Author Topic: .270 wichester (Read 1063 times)

hoghunter2 · « **on:** July 21, 2004, 03:52:46 PM »

Do y'all think the .270 is to much to get for my son. He is 15 and weights about 140. Is this to much recoil or should I get him a 7mm-08. Any applies appreciated.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #1 on:** July 21, 2004, 04:54:49 PM »

My dad gave me a .270 Winchester when I was 14. I must of been about 118 soaking wet. Big mistake. It hooked me and I have bought two more over the years. One of those was for my 13 year old son.

While I started out with full-house factory loads, the recoil from 130 grain bullet was not much for a kid who had been brought up shooting doves with a 12 ga. My son did not have the opportunity to practice with a 12 so as a reloader I broke him in shooting a .22 rifle and 110 grain handloads from the .270. He had no problems with recoil except the time he crawled down the stock while shooting over a large log. He got a real nice knock from the scope.

It was an extremely poor Western Field scope that his grandparents gave him for his new rifle. He got to close to the scope and paid the price. I toss it and bought a scope with good eye relief. A lesson learned.

I was brought up in a place and time when deer hunting was life. and the local cowboys rode their horses into the bar. Many of my friends shot 30-06's as eight graders and freshmen in high school. A key is to install a recoil pad or spend a little more money on a rifle with one. The other is to add some extra padding when shooting off a bench or other rest.

The best and cheapest training is with the .22 rifle. The key is to learn good habits at the start. If he starts out with a heavier recoiling rifle he might have problems. The one thing I did not have enough of was .270 ammo until I got out on my own and started reloading it in 100 round batchs.

Forgive me but I must say that hearing protection is very important. A couple of old friends are now wearing double hearing aids. I am sure it was from two much shooting without hearing protection. My agency wanted me to become a range master and I declined because I notice that most Range Masters end-up wearing double hearing aids.

Ed Hill · « **Reply #2 on:** July 21, 2004, 05:11:29 PM »

I spent my 12th birthday in a Sears store taking the all day hunters safety course. Certificate in hand I went to the sporting goods counter and got my license and a box of 30-06 shells. ( Wish I kept the license, when I tell people you used to be able to get a license and buy shells at 12 in CA they look at me funny.)
Dad was waiting out front in the car, with a 30-06 Remington 740 he picked up from a co-worker. No deer that year, but some practice and I don't recall feeling like the gun was "too much".

E.D.

borg1 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 22, 2004, 02:48:42 AM »

I have a .270 and .30-06 and both guns, with proper recoil pads, are not bad for recoil. If he has not had much practice with any centerfire rifle, i would get a nice Sims Laboratory recoil pad. They claim about 50% reduction in recoil.

Alternatively, IMHO the 7mm-08 is almost as good balistically as the .270 (go to the Federal cartridge site and compare balistics) and has less recoil than the latter caliber. I also have a .308, which is similar balistically to the .30-06, but has considerably less recoil. After porting the barrel of the '06 and installing a good recoil pad, however, the difference in recoil between the 308 and '06 is not noticeable.

Thus, it depends partly on your sons sensitivity to recoil and your willingness to purchase additional features that tame recoil, if necessary.

Good luck!

MSP Ret · « **Reply #4 on:** July 22, 2004, 04:03:01 PM »

Get the 7mm-08!!!! Don't be fooled or pushed into the "bigger the better" thinking. The 7mm (.284)-08 is a great cartridge with less recoil then the .270. Do not handicap your son with even a bit more recoil than he might like when starting out. Also, the 7mm-08 can take most any game in the lower 48 and is a caliber any hunter/rifleman could use from starting his shooting career through his entire lifetime.....<><.... :grin:

TXSURVEYOR · « **Reply #5 on:** July 23, 2004, 10:34:44 AM »

7mm-08 is a great choice. Grown men I hunt with still use it. You need nothing more or less.

Mac11700 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 23, 2004, 02:18:52 PM »

Either one will make a fine rifle to give your son.The 270 can be punishing to a small framed person if the stock doesn't fit him/her...and so can the 7-08.My advise would be to have the stock fitted to him just a little short so that come hunting season with the extra coats and cloths he will have on for hunting,that it fits him perfectly...also you might look into putting a very thin cheek pad like they use on shotguns to raise the comb up just a-bit to help him keep the stock from slapping him...you can cut these 1/16" sorbathane pads and fit it on the side of the stock as to over the comb(unless you need to)...this will reduce the percieved recoil and help keep him from developing a flinch.

I've owned and shot both calibers in various rifles...both do a good job...try finding someone in your area that has both calibers and see if he can shoot them.Make sure that both have good recoil pads on them...and pick up some of Remingtons reduced recoil loads to shoot.As time progresses and if he likes shooting..you can always buy standard or light Magnum type factory loads or reload to higher velocities.

Good Luck

Mac

Longcruise · « **Reply #7 on:** July 24, 2004, 08:44:59 AM »

I can't for the life of me figure out how the 7-08 got this reputation as a "starter" cartridge :?

I have considerable experience with both and see no difference in the recoil between the two. Probably there is some sort of a recoil calculator that can show a difference, but I don't feel it.

