Max effective range of a .270 Win with a 3x9 scope?
- Thread starter Mr. T
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I don't see 400 yards being too big of a problem.(Targets, of course.) I've punched paper with my Savage 110 .270 with a Vortex Viper 3-9x40 at 700 hundred yards and kept it around 8-9 inches. The limiting factor is not the scope nor gun, it's the shooter. Plus wind starts to become a major concern the farther you get out there.
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allaroundhunter
Member
The main part of your question has nothing to do with the rifle/scope combo.
Most any .270 Win and 3-9x scope is capable of outperforming its user. I would not recommend the average shooter take any shot on big game out past 200 yards. The average shooter at my main range does not have the accuracy to hit the vitals of big game consistently past 200 yards.
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"Average" can be a misleading generalization, an average shooter here might only fire one or two rounds a month and never past 100yds.
I would say its a good combo as far as a person can reliably hit the kill zone with every round from FIELD positions under stress. Most of us that practice will find that from an improvised position or rushed were only actually good for 1/3 to 1/2 the range we are from the bench or a stabil position when not rushed.
I would say its a good combo as far as a person can reliably hit the kill zone with every round from FIELD positions under stress. Most of us that practice will find that from an improvised position or rushed were only actually good for 1/3 to 1/2 the range we are from the bench or a stabil position when not rushed.
The average joe blow shooter would be maxed out at 100 yards. The regular shooter can do 200 yards. It takes a bit of practice to shoot further. The rifle you mention can do all of these things. The important factor is the shooter's ability to shoot. I see these scenarios at the range all the time.....chris3
+1 on ball3006's response. I've seen a lot of people maxed out at 100 yards. For most whitetail hunters, this is not bad as whitetails are typically shot even closer. Sometimes finding a range or location to practice shooting longer distances can be an issue for some.
Hi Everybody,
The comments are duely noted. I am not the average shooter. I have shot Whitetails at over 200 yards on a full run in an open field. Some of my buddy's have challenged me to a shoot off and are claiming the distance of the competition is out to 600 yards long. I'm having a hard time believing that they even have a stretch of open ground that is 600 yards long. My Whitetail hunting is done with my Remington 7400 in 30.06; however I do have a Model 700 in .270 Win that I know will be flatter shooting. My dilema is would my .270 be enough gun to shoot consistently out to 600 yards. I am without practice comfortable shooting at a stationary target maybe out to 300 to 350 yards without any practice right now. I've heard the men are separated from the boys so-to-speak when you get out beyond 400 yards. Mind you I wouldn't be averse to the idea of going out and buying a new firearm, but I prefer to spend my money on ammunition and hunting gear.
The comments are duely noted. I am not the average shooter. I have shot Whitetails at over 200 yards on a full run in an open field. Some of my buddy's have challenged me to a shoot off and are claiming the distance of the competition is out to 600 yards long. I'm having a hard time believing that they even have a stretch of open ground that is 600 yards long. My Whitetail hunting is done with my Remington 7400 in 30.06; however I do have a Model 700 in .270 Win that I know will be flatter shooting. My dilema is would my .270 be enough gun to shoot consistently out to 600 yards. I am without practice comfortable shooting at a stationary target maybe out to 300 to 350 yards without any practice right now. I've heard the men are separated from the boys so-to-speak when you get out beyond 400 yards. Mind you I wouldn't be averse to the idea of going out and buying a new firearm, but I prefer to spend my money on ammunition and hunting gear.
25cschaefer
Member
I shoot maybe 50rds a year through my .270 with a 2-7x Redfield and have no problems punching a milk jug at 500yds. A chrony, ballistics chart, calm day, and an eye for hold-over can give an average shooter the ability to stretch out a little.
gamestalker
member
I've hunted with a .270 win. for decades and they will deffinitely take care of business at extended distances. If your trying to print groups out past 200 yds. 3x9 will be difficult to work with. But if taking antelope or deer sized game at 500-600 yds. is what your referring to, a 3x9 will do quite well.
I've killed a lot of deer and other comparatively sized game at some pretty good distances, including an antelpe at 600+ yds. using my ADL shooting a 130 gr. BT loaded with IMR-4350, and a 3x9x40 Leupold. 3200 fps is nothing to sneeze at with a good BC producing bullets.
The .270 win. is a very fine cartridge. When you combine that with the 700 and the right bullet choice and decent glass you've got a real effective long range hunting rig.
GS
I've killed a lot of deer and other comparatively sized game at some pretty good distances, including an antelpe at 600+ yds. using my ADL shooting a 130 gr. BT loaded with IMR-4350, and a 3x9x40 Leupold. 3200 fps is nothing to sneeze at with a good BC producing bullets.
