100 Years of the .270

Grady Trent4 hours ago

0 0 9 minutes read

“Tight group, Sam!” His was actually a stellar knot: three bullets in a one-hole chain. Better than I’d done. But not as unusual as we’d expected. This Springfield Waypoint in .270 was poking half-minute clumps with many of the loads we fed it.

The .270 Win is easily one of the most popular rifle cartridges ever made. But, it did not start out that way … .

I swapped the spotting scope for another turn at the rifle.

The .270

This cartridge was not yet halfway through its first century when it downed my first western big game. Fifty hunting seasons later, it’s still a favorite. While the ranks of able “deer cartridges” have since swelled, none, in my view, has trumped the .270. A fit for any rifle action designed for the .30-06, it hurls 130-grain bullets at Mach 3. They bring over a ton of energy past 200 yards on flat arcs. Given a 200-yard zero, drop at 300 is just 6”. But for all its ballistic zip, the .270 won’t beat you up. Recoil from an 8-lb. rifle is about 17 ft-lbs, 15 percent less than the bump of 180-gr. loads in a .30-06.

Announced in 1925, the .270 Win found a home with hunters who were impressed by the cartridge’s performance in the field.

During its long tenure, legions of rifles have chambered the .270. This day, Sam and I were firing one of the latest: Springfield Armory’s Model 2020 Waypoint. It had little in common with the Winchester 54, a new bolt-action that had introduced the .270 in 1925. Now in its fifth year, the Waypoint boasts materials and features unknown before the Depression. At Springfield, they came together in a bolt rifle that has proven its accuracy, function and “shootability” in short-action chamberings. A fresh long action adds the .270.

It was at once a logical cartridge, and a surprise. While its 2.540” case is .046 longer than that of the .30-06, the .270 is essentially a necked-down ‘06, with a .473 rim, 17½-degree shoulder and 1.948” base-to-shoulder length. Receivers and magazines for the .30-06 welcomed the .270.

A lone hunter stands on a rocky ridge overlooking the rolling peaks of Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains at dusk, a bolt-action rifle chambered in .270 Winchester slung across his back. The carbon-fiber stock and fluted barrel catch the fading light as he pauses to scan the valley for game. Early-season elk country. A crisp breeze ruffles his camo jacket and hat brim, suggesting thin air and cold mornings. His stance hints at field readiness and the flat trajectory offered by the .270 Winchester’s high muzzle velocity. The distant ridgelines and deep coulees fade into blue shadows, emphasizing the long-range potential of the cartridge. The mild recoil reputation of the .270 Winchester allows for steady follow-up shots during mountain hunts. A spotting scope rests on his pack, underscoring the cartridge’s consistent downrange energy past 300 yards. — Fast, flat-flying bullets endeared the .270 Win cartridge to hunters after mountain game, here in Oregon’s Wallowas.

On the other hand, the choice of a .277 bullet was odd. In 1925 no small arms fired such missiles. The .264 bullets of the 6.5×54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer and 6.5×55 Swedish were champs on battlefields and in game fields world-wide. Ditto the 7×57’s .284 bullet. A 27-caliber missile had no intrinsic ballistic edge over those a tad thicker or slimmer; but it was then unique, thus newsworthy. And it had no ties to cartridges that had bloodied U.S. troops in the Spanish American War and World War I.

To hunters weaned on popular smokeless cartridges of the 1890s — the .303 Savage, .30-40 Krag, .30 W.C.F — the .270’s 130-gr. missiles surely seemed skinny and lightweight. The lethal effect of high velocity impact was yet obscure. Also, a drag on the .270: stacks of surplus 1903 Springfields peddled for a pittance to members of the National Rifle Association. At one time a spanking new Springfield with a star-gauged barrel, the fine N.R.A. sporter stock and a Lyman 48 receiver sight fetched only $40!

Close-up of a modern 130-grain Copper Impact load from Winchester Ammunition seated in a .270 Winchester case. The polymer-tipped bullet aligns perfectly with the necked-down brass, hinting at flat-shooting precision. A sleek ogive promises a high ballistic coefficient for consistent long-range accuracy. You can almost sense the controlled expansion and deep penetration through its high sectional density. Necked down from the .30-06 Springfield parent case, it carries a century of cartridge heritage. Recoil stays mild, letting the shooter follow up shots with ease. This hunting-grade load showcases the .270 Winchester’s reputation for downrange energy retention and precise shot placement. — The .270 has been blessed by a steady run of potent, accurate new loads with 130- to 150-grain bullets.

