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270 WSM
kumate
Member Posts: 2,315 ✭✭✭
I am looking to buy a 270 wsm. I am thinking about the Savage or the Tika. Which is the most accurate? Is the 270 wsm a good shooter?
Comments
I am new to this forum, so if I am not posting correctly let me know.
I plan on reloading some 270 WSM shells with 150 gr. sst bullets. I have all the componets I need except I got standard large rifle primers instead of mag.large rifle primers. Will the standards work? Some sites say yes will others reccomend the mag. primers. Any info would be appreciated. I have had this rifle since Dec. and have not fired it yet. I want to roll loads so I can practice a little.
Thank you
The basic answer to your question is that they wanted to sell more rifles and ammo. If you tell someone that product B is better than the product A they already own then that person will buy product B.
The reality of accuracy is that there is a bunch more to it obviously than just the cartridge. There are some cartridges that seem to carry that title if 'inherently accurate' (6PPC, .308 Win.) while others such as the .270 and the .30-06 have basic, consistent, reliable accuracy. Maybe these two aren't the greatest as far as accuracy is concerned but certainly good enough for the proverbial 1-1/4" to 1" hunting accuracy used as a measuring stick here in the U.S.
If a rifle seems to be lacking accuracy and you have eliminated you the shooter as the primary problem, start running the list of factors that contribute to the potential for inaccuracy.
scope
rings
base
crown
chamber (throat)
interior finish of the barrel
lack of bedding
poor bedding
wrong action screw torque
needs pillar bedding
pressure point in barrel channel
lack of pressure point
barrel touching sides of barrel channel
barrel improperly stress relieved
etc.
This doesn't even get anywhere near the list of problems that most shooters have with getting a good consistent shooting position and platform. I've heard folks complain that they couldn't get 1/2" groups and they were shooting off the hood of their truck using a rolled up shirt for support. Do some hard serious looking and checking first before blaming the cartridge.
The argument of why do I need anything but my good old .270 Win. or my trusty old .30-06 gets a little worn out after a while. You don't need anything more than either of these two cartridges in North America. If it walks, runs or crawls on this continent, both cartridges are capable of killing it with a bullet of appropriate construction and placement. And yes, placement is still one the best primary ingredients.
The WSM cartridge family is a result of the backlash against belted magnums. A large number of folks decided that belts were evil and wanted something that didn't use belts and yet had the energy and velocity from a larger case capacity. The error here with the WSMs is the that somebody keeps hitting these engineers with the stupid stick, convincing them that the these cartridges need to function through a short action. They didn't learn from Remington the first time and they were counting on the fact that these cartridges didn't have the evil belt, to carry them through the marketing wars.
No matter how you see it, this cartridge family is, on the whole, very good at what it does and they have been proven to be very accurate when the rifle and the shooter are up to the task.
That's the short version.
Best.
The WSM case family was actually pioneered, and designed by Rick Jamison. The purpose was efficiency in a short action, that would produce near magnum ballistics.
You are correct, that shot placement is essential with everything. Outside of anything with teeth and toenails that can eat you, in the range of the 2 game animals you stated, a 22 hornet would work if placed in the right spot.
I know that your old 270 will do the job and do the job well. However, when one wants to reach just a little bit farther you have to climb a taller ladder. And to climb that it has to be beefed up.
My brother this past fall went out and bought a Win 70 Stainless/composite in 270 WSM. It beat the crap out of him and it wasn't real accurate. Then someone suggested he take himself out of the equation and buy a lead sled. Accuracy improved to Sub-MOA...for everyone that shot it. Okay, one problem solved, but you can' take that on the hunt. I suggested to my brother getting a Past pad. He did. He also changed the recoil pad on the rifle. Both helped Now he could take the rifle up into the mountains and shoot it accurately. He did. He filled his once-in-a-lifetime tag for a desert bighorn sheep. At the range he shot it he would have had to hold a mere 3" higher had he gone with the .270 Win. However, at extended ranges the 300 fps will mean a lot.
Something to be said though for going out and buying new rifles because we like to. I found that if I don't buy something that I like enough they quit making it...