270 WSM:
The 270 Winchester Short Magnum is a newer center fire rifle cartridge developed in partnership with Browning Arms Company and Winchester ammunition, making its debut and introduced to the shooting public in 2001. The new .277″ short magnum cartridge is chambered in Winchester’s Model 70 bolt action rifle.
The 270 WSM is a commercial cartridge based on the 404 Jeffery cartridge case, shortening to 2.100″ and necking down to .277″ caliber and sharpening the shoulder angle to 35 degrees the new 270 WSM cartridge has plenty of case capacity.
The 270 WSM cartridge achieves its useful purpose as an excellent cartridge for white-tailed deer, mule deer, sheep, elk, moose and bears, .277″ caliber is a time proven caliber for deer size animals.
The 270 Winchester Short Magnum cartridge is a well thought out cartridge as Winchester is no stranger in .277″ caliber cartridge development. Winchester has now developed 2 cartridges in this caliber; (270 Winchester in 1923), and (270 Winchester Short Magnum in 2001).
The 270 WSM factory loadings show a velocity of 3,275 feet per second for a 130 grain bullet for deer hunting and this translates to moderate recoil for the shooter with plenty of bullet energy at the 500 yard mark to flatten a white-tailed deer size animal.
The 140 grain bullet serves the elk hunter well all the way out to 400 yards and the 150 grain bullet will certainly handle moose size animals all the way out to 300 yards. The 270 WSM cartridge, chambered in a short action light weight rifle may well be the ultimate combination for a superb mountain rifle in rugged terrain.
270 WSM Ballistics:
| This is a ballistics chart for the 270 Winchester Short Magnum rifle: | |||||||
| Rifle barrel length: 24 Inches. Ammunition: Winchester 130 grain E-Tip bullet. Bullet diameter: .277 inch. Bullet weight: 130 grains. Bullet ballistic coefficient: .459. Rifle zero: 240 yards, 2″ mid-range rise. |
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| Range | Muzzle | 50 yds. | 100 yds. | 200 yds. | 300 yds. | 400 yds. | 500 yds. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet Velocity: | 3,275 fps. | 3,163 fps. | 3,055 fps. | 2,846 fps. | 2,647 fps. | 2,456 fps. | 2,273 fps. |
| Bullet Energy: | 3,096 ft.lbs. | 2,888 ft.lbs. | 2,694 ft.lbs. | 2,338 ft.lbs. | 2,022 ft.lbs. | 1,741 ft.lbs. | 1,492 ft.lbs. |
| Bullet Drop: | – 1.8″ | + 0.4″ | + 1.6″ | + 1.3″ | – 3.3″ | – 12.9″ | – 28.3″ |
| This is a ballistics chart for the 270 Winchester Short Magnum rifle: | |||||||
| Rifle barrel length: 24 Inches. Ammunition: Winchester 150 grain XP3 bullet. Bullet diameter: .277 inch. Bullet weight: 150 grains. Bullet ballistic coefficient: .503. Rifle zero: 260 yards, 3″ mid-range rise. |
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| Range | Muzzle | 50 yds. | 100 yds. | 200 yds. | 300 yds. | 400 yds. | 500 yds. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet Velocity: | 3,120 fps. | 3,022 fps. | 2,926 fps. | 2,740 fps. | 2,562 fps. | 2,391 fps. | 2,227 fps. |
| Bullet Energy: | 3,242 ft.lbs. | 3,041 ft.lbs. | 2,851 ft.lbs. | 2,501 ft.lbs. | 2,187 ft.lbs. | 1,905 ft.lbs. | 1,651 ft.lbs. |
| Bullet Drop: | – 1.8″ | + 0.8″ | + 2.4″ | + 2.5″ | – 2.0″ | – 11.9″ | – 27.8″ |
| 270 Winchester Short Magnum Reloading: |
Bullet Diameter: .277 Inch.
Maximum Case Length: 2.100 Inches.
Trimmed Case Length: 2.090 Inches.
Primer Size: Large Rifle.
Maximum Cartridge Overall Length: 2.860 Inches.