Designed for stout bolt actions, the .270 Win was stoked to higher pressures than were its competitors, even the .30-06. At a claimed 3,140 fps, 130-gr. .270’s bullets left the gate faster than 87-grainers from the .250 Savage, and passed 300 yards clocking 2,320. But not all deer hunters swapped their lever-action carbines for .270s. Some early .270 bullets behaved unreliably on game, zipping through without opening or upsetting violently on impact. Lost deer and shredded venison drew the ire of hunters. But when a .270 load with a 150-gr. bullet throttled to 2,675 fps appeared, it didn’t sell.

Strangely, the .270 got a lukewarm welcome from the outdoors press. Ned Crossman and Field & Stream’s Paul Curtis paid it little attention. According to Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life’s shooting editor from 1942 to ’72, his predecessor ignored the .270. Not until its third year did American Rifleman deem it worth a feature-length review.

The author has used the .270 for five decades. For elk-size game, he’s keen on 160-grain Nosler Partition bullets.

Townsend Whelen and Sport’s Afield’s Monroe Goode thought better of it, but only O’Connor bellowed his approval. Snapping up a .270 at the 54’s debut, he took it hunting and for decades thereafter used the cartridge on a great variety of creatures. His stature as gun guru for OL gilded his early and frequent endorsements. His pet .270s, from rifle-maker Al Biesen, were known world-wide.

Two years after the stock market dive of ’29 sent Winchester into receivership, Western Cartridge bought the company. CEO John Olin kept the Model 54 in the line until the introduction of its famed successor. Of 52,029 Model 54s manufactured, 49,009 had shipped by then.

Close-up macro image of a .270 Winchester cartridge reloaded using a Barnes brass case topped with a Sierra 130-grain GameKing boattail spitzer bullet. The brass casing bears a crisp Barnes headstamp and an annealed neck for consistent chambering. The Sierra bullet’s sharp ogive and tapered boat-tail promise a high ballistic coefficient and flat trajectory. Subtle machining lines swirl around the jacket above the boat-tail, hinting at the rifling twist rate. A gentle sheen on the copper jacket highlights the controlled-expansion design prized by medium-game hunters. This handload underscores the .270 Winchester’s sectional density and steady muzzle velocity when paired with premium components. The photo illustrates precision handloading techniques, case capacity considerations, and downrange energy retention of this classic deer cartridge. — Barnes and Sierra have partnered with a new .270 load that shot extremely well in the author’s Model 2020 Waypoint trials.

While the .270 was second only to the .30-06 in sales of 54s, few Depression-era hunters carried new rifles. A 1939 elk hunter survey by Washington State’s Department of Game to get 1938 harvest data also netted cartridge preferences. The .30-06 was most-named, the .30-30 and .30-40 Krag in its wake, to account for nearly 60 percent of all 2,285 responses. Astonishingly, the 15 most popular cartridges of 44 reported did not include the .270! It showed up just nine times — same as the .44-40 and .22 High Power!

But hunters soon came to their senses. Of 581,471 Model 70s sold before the rifle’s ’63 overhaul, 208,218 were in .30-06, and 122,323 in .270. No other chambering was nearly as popular.

Close-up of a white paper target at 100 yards showing five .270 Winchester factory-load holes clustered inside the bullseye. The tight pattern measures well under half-minute of angle, demonstrating consistent shot placement. Faint grid lines printed on the paper help gauge the extreme precision of each impact. These factory .270 loads fired from the Springfield Waypoint drilled sub-MOA groups without any handloading. Crisp hole edges and uniform spacing reveal the cartridge’s stable muzzle velocity and high ballistic coefficient. This image underscores the Waypoint rifle’s ability to harness the .270 Winchester’s flat trajectory and inherent accuracy. It highlights the reliability of modern factory ammunition in delivering match-grade group sizes. The result speaks to the .270’s reputation for downrange energy and pinpoint precision. — Long-range guru Kenny Jarrett loaded the .270 cartridges that punched this tight group from the Waypoint.

Remington left the .270 off the roster for its first successful bolt-action, the 30A (1921-‘41). But in 1948 it acceded to demand, offering its new Model 721 rifle in .270. Since then, it’s been chambered in almost every hunting rifle bored to .30-06, including single-shots, autoloaders, pumps, even lever-actions.

In my elk hunter surveys of the 1990s, only the .30-06 and 7mm Magnum showed up more often than the .270. Strong “controlled-expansion” bullets helped it drop heavy beasts. In Wyoming in 1944, O’Connor killed an exceptional elk with a handloaded 160-gr. Barnes bullet jacketed with copper tubing. He then “used the .270 for elk almost exclusively.”

A Garmin Xero C1 chronograph sits on a shooting bench, sensors aligned with the .270 Winchester barrel. The digital display records velocities for both factory-loaded and handloaded .270 Winchester rounds. Numbers hover near 3,000 fps. High muzzle velocity underscores the cartridge’s flat trajectory and consistent performance. Two infrared sensors span the barrel path to capture each projectile’s precise speed. Spent brass and bullet jackets lie nearby, hinting at load development and case capacity tweaks. This image highlights chronograph testing’s role in verifying ballistic coefficient and downrange energy. It underscores the precision and heritage of America’s classic .270 Winchester cartridge. — The author used a Garmin Xero C1 chronograph to obtain velocities from handloads and factory ammo.

