Since my Wyoming deer tag was drawn in a separate area from my Elk tag, my yen for a combo Elk/deer caliber is gone. I've been looking at Weatherby Ultralites for medium game only. Its offered in .270 and .270weatherby. Has anyone had experience with this rifle in .270weatherby? How is it to handload? Any practical advantage over the .270win ?
I've got a .270 Savage which is ugly, but pretty accurate, and I was thinking of upgrading (?) to the Weatherby cause I like the way it handles.

270 Wby is to the 270 what the 7RM is to the 280, etc. If you want a svelt, lightweight rifle the standard rounds are the way to go. If you want antohter 50 yards PBR and are willing to accept more recoil, barrel length, rifle weight, etc. the 270 Wby's great. I personally see no reason for the 270 Wby over the standard 270, but know two gents that have used it exclusively for three or four decades each. Also, I'd sooner have the 7mm RM for pure convenience/practicality if I felt the need for a small bore magnum, which I don't.

I'd personally make up a nice, custom midweight 270 and do everything with it.

I have not tried the Ultralight from Weatherby, but I have used the .270 Weatherby in a Ruger No. 1 and in an Accumark. I like the round, but you really don't gain that much over the .270 Winchester, especially factoring in the higher cost to shoot and the added noise and recoil.

The Kimber Montana that I am shooting in 270 WSM is as light or lighter than the factory 270's that I would consider. It has a 24" barrel which is what I want and is easy to carry.

Those Weatherbys with the fluted barrels look cool but I am not a Weatherby fan at all. The free bore bothers me to even think about it. There never has been anything that I favored about the Weatherby product in fact.

There is some long range varmint hunting in Western Mass. That's why I chose the 270 WSM over the 7mm WSM. Now there is really not much to choose between 270 and 7mm when varmints are on the menu but it was a good excuse to get another gun.

To be practical one should get rifle chambered for a popular cartridge if possible. In that range the 270 Win, 7mm RM and 30-06 are the champs. The 270 WSM is coming on strong however.

Don't know how many guns you have but I would keep the Savage 270 for a back up and only trade it for another back up down the road.

The 270 wby is a real flat shooter, I dont notice much recoil from either cartridge. Also the Mark V rifles are set up to shoot from the factory, no custom work required ,few other makers will offer this. I think the stock shoulders nicely as well. Best of luck Rug.

Wes - I think Brad summed up the case (pun intended ) for the .270 Weatherby when compared to the standard cartridge very well. Like Charles, I have a Ruger #1 in the Weatherby .270 and just finished a reloading sesson at the "range" yesterday. In the #1 (fairly heavy rifle with a 26" BBL) the blast is about like my 7mag and the recoil may be just a "smidget" less since I'm shooting lighter, 130 and 150gr bullets than I shoot in the "mag". You can pick up another 300fps with the Weatherby cartridge over a standard (22" BBL) .270 rifle, which to most of us is pretty significant advantage when shooting long distances at "Prairie goats" or deer across "bean fields". Most loading data I have read for this cartridge is taken from 24" barrel (the same as most taken for the standard caliber) and shows lower velocities than what can be acheived. IMHO, I think a 26" BBL should be used for this larger case to reach its full potentioal. Ammo is hard to find for this cartridge; I've had a rather interesting time trying to find a reasonable (read: cheaper) source for brass. If you want an excuse to buy another rifle, go ahead; I found the .270 Weatherby pleasant to shoot, extremely flat, and easy to load. Your standard .270 will work amost as well with less recoil, less noise, and better ammo availability (ever forget to pack your ammo?). I think the .270 Weatherby is a rather "specilized" tool that can augment any "gun nut's" safe, but it would not be my one gun choice over the standard cartidge. I've not tried the .270 WSM, yet; Savage99 may have the answer to the equation. (Or, at least another reason to buy another rifle My 2 cents. Mags

I've got 3 270 Wins.

I cannot be convinced that there is anything the Weatherby can do that mine cannot.

If you like the rifle in question and like the way it handles then that should be taken into consideration, however, it is my opinion that it is not necessary.

