New life for all those 270's?

Yes the 270 is going the way of the 7X57 Mauser. Good reliable guns that only required some one to have the ability to aim. Now it's rapid fire with ammo that blows holes thru all the meat making the carcase sausage instead of steaks and roasts.

I learned to hunt in Alaska where the 270 is not popular.

I do know many world class hunters where this is the #1 rifle they use while in the lower 48.

That said - 'tearing up' a deer is all a matter of bullet placement. It's been my experience hunters in the lower 48 would rather take a bad shot than no shot........... and are never fussy about the bullet they use.

In Alaska I can afford to pass up on a caribou I'm not happy with the shot placement. I can always wait, or, come back the next day and find another. Not so with whitetail - where the nice buck you see today could be the last one you find for the next 7 years in some states. So - I understand the reason for it.

Well, it does depend on the size of the deer. Those little dog sized deer down south are .223 sized. Go up into Canada and your factory loads .270 might just be the ticket.

You're obviously on the mark as any one gun can be used to kill a huge variety of game as long as you use the right load for the right animal.

Size matters but velocity is everything. If you could get hold of one of NASA'a light gas guns you could see daylight through a Rhino at 300 yards with a .223 bullet traveling 25,000-35,000 feet per second.

Good Luck!

having been using a .270 for over 30 years, and having taken a large number of mule deer, elk, black bear, hog and antelope with them, I have no idea where you came up with the mistaken idea that anyone would retire a .270 or that it tears up too much meat.

Anyone who would settle for a rear shot just to harvest a trophy, or anyone who would choose to go for a "lung" shot, which allows an animal to run for miles, and suffer, needs to take up a new hobby, a lung shot is only a little better than a gut shot, in that it doesn't produce the toxins released from the guts. A properly placed hit from many calibers, including the .270 will cleanly and humanely harvest an animal. A poor hit from ANY caliber can result in wasted meat, gut shot animals suffering and lost animals as well. I use the 150 grain sierra BTSP on large mule deer, elk and black bear and drop down to the 130 grain for antelope. A solid heaart shot does not "explosively" destroy meat, and usually drops the animal right in it's tracks.

I prefer IMR 4831, but I don't share my load data for liability reasons, and because what is a perfectly acceptable pressure in my rifle, my cause problems in another. Always use the loads from a loading manual, start with the lower loads, and work up for accuracy without going over the safe load data. Also, as for "sharing" your reloads with your friends, it is foolish on their part if they accept them. Never shoot someone elses reloads. You may be perfectly capable as a reloader, but one mistake, and they will own you in civil court. Also, the throat varies from rifle to rifle, even with consecutive serial numbers. One that fits the throat of your rifle, may be too long in another, which will cause the bullet to be set back as the bolt closes, raising the chamber pressure. If you made a mistake and threw the powder charge, and did not weigh it exactly, you could have added a tad too much powder. Or maybe you added a magnum primer by mistake, which increases the pressure by up to 17%, Couple this with the deeper set bullet, and again, they now own you in civil court. Not to mention the fact that accuracy will vary from rifle to rifle as well.

I do agree with you that the .270 is too light for dangerous game, with the clarification that game like leopard has been taken with it. But I would not use it on the big brown or grizzly bears etc.

so, I'm glad you choose the .270, as it is an excellent cartridge, but I don't agree with to much else on your "question".

shoot safe