Pre-owned Holland & Holland .270 For Sale

When the .270 Winchester was released onto the market in 1925 it was probably the flattest-shooting cartridge of its type around; rivaled only by the .300 Holland & Holland Magnum, which was introduced in the same year.

In the decades following the end of the Second World War, the .270 WCF, as it was originally named, rose to prominence as a long-range hunting cartridge, in part due to efforts of Jack O’Connor, who wrote for Outdoor Life and advocated for the .270 very effectively.

It is, perhaps, most effective when loaded with a 130-grain bullet, with which it can achieve 3,060 fps and shoot out to ranges up to 500 yards. As a flat-shooting mountain or plains game rifle it is very effective, having a point-blank range of around 325 yards and capable of dispatching large deer or sheep. It also became very popular on Scottish estates for red deer management.

Lighter and heavier loads are available for varied purposes and ammunition of all kinds is readily available from commercial manufacturers, unlike the old rival .300 H&H Magnum, which is now very hard to buy off the shelf.

Ammunition availability may explain why this beautiful Holland & Holland stalking rifle was made for the .270 rather than the classic Holland & Holland .300 cartridge. It offers the best of both worlds: English design and craftsmanship, plus a very popular and effective cartridge available everywhere.

Holland & Holland No.4543 is a relatively light, very traditional looking, British, Mauser-action, stalking rifle with a 25” barrel and 14 ¼” length of pull, including a leather-covered Silver’s pad. It has quick-detach sling swivels, a pistol hand stock with steel grip-cap, with trap. It also features a cheek-piece on the left side.

The iron sights consist of a standing rear ‘V’ for 130 yards and a single additional leaf for 200 yards. The front sight is a traditional blade with a flip-up shroud in the Holland & Holland style. The action is fitted with quick -detach ‘scope mounts and a Zeiss Diavari 3-9x42 ‘scope.

The action, barrel, sight blocks, guard and floor-plate are deeply blacked and profusely engraved with large and medium scrolls, a single red stag fills a cartouche on the floor-plate and the serial number is inlaid in gold.

The action, barrel, sight blocks, guard and floor-plate are deeply blacked and profusely engraved with large and medium scrolls, a single red stag fills a cartouche on the floor-plate and the serial number is inlaid in gold.

The action is a genuine, original, Oberndorf-marked Mauser and the rifle was proof tested in 2006, bearing London nitro-proof marks for that year on the barrel.

The walnut stock is attractive, with good colour and some contrasting figure in the butt, while the grain is straight through the forepart and the hand, providing strength and stability where it is most needed.

Although approaching twenty years old, the rifle remains in very good order and is mechanically perfect, with clean bore and almost no discernible wear to the metal finish.

Were this rifle made between the wars, it would probably have been a .300 H&H Magnum, otherwise it would look almost identical to the way it does today. It offers the ideal blend of classic good looks and best London quality to a modern day hunter intending to use it for everyday expeditions in search of deer, sheep or pigs.

At a fraction of the cost of ordering a new rifle, this Holland & Holland .270 represents great value and a great deal of pleasure of ownership.

It is available now from Westley Richards.

Please see our secondhand rifles listing on the website for full details and price.