Why don't they have a more diverse selection of bullet weights for the .270? I mean, the .031" difference between .277 and .308 is irrelevant, as far as damaging tissue, in my opinion.
That said, why don't they make the .270 with 165 and 180 grain loads? It's the same case as the 30.06 so it would push the bullets and make the the .270 a legitimate Elk rifle.
I know you can claim "why should they when they have the 30.06. Well, one reason is the 130 grain loading at over 3,000 fps.
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Danny
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I would think that a .277 bullet in 180grains would be so long that it would take up quite a bit of powder space in the case, and you would also have a longer bearing surface on the bullet that would cause higher pressure, so you probably won't be able to get velocities similar to what the '06 can do with a 180grainer.
With a quality 150 grain bullet it is a legitimate elk rifle IMHO. My father in law has been killing elk with one for the last 25 years.
The good ole '06 can also fire 130grainers at 3000fps, but they don't have near the ballistic coefficient of the .277's.
But I would love to see what a 165 would do from a .270.
the .270 rifles of history and of today have 1:10 twist barrels and the 7 MMs have faster twists allowing them to shoot up to 175 grain bullets.
If there is an achilles heel in the .270 it's the twist rate it was given. Heavy bullets are not made for the .270 because they can't stabilize them like the faster twisted 7MMs......and there's only .007" difference.
IMO the .280 Rem and the .30-06 are both vastly superior to the .270...and that's still one very fine round for deer and antelope and sheep and goats.......and a helluva lot more.
Barnes makes a 180 grain bullet for the 270. I think Nosler makes a 160 grain. The 130 and 140 grain bullets in 270 have a much better sectional density than those same weights in 30-06 giving them better penetration in the smaller weights. To get the same sectional density of the 130 grain bullet in 270, you have to go to the 165 grain in the 30-06. Sectional density plays a big part in a bullets effectivness to perform on game. It also has a lot to do with how much wanted and unwanted damage the bullet will do. A bullet with a sectioal density of 210 or more will do good on deer size game where it may take a bullet of 260 or more to perform the same job on an Elk and mayby 300 to break big bones and penetrat heavy hide and muscle on large heavy game like big moose and bears or the larger antelope in Africa.
This is another good reason to reload. You can taylor a load to do just what you need it to do. I like to shoot the 120 grain bullets in my 280. The sectional density of that bullet is about 211. With the 280 I can drive that bullet to over 3200 fps. Great for varmits if you don't mind turning them inside out, but to fast for good performance on deer it may blow up badly or expand so fast that it won't penetrate. Or if it hits a rib it may deflect or blow a football size hole through my fall meat supply. However as I said I like that bullet for lack of recoil and the speed range I get from it. Therefore for deer I load it to 2800-2850 fps. At that velocity it performs very well on mule deer. Without the ability to control the velocity I would ues the 140 grain for deer in the 280 every time. Many people when they reload are concerned mostly with getting top velocities but overlook the advantages of loading to lower speeds. Sometimes enough really is enough. If a 223 will kill a deer and it will, then do I need 3200 ft lbs of energy to kill a deer. I don't think so.
For every rifle there is the medium. The medium being the most nock down the most tragectory and the most accuracy you can get out of a caliber using a specify weight of bullet. While in a tight twist the 270 could and would shoot the 180gr mediocre. That bullet would be seated very deep in the case. I'm afraid in the end it wouldn't preform as well. The 270 is made to shoot 130,140, and 150gr bullets at optimun preformance. There is a reason the heavier bullet is not listed. The 30-06 is larger dia which make the bullet shorter. So they can make heavier bullets for that .308 caliber. Its simple mathematics.
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Unless something has changed very recently....you are correct. Barnes offers the 180 grain Original, (copper jacket - lead core), round nosed bullet for .270 and Nosler offers a 160 grain Semi-spitzer Partition. One of the rifles carried by my wife at various times in Alaska was chambered for .270 Winchester. It was loaded with those 160 Partitions. (They actually nearly always out-penetrate even the 180 Barnes Original.) Both good heavy game bullets!
Dave
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...........and make the the .270 a legitimate Elk rifle.
The .270 is a legitimate elk rifle. With the bullets available today like Barnes, failsafe, Nosler, the new bonded bullets, so on and so on in 140 and 150 grain weights the .270 makes a fine elk rifle. Of the six elk I have taken with my .270 only one remained inside the animal and that was a 140 grain TBBC that went through ribs, liver, lungs, and more ribs and stoped under the skin and it was dead within 75 yards.
Barnes makes a 180 grain bullet but a 180 grain bulet in a .270 can only be driven to about 2500 fps. One reason is the bullet takes up a lot of powder space and the other reason is the smaler the bore the less speed you will get out of a given weight bullet because there is effectively less bore area for the powder to burn in.
140 and 150 grain bullets of the premium variety will serve you much better than the larger 160 and 180 grain bulets in the .270.
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I guess now you know why i built my custom light weight rifle in 7 express Remington., (280 Rem.) instead of 270 Win!!! I wanted those 175 grain Nosler partitions for moose, and "if needed" also for big bears!!!
I also agree that the .280 Rem. is a better "all around" caliber/cartridge than the 270 Win..
If you ask the experts they will tell you. The optimum bullet for the .270 is the 130 gr. period. Your rifle is just about guaranteed to shoot its best groups with this bullet, all other things being equal. And for deer sized game, including b. bear, this is all you need. I love the .270 dearly and shot alot of deer and antelope with it. But if I'm going for anything bigger I will take my 300 WM or if shots will be close (under 100 yds), my little Marlin 1895 in 45-70.
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Why not 180 grain .270??
