Help me choose a new cartridge.

[gerry]

I need to fill the gap between my 260 Rem and 35 Whelen. I'm still going to get a gun for my wife in 270 Win when we can swing it. I have both a Remington and Sako magnum action either could get a new barrel and fill that gap for me. I am thinking of a long range round that will have fairly mild recoil and work for everything from deer to moose. Most of the 7mm and 30 cal rounds while they work great are kinda boring to me.

270 Wby - I keep thinking about one of these, I would imagine proper bullet selection would keep meat damage to a minimum.

7mm Wby - nice round but not sure it really does anything the 270 Wby can't do.

300 H&H - one of the few 30 cal rounds that interest me would feed extremely well with that tapered case.

308 Norma Mag - had one before and it performed great.

8mm-338 Win Mag - I always thought it was an interesting cartridge, not sure if I would do one though.

338 Win Mag and 358 Norma - Probably to close to my 35 Whelen to be much different and the recoil is starting to get up there, really do like the 358 Norma though.

Thoughts?

 

[DrMike]

Gerry,

A 300 H&H would be a classic round for hunting BC (and about anywhere else). I like the 7mm WBY, but if you are comparing to other cartridges, it gives you nothing over the 7RM or a 7WSM. Still, it is a good cartridge. Of course, you know what the 308 Norma is all about; and it is an underrated cartridge that failed to catch fire because of the introduction of the 300 Win Mag. I really like the idea of a 300 H&H, however.

 

[BK]

My choices:
1. .300 H&H
2. 7mm Mashburn
3. .308 Norma
4. 7mm Weatherby
5. .264 WinMag
Dark horse: 7x61 Sharpe and Hart

I dunno if it will fit feed rails/bolt face, but I might look at the .300/.338 (I think) Norma sniper rounds.

Friends don't let friends (or wives) shoot .270s...

 

[wildgene]

...you'ld have to open up the bolt face, but you could go w/ a .300 Norma Mag (not a .308 NM), but when you talk LR/ moderate recoil something that starts w/ "7" would probably be a better choice...

 

[gerry]

Ouch, I thought the 270's would get more love I do think the 300 H&H or 308 Norma would be about the upper end of the recoil scale I would look at, my 375 Ruger is very accurate but I just don't shoot it as well in the field as smaller rounds, and it can give me recoil headaches when shot too much.......

 

[gerry]

The thing that keeps me looking at the 270 and 7mm Wby is they sure seem to perform very well with pretty mild recoil. I doubt any animal is going to be able to tell the difference between as 150 gr 270 Wby, 160 gr 7mm Wby or a 180 gr 300 H&H/308 Norma all going around 3000-3100 fps. Please correct me if I'm wrong in that thinking.

Kurt the 7mm Mashburn is a cool one and a great use for 300 Win Mag brass in my opinion

 

[DrMike]

Either the 270 WBY or the 7mm WBY will do about all you ask or want, Gerry. The 270 WBY sits pretty much atop the heap for .277 calibre bullets, which makes it attractive. The 7mm WBY gives you no real advantage over the 7 RM (as I have already posted), but it is still a cool round. Interestingly enough, I just don't have a lot of love for .277 calibre cartridges. My 270 WSM performs very well and it has given me ample cause to love it in the field, but I'm still not enamoured of the calibre. The 7mm calibres simply have more attraction for me.

 

[gerry]

I can understand certain calibers just not doing it for a guy, I kind of feel the same way about the common 30 caliber rounds some of the 7mm's and the 338's, great rounds all of them but just doesn't do it for some reason. For some reason I just can't get he 270 Wby out of my mind......... Your 270 WSM with the 130 gr E Tip has brought down some fine animals for you in recent years.

 

[DrMike]

Your 270 WSM with the 130 gr E Tip has brought down some fine animals for you in recent years.

That it has--and dropped them right smartly, as well. Quite obviously, the .277 calibre cartridges are capable, and the 270 WBY is an excellent cartridge. There are no flies on it, that's for sure. I've done quite a bit of load development for the cartridge, and all the rifles I shot performed quite well at the bench. I have no doubt that each performs equally well, if not exceeding expectations, in the field.

 

[BK]

If you want a long range rig, look at your bullets first. Better selection of slippery bullets in 6mm, 6.5mm, 7mm, and .308. I dearly wish you could get better LR bullets in .257 (you could build a sweet .257 Weatherby with that Sako!). The .277 suffers from this as well, to an extent.

Plus, .270s suck. Pay no attention to my safe.

 

[gerry]

I'm a big fan of the 6.5's and have had some fun with the 264 Win Mag as well along with the 260 and 6.5x55. I do agree there is a better selection of bullets in the calibers you listed but there are a few good ones available in 277 like the 140 gr AccuBond, 150 gr Partition, 150 gr Ballistic Tip, 150 gr ABLR, 150 gr Interbond and probably a bunch more. Not a big selection but sufficient.

 

[sask boy]

Hey my left handed brother have you thought of the 280AI it has alot going for it and it is not belted :wink:.
Just another thought 8) my God son got a job back here from Hinton with Halliburton and he has a 300 H&H coming that it a very cool old caliber and I would have to agree that up in your neck of the wood it would be a real sweet.
As we say so many calibres and so little time :mrgreen:

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Rigbymauser]

Well gerry.

