jack o connor really brought the 270 out."the 270 will smite down a critter like a bolt of lightning"

Yup, the old blowhard was a walking talking billboard paid for by Winchester.

He was a good hunter and a good man. He worked for many in his career and as all of us are, he was paid by someone. If he was lucky enough to have worked for Winchester then good for him. He took every species of North American Big Game with the 270 and probably with the 757 Mauser as well. He was a big fan and wrote a lot about the 375 H&H as well. One would be hard pressed to find a better two gun battery than a 270 and a 375 H&H.

make that three guns by adding in the .223 and you got the planet covered.

also, add a 12 gauge and a bow...

As good as the 270 is, I never could understand the need for a bullet .007 smaller than a 7mm.
It was just a flavor of the month that caught on and has stayed around.
It will be interesting to see how many of the new cartridges have the same life span.

At the time the 270 came out American shooters were turned off to the MM calbers. It was just to foriegn sounding. Had one been developed and called the 280 back then, things might be different. When the 270 came out it was a fast flat shooter caliber such as people had not seen much of. At that time it filled an important nich in the shooting world. Oconnor lived to regret his writings that made it sound as if he thought the 270 was the only gun out there. When Carmicheal took over for him at Outdoor Life, the first piece of advice he got from Jack was "Dont lock yourself in to one caliber". In truth he found favor in several cartridges like the 257 Roberts and the 757 Mauser. I am sure there were many more but he will always be linked to the 270 and certainly turned a lot of hunters in its direction. Most of those hunters found the same thing Jack found. A fast quick killing flat shooting all around American sounding rifle. At that time the name Winchester was a bonus to any rifle.

Of course as good as the 7mm is.....I could never understand the need for a bullet just .007 bigger than the .270!

Just joking......they are both wonderful calibers!

Dave

As vastly different as Jack and Elmer were I grew up reading, respecting, (revering might be more descriptive), and enjoying both of their writings. I enjoyed the banter and think it did wonderful things for shooting, the gun companies, the sport, and of course not only financially enriched both of them.....but gave the rest of us the fuel for many a "great campfire argument"! What a wonderful time to be both a hunter, and a kid!

I thank them both.....for all they added to the enjoyment of my life!

Dave

Jack O'Connor was a man of tragectory and Elmer Keith was a man of bullet energy. Both were admirable writers and sportsmen. Jack did amazing things with the .270 where as Elmer Keith is the father of 44mag with pretty much kicked off what we have today is the magnum fans.

My father has shot a 270win all his life, he's kinda the local Jack O'Connor. His friends have always told him that he needed a bigger caliber and at the end of the hunting season he was the one with the meat.

What Jack did by staying with one main caliber is, one he promoted it into the world of hunting. But the caliber itself would have done that. Two he didn't trade calibers all the time and the man knew his caliber well. And all the guess work was out when he went hunting.

I've always loved the 270 and Jack's ways of thinking. But after my guns were stolen I bought back a 300 win mag and tried it. It has became my favorite. But the wife is getting a 270 for hunting and I wonder who will shoot it more. (wink).