Quilly,

The price of ammo on the .270WSM isn' t much of a concern, but the kick initially was. I shot the .300WSM and didn' t enjoy it. I have not shot my .270WSM yet, but according to a couple of charts I' ve seen, it should be less than my current 30-06 by as much as 2 pounds, not even considering my 06 is lighter, and does not have a recoil pad. It also looked like the 7mmWSM was almost the same as the .300WSM, so I didn' t consider that one either. The .270WSM was rated around 25% to 30% less kick than the .300WSM. I wouldn' t have even considered the .270WSM if I didn' t think I' d enjoy shooting it. Most of my friends from lower MI don' t own rifles, but it' s nice to have the 06 for them when they come up, especially for my brother.

Also,
I' d never consider trying to snake a bullet through brush, but when you are taking a 100 yard shot across a tag-alder swamp in an opening you can very clearly see the buck in, or at a buck back in under a few hemlocks or pines, it is possible, especially as the bullet is within several feet of the deer, that a lone skinny little leafless alder, birch sapling, dead pine branch, or swamp maple may be waiting to intercept your bullet. I' d rather the bullet at least hold together and wonder if there is a better choice than my 165 gr. boattail.

The area I hunt in PA is the Alleghany National Forest, near Bradford. The deer populations have been so high, for so long, that there is little to no browse/brush throughout the entire woods-almost all mature hardwoods, except for the hemlock stands in the bottoms. This past season I was walking with a friend and stood by him as he was able to get 2 shots off at 250 yards across a hollow. He hit the deer both times and the deer went about a 100 yards, While at the same time I had shot my deer the day before at about 20' . I' ve glassed deer at 250 to 300 yards on the oak flats on the tops of the hills that were easily shootable if there had been a big enough buck.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan