Sidney and Graham,
Wow! What a polite arguement! I'm amazed! This thread was actually meant to be the header for a series of sub-threads with everyone's "pet" calibers listed. I have to get somebody working on that. I don't think I can pass the geek test that allows one to be able to do those type of things...But I'm learning.
I knew some folks would come to the aid and defense of the 270 Winchester...and it's good to see such a civil defense of said caliber. I have 2 hunters on my lease in Alabama who use and insist on using their 270's. O.K.: Whatever!
The 270 Winchester, like a lot of other cartridges is the offspring of the 30-06, including one of my favorite "doe" guns, the 25-06. According to everything I have read about the 270's beginning, the closest thing I can find to the truth is this. Winchester was looking for a long range varmint round that would work best with 90-110 grain bullets. They did not want to copy a Chinese cartridge (sorry: I don't know exactly which one) so, after experimenting with several necked-down cases and loads, they decided upon what is now the 270 Winchester. It is my belief and nothing I have read contradicts this, that many "wild cat" versions of this round had already been experimented with "prior" to it becoming a proprietary cartridge of Winchester. Who knows for sure. Frank Barnes makes a small mention, in his book, of Winchester wanting to avoid confusion with a Chinese variety of this cartridge, but that doesn't mean anything "for sure". Quite possibly the 270 was entirely Winchester's brain child. With all the folks experimenting with ammunition in that day anything is possible.
The write-up, by Dr. Barnes, does state that this cartridge was originally intended for light bullets, used at long range. I never debated that. I have owned a few 270's and never been happy with their long range performance...on "whitetails". They shoot well (not super) at long range, but do not cut it for me on "whitetails". That's where I fall out of love with them. Of course, most folks aren't shooting at the distancec I am on an everyday basis for deer.
The 6,000 acres I hunt on and have been hunting on for 25 years, is totally different than when I started hunting there. It use to be a working farm, with cotton, soy beans, corn, 3 pecan orchards, cattle, hogs, chickens...you know? A farm? All of that is gone now and the entire property is a southern yellow pine tree forrest. Too bad. You used to be able to drive or walk around that property and count 60-100 deer. No more. The deer are still there. You just can't see them. Nothing is open anymore.
"Ambush" lanes and food plots have been put in, in order to hunt. This translates to long shots, even longer than shooting across open fields. I'll go into all of this some other time, but my 30-06's (I shoot 2 of them) work quite well for what I now have to do, in order to produce a nice buck.
Best, Capt. Chris