One 270Win bullet for deer/elk/spike-fork

Hey all,

Looking for opinion on which weight/bullet of 270Win to use for primarily deer (they make small WTs but big Muleys in these parts) but also two point bulls. If I am ever lucky enough I might someday get an Elk draw or go on a Caribou hunt too. I have access to a 338WM for full size moose and might one day get my own 338ME if they ever decide to manufacture decent weight bullets for it. :confused:

I want to use one weight for everything as I don't have the time to be re-sighting in. I also don't handload (maybe one day) so it would need to be factory loads. So far I'm thinking 140gr AccuBonds as they come factory loaded from both Federal and Winchester with only minor variations in BC between the two.

Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks guys and gals!

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So far I'm thinking 140gr AccuBonds as they come factory loaded from both Federal and Winchester with only minor variations in BC between the two.

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So far sounds like sound thinking.

Make mine a 140gr Nosler Partition please.

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Originally Posted by Hotolds442

Make mine a 140gr Nosler Partition please.

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I haven't found a factory loaded 140gr Partition for 270Win otherwise I'd be with you on that one.

Try the 130 and 140 grain bullets and use what shoots best.
Also, don't be afraid to try a Barnes bullet if going after bigger stuff, like elk. I've seen elk drop with 130 grain bullets and lots of folks say you need heavier. Shot placement, is what counts, more than bullet weight. Accubonds are good if they shoot in your rifle. Partitions are good too. The most important thing is to shoot a rifle that will group your particular load well. If not, try a different bullet.

Try looking at these recommended bullet weights: Ideal Bullet Weight.

There is a reason the 130 grain bullet has been vastly successful for deer with the .270 Win. If you choose a good premium bullet instead of of the classics, then you are good to go for Elk too! Partitions or all-copper hunting would be a better choice, however, if you are serious about Elk and a 130 grain bullet.

Not sure what rifle you are shooting, but my savage THXP .270 loves 150gr Federal Fusion. I have yet to actually shoot an animal with them (hopefully this winter), but everyone that I have talked that has says they do really well on whitetail. FWIW my rifle hates 130gr Hornady GMX. Does okay with 130gr and 150gr Rem Core-lok.

I haven't bought it yet but I'm eyeballing a 114 American Classic. Part f the reason I was thinking of trying the 140 AccuBonds first was that they came with slightly different BCs (different method of calculating between manufacturers or slightly different bullet?) in two different factory loads from two different manufacturers, meaning I pretty much doubled my chance of the rifle liking it. If they don't shoot well I'll go down to 130gr. Partitions and then into Interbonds and other bonded bullets.

Can't address factory ammo but my 270 loved 140gr Noslers, the most accurate bullet by far out of that rifle. Used them on everything- coyotes, pronghorn, mulies, and elk. Dropped everything like a rock. Best of luck.

If you have the time before your hunt and can get a hold of them, try HSM's 150gr Berger VLD.

Good luck!

Hate to say it but if each brand of ammo is pushing the same 140 accubond it has the same BC. If you are basing your decisions on BC there are better options out there. My favorite bullet for the 270 is the Berger 130gr classic hunter. With its hybrid design it actually has a higher BC than the 140 vld and only 10 points lower than the 150gr offering. With a BC of .497 and a higher muzzle velocity than either the 140 or 150 makes this combo very hard to beat and it is very devastating on game.

That sounds great ... where can the OP get a loaded Berger 130 classic hunter ammo?

Just because the op doesn't reload doesn't mean he doesn't know someone who does. No need to be facetious its only the internet everything will be OK.

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Originally Posted by stomp442

Just because the op doesn't reload doesn't mean he doesn't know someone who does. No need to be facetious its only the internet everything will be OK.

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WOW! Sorry you feel that way and that you misconstrued my response, I honestly don't know all what's out there ... that's why I asked, a couple of my friends that don't reload could really take advantage of it.

