Max effective range of a .270 Win with a 3x9 scope?

[Mr. T]

I've got a Nikon Range finder that is supposedly good out to 1000 yards in ideal conditions. In my experience it has typically only been able to reach out to 700+ yards. That being said I was range finding to the side of a building, not a small target. I'm not too confident that I would be able to get an effective reading out past 500 to 600 yards for a small target. My problem is that I don't have a range where I can practice out to 600 yards. At my rod and gun club the longest rifle range only goes out to 300 yards. I'm not sure what to do at this point. My .270 will shoot a sub MOA at 100 yards, so I am hoping to hold just under 3" groups out to 300 yards. That being said I know that there is a big difference between 300 yards and 600 yards. Can I even hold a 6 to 8 inch group out at 600 yards?? Not sure at this point, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't invest in some new glass with higher magnification. From what I'm hearing from some of you the rifle is capable of doing it's part...the question is can I do my part. My eyes are not what they used to be.

 

[Art Eatman]

I built a 500-yard range at my house and use a 22" hanging steel plate. With a 3x10 scope on my '06, I had no trouble getting just under one MOA. The scope seemed like it was plenty of magnification. I certainly wouldn't feel "under-scoped" with 9X.

 

[Mr. T]

Right now I've got a Nikon Pro-Staff 3x9 on the .270 Win and a Bushnell Banner 3x9 on my 30.06 I'm thinking about getting the new Nikon IRT for one of my AR's. It claims it can shoot accurately out to 600 yards with a Ballistic Tip 55 grain round. The reticle has intertwined circle/hash marks for the bullet drop.

 

[Biggerhammer]

It's all in trigger time and knowing your rifle/ cartridge combination. Out West where I have spent the majority of my hunting years. I can only think of 2 To 4 Mulies in 22 years of hunting them that were shot under 300 yards. The .270 Win is a excellent deer cartridge. Bullet selection and weight depends on the distance your shooting. Here is a Mulie my brother took the season before last with a 16" 6.5 Grendel AR Carbine at 496 yards, a one shot clean stop with a 120 Nosler Ballistic tip. Using a Vortex 2-7 with BDC, a .270 was present for back up on the shot. Either way his wheat field entry ticket had been revoked.

 

[CountryUgly]

That combo can out shoot the person squeezing the trigger in "most" instances (I know there are the select few that have uncanny shooting skills and what I'm about to say is possible for them). Effective range is somewhere around 800 yards (i.e. enough energy to cleanly kill a deer) and max range in the neighborhood of 1400 (i.e. put holes in cardboard before just flying/falling all over the place) Now we know the gun/round can do this the question is can the shooter.

 

[BigN]

That caliber will out-shoot any average user...

 

[T.R.]

So-called average shooter can not hit an 8 inch target at 300 yards using improvised field rest. Many hunters have never shot at an animal beyond 100 yards.

There is much more to long distance shooting than buying gear.

TR

 

[CountryUgly]

So-called average shooter can not hit an 8 inch target at 300 yards using improvised field rest. Many hunters have never shot at an animal beyond 100 yards.

There is much more to long distance shooting than buying gear.

TR

You speak the truth friend ^^^....When I first started shooting long range (600 meter +) I thought my equipment wasn't up to the challenge but after a lot of rounds and some really good coaching and tips I learned that the average "hunting rifle" will do more than you would ever expect..... Sure a $6k bolt gun in .308 WarBird makes 1000 yard shots easier but it absolutly possible to nail the same shot with a $300 stevens in 300 win mag. Marksmanship has always been about the Marksman and not the rifle but past 300 yards the shooter makes more of difference than the gun ever could....

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I take it for granted that my father(Army Vet.) taught me how to shoot at a very young age. I was hunting whitetails at 250+yds(open fields no rests other than kneeling and prone positions) with a 30-06 at 12 years old. We trained with various rifles pistols and shotguns. He would take me groundhog hunting with a .222 remington,and call out the dope for me. When I was later formally trained, although things had changed from his day, it still made shooting alot easier on me than alot of my buddies. Seriously, are people that bad of shots that 100-200 yards is max range with a .270? I had my wife shooting my fifty at 380+ yards within the first month of meeting her. I wish people in todays scociety were not so ignorant or fearful of firearms. Firearms were always a major part in my family's life. My sister even grew up shooting, she also worked as a park ranger at The Badlands National Park while putting herself through grad school in SD. I guess I take it all for granted.

 

[Idaho Slim]

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.[/QUOTE]

I have (4) .270's, and have been shooting them for 44 years. I have taken Bighorn sheep and Elk with them out to 550 yds. I am a huge Jack O'Conner fan and truely believe the .270 Winchester to be one of the premier cartridges of all time. With that being said, I also was challenged by a group of my friends to a shoot off at 500 yds against their "big magnums". I used my Pre .64 Winchester Supergrade .270 with a Leupold 3x10 and shot off the shelf Winchester 130 gr. Ballistic Silvertip cartridges. My first 3 shot group measured 1.58 inches @ 500 yds. Our shoot off ended there. Granted, this was off a bench and with a wind meter, but the results speak for itself that this combo can doo what you are asking of it.

If you shoot at the 600 yd distance, and you are sighted in with a 300 yd zero with the 130 gr bullet, your bullet should drop 51 inches. Just sayin ..... I pasted my ballistic chart below, hope this helps.


Range
(Yards) Vel. Enrgy Path(IN)

0 3006.5 2608.8 -1.8
100 2815.1 2287.2 3.4
200 2631.9 1999.2 4.2
300 2456.2 1741.2 -0.0
400 2287.4 1510.1 -10.0
500 2125.2 1303.5 -26.7
600 1969.6 1119.6 -51.0
700 1821.1 957.1 -84.4
800 1680.3 814.8 -128.2

 

[blarby]

I'm a little confused by the question, although some have offered up some great advice.


How far can the bullet go ?

How far can it accurately be shot ?

At what range is it still lethal ?

Kinda danced around a little on all of 'em.... not sure ! Not trying to be difficult, just wondering what you really need to know ?

 

[Welding Rod]

The average shooter does most of his shooting at 100 yards from a bench rest.

Where do these average shooters find a bench rest?

Just wondering as in my experience the average shooter doesn't shoot on an established range, but rather out in private woods or state or national forrest. No benches out there I have ever seen.

I am a lifelong shooter and always considered myself an average shooter until the last few years when I started high power match shooting and joined a range. The first time I ever shot from a bench was sometime in my early forties.

I think it may be more accurate to say the average shooter who belongs to a range shoots at 100 yards from a bench rest. For every range member though, there are a lot of average guys out shooting in the woods... at least in the regions I have lived.

 

[Slamfire]

Take your rifle out to the next mid range match, something that is fired at 300, 500 and 600 yards, and see if you can hold the black.

My come ups from 300 yards to 600 yards with a 30-06 is 12 MOA. That is six feet of bullet drop.

So how do those guys with a 100 yard zero's manage to regularly hit things at 600 yards?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Where do these average shooters find a bench rest?

They're usually on the opposite end of the range from the targets.