What's wrong with .270?

[Der Verminator]

I'd add to that......the .270 with the 150 grain bullet will take any bear in the world if you take the time to hit right behind the shoulder at less than 200 yards.

But technically you'd be a little under gunned.

Hey, how often do we hunt the big bears anyhow?

[jameslovesjammie]

I'd add to that......the .270 with the 150 grain bullet will take any bear in the world if you take the time to hit right behind the shoulder at less than 200 yards.

I'd say that with a properly constructed bullet, you are PROBABLY right.  However, anytime I hunt something that would like to eat me, I like to err on the side of "more than needed."  I'd prefer something 8mm+ for big bear.

[Der Verminator]

Yeah, even though it COULD be done, I'd feel better with a sure shoulder-breaker in my hands at that point......something 200 grains or over vice 150.

Just thought I'd state the case, though.

[Skookum]

Hey, how often do we hunt the big bears anyhow?

I'm not aware of any grizzly seasons in the contiguous US, and there are no Kodiaks or polars here.  Thus, the .270 Win is just fine by me.

I found this assessment of 12 big game calibers interesting:  http://www.chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm.  Of the 12 calibers, four didn't exist (commercially at least) when I got my .270 Win.  It shows that the 7mm Rem Mag throws a bit bigger bullet with a bit flatter trajectory, but at the cost of a 40% increase in recoil energy.

I think the ancient .30-06 Spr. is the oldest of the 12 cartridges, but it holds up well.

[crosstimbers]

For many years me and a guy I used to always hunt with never strayed from the two rifles we carried, him a 270 and me a 30-06. I think he had a slight advantage in trajectory and I had a slight advantage with being able to handle heavier bullets.

But the truth is, any shot where such a flat-shooting advantage might have actually factored in, would have pretty well been beyond the range that either of us had any business trying to take on game. Also, we weren't going to be hunting anything so big and tough that an advantage in heavier bullets would be much of a plus either.

I've shot his rifle, he has shot mine, neither of us have ever noticed much difference in recoil or noise. Both of us have managed to pick up a few other rifles as time has went by, but aside from maybe being a bit easier to carry and more compact- none of them do the job any better than those two we each started with and still own.

Bottom line is they are both a couple of the best calibers available.