I thought the whole idea was to share information. If that is not the case, I stand corrected.

Sorry I took it the wrong way. For some reason it just came across wrong and I took offense. This is a great site and full of great people willing to help. I'm sorry I tarnished the environment here and the hijack of the thread.

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Originally Posted by stomp442

Sorry I took it the wrong way. For some reason it just came across wrong and I took offense. This is a great site and full of great people willing to help. I'm sorry I tarnished the environment here and the hijack of the thread.

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I agree that it's a great site with great people willing and able to help ... and for that same reason I joined to learn and hope to contribute. It's all good here on my end ... let's move on forward from here.

Cheers!

I would not hesitate one second before using the superb 110gr Barnes TTSX at 3550-3600 on any mammal in North America with the possible exception of the Coastal Brown Bears. For those toothy creatures I'll take the 130gr TTSX and do it with utter confidence.

The also superb .270 WCF was for years my primary cartridge and during that time I came to the conclusion that I had no need or desire to use anything heavier than a 130gr. bullet.
With today's wonderful monometal bullets, particularly Barnes TTSX's, I'd be perfectly happy using the 95gr 6.8mm Barnes TTSX on any ungulate in NA.

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Originally Posted by Savage6x284

I would not hesitate one second before using the superb 110gr Barnes TTSX at 3550-3600 on any mammal in North America with the possible exception of the Coastal Brown Bears. For those toothy creatures I'll take the 130gr TTSX and do it with utter confidence.

The also superb .270 WCF was for years my primary cartridge and during that time I came to the conclusion that I had no need or desire to use anything heavier than a 130gr. bullet.
With today's wonderful monometal bullets, particularly Barnes TTSX's, I'd be perfectly happy using the 95gr 6.8mm Barnes TTSX on any ungulate in NA.

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Shot placement is king, because these animals have all been taken with the 22 Hornet and sometimes 22 rimfire under ideal conditions when the bullet was placed precisely where it needed to go. The problem is that one needs to have a good chance of causing the animal to faint and collapse within about 100 yards of where it was standing when hit. The smaller bullets do not cut enough veins and arteries to reliably drop the brain blood pressure that quickly, so larger bullets are needed.

Conversely, going with 500 grain bullets from an elephant rifle means that the shooter has to work very diligently to assure his hit is in the animal's vital zone. So, a happy balance is best formed by using the smallest bullet that will regularly cut a permanent wound channel that does the job. The reduced recoil makes it possible for us to get the hunting accuracy we need without having to consciously think about managing recoil during the shot.

The balance is discussed in some detail along with tables and a calculator for recommended bullet weights at Ideal Bullet Weight.

These principles suggest the 95 gr monolithic hunting bullet is probably good for all deer in North America, but the odds of losing even a well-hit Elk or Moose go up a lot.

Similarly, the 110 gr is the minimum monolithic one should consider for Elk but is a tad light for reliable anchoring of Moose near where it was standing when shot.

My experience with moose is that they are very easy to kill. IME moose hang on to life much less tenaciously than even the whitetail deer. Hit them in the boiler room with a great monometal which passes though and they move 5 feet, all of them vertical.

Monometals have put paid to these old fashioned notions of needing heavy bullets for heavy animals.

It of course should go without saying that you have to place your shot correctly. I'd much prefer an 80gr monometal in the boiler room to a 500gr bullet in the paunch.

The Barnes TSX and TTSX's have done very well for me. Shot one mulie with a 150gr GMX but if it expanded, you could not tell it from the exit hole. All the rest have been 168gr. Mine were from an '06 though.

Barnes does sell factory loaded ammo, a little more money but worth a look. I would venture the 130gr TSX would do exactly what you are asking for.

By the way just because the same bullet is loaded in two different factory brands does NOT mean the ACTUAL BC will be the same as one poster mentioned. They will be close but MV and retained velocity downrange play a part in determining true BC. Barnes' bullet BC's numbers are drawn from MV as well as downrange ballistic info. But they stress that will vary from rifle to rifle and load to load.