I own a .300 H&H and a .270Bee. I love them both but here is what it all boils down to:

1) The H&H will shoot with a good "hunting" accuracy bullets from 150-240grain.
Velocities from 3200 ft/sec with 150grain bullet and 2600 ft/sec with 240grain.

2) The bee will sting with a bullet selection from 90-180grain, where the best option may
be in the 140-150grain doing 3350-3280 ft/sec. A 180grain Woodleigh will do a +3000 ft/sec
if needed.

As far as rifles concern the Bee need the long barrel(+26") in order to really strech out, where a .300 H&H will do just fine with a 24" barrel to peak.
The .270Bee offer reach n´range cross the canyon. It has light recoil, and rifles can be built light aswell with a long slime barrel, with no ironsights, where(I believe) the .300H&H deserve a good set of ironsights to fulfill a more classic look and on a slightly often heavier rifle too.
As I read your post there leaves no question the Bee is the death star you are seeking :grin:

 

[Hegland]

As I read your post there leaves no question the Bee is the death star you are seeking :grin:

Hard to argue with that logic! There are plenty of folks here who have lots of experience with the cartridge as well, providing a great pool of knowledge to draw from.

And while I have no particular emotional attachment to the standard .270, it is a great cartridge, and one that would serve your wife well.

 

[SJB358]

Gerry, I really like the idea of the 270 WBY a bunch. Fast and I think there is a great selection of good bullets for hunting. I really like my 270WSM. Pretty much everything the WBY does with a little less barrel and super tough cases.

Now, the 300 H&H, well, that's just a super cool cartridge that performs. I would have loved a Pre 64 H&H but with my little 300 WSM doing 2900 with 200 grain ABs in the little Featherweight, I'm not planning to give it up for quite awhile. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[wildgene]

...long as you like the 6.5's, here's another interesting one. Someone has taken the .280 AI & necked it down to 6.5, or you could be a real iconoclast & neck it up to 8mm, ballistics should be pretty much on line w/ the .325 WSM, possibly better w/ heavier bullets (220gr. Sierra) & slower powders, while recoil would be less than the 8mm RM.

...& when Nosler releases a 8mm 220gr. LRAB, it would be a real show stopper out to 800+ yds....

...my problem w/ the .270 Weatherby has always been the cost/ benefit ratio, regardless of the .270 Wby's mythical kill prowess, real life ballistics show that 15% more powder gains you 6% more MV that translates to 6" less drop/ 1" less windage, & 10% more energy @ 500yds. If the additional panache of the .270 Wby makes the additional costs/ availability in a rifle, ammo, components worth it to you have @ it...

 

[Guy Miner]

Gerry - if you just WANT a .270 Weatherby, by all means, go get one! :grin:

Otherwise I'd offer this up:

Decide what it is that you want the new rifle to do, that the .260 & .35 Whelen don't...

Do you want a lighter, handier rifle?

Do you want a heavy-barreled 1000 yard target & game getter?

I'm thinking .30 cal falls almost exactly between the .260 & .35 cal rifles - and perhaps you can find a great .300 H&H in a rifle you like... Maybe a Ruger Number One? They were in production, in that cartridge, just a year or two ago... A .300 H&H fits nicely in a Rem 700 action, or would be a classic in a Win 70 too.

Downrange ballistics? Think 7mm WSM... Wow... With a slick 160 - 180 gr bullet... Push it to about 3,000 fps... Excellent accuracy, and very capable of deer & elk at long range. Moose at shorter range with the terrific 175 gr Nosler Partition would be great too - and the rifle doesn't have to weigh a ton either.

Just a few thoughts, gotta go. Bicycle buddies are about to leave!

Guy

 

[Guest]

Of course, nobody will be surprised to hear me say, "Get the 270Wby!" I love mine. It will do anything I need done on this continent, out to pretty obscene ranges. In my opinion, based on overall ballistics, there is just no real equal within the non-wildcat realm, for non-dangerous game on this continent. If you decide to go that route, pattern your rifle after the #2 contour 26" Weatherby factory barreled action, and you'll have a very nice rig for all-around hunting and shooting. Not too heavy, but not to light/thin, either. I absolutely love mine.

I do have to agree with Guy, though. Start by thinking about what you want to do that the two bookends you have won't do well. Let that guide your decision.

Then, of course, my passion kicks in and I figure once you do that, you'll see the value in the 270Wby and go for it. There's something wicked about 130s at 3400+, and 150s at 3200+. Flat like Kansas and hit like a mack truck.

 

[Rem Jim]

7 MM Weatherby mag - the Perfect in between cartridge ! It out performs the 7mm Rem mag by 100 fps and is a Very Accurate cartridge also ! JMHO

Cheers RJ

 

[RiverRider]

For practical purposes I don't see so much of a real gap between .260 Rem and .35 Whelen, but a guy wants what a guy wants and I fully grok that. The first thing that came to mind was the .300 Whelen (makes it sound sexier, doesn't it?), but I saw your list and my eye went to the .300 H&H which has always intrigued me. I think it's a very interesting cartridge that would offer a certain amount of flexibility, and it fits neatly between the .35 and the .260, so how could you go wrong?