The 270 Winchester was introduced in 1925 in the Winchester Model 54 bolt-action, forerunner to the Model 70. Based on the 30-06 case necked down, it was the first production cartridge to use a .277-inch bullet. Why this bullet diameter was chosen is not clear. The intent, however, was to create a cartridge that shot flatter than the 30-06 and produced less recoil. This effort was so successful that the 270 Winchester remains the world's most popular 270 cartridge...and since 1925 only three other commercial cartridges have used this bullet diameter. With a 130-grain bullet at 3060 feet per second and a 150-grain bullet at 2950 the 270 is powerful and flat shooting. It is adequate for game up to elk, ideal for virtually all American deer hunting, and, as it's long-time champion, gunwriter Jack O'Connor, so often wrote, it is a marvelous choice for mountain hunting. It is a standard chambering for almost all rifle makers, and choices in factory loads run into the many dozens.
