Thread: .270 is the best caliber ever made.

Hopefully that title will stir up a few responses, but honest question, why all the hate on .270? historically, on paper and in the real world on animals the .270 is a bloody good performer. Very similar trajectory to the 6.5 manbun, hits as hard as .308 but flatter. I set up quite a lot of rifles for people, When setting up a new shooter for max point blank (not everyone is interested in dialing) the .270 seems to make way more sense than many others. Whats not to like? Cheers.

Yes, it is the best. No more discussion required, go home folks.

Was where ended up at for a one-rifle-to-do-everything after looking into all the options a few years back. Only downside for me was the length. Best at 24" and with a suppressor on the end of that it can be a little unwieldy for free-standing shots. Recoil unsuppressed isn't as bad as it's made out to be, but is definitely a factor.

Nothing wrong with it IMO but for a long time there were better choices. With much of our NZ hunting being in country where shortish barrels are preferred, the factory ammo for 270 just didn't suit the short barrel thing. The ammo produced a lot of muzzle blast, often accompanied by flash. It didn't make them a nice rifle to shoot, and was the cause of many flinch habits - as an RO through the 80's I saw this time and time again.

Nowadays with suppressors, more people reloading and and a wider choice of factory ammo, if a young guy thought a 270 was "ducks nuts" I'd say go for it.

But it's 99 years old! Everyone knows old cartridges are no good. Look at the 6.5x55, 7x57, 3006, 303, 8x57, 375 H&H plus a heap more. Absolute rubbish .

You have to have a cool name like creedmore or prc or the deers just laugh at you

I just like carrying short actions

Originally Posted by Sika 8

I just like carrying short actions

valid point

Preferred the 30-06 over the 270, had both but not in my stable anymore.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

You have to have a cool name like creedmore or prc or the deers just laugh at you

Hahaha, went on a hunt yesterday and bumped into a couple of guys at the first point you can glass the block from ( about 1.5k from the carpark ). I asked them how far in they were heading to which they replied "This is plenty far enough for us"
They were carrying a 6.5 Creedmoor.

It's longer, louder, inherently less accurate, had greater recoil and consumes more powder than other cases that equal it. But works just fine.

The exceptions that people come up with just proves the rule.

Most my hunting life I have had a 270 Win, at present a Tikka T3, the calibre has performed well. Accurate , hard hitting , not to bad on recoil make it a good all rounder. Are there better…….. yes there are, I prefer the 30 cal now days, the 30 06 will always kill a little quicker than the 270 , my 308 within its range capabilities is a good performer, and then the 300 Win Mag is at another level.
The range of projectiles available for 30 cal today is vast , a lot better than for the 270 but that has improved in recent years, which makes the 30 cal a lot more versatile.
Over the years I have noticed the killing effect of the 270 compared with the 30 06 and its a lot more noticeable in favour of the 06. You seem to get more animals running a short distance after a well placed shot compared to the same placement of a 30 06 bullet , especially a 180 gr.
All that said and done the 270 will continue to hold its place in the shooting world for a long time yet. You can’t go wrong with a nice accurate 270 for NZ hunting conditions.

Originally Posted by Williamfga

valid point

A moot point to all the Tikka owners out there.

I use to love the 270...but doesn't make that much sense in these days of surpressors, dail scopes, lazer range finders etc. I now perfer short actions and short barrels.

Greetings all,
Back in the 1970's I bought my first new rifle. It came down to a choice between a Rem 700 in .308 and a .270 in .270. I knew next to nothing about cartridges. The price for the .308 was $243.00 and the .270 was $275.00 I chose the .308 on price alone and it is still here. Somehow a .270 has never managed to find its way into my gun cupboard and likely never will. My favourite hunting rifle is my seldom used 6.5x55 T3. It is loaded with the Hornady 129 grain SST at 2,820 fps, a sub max load. 2,860 fps should be possible which is almost as good as the.............. Oh dear never mind.
GPM.