The .270 win. is a very fine cartridge. When you combine that with the 700 and the right bullet choice and decent glass you've got a real effective long range hunting rig.
GS
From my experience, the bigger problem that the average shooter has is range estimation. As an Urbanite, I can spot out 100 yard increments easily as I know what the property widths are around me and what is normal for my region. Put me in wide open spaces and it gets a bit more sketchy as my reference is now screwed up. At the range, most anyone with a scope zeroed for 100 or 200 hundred yards can get their hold over pretty easily figured out for longer ranges as most ranges I am aware of have those distances marked out. The ballisitics tables give you a good idea of that your holdover should be. Same goes for wind drift.
Now remove the bench, the easy distance reference, and the "its at XXX +/- 2yards" and add the crosss wind is at XX mph. The difference between 500 and 525 yards in drop and drift becomes more than one or two inches different. If your ammo is going 2700 fps not 2800 as the book says, the drop / drift gets bigger. Also factor in the X MOA of the ammo; if you are 1 MOA constant, then at 500 yards you are already talking about a 5" group excluding all other factors.
So the questions now become how good are you at estimating the distance and crosswind speed? How steady can you hold the gun? What about the other variables?
Now remove the bench, the easy distance reference, and the "its at XXX +/- 2yards" and add the crosss wind is at XX mph. The difference between 500 and 525 yards in drop and drift becomes more than one or two inches different. If your ammo is going 2700 fps not 2800 as the book says, the drop / drift gets bigger. Also factor in the X MOA of the ammo; if you are 1 MOA constant, then at 500 yards you are already talking about a 5" group excluding all other factors.
So the questions now become how good are you at estimating the distance and crosswind speed? How steady can you hold the gun? What about the other variables?
Vern Humphrey
Member
The average person has probably never fired a rifle.
The average shooter does most of his shooting at 100 yards from a bench rest.
A man who practices regularly at long range can easily take game at 400 yards with a .270.
Flatbush Harry
Member
I typically shoot 2-3x per week with sessions using 50-150 rds per session depending on what rifles I'm using (the M1s, M1A and AR16 get the higher round counts). I also practice field positions and with shooting sticks, bipod or pack rest at least twice per month. Though I feel I could take longer shots, I limit my self to the idea of 300 yards or less when hunting. This is true for my hunting rifles in .25-06, 6.5x55, .270 or any of my .30 calibers. My scopes are either 2.5-8x or 3-9x. For me it's about maximizing my like hood of a clean kill and avoiding wounded or lost game that I cannot track.
FH
FH
Gordon
Member
To answer your question exactly as worded: If held at an angle between 30 and 45 degrees the average shooter could expect to bullet to travel about 4 miles .
Most "average" shooters could not hit a stationary 55 gallon drum at 100 yards with that combo from unsupported standing.
Other conditions vary things-alot!
Most "average" shooters could not hit a stationary 55 gallon drum at 100 yards with that combo from unsupported standing.
Other conditions vary things-alot!
NCsmitty
Member
It's the distance that you can consistently place all of your shots on a 9" paper plate, which approximates the kill zone of a Whitetail. YMMV with the size of the game.
NCsmitty
NCsmitty
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
I knew a bunch of Kansas coyote hunters back in the day that could put the hurts on one at anything less then 400-450 yards with that gun & scope.
Or a 30-06 with a K4 Weaver.
Thats what I started with.
rc
Or a 30-06 with a K4 Weaver.
Thats what I started with.
rc
TwoEyedJack
Member
I have killed deer at 400 yards with a 4X scope on a .270. If you know your drop and have a laser rangefinder, it is not too difficult. Especially if the critter is not moving. IMHO using a bi-pod of some sort is more critical than the magnification of the scope.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Whats a range finder?
A quarter-secton barb wire fence line (440 yards) is our range finder here in Kansas coyote country.
You look at enough coyotes standing by one and you know one when you see one.
rc
A quarter-secton barb wire fence line (440 yards) is our range finder here in Kansas coyote country.
You look at enough coyotes standing by one and you know one when you see one.
rc
henschman
Member
Oh hell yes, if you have the ability to hit the target and know your trajectory (come-ups or hold-offs) and wind correction values, that rifle and cartridge are perfectly effective out to 600 yards plus. If you don't know the trajectory and wind stuff, there are some free ballistic calculators out there that will tell you everything you need to know if you plug in the data on your load (google "ballistic calculator"). Everything else just depends on how well you can shoot.
gamestalker
member
There are 3 primary elements in becoming efficient out to extended distances. Practice, practice, and practice! Range finders are deffinitely a nice tool, but they don't make the shot for you. The bare minimum tools needed for long distance hunting, is a bipod or shooting rest. I use my tripod with a snap on cradle for hunting, and a shooting stick when I don't already have the tripod sitting there. Most times I'm glassing, so I have already spotted the animal and only need to detach my glasses or spotting scope. Trying to hit a deer or other animal out past 200 yds off hand, is not how it's done.
