It was the last day of the season, 1972. Anton Purkat had been hunting for about 20 minutes. Tracking a small herd of elk through Lost Canyon in Chaffee County, Colorado, he and his brother Joe were getting close. When the bull jumped, Anton was ready. He fired. Two more shots and the elk went down. Over 380 points it was, and Anton was back home in time for church.
Anton Purkat's rifle that day was a .270 Winchester.
To argue that the .270 isn't a good deer cartridge is to say that Ferraris don't drive well or Grandma's cinnamon rolls need more sugar. When elk are the game, though, the .270 is not always so chic. That it has killed lots of elk is beside the point; land sakes, it's been around for 61 years and chambered in just about every bolt-action sporting rifle made during that time! That it has proven itself on big bulls like Anton Purkat's is not to recommend it; the .30-30 has taken its share as well.
The history of the .270 is one of success at every turn. Introduced in 1925 in Winchester's new Model 54 bolt rifle, the cartridge caught on quickly. It was originally loaded with a 130-grain bullet generating an advertised 3,140 fps at the muzzle.
Three hundred yards out it still sped along at 2,320; midrange trajectory was only 5.3 inches. In 1933 a 150-grain factory load was offered, followed in 1937 by one with a lightly jacketed 100-grain bullet.
The first 150-grain bullets were produced not for large game like elk but for, of all things, deer! Apparently some hunters thought the fast-stepping 130-grain bullets were destroying too much meat and they wanted a more sedate load. Meat destruction may have been a valid complaint, as bullet jackets were often not strong enough then to control expansion. Premature jacket rupture resulted. Sometimes the bullets just fragmented on impact. Slow, heavy bullets appeared to be the answer.
Winchester faithfully followed this logic, throttling its initial 150-grain loads down to 2,675 fps. Nobody bought them. Back at 2,850 fps, today's 150-grain factory loadings sell well; new controlled-expansion bullets make them even more practical for heavy game (Winchester offers a 150-grain XP-3 at 2,950). These and the ever-popular 130-grain bullets – now at 3,060 fps – have been joined by 140-grain spitzers wound up to 2,950 fps. Hornady sells a 140-grain Light Magnum load that kicks 140-grain Interlocks downrange at 3,100 fps; its 130-grain LM Interbond chronographs 3,200.
The .270 case is pretty much a necked-down .30-06. The .270 is slightly longer in the neck, but lots of .270 cases have been formed from '06 brass simply by running it through a .270 die. The somewhat short neck doesn't make enough difference to say so. Water capacity of .270 cases averages 63 grains.
Over the years a lot of bolt rifles and single-shots have been chambered for the .270. Remington and Browning have offered autoloaders in this caliber, Remington a slide-action as well. Most .270 barrels are rifled with a 1-10 twist, though Husqvarnas have a 1-9 1/2 spiral, Mannlicher-Schoenauers a 1-9.
The first .270, Winchester's 54, was conceived in 1922, modeled on the 1903 Springfield receiver. While the Springfield's coned breech was retained, bolt, extractor and safety on the new 54 mimicked those on the 98 Mauser. The action easily bottled the 52,000 psi normally generated by .270 factory loads. The last Model 54 was produced in 1941, but of the 52,029 rifles serialed, 49,009 were made before 1936. Winchester had planned the demise of the Model 54 two years earlier, when it had authorized development of another bolt action. It would be called the Model 70. The Model 54 had not only been a successful rifle in its time but had launched one of the most successful cartridges of all time.
The .270 soon established itself among knowledgeable riflemen. None was more influential than Jack O'Connor, who adopted the .270 as his favorite hunting round. With it he shot "everything from javelina to Alaska-Yukon moose." His experiences spanned 40 years, and one year he reportedly fired 10,000 .270 loads in tests. O'Connor preferred the 130-grain bullet to heavier ones, even for elk. Still, he occasionally used 150-grain Nosler and 160-grain Barnes bullets for large game.
Townsend Whelen, a devotee of the .30-06, also praised the .270 as an all-around cartridge. Like O'Connor, he eventually settled on the slower powders -- 4350 and 4831 -- to fuel his handloads. But Whelen favored the 150-grain bullets over lighter ones.
Few contemporary gun writers say bad things about the .270. For one thing, the cartridge has a terrific following. For another, it has few faults. Some experienced elk hunters, like Elmer Keith, discouraged its use on large game, but it continues to bring home the meat. One of the things that has kept the .270 popular is its stiff factory loadings. It was never down-loaded to accommodate weak rifles as was, for example, the 7x57 Mauser. With the exception of the first 150-grain loads, factory .270 ammo has consistently generated pressures in excess of 50,000 psi and velocities about as high as can be expected. At the same time it produces fine accuracy, is easy on bores and cases and slaps the shooter with only 17 1/2 foot-pounds of recoil in a 7 1/2-pound rifle. Finally, in many rifles it will put 130- and 150-grain bullets very close to the same point of impact.
On the charts the .270 is every bit an elk cartridge, lethal at any range a good rifleman can place a hit. Still, it is not an ideal round for elk hunting in typical Rocky Mountain or Coastal Range habitat. Too often that bull will be quartering to or away from you; getting your bullet in deep can be difficult. Long, heavy bullets penetrate best and a .270 bore just won't accommodate a very heavy bullet.
The .270 is a superb elk cartridge in open country where shots can be taken deliberately at animals standing side-to. There its light recoil, flat trajectory and inherent accuracy allow you to place your bullet perfectly. Even in ideal circumstances, though, bullet design is important. Remington's Core-Lokt is a favorite of mine, as is the Speer Grand Slam. Nosler Partition bullets penetrate very well, though the front half is likely to shear or shatter on bone. Newer bullets like the Norma Oryx, Winchester-Nosler AccuBond CT, Remington Core-Lokt Ultra, Barnes Triple-Shock and Swift A-Fame and Scirocco boost the .270’s lethality on heavy game.
Some .270 bullets were designed expressly for deer and come apart too readily in elk. Several years ago I shot a bull through the ribs at 50 yards with a 130-grain .270 bullet at an impact velocity of about 2,900 fps. The jacket ruptured on the hide and the core fragmented in the near lung, penetrating no further. Had I not fired again the elk might well have escaped to die later, lost and wasted. Heavy bullets are not always necessary for elk; strong bullets are!
Energy and bullet diameter do not by themselves define an elk cartridge. Accuracy, light recoil and a flat arc downrange all count, too. The .270 may be a smallbore in elk country, but in the right hands with the right bullet it can take the biggest bull on the mountain.