Author Topic: .270 how light a bullet for deer? (Read 5033 times)

Deerhunter#1 · « **on:** July 22, 2010, 02:41:19 PM »

Was thinking of buying a 25-06 but have recently seen that sierra pro hunter is avail in 110 grain bullet and other manuf also are now offering lighter then 130 grain deer bullets for the .270. has anyone used them and had success? Just thought the .270 with that weight bullet would put me where I was looking to be with the 25-06 with these weight bullets. was looking for a little more punch then a .243 but a lit less the a standard 130 grain .270.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #1 on:** July 22, 2010, 05:01:26 PM »

When my son was 12-yearsold I started him out with the Sierra 110-grain on deer. Had a hunting partner who used them successfully on deer and wild pigs. After a lot of practice I switched him over to 130-grain bullets. At the time I loaded them to reduce recoil.

I loaded a large batch of them this spring for range ammunition they had been in the bullet chest for over thirty years. The bullet is accurate but I prefer a heavier bullet and that was the reason for the switch.

FN in MT · « **Reply #2 on:** July 22, 2010, 05:20:03 PM »

I've never been a fan of light bullets for big game. Why not use the traditional weights for big game? 130-140 is fine for deer from the .270 Win.

Where are You hunting, and WHAT ranges?? Makes a difference before many of us can suggest a course of action.

My deer rifles have been getting smaller and slower right along the past several years. When I'm not using a handgun.Down to a .257 Roberts with 120 gr Nosler Accubonds now. The wife uses a 7mm-08 with 140's .
Don't really need a lot on deer. Unless the ranges are extreme...then the larger ctg's ARE surely your friend. Buck wind better, etc.

Where and WHAT??

FN in MT

Drilling Man · « **Reply #3 on:** July 22, 2010, 05:25:30 PM »

I personally would NOT use lighter than 130 grain bullets for big game in a 270... Even some 130's can be too lightly constructed to give good penetration on deer when they are still at higher velocities.

DM

jasonprox700 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 22, 2010, 06:31:10 PM »

If you are looking for a rifle that doesn't have much recoil but is still adequate for deer, the .260 would fit your bill nicely. You can load 120-140gr bullets for deer with a bit more recoil than the .243. With these high BC bullets, you still get a decent trajectory close to the .270.

The 7mm-08 would fit too. If you are going with the .270, I personally would not drop below the 130gr. If you want to use the lighter bullets, I would go with a premium bullets. With the .270 velocities and a close shot, you would be looking at an explosion that would not penetrate.

Just my 2cents...

Mac11700 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 22, 2010, 11:01:20 PM »

Quote from: Deerhunter#1 on July 22, 2010, 02:41:19 PM

Was thinking of buying a 25-06 but have recently seen that sierra pro hunter is avail in 110 grain bullet and other manuf also are now offering lighter then 130 grain deer bullets for the .270. has anyone used them and had success? Just thought the .270 with that weight bullet would put me where I was looking to be with the 25-06 with these weight bullets. was looking for a little more punch then a .243 but a lit less the a standard 130 grain .270.

Just get some of the managed recoil loadings available and you'll be right where you want to be.

Mac

coyotejoe · « **Reply #6 on:** July 23, 2010, 04:37:33 AM »

I too would not go lighter than 130, if you want less recoil just back off the powder charge. I think those 110's may be great for the 6.8mm but in the .270 you can do better. Even the 130's have been known to blow up and lack penetration at short range.

RaySendero · « **Reply #7 on:** July 23, 2010, 07:24:52 AM »

Robert Ruark said "Use enough gun"!

Guess he figured it would be understood to use enough bullet, too!

yogi · « **Reply #8 on:** July 23, 2010, 12:02:58 PM »

Seems to me that you could do the same things with a barnes 110gr in 270 as a 257 wea. mag using comparable bullet weight. Ballistics are pretty close.
I have used the barnes tipped triple shock in 110gr and thus far they have performed very well. The 257 wea. mag is certainly no slouch either when it comes to a deer gun.
Yogi

poncaguy · « **Reply #9 on:** July 23, 2010, 07:03:52 PM »

I shot a doe at 347 yards with my 270 WSM handload, Barnes TTSX 110 , exploded lungs, she went 10 yards, they are extremely accurate..........