I've shot a 270 Weatherby. It does have a bit more sharpness in recoil for what I consider very little gain.

The .270 Wby is one of the flatest shooting caliber in existence, but flat shooting rifles are on paper and under hunting conditions those extra few inches are abandoned in wiggles, wobbles and heavy breathing..so I'll take the .270 Win.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
The .270 Wby is one of the flatest shooting caliber in existence, but flat shooting rifles are on paper and under hunting conditions those extra few inches are abandoned in wiggles, wobbles and heavy breathing..so I'll take the .270 Win.

I will take those wiggles, wobbles and heavy breathing and add 2" of drop with my 270 Wby as compared to 6" with the 270 Win. The difference remains, wiggles aside.
bigbull

I like the std. 270Win., but if you want to approach Wtby. ballistics in a decent rifle, then check out the Winchester Featherweight with walnut stock and stainless barrel/action. It's available in 270WSM.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/prodinfo/catalog/detail.a...type_id=966&cat=001C

I've owned a few rifles in 270win over the years & used a 270 weatherby A few times but in reality the weatherby only offers an extra 60 or so yards over the 270 win & thats good if you can take advantage of this if not then basically there is no advantage in going to the weatherby.I would also be fair & check out the 270WSM closely as well.

Personally though i'de just find a rifle that felt good to me & fitted to me well & buy it in what ever of those 3 carts it was avaliable in.

The value of the Weatherby is this -it will do with 150/160 grain bullets what the Winchester round will do with 130s. I use to lump it in there as a ballistic twin to the 7m/m Remington magnum, but that isn't exactly a fair comparison as more can be wrung out of the former, than the latter.
I must admit I'm not a 27 calibre fan, but do love the 28s. What possible differense .007" makes is a hard argument to make, however I'm more comfortable with the larger bullet.

With any weight bullet, the .270 Weatherby is approximately 200 f.p.s. faster than the .270 Win. It also produces more kick and blast and its ammunition and/or cases are more difficult to come by and more expensive. Decide which of those facts is more important to you, and make your choice on that basis.

I don't have any experience with the .270 Weatherby, but have shot a few .270 Winchesters and have shot my .270WSM quite a bit. If you want more than the standard .270 Win offers, take a hard look at the .270WSM. It is very close to the Weatherby ballistically, but does it with a 24" barrel and handles better due to the short action. Also if economy means anything, consider that Midway offers a bag of 50 new WSM cases for $14.49 while a box of 20 Weatherby cases goes for $18.29. Not to mention that the short magnum achieves its' velocities with less powder than the Weatherby. I sure am happy with mine.

W/ factory Rifles, you can expect about 300 fps more velocity from the 270 Weatherby over the standard 270 Win. In Good Rifles, They are both very accurate rounds.

The main thing is: Do You want a Magnum or Not?

The Magnum will Shoot Flatter, Kick Harder, Sound Louder, Be Heavier to Carry, and Kill w/ Much More Authority (Due to the High Velocity). If you are up for that, then by all means get the Weatherby Mag.

If you don't reload, The Weatherby is going to hit the ole' pocket book pretty hard when buying the factory stuff.

The Weatherby's sure are Cadillacs as far as Factory rifles go (w/ the exception of the Vanguard).

Good Luck!

Reloader

I've never fired a .270 weatherby but I think it would be a wast of money to buy one. I have a cheap Remmington model 710 $299 at Gander Mt. Put a 3-9 x 40 Redfield on it. The last time I shot it during spring turkey I hit a running turkey right (right to left) at 300 yds. 1 shot standing up. I couldn't imagine needing to spend more money than that on a .270

Steve Golden, I think you're the first guy to ever admit to owning a 710, let alone thinking very highly of it....

quote:

I hit a running turkey right (right to left) at 300 yds. 1 shot standing up.

I prefer the right to left shot myself.

The benefit of going to a .270wby would be to push the heavier 150gr bullets faster, IMHO. I foyu are looking for a deer only rig, it would be hard to beat the std. 270. If you want a Wby. the .257Wby is a barn burner.