The other article of faith about the 7-08 is that it is just not that good for big game. Can't see that one either. My 270 shoots a 150 nosler partition at about 2800 to 2850 (chrono data, not book data) and my 7-08 shoots a 160 nosler partion at right around 2700 fps. Bet there is no deer, elk, bear, etc that would not drop deciseivley (sp?) with a proper hit from either one :-)

Either one can be downloaded to suit a younger shooter so my answer is get whichever one fits him the best. He'll do fine with either cartridge.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #8 on:** July 24, 2004, 09:25:30 AM »

Maybe this will put things in perspective.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

Big Blue · « **Reply #9 on:** July 25, 2004, 04:51:19 AM »

While I don't know the type of area you'll be hunting, you might consider a 30/30. Less recoil, and a reputation for deer that can't be beat. If this is a poor choice, it's one that hunters have made time after time.
Don

MSP Ret · « **Reply #10 on:** July 25, 2004, 05:22:53 AM »

Big Blue is right, sometimes we overlook the obvious. The 30-30 Winchester is a fine deer rifle for out to moderate ranges of under 200 yards and you should consider it for your son's deer rifle. These fine single shot Handis can be loaded with spitzers and to a better tajectory than factory ammo if desired, but most likely not needed. The 30-30 is the best all-time deer caliber around. It was and remains my son's deer rifle. His is a Marlin 336 and has only one shot kills and no lost deer to it's credit. If you take the right shot and put it where it belongs the caliber just plain works!!! Its easy on the shoulder and ammo is available everywhere as well as being easy to reload. When my son got his first deer (seems like yesterday but was 18 years ago!!) he was 14 and did not even approach 140 pounds, yet he shot his rifle with great accuracy and no fear of recoil. It is sometimes hard to improve on the old tried and true calibers. I guess thats part of the reason myself and so many here cherish our 45/70's....<><.... :grin:
(Darn it, now you have me thinking I really DO need that 30-30 barrel for one of my receivers!!!)

Siskiyou · « **Reply #11 on:** July 25, 2004, 04:36:57 PM »

I cannot knock the 30-30 for about 50% of my hunting time. But the other 50% of the time I need a rifle the will reach out two or three hundred yards. It depends on what type of dirt a man hunts on. If mine is not up, it is down. But there are times during nasty weather that I hunt trails in heavy cover, along ridge lines. I used my second tag that way a few years ago. The 30-30 was my rifle of choice. The little scoped Marlin is dependable, and accurate with factory ammo. If I thought the country where I was hunting would present shots over 150 yards I would step-up to another caliber. But I have that option.

I just checked out the new Remington Low Recoil Ammo in .270. Appears to be a 115 grain bullet @ 2710 at muzzle with 1161 pounds of energy at 200 yards. Not far from the load I referred to in an earlier post. I loaded the sierra 110 softpoint, in front of 54 grains of H4831. This load was listed around 2800 feet per second. Suspect in a 22 inch barrel it was 2700 fps or less. I did not have a Crony in those days. But for the first season it did it's job behind the shoulder. Recoil is about 13 pounds vs. 11 pounds for the 30-30. As he grew we went to 130's. At first I was not sure of the light bullet but it was recommended by a Forester friend who used it with a few more grains of powder to shot small coastal blacktail, and small wild pigs.

But I have to admit the little Marlin is a far better fast action, close range rifle. :money:

Siskiyou

borg1 · « **Reply #12 on:** July 27, 2004, 02:31:48 AM »

Saturday, i fired factory 130gr. Winchester power points out of my Handi chambered for .270. The best 100 yd group i managed was 0.9" CTC. I fired a dandy 0.25" clover leaf at 25 yds. ;-)

I forgot my rest, so i had to improvise, but it was not really solid. Also, the wind was strong and swirling. Also, after asking NEF to reduce trigger pull i found out on the range that it is still in the 7-8 lb range. I called them and they said they don't do trigger jobs? They only clean and check them to make sure there within specs. This rifle is going to a local gunsmith soon... :x

After firing 18 rounds my shoulder was a bit raw, but not enough for me to quit. :grin: However, i am a 220 lb guy.

Mitch in MI · « **Reply #13 on:** July 27, 2004, 02:58:35 AM »

If you can lift the gun by the trigger without setting it off, it's not within specs. I believe that max spec is either 4 or 5lb, if it's less than that they won't reduce it for free.

borg1 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 27, 2004, 03:11:42 AM »

This is a 1994 made frame. Not sure if specs back then were same as now. Anyway, i used a trigger pull scale 4 times and all pulls were between 7 and 8 lbs. My rugger 10/22 and Tikka .308 have trigger pulls between 3 and 4 lbs and so i tested the accuracy of the scale against the known pull of these two rifles and estimates were right on. thus, the trigger pull of my handi is accurate. Most good gunsmiths can reduce pull to 3-4 lbs. I think the cost is ~$60.

I also fired my brand spanking new .223 bull barrel and got groups ranging from 3" to 0.75", with el Cheapo ammo. I think the wind likely affected these bullets to a greater extent, but the poor rest and heavy trigger likely played into it too. I am pretty excited to see what good handloads will do... ;-)

Both barrels (.270 and .223) had rubber o-rings fixed around the spur that receives the screw to attach the forearm.

I am damn impressed with both barrels. The .270 is older and has been broken in. Pretty impressed with the initial results on the .223. Next time the rest will be SOLID!