Deerhunter#1 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 24, 2010, 01:58:52 AM »

Thanks for all your replies. I quess what I have taken is there is a mix as to what people think of the use. The people who have actually used the lighter bullets seem to have had great results with the proper bullet. I am in the mindset that bigger isnt always better. Shot placement is of paramount importance regardless of the caliber. I feel a .277 diameter bullet with a 110 grain bullet traveling at 3100 feet per second will probobly do as well if not better then a .243 diameter bullet with a 2900 velocity and that gun kills a many deer every year. Well I am going to give it a try. thanks again for the responces.

poncaguy · « **Reply #11 on:** July 24, 2010, 02:40:13 AM »

The 110 is going a lot faster than 3100 FPS.............

Drilling Man · « **Reply #12 on:** July 24, 2010, 03:46:30 AM »

Quote from: poncaguy on July 24, 2010, 02:40:13 AM

The 110 is going a lot faster than 3100 FPS.............

Not to mention, look at the SD of the different bullets...

What i read above is, unless you are going to spring for TSX's, lighter bullets are too fragile...

My brother has shot nothing but a 270 for more than 40 years now, and he has had two, 130 std bullets break up on deer when he shot them close, leaving a gaping hole to the outside. His son had the same thing happen two years ago when a buck came by at 10 yards. In all three cases they had wounded deer that they were lucky to recover.

My brother now uses 130 NP's, and he's happy with them...

shot1 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 25, 2010, 04:10:43 AM »

If you shoot a deer in the proper place it will not know the difference between a 100 gr bullet and a 130 or what ever grain bullet. The only place I have ever felt recoil was shooting at targets. When shooting at game I really don't recall hearing the rifle go off unless it had a muzzle break or was magnaported. I hate them both. In my experience with the 270 Win the size of game determines the bullet weight. For the average 100 to 175 pound deer the 130 gr Nosler BT or Sierra seem to put them down in their tracks where any of the 140 gr bullets that I tried, which by the way are constructed a little heaver than the average 130 gr bullet, about 50% of the time the deer would run off around 50 yards. They were just as dead but the 130's expanded quicker and imparted more shock and dropped them in their tracks. Probably have killed or seen over 50 deer killed with the 270. I am a 25-06 man myself for deer. 117 Sierra in the front shoulder and they are on the ground 99.9% of the time. Recoil also has to do with rifle weight. The heaver the rifle the less felt recoil. If you are going after BIG deer, those 250 to 400 pounders I would go with a 140 to 150 gr bonded or partition bullet in the 270 win.

jedman · « **Reply #14 on:** July 25, 2010, 04:23:33 AM »

As mentioned before, try the Barnes 110 gr. TSX, I have seen them kill antelope from close up to way out, they perform great. Jed

Mac11700 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 25, 2010, 08:09:44 AM »

Quote from: Drilling Man on July 24, 2010, 03:46:30 AM

Quote from: poncaguy on July 24, 2010, 02:40:13 AM
The 110 is going a lot faster than 3100 FPS.............

Not to mention, look at the SD of the different bullets...

What i read above is, unless you are going to spring for TSX's, lighter bullets are too fragile...

My brother has shot nothing but a 270 for more than 40 years now, and he has had two, 130 std bullets break up on deer when he shot them close, leaving a gaping hole to the outside. His son had the same thing happen two years ago when a buck came by at 10 yards. In all three cases they had wounded deer that they were lucky to recover.

My brother now uses 130 NP's, and he's happy with them...

Hard to beat the Partitions for an all around bullet..That's why they came into being in the first place..

Mac

yooper77 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 25, 2010, 09:53:44 AM »

Quote from: Mac11700 on July 25, 2010, 08:09:44 AM

Quote from: Drilling Man on July 24, 2010, 03:46:30 AM
Quote from: poncaguy on July 24, 2010, 02:40:13 AM
The 110 is going a lot faster than 3100 FPS.............

Not to mention, look at the SD of the different bullets...

What i read above is, unless you are going to spring for TSX's, lighter bullets are too fragile...

My brother has shot nothing but a 270 for more than 40 years now, and he has had two, 130 std bullets break up on deer when he shot them close, leaving a gaping hole to the outside. His son had the same thing happen two years ago when a buck came by at 10 yards. In all three cases they had wounded deer that they were lucky to recover.

