Modern Loads for a Classic Cartridge

Handloading the .270 Winchester

Being nothing more than a .30-06 Springfield necked down to a 0.277”, the .270 is easy to load.

Story & Photos by James E. House

 I was not around when the .270 Winchester was introduced in 1925, but I became aware of it at an early age.

A well-to-do resident of the small town where I grew up had taken a serious hunting trip to Alaska and some of his trophies were displayed in a local store. That bear was huge but I think I was more impressed with his rifle and the cartridge it fired which were also on display. The rifle was a Winchester Model 70 and the cartridge was a .270 Winchester.

The .270 is still a very popular caliber. The reason is simple: it performs. With a 130-grain bullet having good sectional density and ballistic coefficient driven at over 3,000 ft/sec, the .270 is one of the best choices for medium game at rather long range. Even in comparison to some of the current magnums, the .270 gives up little in this regard.

The .270 is even more versatile with the development of newer high performance bullets. The 140- and 150-grain premium bullets such as the Swift A-Frame, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, and Nosler Partition make the .270 even more suitable for use on game such as elk than was the case when the cartridge was introduced.

SELECTION OF COMPONENTS

My .270 has not seen a lot of use in recent years. Therefore, I wanted to test it using a range of powders and bullets. To keep the project to a manageable size, I selected five bullets, the 90-grain Sierra hollow point, the 100-grain Hornady spitzer, the 110-grain Sierra spitzer, the 130-grain Sierra Spitzer, and the 150-grain Speer spitzer. Propellants employed were IMR 4064 and 4350, Alliant PowerPro 2000MR and Reloder 17, and Winchester 760. Winchester cases were trimmed to 2.530” and Winchester large rifle primers were used in all loads. Powder charges were weighed to the nearest tenth of a grain. Five cartridges were tested with each load, and they were fired at a target at a range of 100 yards to produce a five-shot group. Velocities were measured at 10 feet from the muzzle using a Competition Electronics ProChrono chronograph.

The load with the 90-grain Sierra hollow point and IMR 4064 gave a five shot group of just over an inch, but four of the shots gave a 0.64” cluster. The 100-grain Hornady driven by 55.0 grains of Reloder 17 gave a very nice group that measured only 0.83”, but four of the shots constituted a group of 0.45”. The four groups with hunting weight bullets averaged almost exactly 1.5” and these loads were not optimized in any way. I believe that with some experimenting and tweaking, even with those loads groups in the 1.2”-1.5” inch range would be obtainable.

The .270 Winchester is even more versatile today than it was half a century ago because of the wide range of bullets available now. Handloading is a way to exploit that versatility. My old Winchester 770 has always performed so well that I have never had the urge to get another .270 Winchester rifle.

Deep Concealment

There were Ankle Holsters, then so-called ‘Tuckables,’ but Nothing Beats a Pistol in your Pocket!

I began thinking about a deep concealment rig when I watched “The French Connection” for about the fifteenth time, just to watch Gene Hackman dive behind a tree to duck rounds fired by a rooftop sniper while reaching down to draw a snubbie .38 Special revolver from that holster on his ankle.

Later on, I carried an old Chief’s Special in an ankle rig that fit very well inside of my cowboy boot while working as an editor at a small weekly newspaper. I occasionally carried a flatter .32-caliber Beretta semiauto the same way, and the notion of having a pistol that nobody could detect in a place they wouldn’t be looking was both intriguing and very practical.

Such pistols are handy, within reach at all times, and unnoticeable because most people don’t walk around staring at someone’s ankles…and the holster allows you have your gun in an emergency. I knew a female attorney who carried a revolver in an ankle holster, and with the proper slacks, one could not tell. Ditto a female cop.

CONCEALMENT FOR WOMEN

There are a couple of companies that build handbags and purses with special compartments for handguns. Such bags are worth the money when balanced against one’s safety. And, as noted earlier, most people don’t look for a hidden handgun—the average scumbag is surprised when an intended victim turns out to be armed and willing to shoot.

