Is the 270 Win going the way of the 280, and slowly dying?

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Apr 5, 2013
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Pine, CO
Yep a 160-170 gr bullet would be nice , till then 150gr nosler partion
I don’t think 270 is dying, 264 wm yes , even though it’s the king of 6.5 caliber
is probably going extinct 🪬🪬
150 Partition handloads out of a .270 have put more mule deer in my freezer than I can count. Can't think of 1 that went more than 10', most just flopped over on the spot. Other than "Oo shiny", can't think of a reason I would ever get rid of mine. Always easy to find ammo for, boringly reliable.
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2019
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2,956
My opinion is no and here is why. the 280 was never a popular round. should have been but never was. Remington changed its name(7MM Express) and back to the 280 to try to light a fire under it. even the great 264 win mag couldn't budge it. today's hyper popular 6.5's are displacing some of the popularity but at the same time you see people moving away from the Creedmore to the PRC because some have learned or heard that it's not as great of long range round as people have made it out to be. i think the reason is lack of down range energy. the 270 with a good 140 grain bullet(read Berger) at 600 yards, with a 200 yard zero, drops 8.8 minutes, 2.8 minutes of drift 10MPH wind, still carrying nearly 1600Ft-lbs of energy. the Creed with 140 grain Berger, almost 12 minutes and drifts 2.9 while carrying 1250 Ft-Lbs of energy. While bullet placement is king sufficient energy is very much necessary. if compared to the PRC as you did. the PRC drops 8.8, drifts 2.4 and carries just over 1600 Ftlbs of energy making the 270 and the 6.5 PRC near twins. they have very near powder capacities as well. recoil? nearly the same. short vs long? While i like the advantages of the short action slightly lighter weight most short actions calibers benefit by being in a longer action and being able to seat the bullet a little longer. Another issue alot of these new cartridges have that's not talked about much is feeding. they are relatively straight walled and sharp shouldered. I've heard of a lot of feeding issues in push feeds that most people are shooting. Now want to improve the "old 270"? rebarrel to a 1-8 use a Sherman or standard Ackely and shoot the 165 or 170 at 2900+FPS. now you're comparing energy, drop and drift to 7PRC or 7 Rem Mag. JMHO!
Your 270 Win numbers right? Not cherry picking just using first ones that showed up in Strelok...

270 Win
* Using Federal 140 gr Berger Hybrid Hunter ammo it shows 1254 ft-lbs @ 600 yards.

6.5 CM
* Using Berger 135 gr Classic Hunter ammo it shows 1219 ft-lbs @ 600 yards.
 

Drob1260

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Aug 26, 2022
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Your 270 Win numbers right? Not cherry picking just using first ones that showed up in Strelok...

270 Win
* Using Federal 140 gr Berger Hybrid Hunter ammo it shows 1254 ft-lbs @ 600 yards.

6.5 CM
* Using Berger 135 gr Classic Hunter ammo it shows 1219 ft-lbs @ 600 yards.
My numbers? straight from the Berger Ballistic calculator and the load I'm using(yes Chrono graphed), from a manual ,not some hypothetical or over pressured, 58.3 grains RL22. Manual show 3045 fPS. i'm actually getting an average 3070. Not sure what you used for velocity Strelok. Creedmoor was also 140 grain Berger over 43 grains RL19. chronographed at 2650. again a safe book load not an over pressured load somebody "worked up or claimed". real loads safe and Real numbers. this is why i also did the comparison with the 6.5 PRC. that's the real apple to apples comparison to the 270. they're near twins. Creedmoor is a good round with it's limitations and that's why the PRC came about.
Your 270 Win numbers right? Not cherry picking just using first ones that showed up in Strelok...

270 Win
* Using Federal 140 gr Berger Hybrid Hunter ammo it shows 1254 ft-lbs @ 600 yards.

6.5 CM
* Using Berger 135 gr Classic Hunter ammo it shows 1219 ft-lbs @ 600 yards.
 
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Oct 8, 2019
Messages
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My numbers? straight from the Berger Ballistic calculator and the load I'm using(yes Chrono graphed), from a manual ,not some hypothetical or over pressured, 58.3 grains RL22. Manual show 3045 fPS. i'm actually getting an average 3070. Not sure what you used for velocity Strelok. Creedmoor was also 140 grain Berger over 43 grains RL19. chronographed at 2650. again a safe book load not an over pressured load somebody "worked up or claimed". real loads safe and Real numbers. this is why i also did the comparison with the 6.5 PRC. that's the real apple to apples comparison to the 270. they're near twins. Creedmoor is a good round with it's limitations and that's why the PRC came about.
Only pulled the values straight from Strelok with zero inputs or changes from me. On one of my chronographed 6.5 CMs, it has about 1197 ft-lbs of energy at 600 with 143 gr ELD-X. While it is a bit it less than your 270 load, the animals are unlikely to notice the difference.