My brother now uses 130 NP's, and he's happy with them...

Hard to beat the Partitions for an all around bullet..That's why they came into being in the first place..

Mac

Nosler Partitions are the best, but they also makes their AccuBond in 100 grain and 110 grain .277 caliber bullet for use in the 6.8 Remington SPC. Nolser says AccuBond ‘s optimum performance velocity is Minimum 1800 FPS and Maximum is Unlimited, same as Partitions. It’s a huge improvement on the Ballistic Tips. I am not sure how bullets lighter then 130 grains would act in my rifle, but never hurts to try. I considered reduced (youth) loads and the 110 grain AccuBond using H4985 for my wife.

yooper77

bilmac · « **Reply #17 on:** July 25, 2010, 01:05:10 PM »

For several years now I have been shooting Hornaday 110gr HPs at about 3500. I was trying to save on meat damage on meat deer and antelope. I have been shooting two deer and two antelope for the freezer every year, that's not counting the bucks I shoot. I have butchered a lot of critters now and I don't think I have saved much meat over what the 130 gr. bullets did. The performance wasn't much different.

So, next season I will be starting with something different. I see too that Sierra calls it's 110 grainer a game king. I think I will be going with it next year. I am also experimenting with slowing the speed down to about 3000 - 3100 too, but so far haven't been able to find the very good accuracy of the fast load.

In answer to your question, for light animals, my experience is that the 110ers will work fine, but so far, other than some recoil reduction I haven't really found any real advantage over the 130s.

smong2000 · « **Reply #18 on:** July 26, 2010, 04:15:51 PM »

I guess I'll swim upstream on this one...

I'll only use 150 gr in my .270 on deer and not pushed too fast in order to guarantee good penetration and minimize the 'splash' damage. My new favorite is a 200 gr .358 going 2500 fps. We do a lot of tracking and sometimes get running away shots and need 3+' of penetration to put them down humanely.

I shot a 190lb deer at 20ish yds using a 140gr Powerpoint in 7mm WSM a few years ago. I believe it was moving nearly 3200 fps when it hit (the bullet not the deer). The bullet retained it's jacket and about 60% weight. The deer had a permanent wound channel over 3" across and about 2' long diagonally across chest hitting both shoulders. Messy, but DRT. Complete overkill with that much speed and lucky the bullet didn't disintegrate. Maybe at 200+yds it would have been fine, but I hunt woods and won't ever get many opportunities to shoot that far. If I do, I'll have time to pull out the rangefinder and do it right so it won't matter if the drop is 8" or 18".

bikerbeans · « **Reply #19 on:** August 20, 2010, 03:47:03 PM »

I have never shot a deer with a centerfire rifle but have killed many with arrows, bolts, shotgun slugs and MZs. I have the oppurtunity to hunt whitetail with a centerfire this fall. I have several CF rifles, from 223 to 458 caliber. I have decided that I want to hunt deer with a 270 Win, handloads with a Rem Corelok 130 grain PSP at about 3,000 FPS. Shots will be inside 200 yards. Any comments, thoughts, etc. on this load would be appreciated. I picked this gun because my handloads with the 270 are the most accurate.

thanks

BB

shot1 · « **Reply #20 on:** August 22, 2010, 11:52:52 AM »

bikerbeans: You are all set for any deer that you will come upon. The 130 Rem CL is a good bullet. If you do your part it will do its part.

jeepmann1948 · « **Reply #21 on:** August 28, 2010, 01:57:15 AM »

If you carry a 270 Win, there are 2 things to carry that are not an option:
1- Sharp Knife
2- Pen to fill out the tag
The 270 is a great cartridge with a Grand History. You do your part and it will do the same

tuck2 · « **Reply #22 on:** August 28, 2010, 03:17:19 AM »

