Author Topic: I NEVER THOUGH I WOULD LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE IT (Read 1642 times)

OOBuckshot · « **on:** June 03, 2003, 05:42:13 PM »

Yes sir! I never thought I would see the day. My new July/August issue of " Rifle Shooter" came today and there it was. Col. Craig Boddington is and always was a closet .270 fan. Mr. "Magnum" is tired of writing about magnums. He touts the virtues of the .270, .280 and the 30-06. He even writes of killing a bull elk at 410yds with a .270 using a 150gr Nosler partition. It took a few steps and dropped dead. How many times has he classified the .270 as " a minimal elk gun." I guess that elk's last though was " d@^^#, that was only a .270" It is almost like a man who has been in a coma for the last twenty years finally waking up. He states that these three great cartridges are capable of taking any game in North America. I think he should have stopped short of the great bears. Even though I think a well placed 220gr round nose bullet will kill a grizzly, if it didn't I would want something that could roll him over for a second shot. Just call it insurance.

The only thing I can figure is he has retired from writing/ promoting the fire arms industry's magnum craze and is writing for himself. He mention Jack O'Connor a few times which is always a good thing. I don't know how long Jack has been dead now, but I still read his books and always check out the book tables at the gun shows for something he may have written before I learned to read. Has anyone checked on Jim Carmichael lately? If he has traded in his .338mag for a .270, I am going to reread Revelations. OOBuckshot :toast:

HHI #4694 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 04, 2003, 04:12:22 AM »

Good Post! That is an amazing statement from Boddington AKA Elmer Keith junior! :lol:

Zachary · « **Reply #2 on:** June 04, 2003, 08:24:18 AM »

Actually, I saw him on a television ad on the Outdoor Channel. I think that he was sponsoring camo clothing.

Zachary

2eagles · « **Reply #3 on:** June 04, 2003, 11:48:59 AM »

Does this mean it's OK that I just bought my .270 and I can use it for elk if I want to? :mrgreen: Jim

dbuck · « **Reply #4 on:** June 04, 2003, 04:16:47 PM »

The 270 has always been a great cartridge, I own two rifles in this caliber and wouldn't think one moment about hunting anything in North America except the big bears and I will tell you something else, I will put the 7-08 up their with the 270. I have never been a fan of the mags. and will never own one. Gunwriters have to write about something and now its the new short mags, give me a break. What did we ever do when the 30-06 was king of the mountain, I don't know how we got by, my two cents.
Jack O'Conner had it right all along.

dbuck

Big Tom · « **Reply #5 on:** June 08, 2003, 07:29:20 PM »

Don't overlook the 7X57. Karamojo Bell killed over 200 Elephants with one and that caliber is much older and recoils less than a .308 or 7mm/08. I bought a Ruger RS bolt action in that caliber back in 1973. Shot 5 or 6 bucks with it, (Bam..flop!). Shoud have never sold it.

Alas today only Ruger makes a rifle in 7X57 :cry:

safetysheriff · « **Reply #6 on:** June 12, 2003, 02:28:08 PM »

I always thought that John Barsness (sp?) and G. Sitton were more realistic than Boddington. I think both of them left Petersen's Hunting right after the 'old man' went to his reward. I still see Barsness' writing; I wonder if anyone knows where G. Sitton went. I'd like to continue reading his 'stuff'.

Did Boddington chase those two away from 'Hunting' magazine?

Power · « **Reply #7 on:** June 12, 2003, 02:48:17 PM »

Yup, the 270 is great. My wife shoots one and I think it works just fine. I was talked into buying a 7mm Rem. Mag. but it's not really much more than a hot 270. When I was buying my new Tikka I had to decide what caliber to get. Since I already have all the reloading stuff for 7mm I stayed with it. Toyed with the idea of upgrading to the 300 mags but figured what I had was good enough for what little difference I'd see. It will kill anything I point it at but like you have said, I'll hold out on the big bears until I can get a bigger round.

I've always liked Mr. Boddington's writing but he always was a magnum fan. He did an article a few years back about "perfect" caliber for each animal and when he mentioned 7mm Rem. Mag. as the best for deer I knew he'd been sniffing glue. I love my gun/caliber, don't get me wrong but it's way more than any deer needs.

Muddyboots · « **Reply #8 on:** June 13, 2003, 02:02:06 PM »

Read same article and came away with "what flavor of the day is he pushing now"? I agree on .270, .280 and 06 as being all anyone needs for most situations but the real problem with magnums is the lack of understanding of their flexibility. I have a .270, 06, 7RM and 30 WM. Deer hunting and it is the .270 or 06 every time. Close in shooting for black bear and the mags come out with heavy bullets. I shoot my 7RM with 175 Partitions mostly and they hit and penetrate better than anything out there. The elk he killed at 400 yards with a 150 gr. Partition has about 1390 ft lbs of energy (RCBS Load = 2850 fps muzzle at 6,000 ft elevation @40 degrees). Nice kill but accepted energy for elk by most is 2,000 ft lbs. The .270 was well below accepted energy by most standards at that distance. My 300 WM with 200 gr. Accubonds at 2950 fps has 2,000 + ft lbs to almost 500 yards which is way more than I will ever shoot but it is there to deliver the smack. I sometimes down load the 300 WM so it is a hot 06 and still have the extra power to load up if I need it. Deer + .270 + 06 + .280 = dead all day. Big stuff like elk and bear, I want something with more pop. Besides, if one rifle did it all, how could I justify those niche rifles just in case it is needed? Look at rifles as golf clubs, you need the right club for the distance. Just my $0.02.

magnum308 · « **Reply #9 on:** May 12, 2004, 03:17:37 AM »

OOBuckshot,

I think Craig Boddington has always had a good rifle sense. he's also be able to afford to do what he likes in shotting/hunting and he had dabbled in long range hunting with his 8MM Rem Mag.

Nevertheless, he was a great admirer of the 270 and Jack O'Connor which was his default cartridge. He is also a very experienced hunter and marksman. Meaning that he could place his shots right but wasn't afraid to admit when he didn't (a trait of an experience marksman). As one gets older one tends to prefer the milder calibres and has the wisdom to know when they are right and when they are not.

I am a fan of the 270, Jack O'Connor and Craig Boddington.

Magnum308

MI VHNTR · « **Reply #10 on:** May 12, 2004, 03:52:34 PM »

Yup, CB, good old magnum man himself. :roll: I gave up reading his stuff years ago after reading his "wisdom" on rifles for wolf hunting. He determined that the wolf hunters using the 223 were undergunned in order to hunt the wolves. As usual, HE determined that a larger caliber was needed to kill a wolf. Funny thing is, while he determined this in order to write a story, the wolf hunters did the wolf hunting for a living. I wonder who was more experienced and better versed on the subject? MI VHNTR