The Great .270 Winchester

The Great .270 Winchester
By Chuck Hawks

The .270 Winchester is regarded by many experienced experts as the world's best all-around cartridge for thin skinned non-dangerous game. Jack O'Connor used the .270 almost from the beginning, and wrote extensively about it throughout his long and illustrious career. He probably did more than any other single person to popularize the .270. It is certainly on my short list of four great all-around cartridges. (The other three are the 7mm Rem. Mag., .308 Win. and .30-06 Spfd. See my article "All-Around Rifle Cartridges" for more on this subject.)

Almost from its introduction the .270 established itself as a premier long range hunting cartridge; its evolution into, and its acceptance as, one of the 3 or 4 most versatile cartridges in the world probably surprised even Winchester. It has proven effective on everything from jackrabbits to Moose, and is in regular use in all the game fields in the world. It is more than needed for jackrabbits and a bit light for moose, but it has and will take both with appropriate bullets and well placed shots.


Introduced in 1925 by Winchester, the classic .270 is based on the .30-06 case necked down to take .277 inch diameter bullets (.270 inch is the bore diameter, not the bullet diameter). Considered somewhat "over bore" when it came out, .277 turned out to be just about the optimum diameter bullet for the capacity of the .30-06 case and modern powders. The .270 has earned a reputation for outstanding accuracy with all weights of bullets from 100 grains to 180 grains. Most .270's will even group the common 130, 140, and 150 grain bullets into approximately the same place, which is unusual among rifle calibers.

The .270's nearly ideal ballistics has made it perhaps the most imitated cartridge of all time. The list of cartridges designed to approximate, equal, or exceed the .270's performance is lengthy. One of the more notable efforts is the .280 Remington, the .30-06 case necked down to take .284 bullets, and designed to challenge the .270 as an all-around cartridge. Others include the European 7x64 Brenneke (nearly identical to the .280 Rem.), .284 Winchester (Winchester's attempt to offer .270 ballistics in short action rifles), the 6.5mm Rem. Mag. (Remington's short magnum designed to do the same thing), the .270 WSM (a short but very fat magnum designed to exceed the performance of the .270), and the .270 Weatherby Magnum (which actually does exceed the performance of the .270). None of these cartridges has come close to the .270 Winchester in popularity, of course. The 6.5 Rem. Mag., .284 Win., and 7mm Rem. Express are dead or dying. The .270 Wby. Mag. is chambered only by Weatherby. The .280 Remington has become moderately successful after a very slow start, but will never come close to the .270 in sales. The 7x64 is popular in Europe but has never made any headway in the New World.

Compare this to the .270: virtually every major ammunition manufacturer in the world, on every continent where game animals are hunted, loads for the .270, and almost every rifle maker with an action long enough and strong enough to handle the .270 chambers for it. Look in the Shooter's Bible reference pages where they list the rifle models made for each of the cartridges, and it is plain that the .243 Win., .270 Win., 7mm Rem. Mag., .308 Win., .30-06 Spfd., and .338 Win. Mag. are by far the most popular cartridges with the rifle makers. One might conclude that these are also pretty popular with rifle buyers. By any measure--ammunition sales (where it ranks third), new rifle sales, or reloading dies sales--the .270 Win. is one of the most popular centerfire rifle cartridges on earth. Along with the .308 Winchester and .30-06 , .270 cartridges can be purchased anywhere in North America, or the world, that ammunition is sold. This is an important consideration for those who hunt far from home.

The load that made the .270's reputation was the 130 grain spitzer bullet at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 3,140 fps. The recoil energy from firing this load in an 8 pound rifle amounts to 16.5 ft. lbs. This level of performance can still be achieved by the reloader. Today's standard factory loads drive the 130 grain spitzer to about 3,060 fps. The Speer 130 grain flat base spitzer has a ballistic coefficient (BC) of .408, and a sectional density (SD) of .242; the 130 grain boat tail spitzer has a BC of .449. These numbers are right in the big game ballpark. And because the 130 grain .270 bullet is fast, it hits hard. Factory energy figures look like this: muzzle energy (ME) of 2,705 ft. lbs., 100 yard energy of 2,226 ft. lbs., 200 yard energy of 1,817 ft. lbs., 300 yard energy of 1,468 ft. lbs., and 400 yard energy of 1,175 ft. lbs.

