The .270 Weatherby Magnum was the first

belted magnum The term belted magnum or belted case refers to any cartridge, but generally a rifle cartridge, with a shell casing that has a pronounced "belt" around its base that continues 2–4 mm past the extractor groove. This design originated with the B ...

based on the .300 H&H Magnum to be developed by

Roy Weatherby Roy Edward Weatherby (4 September 1910 — 4 April 1988), was the founder and owner of Weatherby, Weatherby, Inc., an American rifle, shotgun and cartridge manufacturing company founded 1945. Weatherby created an entire line of custom cartridges ...

in 1943. The cartridge is short enough to function in standard-length long actions with a brass length of 2.549" or 64.74mm and an overall length of about 3.295".

History and Design

The development of the .270 Weatherby Magnum led to the characteristic double-radius shoulders belted magnum case, proprietary of the Weatherby Magnum line of cartridges. Particularly, the .270 Wby Mag the result of necked down to accommodate the .277 in bullets and bringing down the case to fit a standard length action. Like most Weatherby cartridges, the .270 Weatherby was standardized by the Small Arms and Ammunitions Manufacturers Institute in 1994, and it has a SAAMI maximum pressure limit of 62,500 psi. The first Weatherby cartridge to be used in Africa was the .270 Weatherby on a jackal on June 8, 1948.

Performance

Given its higher pressure and larger case which holds more powder than the

.270 Winchester The .270 Winchester is a rifle cartridge developed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1923 and unveiled in 1925 as a chambering for their bolt-action Model 54The Complete Reloading Manual for the .270 Winchester, Loadbooks USA, Inc., 2004 ...

, the .270 Weatherby has about 200 ft/s faster performance with any particular bullet weight. It also outperforms newer cartidge designs such as the

.270 WSM The 270 Winchester Short Magnum or 270 WSM is a short, unbelted, magnum cartridge created by necking down the .300 Winchester Short Magnum and fitting it with a .277 caliber bullet. The correct name for the cartridge, as listed by the Sporting A ...

and the

6.8 Western The 6.8 Western is a centerfire rifle cartridge designed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company and Browning Arms Company. Introduced to the market in 2021 as a big game hunting cartridge that may be also used for long range target shooting. Histo ...

. This performance comes at the cost of more recoil and barrel heat. In addition, a long barrel is necessary to take advantage of extra powder to gain maximum velocity. The cartridge is excellent at long-range hunting, but is not well suited to high-volume shooting such as

varmint hunting Varmint hunting or varminting is the practice of hunting vermin — generally small/medium-sized wild mammals or birds — as a means of pest control, rather than as games for food or trophy. The targeted animals are culled because they are consi ...

. For those

handloading Handloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by assembling the individual components (case, primer, propellant, and projectile), rather than purchasing mass-assembled, factory-loaded ammunition. The term ''hand ...

their own cartridges, this is an easy round to load. It does best with full-power loads and is not well-suited for reduced loads. Ed Weatherby, son of Roy Weatherby says that the .270 Weatherby is his favorite

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

. As he puts it, ''there just isn't a better long-range

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

caliber.'' He goes on to mention that it is also quite effective for

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, and pronghorn.

Sporting Use

Due to its flat trajectory result of a combination of a high muzzle velocity and ballistic coefficient, the .270 Wby Mag makes an excellent cartridge option for mid sized big game out to considerable ranges and the fact of being chambered in standard length actions allows the possibility of manufacturing a light mountain rifle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:270 Weatherby Magnum Weatherby Magnum rifle cartridges Pistol and rifle cartridges Magnum rifle cartridges

History and Design

Performance

Sporting Use

See also

References