270 Winchester for varmints

[getitdone1]

Have any of you had much experience using the 270 Winchester on varmints? I have both a 243 and 270 and I know the 243 is more correct for varmints but just wondering if the 270 will do as well.

I have the Hornady 110 gr V-Max bullet for my 270 varmint loads. Any of you used this bullet for varmints?

Don't suppose the 270 will shoot quite as flat as the 243 with this bullet and, of course, a little more recoil with the 270 and expect that's the main difference. This 110 V-Max is supposed to be pretty explosive and water jugs I've shot with it prove this. Haven't tried it on varmints.

Part of my reason for this post is if I find the 270 does well on varmints I may sell my 243 since I know the 270 will do better on larger game. Target shooting may tell me if my old model 70, 270 will do well for varmints. The bore looks good but gotta get the trigger pull down to 3 lbs.

Don McCullough

[jnyork]

Well, if you hit 'em, you'll darn sure kill 'em.

A little overkill, aint it? Your bullet weighs darn near as much as a prairie dog!!

I have a .270, have owned it for over 50 years and have used it to good advantage but NEVER on PD's, etc, it just has too much recoil. It is a dandy cartridge for anything you might be hunting in the 48, but for varmints, why bother?

How about a nice .222 Remington?

[Nath]

Freind of mine has shot loads of fox with his, he uses 140 Nosler BT's.

The 100grn loads he has tried do very well and are very flat shooters, recoil wise it feels better than my 243's I use to have with 100grners!

The 90grn V max from my 6.5x55 swede shot much better than the experts would have me believe.

In my opinion there is no such thing as overkill, is up to the individual how much fuel they wish to use to get the job done.

Which varmints are you after?

Nath.

[TedH]

I have loaded 90 gr. Sierra HP to about 3300 fps in my Remington 270. Never shot anything with them, but I'd imagine they'd just about split a coyote in half.

[Mike D.]

I load 110 Sierras for my .30-06. I smoke ground squirrels and coyotes as far as I can see 'em.

[Ben_Rumson]

Yes.. but if you want vapor...175gr 8mm Mauser at 30 ft...

[getitdone1]

Nath,

Which varmints? Coyotes, mainly. Groundhogs are scarce here and been that way for years. My guess is the coyotes killed them off.

With a 243 available can see why I'd be asked why bother with the 270 for varmints. Good question. I just love my old model 70 Winchester and keep thinking about getting rid of several guns and getting good with just a few. Too, by using it for varmints I'd be practicing for the bigger animals should I choose to go after them.

Kinda like if you have the choice to out in the woods or mountains with a so-so friend or a great friend.

Coyotes. Boy they can run! Few years back I missed an easy shot and for the first time seen a coyote in high gear. Same for deer. For years I'd see them but not nearly at top speed until a couple of years ago. No one was shooting at them but they were really moving.

Don McCullough

[JFE]

I used to use a 270 a lot for varminting at one stage. I'm a lefty and back in the 70's it was difficult finding any LH bolts in a small calibre, so I made do with the 270. Full power loads do get a bit tiresome if you are doing a lot of varminting, so I started loading down 90gr HP's to provide roughly the same velocity and trajectory as a 50gr pill out of a 222. I used IMR 3031 and not only was it accurate but blast was significantly reduced. That was my main varminting load until I picked up a LH 223. There's no chance of a double charge either with 3031.

[Charles]

Years ago I built up a 270 on a US 1917 Enfield action with a heavy Flaig 26" bbl. I used it for coyotes and out of blind for deer far down the senderos. It did a great job for both purposes.

[Buffboy]

Used to load the HP 90gr Sierra's quite a bit. They do a fine job of converting prairie dogs to a mist. I've never shot a coyote with one but I suspect they'd be very destructive to pelts. I've never chronographed my load but they were very near max and very accurate in my rifle. I haven't shot them much in the last decade as 223 is a lot easier on the shoulder, burns about half the powder, heats a barrel a LOT less(7--10 shots @hour or you are gonna cook that barrel), doesn't have near the noise, and that lets me shoot a lot more in an hour.

[JB]

As long as your rifle will stabilize the lighter bullets, it would work fine. A friend of mine hunted varmints for years with a 25-06. I have 223's, 22-250's, etc. but still often carry a 308 loaded with 110 grain bullets for varmints.

[Blaine]

I shot a crow with a 300gr Federal HP 45-70.....I think the feathers are still falling

[Nath]

As long as your rifle will stabilize the lighter bullets, it would work fine. A friend of mine hunted varmints for years with a 25-06. I have 223's, 22-250's, etc. but still often carry a 308 loaded with 110 grain bullets for varmints.

My only rifle (apart from the 9422) is a 308 and it mostly shoots varmints with a 110grn bullet.

Does a good number on them and is quite safe what with that bullet bursting so fast.

I can undrstand someone wishing to just use the one rifle, since I only have the one it is simpler and I seem to be getting better shot/kill ratio's in fact I am struggling to remember my last miss! Oops my head will swell up! Bet I miss something now

N.