270 Winchester

In 1925 Winchester introduced a cartridge using the 30-06 case, with a slightly longer neck, sized to work with a 0.277-inch bullet. Before that, this bullet diameter had never been used in Europe or in North America. This chambering, the 270 Winchester, was destined to become one of the most popular hunting cartridges in the world. When introduced, it offered better long-range performance than any other commercial big game cartridge. It was a favorite of the late gunwriter and hunter Jack O'Connor. Through his writings, he popularized the 270 throughout the English speaking world.

In Europe the 270 also became widely used but, due to heavily entrenched competition from various 6.5mm numbers and the then well-established 7x64mm Brenneke, it has never been quite so popular there as it is in the US.

Success of the 270 was undoubtedly partly a result of an admirable combination of manageable recoil and a relatively flat trajectory, when using the standard 130-grain bullet. At normal hunting ranges, a well-placed bullet brings nearly instant death to all species up to mule deer size. Many prefer it for mountain hunting because it can deliver sufficient velocity to generate respectable trajectories, even with barrels as short as about 20 inches.

Whether the 270 is an elk cartridge or not has been discussed endlessly. However, it is a fact that tens of thousands of elk have been cleanly dispatched with one well-placed 270 bullet. Best advice is use of 150- to 160-grain bullets for this type of hunting. These will ensure adequate penetration. Although outside original design intent, the 270 has long been proven a superior longrange varmint chambering when loaded with lighter bullets.