I’ve seen a number of elk killed with .270s. Late one afternoon, a client and I caught up with a bull we’d been tracking. It eased from shadows, ivory-tipped antlers rocking with each step. At the strike of a 140-gr. Hornady, the elk reared like a horse, then fell back, planting its tines in the earth, belly up and dead. A ranger culling elk for Colorado’s Division of Wildlife reported his .270 routinely delivered clean kills, adding that its mild recoil enabled him to keep shooting accurately.

Model 2020

Springfield Armory’s Model 2020 Waypoint was introduced that year in 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win. and 6.5 PRC — all short-action cartridges. The new long-action Waypoint is barreled not just to .270, but to .30-06, the 7mm and .300 PRC and the 7mm Remington and .300 Winchester Magnums. Some chamberings are available in fluted stainless barrels, all in BSF carbon-fiber (CF) barrels with Springfield’s Radial Brake.

It was Sam’s first outing with a Waypoint, but not mine. I had snagged a 6.5 PRC with CF barrel early on. The hand-laid CF stock by AG Composites wore Ridgeline finish. (Another version of that stock has an adjustable comb; both also come in Evergreen camo). A 2.5-10×45 Leupold on the rail brought the weight of that Waypoint to exactly 8 lbs. Its first three shots after zeroing drilled a .62 knot with 147-gr. Hornady ELD Match bullets clocking 2,910 fps. Following groups mic’d .63, .70 and .82. Average measure: .69, comfortably inside Springfield’s .75 standard.

How would this .270 measure up?

Known for its celebrated M1A rifle, a civilian rendition of the M14 infantry arm, Springfield built the Waypoint to excel as a hunting rifle and a long-range match rifle. Old-timers couldn’t have imagined a sporter with the Waypoint’s steep grip and tall comb, its three M-Lok slots in the fore-stock’s belly and five QD swivel cups.

Close-up of the spiral-fluted bolt of the Springfield Armory Model 2020 Waypoint rifle chambered in .270 Winchester. The two-lug bolt sits in EDM-machined races and sports a nitrided finish for corrosion resistance. The extractor claw is visible through the lower locking lug, ready to secure and eject each round under high-pressure .270 Win loads. A knurled bolt knob and dual cocking cams promise crisp cycling and smooth feed-ramp engagement. You can almost feel the precise tolerances and consistent lockup that support the cartridge’s flat trajectory and downrange energy. The clean lines and durable materials hint at long-term field reliability during deer and big-game seasons. This mechanical close-up underscores why the .270 Winchester remains an iconic medium-game cartridge for hunters and precision shooters alike. Detail on the bolt’s release cam and lug geometry reinforces confidence in repeatable accuracy and minimal lock time. — Cleanly, thoughtfully sculpted, the Waypoint has a fluted bolt, trim shroud, low safety and large bolt knob.

On the other hand, even shooters who remember black-and-white television and 22-cent gasoline can appreciate a sub-seven-pound rifle guaranteed to shoot into 3/4 MOA. Its pillar-bedded CF stock scales 1 lb., 15 oz. with a standard comb, 2 lb., 11 oz. with an adjustable cheek-rest. A black, 1” Pachmayr Decelerator pad is standard.

The Waypoint action, built by Springfield Armory, has a Remington Model 700 footprint so will accept stocks and triggers for the 700. Not that you’ll want replacements. The rifle’s TriggerTech trigger adjusts externally from 2½- to 5-lb. pulls. A “free-floating roller” yields a smooth, crisp release. The two-position safety permits bolt cycling when “on.” To boost your odds of drilling bullseyes and killing game, Springfield shaved lock time to 1.9 milliseconds — “up to 45 percent faster than the competition.” Exiting, the bullet easily beats your blink.

The two-lug, spiral-fluted bolt glides in races cut in the stainless receiver by Electrical Discharge Machine (EDM). Bolt and receiver are machined after heat-treating so finished dimensions match specs. The twin-lug bolt is nitrided. Its knurled, cylindrical bolt knob is removable, though I find it just the right shape and in just the right place for fast cycling dual cocking cams ease the already-compliant 90-degree lift. You need no tools to disassemble the bolt. The left-flank bolt release is unobtrusive, nicely inletted, silky in its pivot and positive.

The extractor, inserted through a slot in the right-hand (lower) locking lug, has beefy shoulders to hold it securely and resist breakage if a frisky handload sticks a case. The claw is 6mm wide across most of its face, 5mm at its leading edge. Its face angle makes push-feeding effortless. The Waypoint’s plunger ejector is peppy.

