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Thoughts on the 270 WSM (Short Mag)?

5K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  Sagebrush 
#1 ·
I have a line on a nice used Winchester in 270 WSM - it's a relatively new cartridge. Do you have any thoughts on this load?
 
#3 ·
I had a Winchester Mod 70 in .270WSM a few years ago and loved the cartridge better than the rifle. Mine was the Black Shadow and while it was fairly accurate the trigger pull couldn't be lowered past 4# as the sear would slip when bumped...so I traded it towards a Ultimate shadow .25WSSM that I shot for several years. The .270WSM is a fast and very capable cartridge good for most any North American game short of very large bears. It easily handles 150gr bullets with little sacrifice in velocity (compared to 135gr) and being a short/fat cartridge you get the veloviey with little increase in recoil.
 
#6 ·
A while back I really wanted a Model 70 Classic. The only ones I could find were in 270 WSM. It seems that although Winchester wanted to promote that caliber, the buying public did not warmly embrace it (apexhunter excluded :biggrin: )

I am an old school guy. I have a pre 64 Model 70, and a .270 Winchester.

I know a lot of the arguments for the WSM over the old school .270, but I can't see a reason for me to change now.

My .270 has killed a big pile of deer.
 
#10 ·
I failed to mention that I have also had rifles chambered in .270WIN as well and to this day I consider it my favorite long action caliber. After all if the likes of Elmer Keith thought the 270 was an "ideal cartridge" who was I to argue. My Mod 70 in .270WSM was an inexpensive experimental rifle just to see what the WSM could do in comparison to the standard WIN cartridge. It had been a few years since I had bought a new rifle and wanted to try one of the newer cartridges just for the helluvit. Also my brother had bought an A-Bolt in .270WSM and it was an absolute tack driver (.5 MOA or better) so I knew the potential accuracy of the round.

While the WSM does have around 240fps compared to the WIN with the same projectiles my hunting style did not really necessitate the extra velocity, ever so slightly flatter trajectory (.7" less drop at 200yd) and minimal energy increase because I shoot most of my deer within 200 yards. If I were hunting out west with potentially much longer shots at larger animals I'd definitely consider the WSM as an option to something like a 7mm mag if I were looking in the less than .308 bullet size cartridges. But since I hunt in eastern NC where shots aren't that long and the deer are not THAT large I have since switched from the .270WSM to a .25WSSM for a few years and am now back to the trusty 308.
 
#12 ·
Wolfe said:
TomKat said:
You asked for my thoughts on this, here it is-

What a great rifle! Too bad they ruined it with that 270 WSM chambering.
Ouch! What specifically dont you like about it?
I am old school. Thats it mostly. I didnt kill a big pile of deer with a WSM, I did it with a .270 win. It wasn't broke, and didn't need fixed, IMO. I am the reason marketers ignore the 50 plus demographic. I have seen it all, and no sales tactics will work on me anymore.

Its like someone coming along and saying turkey is great for Thanksgiving, but from now on you really ought to eat prime rib, its better for these 7 reasons, blah blah blah. I already had turkey for 50 thanksgivings, its a TRADITION that no prime rib could replace....does that make sense?

Also, I am a big fan of the late Jack OConnor, who will always be tied to the .270 Win. If you have never read his work, you need to.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, I went ahead and bit the bullet, so to speak, and bought the gun. I couldn't turn down the deal. It was RIDICULOUS what I got this gun for. It came with a Zeiss Victory Diavari 3-12x56 T* scope which retails for about $1,700. Total retail value of the package is $2,700...I paid much, much less.
 
#14 ·
I have a Model 70 classic in .270WSM and have had no problems with it so far. I have a Leupold VXIII with B&C reticle with a 300 yard zero. It's been an accurate gun for me. I shoot 130 grain SST reloads.
I bought it for still hunting where I get farther shots in some of the hills I hunt. I have killed a couple bucks over 300 with it and the shot placement was dead on. The only thing I have to get used to is aiming low on close shots.
 
#16 ·
I know this I'm digging up an old post, but here's my advice to the OP, if you haven't already bought one. Unless you do your own loading, don't buy this gun. The ammunition, at least in my area, is getting harder and harder to find. It's also substantially more per box than the original .270. On a day to day basis, the WSM will flat out perform, but...... I don't think it's enough to justify the jump. I ended up selling my Browning A-bolt to a friend basically for a song, and buying a Ruger Mk II in 30-06.
 
#17 ·
It is like the old 308 vs the 30-06.

Sometimes a shorter case can improve things, mostly if the case shoulder is sharper like the weatherby style of ammo.

Almost all 27 and 30 cal bullets shoot well out of every thing, just a matter of finding a load that your gun likes.

If you do get it, try the medimum weight bullets near 140 grains out, my 270 loves them.
 
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