These figures show that the .270 hits harder with it's 130 grain bullet than the .308 Winchester does with it's 150 grain bullet at all ranges. (A .30 caliber 150 grain bullet has a similar sectional density to the .270 caliber 130 grain bullet.) The .270/130 grain bullet hits a little harder than the .30-06/150 grain bullet beyond 200 yards, but not quite as hard inside of 200 yards. And the .270 definitely shoots flatter than either of it's .30 caliber rivals. At 300 yards the .270/130 grain bullet has about 2 inches less drop than the .30-06/150 grain bullet, and about 3 inches less drop than the .308/150 grain bullet. I am comparing the .270 to the .308 Win. and .30-06 Spfd. not to pick on the latter two, but because these are the three consensus choices as best all-around rifle cartridges. The loads I am comparing are the most similar in trajectory, energy, penetration, and performance on game. I think these figures help to explain why so many experts think the .270 Winchester is the best all-around cartridge of them all.

Zero a scoped .270 shooting a 130 grain spitzer bullet with a BC of .408 at 3,150 fps to hit 3 inches high at 100 yards and the path of the bullet is as follows: +3.3 inches at 200 yards, -1.1 inches at 300 yards, -3.1 inches at 325 yards, and -11.2 inches at 400 yards. This means that no hold over is required to put a bullet into the heart-lung area of an animal the size of a small deer or antelope at 325 yards. Since the drop at 400 yards is only 11.2 inches, a hold at the top of the back would insure a solid hit on a mule deer size animal even at that range.

The other classic .270 factory load is a 150 grain spitzer bullet at a MV of 2,850 fps and ME of 2,705 ft. lbs. This load can also be duplicated by reloaders, and the Speer 150 grain flat base spitzer bullet has a ballistic coefficient of .481 and a SD of .278. The sleek 150 grain boat tail bullet has a BC of .496.

The 150 grain factory load drops only about 1.2 inches more at 300 yards than the 130 grain bullet, which means that it still shoots flatter than either the .308 or .30-06 with 150 grain bullets, and the energy figures for the .270's 150 grain bullet are within a few foot pounds of the .270's 130 grain bullet at all ranges. The difference is that the .270's 150 grain bullet has a SD comparable to the 180 grain .30 caliber bullet. The .270/150 grain bullet penetrates as well as a .30/180 grain bullet of identical construction. It is usually recommended for large animals like North American elk, Scandinavian alg (moose), or African zebra.

A relatively new factory load for the .270 Winchester is the 140 grain spitzer bullet. Federal loads this bullet to a MV of 3,100 fps. The other major loading companies advertise MV's from about 2,925 to 3,050 fps. I have never used 140 grain bullets in a .270, but they appear to be very effective loads. Using one of the Remington offerings as an example, it uses a Nosler Ballistic Tip Bullet at a MV of 2,960 fps and ME of 2724 ft. lbs. This bullet is traveling 107 fps faster and shooting .1 inch flatter than the standard 130 grain factory load at 300 yards and developing about 273 ft. lbs. more energy than either the 130 grain or 150 grain bullets at that range.

The BC of the Nosler Ballistic Tip 140 grain spitzer is .456, the SD is .261. This is very similar to the Nosler Ballistic Tip 7mm 150 grain spitzer (.266), and quite a bit better than the Nosler Ballistic Tip .30 caliber 165 grain spitzer (.248). According to the fifth edition of the Nosler Reloading Guide 49.5 grains of IMR 4831 will drive their 140 grain bullets to a MV of 2670 fps; 53.5 grains of IMR 4831 will drive the same bullets to a MV of 2910 fps. For larger, tougher animals at extended range, these 140 grain loads for the .270 Win. are probably about as good as it gets.

The 130 grain bullet is still the most popular with reloaders. The Nosler Reloading Guide shows loads with H4831sc from 55.0 grains at a MV of 2909 fps to 59.0 grains at a MV of 3124 fps with their 130 grain bullets.

Nosler lists loads for their 150 grain bullets ranging from 51.0 grains of H4831 and a MV of 2728 fps to 55.0 grains of H4831 and a MV of 2905 fps. The 150 grain Partition spitzer bullet is a proven favorite for tough game like North American elk.

