"You never get a second chance to make a first impression". Many of us judge rifle calibers by the firearm that they were housed in or by the ammo that we used. It is often held forth by gun writers that the .318 Wesley Richards (.330 diameter bullets) developed a sterling reputation in Africa due mostly to the good luck of having the available bullets of good quality and built to match the velocity of the loads of the time. I have a friend who was a Deer Culler in New Zealand for a number of years and he used and observed the use of many different available rifles during that time. He killed more deer than most of us will ever hope to. His favorite caliber was the .270. His favorite rifle was a ZKK 600. I do not know what brand of ammo the Game Department furnished during his time, but likely it was also loaded with good bullets that performed well at .270 speeds. He gifted me with a ZKK in .270 that has the bridge-mounted pop-up peep sight for a backup sight. I have lever release rings on it and it has become one of my go-to rifles. It has killed everything I have shot with it like a lightning bolt. This is a limited number of animals but includes deer and hogs. I loaned to a friend in camp after he suffered a mechanical failure in his 30-06 auto. He is a life-long '06 fan - and talked smack at the .270. He shot only one animal with only one shot and was very impressed as it never took a step. Luck? Good bullets? I will tell you the ammo is stuffed with IMR4831 and old fashioned Sierra 130 grainers. Not my first .270 but the first one that has really impressed me.......and I had previously shot deer both with a pre-64 Model 70 and a Browning 1885 and was not a .270 fan after using them. I don't think anyone could take it out and shoot a dozen animals with it and tell me what caliber it is without looking. Is it the rifle or the caliber? Another favorite of mine for North American game is the 6.5 X 55 Swede - there is not much difference.

John