I use a Leupold RX-IV these days with a compensation program that will provide HO, B&C reticle refrence points, or MOA turret refrence. Nice stuff, but it still won't get the bullet in the pump station if I'm not capable of shooting straight.
GS
I use a Leupold RX-IV these days with a compensation program that will provide HO, B&C reticle refrence points, or MOA turret refrence. Nice stuff, but it still won't get the bullet in the pump station if I'm not capable of shooting straight.
GS
Rockfish61
Member
For sure you can reach out accurately to that distance. If you reload i suggest the SMK 135gr, use IMR 4350 or 4831 with loads close to 3000 fps and you will see about 10 MOA drop at 600 or around 66" with a 200 yd zero. Just dial it in and shoot. Wind, well thats a different story but you can get some good info here: http://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistics/calculators/calculators.shtml for more information on the estimated trajectory. Hope this helps, good shooting
How do you see a deer at 600 yards? Are they standing in the middle of a bean field? I have killed multiple deer at 300+ yards with a 30-06 and a 3x9 scope. If you have a solid rest and a known distance then the 270 will easily kill a whitetail at 400 yards. I have killed a doe at over 300 yards that dropped like a rock when the bullet hit her behind the shoulder and have also shot them and had to track them. Finding the point of impact across a wide open area 400 yards from where you are standing is a cast iron bit^@.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
I imagine that once past 400 yards, there's little notable difference in trajectory between a .270 and an '06. Not all that much, really, to 300...
imho, lot of suspect advice in this thread...
if you've gotten yourself into a friendly competition out to 600 yards, you will definitely need some mechanism for determining the distance to the target, be it range finder, or pacing it off or whatever. it's just math, but it's important. WAY too many "long range hunters" can't tell the difference between 200 and 600 yards.
You will also want to get the dope for your rifle/ammo. There is a difference between "data" and "dope".
If you want to make hits, you will need to learn to spot your own hits or bring friends who can do it for you.
If you want to make first round hits, you will need to learn to make effective wind calls.
With properly set up and sorted out equipment, anybody can make hits from prone with a bipod/bag. If your competition involves shooting from positions other than prone, like sitting, kneeling, standing, leaning up against a tree, using shooting sticks, etc you will need practice (and ideally, some quality instruction)
if the ADL stock doesn't put your cheek in the right spot, or you've placed the scope where the eye relief isn't in the right spot, or the scope is canted, or the stock isn't bedded properly, or the length of pull doesn't fit you, or it's not focused properly, etc you will likely find shooting 600 yrds a little frustrating, as you won't be able to tell if the reason you hit sometimes and miss sometimes is the way you're pulling the trigger, or the gun, the ammo, the wind, etc.
good luck
if you've gotten yourself into a friendly competition out to 600 yards, you will definitely need some mechanism for determining the distance to the target, be it range finder, or pacing it off or whatever. it's just math, but it's important. WAY too many "long range hunters" can't tell the difference between 200 and 600 yards.
You will also want to get the dope for your rifle/ammo. There is a difference between "data" and "dope".
If you want to make hits, you will need to learn to spot your own hits or bring friends who can do it for you.
If you want to make first round hits, you will need to learn to make effective wind calls.
With properly set up and sorted out equipment, anybody can make hits from prone with a bipod/bag. If your competition involves shooting from positions other than prone, like sitting, kneeling, standing, leaning up against a tree, using shooting sticks, etc you will need practice (and ideally, some quality instruction)
if the ADL stock doesn't put your cheek in the right spot, or you've placed the scope where the eye relief isn't in the right spot, or the scope is canted, or the stock isn't bedded properly, or the length of pull doesn't fit you, or it's not focused properly, etc you will likely find shooting 600 yrds a little frustrating, as you won't be able to tell if the reason you hit sometimes and miss sometimes is the way you're pulling the trigger, or the gun, the ammo, the wind, etc.
good luck
hardluk1
member
MR T With your above average skills you seem to have go to the range and deside for your self what you can do. What others are capible of does not mean much. What you will need to learn is how darn quick most any bullet heads toward the ground beyound 400 yards and how well you can deal with it know matter the scope. A great range finder will be needed beyound 400 yards with most any common cartidge. Then time on the range to deside what you can and can't handle.
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