I wrote this article 5 years ago. since then a 7mm Rem with 168 g Nosler ABLR’s exit my Browning X Bolt 26 inch barrel of mine at 3005 fps. The .270 can’t do that. That’s why the 7mm shines for Moose at long range. Bigger bullets!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.270_Winchester
The .270 Winchester Cartridge is based on the 30-06 as its parent cartridge case.
Wikipedia image :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7mm_Remington_Magnum
The 7mm Remington Magnum is based on the .375 H&H magnum case.
First things first, on closer inspection we find that the 7mm bullet is really a 7.2 mm bullet making it .284 inches in diameter. The .270 isn’t really .270 inches in diameter either, it is .277 inches in diameter. The difference in diameter is a mere .007 inches. So given that minor difference what is the real difference? First and foremost the 7mm was designed to shoot not only heavier bullets but at the .270 150 grain weights which shoot at 2800 fps, the 7mm shoots them at 2900 fps gaining 100 fps on average. A gain yes but really not significant, at least to me. If you are trying to maximize the range and wring out all possible down range energy and distance at say 400 to 500 yards, the 7mm has a slight edge. If you are going to stay in the 300 yard range, the 7 mm only gains 25 yards over the .270 in a calculation of max point blank range. Are you going to quibble over 25 yards? Where the 7mm earnes its paycheck is at 160 to 175 grains exiting the barrel at 2900 fps and 2800 fps respectively and for game that are elk size at 450 yards with 1500 ft-lbs or 155 yards for Moose with the 175 grain bullet delivering 2500 ft-lbs. The .270 is at its best at 130 to 150 grain bullets killing Elk with 130 grain bullets out to 360 yards, deer at 505 yards say some sources. The 140 grain 7mm bullet kills deer out to 575 yards a gain of delivered energy and only picked up 70 yards.
All that said, powder being increasingly expensive, if you want it all, every lick of distance, and have money to burn, the 7mm wins but by very little except for 160 and 175 grains where the 7mm has an edge for bigger game like Moose and better sectional density. But if you were going to hunt larger game regularly, the 7mm is not the caliber of choice. A .300 Winchester Magnum is better with a bullet selection that goes from 140 grains to 200 grains and more versatile or the .338 Winchester magnum where the 200 grain .338 delivers 3800 ft-lbs at the muzzle at 2955 fps. Now we are talking about how to handle recoil in a serious way too. In my case I skipped the lesser 30 caliber and went for the .338 Win Mag in Africa and later to the .375 Ruger. Currently my 2 gun battery is the .243 Winchester 6.5 Creedmoor or .270 Win (not in my gun cabinet today) and the .375 Ruger and both wear Pachmayr Decelerator pads that cut felt recoil in half. Making both guns easy to shoot.
If you have the “money to play” then own them all. If you are strictly a deer hunter then the .270 is the most widely used, and most effective besides its parent the 30-06 cartridge. Reloading brass from the 30-06 to .270 is easy and very cost effective and cases are everywhere. For Moose its max range is 150 yards and deer with 130 grain spitzers at 500 yards with 3000 ft/sec at the muzzle. From a practical cost effective application deer hunting standpoint the .270 is the winner between them. From a versatility standpoint and wider application the 7mm wins too. It is all about what you hunt and the max ranges you encounter. When I hunted Africa (see my book in the magazine header) I took the .270 and a .338 Win. Mag and hand-loaded them with Nosler Partitions® resulting in one shot kills and shooting no farther than 250 yards.
I have fallen for the 6.5 Creedmoor in 2017 to partner with the 375 Ruger which took a bison at 100 or so yards. The .270 and 6.5 Creedmoor are nearly identical and either will work superbly for their intended quarry as Winchester game classification as CXP3 rifles. Below is a bison I took with the .375 Ruger and 260 grain Nosler AccuBonds traveling over 2600 fps. The AccuBond entered at the last rib on the right and angled forward through heart and lungs and exited the far left shoulder breaking bone.
Good Hunting! © 2014 and 2017