I owned a 270Weath. for about 12 yrs,it was acraker of a hog rifle at allranges,never tried the barnes bullets,so i guess it would have pleased me even more,but it did nothing that the 270win would not have done for me. Now I'm more interested in a 7x57 or .280rem. In fact the 280 would be my more ideal choice. But I would have a 270Weath again if the need siuted,but then again,with the same size case the 7mm Rem mag would be much easier to get components for and .007" is not that much difference. Personally I reckon the .308 norma magnum would be abetter pick,you could run a 165gn tsx flat and hard for spectacular results. but you run into the situation of brass&ammo price/availability factor much the same as the 270Weath.But weseem to be wandering from the subject a little.The 270 winchester with current crop of bullets available,steps it up from what began as agreat cartridge to abetter one. The 140tsx would be my allround pill if I were to run a .270 win. I dont hear of many people recovering this pill from medium game. You will be able to build anice 7lb rifle in 270win,which would e alittle uncomfortable in 270Weath.I eventually began loading down my 270 Weath,because I found it overly powerful for the task,as well as wnting something more comfortable to shoot. Good Luck!

I've fired nicer ones BUT there isn't a thing wrong with the 710 I own.

quote:

Originally posted by Buster:
Steve Golden, I think you're the first guy to ever admit to owning a 710, let alone thinking very highly of it....

quote:

Originally posted by Savage99:

quote:

I hit a running turkey right (right to left) at 300 yds. 1 shot standing up.

I prefer the right to left shot myself.

better for a lefty ya know

Here's a comparison of the Weatherby velocities taken from their web site and my 270 Winchester w/ velocity chrono'd at 10' and 100 to 500 calculated from JBM balistics:

Wt. Grains, Bullet Type, B. C., Muzzle, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 Yds

270 Weatherby- 26" barrel

150, SP, 0.462, 3245, 3028, 2821, 2623, 2434, 2253

270 Winchester - 26"barrel

150, SGK, 0.483, 3025, 2832, 2647, 2469, 2300, 2136

Sighted in at 200 yards:

The 270 Weatherby load above figures to be 5.3 inches low at 300 yards.

My 270 Winchester reload above figures to be 6.2 inches low at 300 yards!

I have a 26 in. bbl on my 270 Win and the velocities given by Ray agree with what I get. The Weatherby factory velocities? You actually believe them? I chronographed a friends 270 Weatherby and it beat my 270 by less than 100 fps, not 200.

Ray - Interesting comparison with the 26" BBL; Ken Waters believed the standard length BBL for the .270 Win should be 24" for maximum efficiency (as he did for most calibers including the .444 and 7-30 Waters). The only commercial rifle I've seen with a 26" BBL for a .270 Win was a Ruger #1B; most "bolt" rifles in the standard caliber, whether they be from Rem., win., or Savage are 22". Thus, my point of 300fps because of the difference in barrel length as well as case capacity. Because of the Weatherby's extra case capacity you could cut both barrels back to 22" and have less than 100fps between the two. (.264 Win Mag fans found this out long ago.) I've owned a couple of 24" .270 winchesters and the extra 2" gives more than 50fps over the standard BBL of 22" (more like 80 to 100fps). Even if one goes to a custom 26" BBL in the standard case, the Weatherby still beats it by 200fps with the same length BBL, which is as significant as you will get in a .338 Win Mag over a .338/06, or .300 Win Mag over a 30/06. There are many that will argue that it is still a significant improvement regardless of the increase in noise, recoil, and cost. Like Mr. Atkinson said, the "wiggles and wobbles" can cancel out the advantages in most hunting situations, but it might also give a "practised shooter" the confidence to occasionally try the long shot when there is no way to get closer, he has a good "rest", and can "read wind". As I said, it is a "specilized tool"; my first choice is the "standard" version, but not with a 26" tube Regards, Mags

