Weatherby's Sensational 270 Magnum Part 1

There are some folks who identify themselves as firearm enthusiasts, who may be just a bit… impatient. They skip the descriptive text and form a first impression based on pictures alone. Then they combine that impression with a heavy dose of conjecture to form a widely stated opinion. Years past, that approach was contained within a 12 – 18 age demographic. These days, that demographic has been extended to approximately 62.25 years of age.

Every once in a while, I will get an email follow up to a Weatherby article where the person asks when Weatherby is going to change that 60s looking stock and get with the times. When will they meet the stylistic needs of young, stubble bearded urban cowboys and hair flipping, BMW driving, new country women?

In reality, Weatherby is a very modern company that does an excellent job of changing product colors, textures and specifications to need the demands of an ever evolving market place in an effort to capture the hearts and minds of new generations of hunters and shooters. The reason the stock’s form remains essentially the same is because it represents a functional design, not a style. A classic case of form following function.

The flat bottom forearm tapers from 1.50″ ahead of the floorplate to a slender 1.25″ at the tip. Shooting from a rest or standing position, the flat profile makes it easy to hold without canting the rifle, where a round or heavily radiused forearm tend to roll in a shooter’s palm.

The rifle’s swept pistol grip keeps knuckles away from the trigger guard under recoil and the slight castoff prevents the cheek piece from being pushed into a shooter’s face under recoil. The dramatic 1 5/8″ drop at the stock’s heel converts rearward thrust into rotation while the raised Monte Carlo comb with only 1/2″ of drop provides support for scoped shooting. The Decelerator recoil pad takes the thump out of even larger Weatherby cartridges.

The point is that while the classic Weatherby stock may be… distinctive in appearance, it’s geometry and form are made to stabilize, protect and aid in accurate shooting. It is a well thought out design and will remain “in style” as long as sportsman appreciate those benefits.

And then there is my demographic…

Most gun makers forget my demographic; grumpy old guys, who dress like farmers, don’t particularly like to talk to people, and sometimes don’t shave. I can only assume they have concluded that we have brittle bones, probably stay at home and will soon die in any event. Interesting, as I tend to assume these people are smart ass little boys and girls who think rifle stocks should be a style. Weatherby, however, has not forgotten us traditionalists. In fact, there are 12 Mark V models to select from with prices ranging from the $1,600 Sporter, the base walnut and blued steel model, to the very slick and very fancy $3,200 Ultramark and my favorite, the very elegant Euromark.

Personally, I think this Euromark Mark V is beauty. Unlike the Deluxe with its gloss stock and bright blued finish, the Euromark has a hand rubbed oil finish select walnut stock and matte finish hardware. There are no contrasting spacers between the forearm tip and grip cap making the lines flow between the contrasting material, there is the brand identifying maple wood blaze inlayed into the grip cap. Not only does this look like a fine traditional sporting rifle, it even feels like a traditional sporting rifle.

Like other Mark V based Weatherbys, the Euromark has a positive, firing pin blocking 2 position safety. An indicator protrudes when the action is cocked. The bolt lift is a very shallow 54º, which makes for a short bolt throw and a lot of bolt handle – scope eyepiece clearance.

The Weatherby Mark V has a spring loaded plunger ejector that assures ejection even prior to full bolt stroke as would be the case with a blade ejector. The hinged extractor gets an exceptional grip on case rims, but does not take up space within the bolt face.

The 270 Weatherby Magnum gets the same hefty bolt diameter of 0.842″ and 9 locking lugs as the big 460 Weatherby Magnum. The fluted body reduces bearing surface and creates channels that prevent small amounts of accumulated debris from binding the bolt. In the event of case or primer failure, gas ports bleed off gases away from the shooter’s face and hands.

The .270 Weatherby has a 0.378″ freebore which permits the use of heavy for bore bullets and action and magazine box capacity to support the same. The hammer forged barrel has 1-1/16-16, UNA – 3A threads and a substantial #2 contour, the same used up through the 340 Weatherby Magnum.

The 270 Weatherby Magnum…

The amazing thing about the 270 Weatherby Magnum is that it was put into commercial service in 1945 when Truman was President of the United States and Japan and Germany were being defeated at the conclusion of World War II. In fact, some of our most popular cartridges are over one hundred years old, which means a good idea remains a good idea until something better comes along. The 270 Weatherby remains a good idea.

Today, there are three 0.277″ cartridges of consequence, pictured left to right – 270 Weatherby Magnum, 270 Winchester and 270 Winchester Short Magnum. People who own Short Mags will tell you the WSM is almost as fast. 270 Winchester owners will tell you that you can achieve the same velocity as either of the other two if you pump up the pressure a bit… about 150,000 PSI, and go to a longer barrel… about 36″. In reality, with equal 26″ long barrels, their performance with 150 grain bullets, in the order of appearance, 3300 fps, 2850 fps and 3120 fps.

So with a very nice rifle in hand, some boxes of factory ammo and a some boxes of select handloads, it is time to head out to the range and see what this combination can deliver.

Weatherby’s Sensational 270 Magnum Part 1
Weatherby’s Sensational 270 Magnum Part 2