Guns & Loads

Super Duper .270
A short mag from Winchester lives up to its legacy.

Col. Craig Boddington

This early season Utah mule deer was taken with the .270 WSM. The 130-grain Ballistic Silvertip, a great deer bullet, was launched from a Browning A-Bolt topped with a Kahles scope.

The .270 Win. had a lot going for it back in 1925. It was loaded to the gills for a cartridge of its day, producing more than 3,000 fps with a 130-grain bullet. It didn't kick much,it performed well, and it was aided immensely by an English professor from Arizona who was just becoming successful as a hunting and gun writer. Jack O'Connor must be given much credit for the .270's popularity, but I suspect the .270 would be as popular as it is today even without O'Connor because it is one of the world's great hunting cartridges. Now, more than 75 years later, the .270's creator, Winchester, has introduced a new .270 hunting cartridge that, in my view, is even better than the original.

As popular as the .270 Win. is, it seems amazing to me that--until now--there has been just one other factory cartridge that uses the .277-inch bullet diameter: the .270 Wby. Mag. Roy Weatherby's .270 was one of his first cartridge developments and, in my view, one of his best. If you study ballistics charts closely, you will note that almost no cartridge shoots flatter than the .270 Wby. Mag. This, perhaps, is why it took Winchester so long to come up with a new .270; it had to offer advantages over both the original and the Weatherby--a tall order.

Winchester naturally turned to the short, fat, unbelted, efficient case that debuted with the .300 Win. Short Mag. to achieve its objectives. This short-magnum case measures 2.1 inches, and it has a 35-degree shoulder and .550-inch base diameter with a rim slightly rebated to .535 inch. Initial loadings in the .270 WSM propel a 130-grain Ballistic Silvertip at 3,275 fps; a 140-grain Fail Safe at 3,125 fps; and a 150-grain Power Point at 3,150 fps.

These velocities are more than 200 fps faster than the .270 Win., a significant gain. On paper it lags about 100 fps behind the Weatherby cartridge, but Weatherby ballistics are quoted for 26-inch barrels while Winchester ballistics are quoted for 24-inch barrels--so it actually comes pretty darned close. This is possible because of the efficiency of Winchester's short-magnum case, which achieves its velocity while burning considerably less powder than the longer-cased Weatherby.

Aside from velocity, the primary and most immediately recognizable advantage to the .270 WSM is that it will fit into a short action--meaning that it can be housed in a trimmer, lighter rifle with a shorter bolt throw. On average it will almost certainly be more accurate, although individual rifles in either the older Winchester or the Weatherby cartridge will make a liar of you. However, the .270 WSM has several inherent features that promote accuracy.

First, its unbelted case requires the more precise shoulder headspacing. Second, the same burning efficiency that allows it to generate more energy per grain of powder also promotes accuracy. In the short, fat case, the primer flame ignites a greater percentage of the powder charge for a more consistent burn. Third, short bolt actions are more rigid than long bolt actions, and rigidity promotes accuracy.

The cartridge was introduced to a group of writers in southeastern Utah--big, open mule deer country that is ideal for a fast .270. The rifle is being introduced in both Browning A-Bolt and Winchester Model 70 rifles, and I was extremely impressed by the groups we obtained with prototype rifles and ammo. Dick Metcalf of Shooting Times had the honor of taking the very first head of game with the new .270 WSM, a nice buck that he flattened at moderate yardage with the 140-grain Fail Safe load.

I was shooting a Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker, a nice-handling little rifle mounted with an excellent Kahles 3-9X variable. It produced exceptional groups with both the 130-grain Ballistic Silvertips and 140-grain Fail Safes, and I figured I was ready for any shot at a decent buck.

I wish I could say I really was ready and that I did as good a job as Metcalf. But when my turn came I flubbed my shot, and then I had to make up for it with a running shot. It was purely my fault; the rifle was shooting wonderfully, and the 130-grain Ballistic Silvertips performed perfectly. That's the way it goes; the most accurate rifle in the world firing the world's best cartridge and the world's best bullet can't do the job if you don't do yours.

By the end of the hunt, all six of us had filled our tags with nice bucks, and I doubt if the results would have been different if we'd been shooting the .270 Win. or the .270 Wby. Mag. Which brings us to the real question: If you have a pet rifle in either of the "old" .270s, should you switch?

In the .270 WSM you would have a shorter, lighter rifle than the .270 Wby. Mag., and although the Weatherby is a surprisingly mild kicker for its level of performance, you would find that the .270 WSM kicks noticeably less. But you do have a bit more velocity in your .270 Wby. Mag.

Left to right: .270 Win., .270 WSM, .270 Wby. Mag. The .270 WSM is faster than the trusty old .270 Win. but doesn't quite reach the velocity of the Weatherby. How- ever, it will fit into a short action and attain its velocity in shorter barrels.

Now, if you're not already a .270 shooter of either persuasion, it's simple to list plenty of reasons why you should check out this newest short magnum. The .270 WSM is accurate, shoots extremely flat and, thanks to the Winchester-Browning relationship, is available in a wide array of good rifles. Winchester has wisely introduced it in a selection of factory loads that will handle any situation for which the cartridge is suited.

The 130-grain Ballistic Silvertip is a fast, flat, accurate bullet that will open up quickly. It's perfect for the deer/sheep/antelope spectrum of game; I can say that because I've used exactly that bullet in the .270 Win. to take those kinds of game. For heavier game, traditionalists will prefer the 150-grain Power Point.

For elk, black bear and such, I'd probably bypass the 150-grain load and use the 140-grain Fail Safe. Yes, I know, it isn't quite as fast as the 150-grain load. That's an anomaly dictated by bullet design, but it's more aerodynamic than the Power Point, so it makes up the velocity difference in the first 100 yards. And for heavy game, the Fail Safe is absolutely one of the best bullets there is.

The .270 WSM is a flat shooter with plenty of energy downrange to handle all North American big game except the big bears. I don't mind saying good things about a good product, but ours is such a fickle market that I'm pretty careful about predictions. This time I'll go out on a limb: While I don't think it will replace Jack O'Connor's .270, I do predict great success for the .270 WSM, and I'm certain it will be popular far beyond my lifetime.