorter and lighter so I don't hunt with them now and mostly hunt with 280 Remington rifles which are very similar in performance. I fired several hundred rounds through my rifles and they still look like new even though I carried them for miles and took about 20 big bucks them.

 

[Miami_JBT]

I have a plethora of .30-06 chambered rifles and only one .270. But I enjoy it, it is a bod-standard early 1990s production Winchester Model 70 synthetic.

I want a Winchester Model 54 in .270; the thought of a iron-sight bolt-action with a stripper clip guide chambered in .270 makes me smile for all the quirky pulp novel action story goodness I can have with such a rifle.

 

[JmacD]

If I might make one more comment;
When I think 270, I automatically think of my grandpas pre-64 model 70 featherweight; for years it had an old 4x weaver on it. Not sure what it has now, and grandpa hasn’t hunted for several years now due to physical issues. I still remember him telling me that story; how he borrowed $200 from the bank to buy it, and how his dad thought he was crazy because it “kicked to hard”…

 

[Odessa]

Bought my first 270 WIN in 1978 (actually my new bride bought it for me), a Ruger M77 with a Weaver Steellite II 3X scope -just like O’Connor recommended in his Rifle Book. I have hunted with it for many years using a 140 grain Hornady Interlock handload with H4831sc powder - nowadays it wears a Leupold VXIII scope - killed two whitetail with it this past season. I also have a custom barreled, pre-64 M70FW, I ordered the Douglas barrel in the 270 WIN and built the gun 20 years ago - it’s my backup to the Ruger. OH

 

[Dr T]

I have recounted the tale about the deer I killed without touching it with an intact bullet. The early 130 Nosler ballistic tips in 270 were quite frangible. It did a great job of generating enough mesquite splinters to slice through some arteries, however. I also used that 270 and bullet to shoot a deer in the chest while it was standing on a steep slope. It blew a hole bigger than a silver dollar through the center of the sternum in front of the diaphragm. There wasn't much left of the heart.

 

[furburgler]

I just found some primers a box of 110 hornady vmaxs and a half container of 760 Winchester powder… need to reload some more. I forget what I loaded them at but they shot good

 

[tominboise]

I have a plethora of .30-06 chambered rifles and only one .270. But I enjoy it, it is a bod-standard early 1990s production Winchester Model 70 synthetic.

I want a Winchester Model 54 in .270; the thought of a iron-sight bolt-action with a stripper clip guide chambered in .270 makes me smile for all the quirky pulp novel action story goodness I can have with such a rifle.

I've got a M54 in 30-06 that I'd sell ya.

 

[Jim Watson]

Not a common caliber.
There was the 6.8mm Chinese Mauser ca1904.
Then the .270 Winchester, then the Weatherby.
There is a 6.8 Western that I know nothing about

There was a legend that we got the 6.8 SPC because a big shot on the program was a staunch .270 hunter.
I assume we have the 6.8 Sig based on sharp pencil theoretical ballistics. Or was that same guy still on the board?

 

[Gun-Reck]

On the theory that good is good enough.

Like the 180 gr. .30-06 and its high sectional density, but not the recoil, and its 300 yd. drop for a 6" MPBR is 9".

Like the 150 gr. .30-06 and its flat trajectory and manageable recoil, but the sectional density isn't all that great.

The 150 gr. .270 Winchester is the best of both.

 

[WisBorn]

You certainly can't argue that the 270 Jack doesn't get the job done! It's been around for 100 years and will be around for many many more years.
I never fell in love with the 270win. It is one of those hunting camp argument rounds that will live on forever. I started with a 30-06, because I felt it would be a better choice for an all around cartridge.

I owned a 270win for a short time, before giving it to my nephew.

Congratulations 270 fans on your cartridges birthday! My favorite deer cartridge is the 308win just a kid at 73.

 

[argonn]

I dearly loved the 270 I had, Winchester Featherweight, gorgeous wood, shot spot on. One I do wish I had kept. It would shoot a clover leaf at 100 yards, I had it scoped 2” high at that distance.

 

[Pat Riot]

I had a sporterized Remington model 1917 rifle in .270. It had Lyman iron sights and I could put 3 rounds in a quarter sized group at 100 yards with that rifle if I had it rested. I could not bring myself to drill holes in that receiver to mount a scope. A buddy of mine talked me into selling it to him. He dearly loved that rifle so I sold it to him.
Man, I wish I wasn’t such a softy sometimes. I miss that rifle.