If someone already has a 6.5 CM, 270 Win, or a 7mm-08, there really is not a need to get one of the others for all intents and purposes.
 

KenLee

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I personally agree with this, but that shouldn’t be a big downfall, it does that one trick well and makes for a versatile rifle… I have had several 270’s, and none of them shot 150’s that well, but they all were very accurate with 130’s… I could easily get by and be content with a 270 for any big game hunting I would ever do with a rifle.

I understand why it’s losing popularity, but I hope it sticks around, I’m still a fan of the cartridge

I always wondered why the 270wsm never really got traction, may also be a one trick pony in factory configurations, but for someone who doesn’t want to dial and still have a pretty long reach with a mpbr sight in, it’s a seriously cool cartridge that is hell on anything in this country with the right projectile

I would buy a 270 over a 6.5prc today personally, because you can still find ammo and components for the 270, the prc is in too high of demand for my taste, and practically speaking, the prc offers no advantage to me personally over the 270

I have seen several elk killed with a 270, and only seen one rodeo with that cartridge, and it was a mature bull roosie that was shot too high… had nothing to do with the cartridge and didn’t go far, but lived longer than it should have, thought it was dead because it dumped and rolled off the back side of the ridge out of sight
I bought a 270wsm the year it came out. Factory offerings were 130 gr ballistic silvertip and 130 gr power points. The silvertip often left no blood trail on big deer and the ballistics of the power point stunk.
Along came the hot loaded Hornady Superformance SST in 270 win and made up most of the difference in speed with a better bullet. I picked my 270 back up. That was 22 years ago and I still have and use both, but the 270 more often.
 

kurtiss00

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Oct 29, 2017
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X bolt per the podcast. I could not fine more as my Google Fu is poor.
they are listing a 7.5 twist 270 .....
 

kurtiss00

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Oct 29, 2017
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they are listing a 7.5 twist 270 .....
https://www.browning.com/products/firearms/rifles/x-bolt/x-bolt-hells-canyon-max-lr.html

and another, me likey
 
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Dec 30, 2014
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I don't think it's going anywhere because too many people already have them, manufacturers are already geared up to load for them, and it's a cartridge that performs well in most any situation the vast majority of hunters should find themselves in.

That said, I think they'll continually lose market share because there are options like the 6.5 PRC that have a number of preferable traits. They are very similar in case capacity and close in bore size, but one can be used in a short action, has 30 degree shoulders/less case stretch, has many notably better high BC bullet options, and comes factory rifles with a chamber and twist rates to accommodate high BC bullets.

I won't argue that if you crunch numbers for shot scenarios that the vast majority of hunters shouldn't ethically exceed, the differences are small. But for people who aren't invested in either and buying a new or first rifle, the only reason I can think of to choose a factory 270 over a 6.5 PRC is the assumption ammo availability will be better/cheaper. I think that as time goes on we may see the PRC turn the tide on that as it becomes more common and the 270 becomes less.
 

Drob1260

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Aug 26, 2022
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Only pulled the values straight from Strelok with zero inputs or changes from me. On one of my chronographed 6.5 CMs, it has about 1197 ft-lbs of energy at 600 with 143 gr ELD-X. While it is a bit it less than your 270 load, the animals are unlikely to notice the difference.

If someone already has a 6.5 CM, 270 Win, or a 7mm-08, there really is not a need to get one of the others for all intents and purposes.
You’ve missed the whole point of the thread. And also if you don’t think an animal is not likely to notice 25% increase in energy at 600 yards….. Why the 6.5PRC or any of the 7’s or 30’s. Energy matters unless you’re ringing steel or paper punching.
 

mc67

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Jan 21, 2023
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My 280 has killed tons of game, even moose. It's 30 plus years old and I hope to hunt with it another 30. In 10 years the gun manufacturers will have some more new calibers for us to argue about, LOL.
 
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Feb 16, 2023
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I was at Walmart yesterday and wondered back to the outdoors section with this topic in mind. Out of the limited ammo they carry anyways, most all of it was .270 in a few varieties. 6.5 cm was a close 2nd.
 

Seeknelk

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Jul 10, 2017
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NW MT
The things we dream up to worry about! 🤣. 270 works. Killed most of my stuff with my first rifle, a Browning Euro or something I still have. Butter knife bolt handle, Schnabel or whatever forend? I've never seen another like it. Anyways , I'll keep a 270 around, not concerned about it's popularity a bit. I'd like it if mine had a 8 twist instead of the silly factory twist rate. I know it was saami specced eons ago, but things can't change?
 
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