weatherby 270 ammo

[shootdonniebrook]

I have a thompson encore with a VVCG barrel chambered for the 270 weatherby mag. I only shoot factory ammo, and last year i shot a buck at 75 yards behind the shoulders and it ran 80 yards or so and fell. The entrance and exit hole were very small. I was shooting the 140gr. ballistic tip. As far as factory ammo, what will cause the most damage and largest entrance and exit hole.Weatherby offers a
      130gr. sp
      130gr. partition
      140gr. ballistic tip
      140gr. barnes x
      150gr. sp
      150gr. partition
     I believe the sp= hornady spiral point. Will the lighter bullets do more damage due to the increased speed or does the heavy bullets do more damage?

[ABaker]

I am pretty sure the problem is that you shoot Ballistic Tip. Those bullets are for smaller game because they pretty much explode on contact. I would try some good Soft Points. Something that keeps it's mass and penetrates good. Also just because a bullet is expensive doesn't mean it's the best.

[Graybeard]

Geez not again with the BT being bad thing. The man claims it went thru with little to no expansion so you condemn it as blowing up and being a varmint bullet.

When will folks learn. The BT is BOTH a varmint bullet AND a hunting bullet. Yes a BIG GAME hunting bullet. You just have to use the right one for the job. He had the right one. There likely is no better choice than a 140 BT unless you want to go to a 150 PT in a .270 rifle. They work fine. So do the Hornady bullets. So does every single one of those bullets Weatherby loads.

To the original poster: OK you shot a deer in the lungs and it ran and bled out and died in 80 yards. What do you expect? That's what they are supposed to do. Folks who've shot very many deer know that's exactly what you should have expected to happen.

[R.W.Dale]

Last years deer That I killed was with my 300wby using 168 CT ballistic silvertips. I was quite unimpressed with the results at a range of 120yds the bullet entered high behind the shoulder on a downhill quartering away shot and exploded with minimal penatration. in fact only one very small bullet fragment went through the membrane of the chest cavity no organs suffered any damage. Luckly the deer was OLD because all I can figure that killed him was kenetic energy. Had the deer been young and spry he probably would have taken off leaving no blood trail. After that I made the switch to 200gr grand slams.

 I think that in non magnum rounds the BT bullets would be a good compromise but in the big boomers at closer ranges I feel a tougher bullet is in order.

[Mark]

I'm with GB on this one.  Over the last six years I have killed four bucks with a 280 Remington with handloads using a 140 grain BT.  Ranges were from 180 yards to 10 yards.  No animal went past 40 yards.  The shots were all well placed in the vitals(heart and lungs).  I thought in each case the BTs performed well.

I once shot a deer with a 7mm mag using Remington factory ammo (140 grain Corelokt).  This deer didn't take a step but the damage was extensive to the point of ruining meat.  The bullet exploded leaving an exit wound about 6 inches in diameter.  I concluded that I don't need a magnum to kill a whitetail. Don't deer hunt with that rifle anymore.

[TCBrian]

I have now seen two deer and an antelope killed with ballistic tips, here are the results.

Antelope@250yrds 6.5x55 Swedish 120 BT=Legs buckled and buck dropped where it stood, Bullet hit bone and didn't exit, but pentrated all the way to the other side after hitting the close shoulder blade.

Wyoming Mulie@150 308 165BT=Legs buckled and deer dropped instantly, double lung hit, exit hole was twice the size of entrance

Coues whitetail@270 yrds 300WSM 150 BT= Deer ran 20 yrds and folded, he hit him kind of high and far back. Entrance and exit wounds were about the same size. Not much expansion at that distance on such a small animal.

I don't have a ton of different experience, but from what I have seen, BTs are deadly on big game.

Any yes, they do make a ballistic tip varmint bullet, but it specifies varmint the box and is not to be used for big game. Both the big game style and varmint styles are extremely accurate, which is why I like them and other similiar style bullets. Given the choice though, I will now use accubonds, since they have even less risk of coming apart, even though that has not been a problem with the Ballistic tips.

Good hunting,
Brian