204Ruger

G'day guys, just seeking the general consensus on the 270wsm as a cartridge for pigs and deer etc, I currently have a sako .243 but am thinking of swapping it for the wsm,just seems to be faster, flatter and more knock down power for not much more recoil. What are your thoughts?

The .270 WSM I have seems to have some pretty good recoil....!


Another thing to consider especially if You don't Reload your shells is the high cost of the WSM cartridges....I'm paying around $35.00-$40.00 for a box of 20 shells,if You went with a lighter grain bullet Your .243 will reach out further.I have a Savage 7mm-08 and it has less recoil and shoots very good...I can also get the managed recoil shells for it and have even less recoil,the 7mm-08 are 140 grain in regular or the managed recoils.My Remington 30-06 shells in the Managed recoil are 125 grains while the regular shells are 150-180 grain.


I wonder if a .204 Caliber would reach out further and still take a Hog down?

I do reload so the cost isn't a big concern, especially as I won't shoot the wsm all that often anyway, ( too in love with my 204). I have shot hogs with my 204, dropped them on the spot too, but the 204 has it's place and unfortunately it isn't a pig gun

Now after having 2 close calls in the Mark Twain Forest, I no long use a small caliber rifle to hunt those hogs in the woods or creek bottoms. I instead use a 444 Marlin model 1895 with a 300 grn hard-cast bullet.

The WSM is only slightly stronger than a standard 270. So yes, no trouble with using it on hogs.
Had a very good friend use his 270Win on a pig hunt in NM last summer. Brought home a 400# hog with 1 shot.

I had two 270wsm's, one was a Browning X-Bolt Stainless Fluted Barrel with the carbon fiber stock, the other was a Rem 700 Stainless/ Syn. Both kicked like mules. I used both to shoot pigs and deer. I liked both guns but traded them away because of the recoil and the price of rounds. I reload, but I never got set up to reload the wsm and the cost of rounds is stuid. But if the recoil isn't bad for you and you reload, it's definitely a good deer and pig cartridge.

This may be of interest to you.

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowled ... agnum.html

You can kill a HOG with a .17 caliber if you have a mind too! However, I been down that road once or twice using smaller caliber center fire rifles to hunt hogs in Missouri and other places like Tenn. & Kentucky. I will no longer try to hunt em with a black powder single shot rifle either! Instead I use either a .338 Win mag for the far out shots, or I use a lever action Marlin in the model 1895, having the Triple 4 as my caliber. Yep, the 444 Marlin using a 290 grain Beartooth Hardcast Bullet. It shoots 1.25 inch groups with a scope on top the barrel but I seldom use a scope on my lever guns. It kind of defeats the purpose really. I also sometimes use the Marlin 45/70 caliber in the 45/70 caliber, with a 405 grain bullet. This really puts the brakes on those big porkers in a hurry.

I have 2 270 short mags and love them. use them for deer hunting and like previously stated are a tad better than the standard 270 win. I load mine with the barnes tsx bullets and they are devastating on deer. My guns are accurate and dont kick anymore than should be expected from a gun of similar caliber. I would highly recommend getting one but then again I like the "odd"cartridges vs the standards.