Close-up of a threaded muzzle brake attached to a .270 Winchester carbon-fiber barrel. The three-chamber brake ports are angled to direct gas and reduce recoil. A locking jam nut secures the device against unwanted rotation. The finish is Cerakoted, matching the barrel’s dark gray tone. This component hints at improved shootability and gentler recoil impulse. It underscores the balance between flat trajectory and shooter comfort. — A removable radial brake is standard on the Waypoint’s lightweight but stiff, accurate BSF carbon fiber barrel.

Unlike the 700’s separate wafer or washer recoil lug, the Waypoint’s beefier lug is integral with the receiver ring. A five-shot, AICS-style single-stack magazine feeds smoothly and reliably. It’s securely held but easily released by a guard-bow latch. Four 6-48 screws and two recoil pins snug a Picatinny top rail that’s long enough to space any scope rings. Receiver, bottom metal, barrel shank and muzzle brake are Cerakoted.

Both button-rifled BSF CF barrels and fluted stainless barrels are threaded 5/8-24. According to Springfield, each BSF barrel is “jacketed in a roll-wrapped carbon fiber sleeve and loaded under tension [so 95 percent of the sleeve] doesn’t contact the barrel, providing cooling air gaps.” Core fluting reduces weight and boosts surface cooling. Most twist rates favor the long, ballistically efficient bullets that excel at long range.

Close-up of the traditional straight grip on the hunting stock of a Springfield Armory Model 2020 Waypoint rifle chambered in .270 Winchester. The palm swell and gentle shelf cradle the shooter’s hand for natural trigger-finger placement. The carbon-fiber–reinforced stock shows subtle checkering and contouring to ensure a solid hold in damp or cold conditions. The moderate grip angle balances classic hunting ergonomics with precision control for follow-up shots. This ergonomic design complements the .270 Winchester’s flat trajectory and high muzzle velocity, helping manage the cartridge’s 17 ft-lb recoil impulse. Pillar bedding locks the action in place to harness the round’s downrange energy and high sectional density. The overall feel inspires confidence in consistent, half-minute accuracy with each shot. — The Waypoint’s steep grip is comfy and supportive, with plenty of room for the heel of your hand.

Here’s a snapshot of barrel lengths and rifling twist for the Waypoint 2020 series:

Short Action

6mm Cm, 1-7.5 twist, 20”
6.5 Cm, 1-8 twist, 22”
6.5 PRC, 1-8 twist, 24”
.308, 1-10 twist, 20”

Long Action

.270, 1-10 twist, 24”
7mm Rem. Mag., 1-8 twist, 24”
7mm PRC, 1-8 twist, 24”
.30-06, 1-10 twist, 24”
.300 Win. Mag., 1-10 twist, 24”
.300 PRC, 1-8.5 twist, 24”

On the bench, the .270 felt as friendly as had the 6.5 PRC. While steep grips limit the hand’s fore-and-aft latitude and with firm palm contact often put my big paw too far forward for right-angle first-joint trigger contact, the Waypoint’s grip is comfy prone, standing and over bags. Generous comb fluting gulps the heel of my hand; a modest flare mid-grip cradles its palm. The 6.5 PRC’s trigger, say my notes, broke at 3¾ lbs. The .270’s releases as cleanly at 3½.

A paper target shows three bullet holes clustered inside the center ring. The perforations lie within a half-minute-of-angle group at 100 yards, demonstrating factory-load precision. Grid lines etched into the paper help gauge the exact group size for downrange accuracy analysis. This tight string of shots highlights the .270 Winchester’s flat trajectory and high muzzle velocity. Uniform hole edges indicate stable bullet impact and effective sectional density of the 130-grain load. Concentric scoring rings and hash marks offer context for ballistic performance evaluation. The tight bullet grouping underscores reliable factory ammo consistency without custom handloads. The image illustrates the .270 Winchester’s reputation for precision shooting and medium-game hunting. — Fired from the Springfield Armory Model 2020 Waypoint, ordinary .270 factory loads routinely drilled exceptionally tight groups.

I chose another load, settled the reticle in the Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×44 and fired another group.

“That rifle shoots!” exclaimed Sam, eye to the spotting scope. In fact, this Waypoint was proving as consistently accurate as any .270 I recall in 50 years of firing dozens of rifles so chambered, domestic and foreign. Many had punched occasional knots worth a photo, but very few had delivered sub-3/4 MOA precision routinely with a variety of loads. Herewith a summary of three-shot groups from the Waypoint, fired off sandbags at 100 yards. A Garmin Xero1 C1 Doppler chronograph recorded velocities.

Conclusion

Had Springfield’s long-action Waypoint had been available in 1925, the .270 might have gained its celebrity sooner. Retail price for this extraordinary pairing is $2,599.

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