.270 Varmint gun?

OKRattler

Well-known member
How many of y'all use or have used a .270 as a varmint/predator rifle? I'm kicking around the idea of getting one to use as a contest rifle for coyotes. I plan on shooting 90 to 100 grain bullets in it if I decide to go this route. I figure it's flat shooting enough I can hold on fur and hit a coyote if it hangs up or stops for one last look if it's on the verge of getting away. Not only that but will have plenty of power to put it down regardless of what direction it's facing when I shoot it.
 
When I had to hang up my AR's, I picked up a .308 Savage, and then a BAR n .308. Using 110 gr. VG in the BAR and 135 gr. NBT's in the Savage. Both shoot relatively flat and hammer the coyotes. If there is a downside, it is temporarily losing the target in scope at the shot due to slightly increased recoil over the ARs. Lighter bullets in the 270 should work equally well.

Regards,
hm
 
It would work but I think I would go with the 25-06. The Nosler reloading data shows an 85 grain bullet at 3600....that should knock the smile off their face.
 
When I had a 270 I toyed with the idea of building up some varmint ammo but never did as there was better options out there. I think the 270 would work great but like previously stated a 25-06 would likely be the better option.
 
Getcha ya one of those .257 Weatherby Magnums with a 26" barrel. That BEE can sting a long way out there.
 
Awesome suggestions. Thanks y'all. I'll do some research and some thinkin on it. I don't know why I didn't think of the 25-06. That's not something you hear much about anymore but I agree it would be a good choice. All of the above would quite honestly.
 
Originally Posted By: GCGetcha ya one of those .257 Weatherby Magnums with a 26" barrel. That BEE can sting a long way out there.

Hmmm.........That's got my attention. Very flat shooting cartridge. Downside is ammo is super expensive. But if it's a contest gun the goal is to win. Winning means money. I'm gonna have to do some lookin.
 
I shot a .270 as a coyote gun for a few years. Someone gave me some old 100 GR SPs and I had a few hundred 110 vmaxs. Figured I would put them to good use. I don't save fur. Dead is dead.
.270 is a great round.
 
Ive got some old 270 weatherby magnum loads in 100 gr. Cant remember the speeds. Im guessing 36-3700. Their 130s are 3400. Ive got a 257 weatherby in a Rem 700. I have some factory 115 NBTs they say are running 3400. I also agree on the 25-06. Sounds like a good idea. Looks like Barnes and Nosler make some 85 grainers.
 
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A .270 was all I had, so all I used when I was starting out. For everything from jackrabbits to elk. My varmint load, for jackrabbits and coyote was the 110 gr. Hornady HP over a full case of surplus 4850 (which came in a paper grocery bag). I didn't have a scale or a powder measure at first. Just lined up the cases in a cake pan and poured the cases full to the top and crunched a bullet in with the seater die.

Anyway... The first about 400 coyotes I killed were with that load. It sure worked.

For a death laser now, I use a 6-284 with 55 B-tips at a hair under 4300 fps. It's just point and shoot for as far as I care to try.

My buddy Fred, who used to be on here, has a pretty radical death laser, his .220 Redline. Spits out 70's at 4000+ fps. A bit extreme, perhaps, but man, talk about death laser!

Fred's .220 Redline

- DAA
 
Originally Posted By: DAAA .270 was all I had, so all I used when I was starting out. For everything from jackrabbits to elk. My varmint load, for jackrabbits and coyote was the 110 gr. Hornady HP over a full case of surplus 4850 (which came in a paper grocery bag). I didn't have a scale or a powder measure at first. Just lined up the cases in a cake pan and poured the cases full to the top and crunched a bullet in with the seater die.

Anyway... The first about 400 coyotes I killed were with that load. It sure worked.

For a death laser now, I use a 6-284 with 55 B-tips at a hair under 4300 fps. It's just point and shoot for as far as I care to try.

My buddy Fred, who used to be on here, has a pretty radical death laser, his .220 Redline. Spits out 70's at 4000+ fps. A bit extreme, perhaps, but man, talk about death laser!

Fred's .220 Redline

- DAA

Whoa!......Totally awesome.
 
That will have everything to do with the barrel, bedding and bullets and not so much to do with the case design or even barrel twist. Even with light bullets, the .270 doesn't get into velocities where too fast a twist might pose some challenges.

A good chamber job on a good barrel, with good bedding, using good bullets, is going to shoot good.

- DAA
 
Put it this way, my .270 is a plain Model 70 I bought with lawn mowing money for $180 in 1977. After glass bedding, free floating and a trigger job the most accurate load using 130 gr. bullets I could come up with, it was five shots just over 1" at 100 yards. With the only load I ever tried with the 110 gr. bullets, it was just over 1" at 100 yards.

I wouldn't expect the accuracy potential to be hindered by the light bullets. In fact, if all were talking is group size on paper, light bullets have less recoil and disturb the bags less and are just plain easier to shoot good groups with.

- DAA
 
Another vote for the .25-06. Have shot 75gr bullets in PD towns for
hours without recoil bothering. My present rifle is dead accurate with
the Nosler 85gr Ballistic Tips.
 
If we're talking factory offerings, for the stated purpose, since there isn't a factory 6-06, I'd lean .25-06 too. The 6's have a lot more high quality bullet choices, biggest reason I'd lean 6mm over .25 caliber if custom is the route.

But, yeah, factory rifle for coyotes, between .270 and .25-06, I like the .25. Or, even, the .257 Wby as already suggested.

You know, I'm not up on all the latest and greatest. Just what is the current factory 6mm hot rod?

- DAA
 
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