A battle rifle in .270??

G

glock glockler

New member
A whole bunch of people I know absolutely rave about the effect it has on deer, so I was wondering how a battle rifle would be in that caliber would fare, would it yeild any significant improvement over the .308?

Thanks
 
No.

First of all there are no "battle" or military rifles in .270 (unless you custom bbl an m1 Garand etc.)

It is strictly a sporting cartridge and has never been used by the world's militaries.

Also, it will kill a human exactly like a .30-06, a .308, a .223 or a 7.62x39 (the crop of the 2nd half of the 20th century's battle cartridges). It would not kill any better.
 
If I'm not mistaken, I thought that the army ordnance board (I think thats what it was called) picked the .270 as the next US military cartridge in the 1930's, but Douglas MacArthur, who was then Army Chief of Staff over rode the decision in favor of the 30.06.
 
Also remember the .270 is a necked up 30/06 and one of the reasons the Miltary went to the .308 was for the shorter action. A 30/06 or a 270 battle rifle would have a slower rate of fire if it was Auto.
 
Soldier of Fortune magazine did a comparison test of full-auto fire from .308 battle rifles, vs. an old BAR. FAL, G-3, something else...

Anyway, firing at a bushel-basket sized boulder at some 500 meters, the BAR was the only one which was held on target for more than two or three shots. The BAR, with its heavier weight, was much easier to control. (The BAR is truly a fun way to turn money into noise, by the way.)

The M-2 Carbine and the M-16 are easy to control on full-auto. I've not fired an AK-47, but judging by the weight I'd assume it's readily controlled.

Watching some Mexican Army soldiers with FALs, I was struck by the thought that somebody 5'-5", 120 pounds, might have a bit of difficulty with full auto...

The original intent of the .270 was to have a hunting rifle suitable for elk and smaller game, but with a bit less recoil than the '06. With development of such cartridges as the 7mm-08, etc., and the advances in bullet technology, its desireability is lessened. It still "works" quite well, of course, but it does not have the advantage it once had, over cartridges such as the 7X57 or the .257 Roberts.

FWIW, Art
 
The cartridge that was developed to replace the .30-'06 was neither the .270 Winchester nor the .277 Niedner. It was a much less powerful cartridge commonly called the .276 Pedersen, and it was developed in part because Pedersen's toggle action rifle could not be made to handle the powerful .30-'06. When the CSA ordered that the new semi-auto rifle be able to use the billions of rounds of .30 in storage, Garand was able to rework his rifle, but it was the end for the Pedersen.

Jim
 
Don't forget that the .279s used on deer are firing expanding bullets. An issue military rifle would have to use FMJ bullets.
 
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