Some time back I chatted with a lady in real estate who tipped me to the fact that several of her female colleagues carried pistols on the job. There have been cases of real estate agents being robbed or murdered, and female realtors are often concerned about sexual assault, too.

Over the years, there have been some interesting products for women, including bra holsters and thigh holsters for very small pistols.

THE “TUCKABLE” HOLSTER

Years ago, a guy asked me to build a holster over which he could tuck a shirt. I diddled around with the project and it eventually turned into something copied by several other people; somewhere along the way it was dubbed the “tuckable.”

This was, and remains, a rig built for small handguns. The original prototypes were for a J-frame and a Walther PPK. I’ve had guys ask me to make them for Government Models and I turned them down. The biggest gun I’d ever suggest for such a rig is maybe an Officer’s Model or similar Kimber or Springfield compact.


Integral Holsters

One of the more intriguing options for pocket carry includes the integral pocket holster, like the Pocket Shot made by DeSantis. These holsters fit to your pistol semi-permanently, meaning that you can remove them when you want, but they’re intended to allow proper firing, cycling, and reloading, with the holster affixed to the gun. They don’t provide auxiliary protection for your trigger—like most traditional holsters—and won’t keep out the lint and grit, but they serve a larger purpose: to provide a low-drag, integral method of concealing the shape of your handgun for pocket carry! --Editor

For more information: www.desantisholster.com

Wallet-Printing
 Most pocket holsters are designed in a rectangular size and shape that fits your pocket—and their purpose—quite well.

When you sit down, the contents of your pants pockets “print” through the fabric, clearly showing their outline—keys, a phone, a pocket knife… If you intend to sit down in public, your gun will “print” its unmistakable outline unless you have it in a holster.

Pocket holsters are designed to approximate the size and shape of a wallet, so that even the most intent observer will think you’ve merely placed your wallet in a front pocket. --Editor

Workman’s deep cover rig has generically been called a “tuckable” because you wear it with a shirt tucked over the hidden sidearm. This is Mitch Rosen’s superb rendition.

When An Active Shooter Goes On a Rampage, Employ These Survival Measures

Another mass shooting massacre.

This, like the others, took more innocent victims.

Everyone seems preoccupied with asking so many questions in an attempt to understand why these perpetrators kill and who is to blame: parents, media, video games, guns or the economy? These are all the wrong questions!

Men, women and children worldwide have been the victims of such attacks for years. The massacres in Columbine, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Aurora, Mumbai, India; Beslan, Russia; Tuusula, Finland; Utoya Island, Norway; Toulouse, France and many others are tragic examples of the threat that shooters pose to public safety.

Yet, many people chose to ignore the risk by assuming that such attacks will not happen or believing that they can be protected by local law enforcement.
These are dangerous assumptions.

FULL SECURITY

We all know that there is no such thing as 100% security, and no one knows where and when the next attack will occur.

Active shooters and terrorists always attack the most vulnerable targets. They plan their attacks meticulously and over a long period of time and exploit weaknesses in security systems. They attack with surprise and their goal is to inflict the largest number of casualties as quickly as possible. That is why most casualties in these incidents occur during the first 10 minutes, before law enforcement intervention.
Whether the shooter is a mentally derange person, a religious fanatic, a vengeful employee or an outcast student, they all use similar tactics and the results are always the same: large scale death and suffering.
As community leaders, business managers, teachers and parents, we are in a position of trust. If we do not act responsibility, we are failing those who put their trust in us and accept the loss of innocent lives. Doing nothing to prepare and accepting defeat is unethical and un-American. As Americans, we do not give in or give up. We know that life is sacred and we fight for what is right. A mass murderer killing innocent men, women and children is wrong!

It is time we start asking ourselves the most important question: What can be done to survive and stop the violence during the attack … when escape is impossible and the shooter is on location killing people?

What You Must Do

• Think like a survivor
• Manage the stress
• Follow through with an effective plan of action
• Rapidly assess the threat
• Locate exits
• Use cover
• Evacuate safely when possible
• Barricade in an enclosed space and deny access to the shooter



Behind the Evil
VULNERABLE TARGETS
Active shooters and terrorists always attack those they believe are vulnerable.