Weatherby factory ballisitcs, do I believe them? yes, I used a chrono. 270 WBY is a hell of a cratridge and it does give you an edge over the 270 Win. To some it might not seem like a lot, but if you use that logic, we'd all be shooting 300 savages instead of 300 Wins or even 3006. Now is the added cost of the ammo worth it? well if you have to ask, you can't afford it. Stick with the 270 Win it's also a great and proven cartridge. jorge

Such a nice subject to hassle, but really, why do you need to try to improve upon vurtuosity to begin with? I know, Roy Weatherby came up with his .270 half a century ago, but really, the .270 WCF is about as fine a cartridge as you can ask for. Relatively light recoil and deadly beyond all reason when used against the proper range of big game. Jack O'Connor was right!!!!!!!!
LLS

Someone provided figures which show a whole ONE INCH of difference in bullet drop at 300 yards.. WOW... gotta get me one of them flatter shootin' Weatherbys!!!

Seriously, is there any REAL difference between the two for real (not theoretical or magazine) hunting?

Cheers..

Rugeruser: Well that "someone" was wrong. WEatehrby bests the 270 by about 300 fps. jorge

There are just too many variables to sensibly discuss velocity differences. It is almost bound to end up in one of the usual mud-slinging matches, with velocity claims flying fast and furiously around the Internet. I personally think both cartridges are well worth it. The .270 Win is an old favourite of mine, but the .270 Wby strikes me as a cartridge with just a bit extra performance, but still at reasonable recoil levels. I shall certainly be looking forward to trying my new .270 Wby Blaser barrel, that is for sure. My friend in MT shoots a M1999 with an MRC barrel in .270 Wby (custom reamer, short freebore), and gets both great velocity and great accuracy out of it.
- mike

Jorge,

all things being equal, how much actual (not theoretical) difference does that make at normal hunting ranges... might even make the equation more complex by asking if any hunter (not bench rester) can actually make use of the difference.

I'm not knocking the Weatherby, but I've hunted with a LOT of people with magnums, and have never felt disadvantaged by using my 270Win...

For those whom might be interested, I chronoed some Factory 150 grn SP 270 Weatherby ammo yesterday and it was 3295. Yep, a full 50 fps faster than the listed velocity. Weatherby tends to list their velocities slower than what they really are. Some think it is to avoid Claims of excessive pressure.

Their is not a 270 win on the planet that is in that category. Yes, they are both great carts but, by no means the same.

Reloader

That IS fast!
- mike

Mike, My thoughts exactly. A friend of mine owns the rifle and wanted me to bring it down alittle so, I Reloaded some 150 Hornadys that shot 3260-3265. Not much slower but shows alot less pressure than the Factory Weatherby rounds he had. Weatherby loads alittle HOT IMO.

Reloader

It does indeed often take a lot of guts (or whatever) to match Wby factory loads. I remember more than a few times, when I have seen people shooting Wby factory loads on my range, and the primers come out as flat as a pancake.... Fortunately, this does not always happen, but they stoke them pretty well...

- mike

I'd far prefer a 7MM Rem Mag to a .270 WBY mag and I'd prefer a .280 Remington to either of them.

As far as the .270 Winchester goes, the Weatherby version offers little extra performance for the extra cost.....just more Weatherby BS.

Weatherby had a few good Ideas but the .270
Weatherby was not one of them!


Not a worthwhile advantage over the Winchester trajectory wise.

I'm sold on the 270wsm. Love it. If you buy a 270, buy one of the ones that has "Winchester" in the name. I have a custom Rem 700 270 and have a custom 270wsm being built right now on a stainless model 70 CRF action with pac-nor ss super match barrel. Never been a Weatherby fan. Sako rifles are about the same price and will out shoot Weatherby's all day long--2MG

If you follow that logic, why don't we all stick with the 300 Savage? after all it's only a few hundred fps slower than an 06? I'd like to see a 270 Win with a 130gr bullet do 3250 plus fps, let alone a 150gr. The 270 WSM is another matter altogether, that one's real close to the Weatherby and I don't call 300 fps " a little" better performance. IF you're going to get into this discussion, stick to facts not emotional hype. jorge