I purchased a Winchester Mdl 70 270 in 1952 and still have it. I have taken pronghorn, mule deer, elk and other unwonted critters around where I live. Back in the 50s and 60s I reloaded 100 and 110 grain bullets on varmints and shot one deer with a Hornady 110 Gr bullet in 1955. In 1956 I got a 222 Rem and stopped using the 270 for varmints. For big game I have used 130, 150,Gr Hornady bullets and one box of 160 Nosler Partition bullets but most shots were with 130 Gr bullets. A few deer shot in the neck were under 100 yards. But most were in the within the 100-300 yard range and all were lung heart area shots . I never felt that much difference in recoil between the 100,110,130,150,and 160 grain bullets. Except for last year and the first year I got the Winchester rifle all I have shot is reloaded ammo. A few years ago I got a used Remington pump 270 Win ,never shot untill last summer when I was given a box of Rem 270 150 grain ammo. The pump gun put three rounds into 1 1/2 inch group shooting at 100 yards. Took the Rem pump out and shot a mule deer in the neck at about 50 yards with the Rem ammo. This fall when I go deer hunting I ll be 75 years old . Over the years I have gotten other brands and caliber big game rifle, but have not killed game any deader than the old 270. I dont see any point in using any bullet under 130 grain for big game in the 270.

RWK · « **Reply #23 on:** September 05, 2010, 08:10:57 AM »

I'll be trying barnes 110 ttsx in a 270 wsm this coming deer season, we'll see what happens.

poncaguy · « **Reply #24 on:** September 05, 2010, 08:49:14 AM »

They work great, no trouble getting a doe at last day of season, 350+ she rans about 20 yards, took out both lungs and heart......

calling4life · « **Reply #25 on:** September 06, 2010, 11:34:35 AM »

I think the federal 110gr ttsx 270wsm round is going to be my new coyote round. Flat shooting with a copper bullet that wont blow up upon contact with something heavier than tissue paper.

As for now, I've got a box of the 140gr accubonds and the 130gr triple shocks to test and get this new beast broke in. I can only imagine that either of those would do just fine up against a yote as well. 110gr zeroed at 200 is 30" low at 500, the other two rounds are 32.7 ish low same zero, so it isn't such a big deal if one of these two rounds gives me groups I can't dare to stray from.

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #26 on:** September 06, 2010, 07:18:30 PM »

Quote from: Deerhunter#1 on July 24, 2010, 01:58:52 AM

Thanks for all your replies. I quess what I have taken is there is a mix as to what people think of the use. The people who have actually used the lighter bullets seem to have had great results with the proper bullet. I am in the mindset that bigger isnt always better. Shot placement is of paramount importance regardless of the caliber. I feel a .277 diameter bullet with a 110 grain bullet traveling at 3100 feet per second will probobly do as well if not better then a .243 diameter bullet with a 2900 velocity and that gun kills a many deer every year. Well I am going to give it a try. thanks again for the responces.

You are right, bigger isn’t always better.

On the other hand, faster isn’t always better, either. As far as I’m concerned, that is especially true when it comes to light weight cup-and-core bullets and impact velocities above 2700-2800fps. Federal claims 3400fps at the muzzle for their 110g TTSX load. If you push a 110g cup and core at that speed and hit something close it might very well act like a varmint bullet. The results can be pretty spectacular. Unfortunately, the results can be pretty disappointing, too – failure to penetrate on bad angles, excessive meat destruction, wounded game that is lost, etc.

Do as you please, but the only 110g bullet I would use is the Barnes 110g TTSX. Otherwise I would stick with a good 130g bullet.

Justin10mm · « **Reply #27 on:** September 07, 2010, 05:09:06 AM »

Quote from: Deerhunter#1 on July 22, 2010, 02:41:19 PM

was looking for a little more punch then a .243 but a lit less the a standard 130 grain .270.

Get the .25-06!!!

jro45 · « **Reply #28 on:** September 09, 2010, 04:37:50 AM »

With my 270 Win mag I can shoot to 600yds and still have about a 5" group at 600yds. I use a 30gr .277 bullet.

Graybeard · « **Reply #29 on:** September 09, 2010, 06:13:26 AM »

I'm kinda late seeing this one. In general I will say I'm not a light for caliber shooter when hunting big game. I tend to go more to the heavy side as I'm one who wants an exit hole to bleed out and provide a good trail to follow to my dead game.

I've shot quite a few deer with the .270 Winchester and my oldest son Bob has shot most of his with the R700 Mtn. Rifle so chambered that I gave him. We've used nothing but Hornady 140 and Nolser 150 PTs on everything we've shot with the rifes. I've shot a few 130s on paper but never on game.