All of the Nosler loads mentioned above were developed using Winchester cases and Federal 210 primers; they were chronographed in a 24" rifle barrel. I chose various incarnations of #4831 powder for these examples because it is usually very accurate and offers good performance in the .270; #4831 is often regarded as the powder for .270 Winchester loads.

Bullets heavier than 150 grains are available to the reloader who fancies them. The heaviest bullet for the .270 that I know of is the Barnes 180 grain Original. According to the Barnes Reloading Manual this bullet can be driven to a MV of 2,743 fps; muzzle energy should be about 3,000 ft. lbs. Barnes also makes another interesting .277 inch bullet, the 150 grain RN solid. This completely non-expanding bullet would be just the thing if you had to shoot through an armored car, or defend your pea patch from a marauding elephant with your .270!

Source: http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=43344

See also:

The .270 Winchester
By Chuck Hawks

The load that made the .270 Winchester's reputation was the 130 grain spitzer bullet at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 3140 fps. The recoil energy from firing this load in an 8 pound rifle amounts to 16.5 ft. lbs. This level of performance can still be achieved by the reloader.

Today's standard factory loads drive the 130 grain spitzer to about 3060 fps. The Speer 130 grain flat base spitzer has a ballistic coefficient (BC) of .408, and a sectional density (SD) of .242; the 130 grain boat tail spitzer has a BC of .449. These numbers are right in the big game ballpark. And because the 130 grain .270 bullet is fast, it hits hard. Factory energy figures look like this: muzzle energy (ME) of 2705 ft. lbs., 100 yard energy of 2226 ft. lbs., 200 yard energy of 1817 ft. lbs., 300 yard energy of 1468 ft. lbs., and 400 yard energy of 1175 ft. lbs.

The other classic .270 factory load is a 150 grain spitzer bullet at a MV of 2850 fps and ME of 2705 ft. lbs. This load can also be duplicated by reloaders, and the Speer 150 grain flat base spitzer bullet has a ballistic coefficient of .481 and a SD of .278. The sleek 150 grain boat tail bullet has a BC of .496.

Here are some .270 specifications that the reloader should keep in mind: bullet diameter .277", maximum COL 3.34", maximum case length 2.54", MAP 52,000 cup.

Most .270 reloaders report excellent results with bullets ranging weighing from 100 grains to 160 grains. The range of 130-150 grains remains the most popular, however. I chose H4831 powder for the examples below because it is widely available, accurate and offers excellent performance in the .270 Win. Other good powders include IMR 4831, IMR 4350, RL-22, and H4350. The .270 is an easy cartridge for which to reload.

The 130 grain bullet is still the most popular with reloaders. For years I used the 130 grain Hornady Interlock SP bullet for my standard .270 handload. The sixth edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading shows loads with their various 130 grain bullets using 52.3 grains of H4831 for a MV of 2600 fps, to a maximum load of 62.0 grains of H4831 for a MV of 3100 fps. These Hornady loads used Hornady brass and Winchester WLR primers, and were tested in a 24" rifle barrel.

The Nosler Reloading Guide, Fifth Edition lists loads for their 150 grain bullets ranging from 51.0 grains of H4831 for a MV of 2728 fps, to 55.0 grains of H4831 for a MV of 2905 fps. The 150 grain Partition spitzer bullet is a proven favorite for tough game like North American elk. The Nosler loads mentioned above were developed using Winchester cases and Federal 210 primers; they were chronographed in a 24" rifle barrel.

Bullets heavier than 150 grains are available to the reloader who fancies them. The heaviest bullet for the .270 that I know of is the Barnes 180 grain Original. According to the Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition this bullet can be driven to a MV of 2434 fps by 51.0 grains of H4831, or a MV of 2581 fps by a maximum load of 54.0 grains of the same powder. Barnes also makes another interesting .277 inch bullet, the 150 grain RN solid. This completely non-expanding bullet would be just the thing if you had to shoot through an armored car with your .270!

Source: http://www.chuckhawks.com/270win.htm

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Comments:

Chuck Hawks is in my opinion a very knowledgeable and experienced ballisitician. If you read the article he isn't blowing the .270 out of proportion, he's only giving it it's due, just as he does on half a dozen other cartridges