One thing for certain, I would try both loads, once the rifle is zero'd before assuming thee point of impact is the same or near the same. Sometimes it's shocking, the differences.

I posted this somewhere else on the forum--I just got a new 270--and even though I hand-load I bought a bunch of off-the-shelf factory stuff just for harvesting brass and seeing what they could do. I almost never buy Winchester factory ammo--except their shotshells--but just for the heck of it I bought a box of their powermax bonded in 270. I was blown away by how well they shot--they pasted every other cartridge I bought including several mentioned here already. It looks like a very well designed bullet the "protected hollow-point" looks like a berger from outward appearances. I haven't hunted with them--at least not yet.

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Originally Posted by JASmith

Try looking at these recommended bullet weights: Ideal Bullet Weight.

There is a reason the 130 grain bullet has been vastly successful for deer with the .270 Win. If you choose a good premium bullet instead of of the classics, then you are good to go for Elk too! Partitions or all-copper hunting would be a better choice, however, if you are serious about Elk and a 130 grain bullet.

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I hunt with a .30-06 with 130gr spire points...if the .270 is anything like it in that weight, I personally would not use it for anything bigger than white tail and/or mule deer Its a devastating load on deer, bullet disintegrates but won't pass through the ribs on the far side at ranges of no more than 150 yards (what i use it for).

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Originally Posted by sdeeter19541

I hunt with a .30-06 with 130gr spire points...if the .270 is anything like it in that weight, I personally would not use it for anything bigger than white tail and/or mule deer Its a devastating load on deer, bullet disintegrates but won't pass through the ribs on the far side at ranges of no more than 150 yards (what i use it for).

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Ammoguide.com lists velocities of more than 3300 fps for that bullet. If you load the bullet for a faster muzzle velocity than the 3000 fps seen in classic 270 rounds, then the bullet is going too fast! It will definitely come apart too soon.

Dial your velocity back to 2850 - 2950 fps and you will find the round a lot more pleasant to shoot and you'll get better performance on target. The difference in drop at your stated max range of 150 yards is small enough that a simple zero of an inch or so high at 100 yards will make the load good to go.

This round was worked up by my father and myself...its brought home more than 75 white tails, with at least 50 of those from the 110e it was originally loaded for alone. The max I use it for is 150 yrds, because that's how far you can see not because of the round...it punches a solid quarter-sized 5-shot group at 100 yrds.

I'm not changing a thing...

I only posted because I feel a similar load in a 270 would be too light for anything heavier/denser than deer and that I would give real world results for a similar load.

I haven't hunted the 270 yet--but I wouldn't worry for a second about it's stopping power on Elk--in fact one reason I bought 270 was it's outstanding balance of ballistics, long-range performance and relative heft of projectile. A quick glance at my Hornady manual reveals the vast majority of their offerings in 270 130 gr on up are rated to large game.

A simple 130g sierra prohunter will kill anything most of us will ever encounter,deer,elk goats ect.

I use 165/175 Matrix VLDs in my .270 AI ...

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps133ec313.jpg
(.270 Win 150 NBT vs .270 AI 175 Matrix VLD)

My current accuracy load for .270 Win (fireforming to AI) is 2919 FPS.
My current accuracy load for .270 AI is 2993 FPS with 58 H4831SC BR2 Win brass); exceeded the 3K+ FPS but group opens up. Have a few more powders to test on. :p

Yowza--that's some fast big bullets! Is a common 270 barrel able to stabilize them OK?

Take a look here this may help.

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Know...inchester.html

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Originally Posted by thermaler

Yowza--that's some fast big bullets! Is a common 270 barrel able to stabilize them OK?

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Matrix recommends 1:8 for the 175 and 1:9 for the 165 for stabiliztion. However, depending elevation, some end users are claiming 1:10 stabilization.