thoughts of Win .270

C

canonoch

Inactive
I'm thinking of getting a Winchester .270 model 70 featherweight with a redfeild 2X7 scope. I live in SW Oregon and I'm thinking of hunting Blacktail, Possably Elk, Perhaps a muley occasionally.

I was wondering what you all think about this rifle. And what I would like to hunt with it?
 
I don't own a Model 70, Featherweight or otherwise, but most folks seem to like 'em.

I do have a .270, though (Steyr-Mannlicher). It's probably the most versatile cartridge going. Almost mandatory equipment for a western states hunter, IMO. It's pretty ideal for muley and blacktail. I would confess it is on the light side for elk, and I certainly wouldn't drop below the .270 WIN for this species. The fact is, however, hundreds, if not thousands, of elk are harvested quite cleanly with this cartridge every year, so don't let the magnum freaks talk you out of it. Again, not my preference, but it will be my back-up gun when I go for elk in a month, and my primary when I go for Coues Deer in two months.
 
If you'll be doing a lot of elk hunting, why not just go with a 30-06? From what I've seen/read, the energy/velocity of the two cartridges is pretty comparable with the same weight bullets, but the 06 will allow you to shoot heavier bullets. With the 30-06 you can use 150 grain bullets on deer and smaller species and 220 grain bullets on Elk whereas with the .270, the biggest factory loads I've seen were 150 grains.

As for the featherlight. The only negative thing I've heard about it is that it has more recoil than the other models, but that's to be expected since it's lighter. You can't go wrong with a model 70 though IMO.
 
I had an older Model 70

short barrel(19"?), very light (But they didn't call it a featherwieght back then, don't remember what, if anything, it was called). Muzzle blast and recoil was pretty impressive (OK, it hurt!...but didn't have a recoil pad). Anyway, it was a nice, accurate gun. And I believe if you handload you can get up to 170 grn bullets for it.
 
I have a 1953 Win Model 70 .270 with a Unertl 4x scope . I got it in middle 70s from the estate of a deceased relative who used it to hunt everything in Oregon, Washington , California and Nevada. He used the 130 grain Remington Bronze Point on deer and the 150 Grain Silvertip or Core Loktd on Elk and Bear. It never failed him I recollect! I only shot a couple muley bucks with it in No Cal and oregon BUT it IS ' the Riflemans' rifle' for sure! ;)
 
I like it

I'm going to say you will be fine. I do agree with some of the other folks...if you KNOW elk will be on the menu, you might want to look at .30-06 instead, but...I have seen many elk taken with .270..you just can't cheap out on the load.

I have a .270 I bought for the wife. On Western Blacktails, I just buy whatever 130gr load happens to be on sale at the time. For mulies, it's a premium 130gr load. Forr elk though...one of the premium 150gr loads, or Hornady's 140gr Light Magnum load will be more than enough if you put the bullet into the lung/heart are.

greg
 
I've seen several elk shot with 270's, 280's, 284's, 30-06's. You can't tell the difference and neither can the elk. The key is a good bullet that is fairly heavy for the caliber. A good bullet stays together, and heavy for caliber makes for higher sectional density. Together those two factors create good penetration and kill game animals very well.

I hunt elk with a 284 and a 7mm RM, but I would not hesitate one bit picking up a 270 and hunting elk with it. If I was to buy a new elk rifle the 270 is a definate contender, especially in a M70 featherweight.
 
my Ruger #1A shoots the 160 grain Nosler partition very well at 2,830 fps with groups of an inch or less at 100 yards. I wouldn't hesitate to use this load on anything that you would use a 30-06 on.
 
thanks

Thanks for all the replies and opinions. I's would like to hear more if you all would like to post them. I did get the .270 rifle mainly for two reasons. reason one it was in my price range ( a friend sold it to me at a very good price). Reason two I'd be mainly will be hunting blacktail.

It seems with reading these postings that with enough range time and getting to thoughly know the rifle. Elk should not be a problem with good shot placement. Anybody possably know the effective range for this rifle especially while hunting Elk? I suspect while hunting blacktail I'd rarely need to shot more than 150yds.

I'd like to get your opinion on another rifle but I'll make that a different thread. :)
 
Effective Range

Well, without being flippant, there is no real straight answer, here. I guess you could say your efective range is as far as you can shoot accurately.

But, with that nugget out there...I try to think of my max range for mulies or elk as about 300 yards. That's with a .270, a .30-06, or a .300 Super Duper Magnum. At that range, with one of the Premium factory loads, you are still gonna have close to 2000 ft-lbs of energy. Why is 2000 ft-lbs important? Not sure...just somewhere in the dusty closet that is my brain, I remember seeing that number as one writers recommended minimum for elk.

The only difference I allow for in my choice of caliber is point of aim. With heavier bullets (.30 caliber 180 gr loads) I am not scared of the elks front shoulder, trusting good loads to do their job. But, with a fast .270 load...I will confess that I would rather not mess with that shoulder blade.

greg
 
Great gun

Personally i own a Win. .243, and love it. my older brother and my father both shoot Win. 270. Unfortunatley I am underpaid and am not capable of buying a 270, or else I would. (although I can kill anything with the .243 that i want anyways)

My Bro and Dad have both owned 2 .270's, and still do. They swear by them. All in all, i think that is a great gun. Good luck,

CZmatt
 
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