A-bolt in .270 Win

[ORsouthpaw]

Santa brought me a new gun, A Browning A-bolt Medallion in .270 Winchester. My questions is what are peoples experiences or opinions of the A-bolt in this chambering? I have one in .300 Win Mag and it is very accurate, the first time to the range I shot a quarter sized group with it. Can expect the same from the .270 Win? I have never had a gun smaller then a 7mm Rem Mag. So I'm just wondering what to expect, How about recoil? Is it going that much different? I'll most likely be shooting 130-150 grain factory Federal load. Thanks

 

[GJM]

You know I got one in a 223wssm was a beautiful peice and shot well, then about 2 weeks later I was shooting it and it was throwing them all over the place, got to looking and the stock must of been green it was touching the barrel on the left side, I was pissed to say the least, was gonna pitch a fit with Browning but thought i'd get nothing but BS, so I took some fine grit paper and went to work on the stock, it shoots good again, but craftsmanship has gone down the toilet with most all of the makers anyway I think, guess that's what you get when you get wood! and not much is made in the good ol USA...Greg

 

[BigPig]

I'd expect it to shoot well, but you'd be lucky to have it shoot as well as your other rifle. All production guns these days seem to be a bit fickle. That is why some will drive tacks and some shoot all over the place. Even models of the same make and caliber. Its a crap shoot for pinpoint accuracy, but you can reasonably expect acceptable accuracy.

 

[MDQ]

I have had 3 Browning Stainless Stalkers. My first shot decent, my second & current gun is simply ridiculously accurate. I am embarrassed by it because I just pulled it out of the box & bought a box of Winchester Fail Safe bullets & suddenly I was a sharp-shooter. I won't even admit what it shoots because I'd get called a liar. I wanted to shoot Federal Premiums with Nosler Partitions, but when I tried them it wasn't anywhere near as accurate - it was plenty good - probably 1.5" at 100 yards, but not nearly as accurate as the Fail Safes. The Fail Safes are only average speed & frankly have poor ballistics - but I just can't bring myself to shoot anything else out of that gun.

Bottom line - I don't think you can expect any factory gun to shoot groups that fit in a quarter at 100 yards. With some luck & trying several types of ammo & bullets you can get them to shoot plenty good for hunting.

Couple other comments on this gun (sorry if this is more than you want to hear). I put solid scope mounts on it - not the adjustable rear type. I was more careful with the mounting of this scope than any other I've done & I was very meticulous when breaking in the barrel - lots of cleaning in between shots. I don't know if any of that is part of why it shoots so well, but I'll do it everytime I get a new gun from now on. I also drilled and tapped the set screw on the trigger & have it set at about 3lbs.

My 3rd gun is still in the box (I got a deal on a clearance sale) and if, heaven forbid, anything happens to my current gun, and Browning has quit making them, I'll have a backup.

If you can't tell, I'm a huge Browning A-bolt fan & until one of them lets me down, I won't shoot anything else.

Good luck with your new toy!

Guy

 

[Curlee]

I have the exact same rifle and caliber. I have had a pretty difficult time getting it to stay consistent. It doesn't shoot bad, but doesn't shoot the way I would like it to. The tightest I got it was about 3in. at 200yards. Which is fine I just wish I could get it down to about a 1 1/2. However I have taken 3 mule deer with it from 75-170 yards and have had no problem. And they've all dropped in their tracks!!

Curlee

 

[Bob D.]

I have the same rifle in 270 Win. but with the composite stock. I've had good luck with handloads using 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips. Have shot many 5-shot groups at 100 yards that were 1/2 inch or less. For factory loads I've had very good accuracy from the Winchester Power Points in both 130 and 150 grain. These are the ones you can get at Wal Mart for around $12 a box. I have shot 1/2 inch groups at 200 yards with these! I'm wondering why I even waste my time handloading when factory loads shoot that good.

 

[elkantlers]

IN THE LAST OUTDOOR LIFE MAGAZINE ABOUT THE 270 CALIBER. THEY WERE DISCUSSING WHY THE 270 IS NOT A ACCURATE AS OTHER CALIBERS. IT MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME TO READ IT.

I HAVE A 300 WIN MAG IN BROWINING A-BOLT MEDALION. THIS IS MY MOST ACCURATE GUN. I USE IT FOR EVERY THING.

MDQ, THEY REASON THE FAILSAFES SHOOT BETTER THAT OTHER LOADS IS BECAUSE THEY ARE SLOWER. MOST GUNS SHOOT THE BEST WITH SLOWER LOADS.

 

[ORsouthpaw]

First, Thanks for all the replies. Just an FYI-The ammo that produced the quarter tight groups in my .300 was a Federal Factory load in a 165gr Solid Base's. Since these shot so well I haven't seen the need for anything else, My hopes are that the Partition's will produce the best groups from the .270 but it seems that I have been hearing more and more about them not being as accurate as some of the others availible. I will be using the .270 for both Muleys and Blacktails as well as a back up for my .300 on elk.

Has anyone had any experience with the 140 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws. or the Accubonds? They look like they might be a good crossover round so that I wouldn't have to sight in again if I ended up using the gun during elk season. Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[sagebrush]

I have four A-Bolts, 2 in .270. All shoot great with factory ammo, I just had to find the ones they like. The TBBC were acceptable for hunting purposes, but not as good as other loads. I'm currently shooting Hornady 130 gr SST for deer and antelope. All one shot kills from 161 to 397 yds. I couldn't get Accubonds to shoot as well. The TBBC would work as a backup for elk out of my .270 if the .338 went down.

That's my experience.

By the way, I have all Leupold scopes, rings and bases. I just called Bear Basin and told them I wanted my scope mounted as low as possible and they set me up.

 

[MDQ]

slower = more accurate? I'd never heard that, but it makes sense. Works for me. A slow (2800 fps) bullet in the lungs beats a fast (3200 fps) bullet in the guts, eh?

Guy

 

[Elkslayer]

Sagebrush,
Were you ever able to recover any of those Hornady 139 gr. SST's in the antelope or mule deer?
Was wondering how well the bullet construction held together?
I used a 130 Gr. Nosler Ballistic tip this year and could not find any of the bullet. It went everywhere! Looking for a bullet that will hold together a little better if you hit some bone.
Has anyone recovered bullets from the 130 Grain Remington Core-Lokt Pointed Soft Point? If so, how did it do?
What about the Winchester ammo in holding together?
Thanks for everyone's help.
Pictures of recovered 270 bullets would be great. Please post.

 

[Elkslayer]

Anyone else with any other experiences and bullet recoveries?

 

[MDQ]

I've recovered 2 or 3 of the Failsafes from deer (haven't shot an elk with them). They hold together extremely well - which makes sense since they're a 1 piece bullet (kinda like a Barnes). I shot 1 buck in the front shoulder (not bone) quartering toward me & found the bullet just under the skin in his hind quarter. Passed almost the length of the buck & looked perfect - mushroom front & almost 100% weight retention.

When I was first deciding what ammo to shoot I shot a few into some dirt in the field I was sighting in at. I dug them all up & weighed them - definitely a big difference in weight retention.

For muz hunters, I recovered a Barnes bullet from my 50 cal Knight in my biggest buck & a spike bull elk. Those things make a perfect mushroom & form about a 1 inch diameter. Fantastic bullet.

Guy