THE PLANNING
Their attacks are planned meticulously and over a long period of time. They also exploit weaknesses in security systems.

THE ATTACK
This is always done with surprise.

THEIR GOALS
Inflict the largest number of casualties as quickly as possible.

THE FIRST 10 MINUTES
Most casualties in these incidents occur during the first 10 minutes.

Combat Shotgun

Benelli’s M4, the Marine’s 12-Gauge, Is Enhanced for Military and Defensive Use

The few. The proud. The Marines.

That slogan for the U. S. Marine Corps also work for its combat shotgun, the M1014.

In 1998, the government wanted a new combat shotgun, and keeping with proper military fashion, they issued a request for submissions to military trials. Benelli answered the call by entering their model M4 for consideration.  After extensive testing and submitting the entrants to mud, sand, heat and cold, the M4 out performed all of the competition.

In 1999, the Benelli M4 was adopted as the M1014 Joint Service Combat Shotgun. From that time on, the M4 put the military trials behind it and started proving its worth in combat.  
See why.

WHAT IT’S GOT

The Benelli M4 is a semi-automatic, 12-gauge shotgun that has been enhanced for military and defensive use. The heart of the M4 is Benelli’s patented Auto-Regulating Gas-Operated (A.R.G.O.) system. Dual stainless steel, self-cleaning pistons are operated by gases fed through a port just in front of the chamber. These short-stroke pistons impact directly against the bolt assembly eliminating the need for excessive linkage and providing reliable cycling.

The M4 sports an 18.5-inch barrel, which gives the shotgun an overall length of only 40 inches. The synthetic pistol-grip stock and fore end keeps its weight down to 7.8 pounds. The M4 has a capacity of 5+1and is compatible with either 2 ¾ or 3 inch shells.

The barrel is supplied with a removable modified choke.  Benelli has done away with the standard “bead” and has given the M4 a front blade mated with a ghost-ring rear sight. Both the front and rear sights are protected from damage with sturdy side-wings. Optional Tritium “night-sight” inserts are available for those wanting to go the step further.

The rear sight is field adjustable for both windage and elevation. If these sights aren’t enough for you, Benelli has also drilled and tapped the receiver for scope mounts. To make it even easier, the M4 is supplied with a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny sight rail. There is a sling attachment point directly in front of the fore end, and one on each side of the butt-stock. The shotgun can be purchased with either black or desert camo finish.

Specifications are nice, but they alone do not make a combat shotgun.

In Search of a Trophy

This South African Safari Included an Encounter with Poachers and a Search for a World Record Mountain Reedbuck
By Thomas C. Tabor

"Tom, you've got to hunt mountain reedbuck. I know where we possibly could find the next world record," my PH and close friend, Carl Labuschage, kept telling me.

But in all honesty, I hadn't even considered hunting reedbuck of any kind on this trip. Months before I'd arrived in South Africa, I'd prepared a well thought out list of other plains game species that the walls of my trophy room just seemed to be screaming out for.

Surely, if finances weren't a consideration, I would have booked a 30-day safari all-inclusive of everything, including the Big Five. But unfortunately, like a lot of hunters, I don't fit in the category of being a wealthy financier and as such, expenses played a major role in the 10 animals that I'd selected to hunt.

TOP OF THE LIST

On the top of that list, I'd hoped to take a good kudu bull, which would move me a little closer to completing my collection of spiral-horned antelope; I wanted to bring home a warthog, which had somehow eluded me on my earlier safaris; and the eight others on the list were no less desirable, or no less challenging to hunt.

But what was possibly even more of a concern than the fairly small trophy fee for the reedbuck was my time restraints. There just didn't seem to be enough time to include a mountain reedbuck, but Carl persisted, pleading with me that I had to make time even at the cost of missing out on some other species. Knowing full well if I didn't agree I would surely regret it down the road, I finally asked Carl to make the necessary arrangements. First, however, I wanted to see a kudu bull on the ground and in the Zululand area, good quality kudu are not all that easy to come by.