270 bullet for whitetail??????

G

grizbear

New member
A few years ago they made it legal to use rifles in the area that I hunt in NY southern tier region. I went out and bought a 270win, and am very happy with the cartridge and the rifle (rem 700). I am just wondering if I could be using a better bullet for deer. Right now I am using Rem Cor-lockt PSP 130gr. Don't get me wrong, the 130 PSP does the job well. In fact of the 3 deer that I have shot with it, 1 dropped instantly, the other two didn't go more than 30 yards. What troubles me is that there is never much of a blood trail to follow, if I dont get a pass through. Is it worth trying a round nosed bullet, or hollow point, maybe a solid copper? Will this increase the rounds hitting power/ blood trails? Maybe this is a non issue and I'm splitting hairs here? Thanks in advance
 
I've been using 130 grain Sierra's for years and as long as the deer is inside 300 yards I usually get a half-dollar sized exit wound. I roughly get the same size exit wound using 150 grain Partitions on Elk. I'm guessing you don't reload but if you do you might try slowing down your 130 grain bullets or go to a heavier grain like 150-160. I don't think that a Partition or other premium bullet is necessary for deer.

What is your normal range you shoot your deer at? I don't hunt heavily wooded areas for deer so blood trails are not as important to me. I do however like a good blood trail.
 
.270

The .270 is a great deer hunting round in all respects. As far as finding a round that will cause more of a blood trail, i'm not sure thats possible, a bigger blood trail will probably depend more on where the deer is hit, lung shots seem to give more of a blood trail, but they'll probably run farther also. If their running no more than 30 yards you shouldn't need a blood trail:D
 
I just love the Honaday SST's
I use them in .270, .257R, and .280.

I quit buying Nozler BT's, when they started packaging them in boxes of 50.
I liked the color code they used.
 
the 130 gr bullet is THE premier combo for hunting deer! many other rifles have come along since the 270, and all the so-called super deer guns have always basically used a 130 gr bullt at the same velocity/energy to take deer.

In short, you can likely do not better, whther you go cheapie or premium construction.
 
typical ranges are fairly short for a rifle. I hunt some ares where there are feilds, 200 yard shots there. The rest are average hardwoods shots, no more than 150 yards. So far I havent needed more of a blood trail. I just worry that If I make a shot that is not perfect, and the deer runs any distance I wont be able to find it. Two of the deer that I shot the bullet did not exit, and there was no blood at all.... just a small drop at the entry hole. I guess that it could just be that I am used to the shotgun, which in my experience most always leaves a pretty good trail. Just wasnt sure if a different bullet might be better for that in particular. That being said, I am amazed at what the 130 psp do when they enter the body, so maybe its a non issue.
 
grizbear; if your rifle likes the 130 Core-Lokts then by all means use them. One of my favorite loads uses the 30 cal. 180 in my 30/06. The RP ammo is probably one of the best known deer killers in many calibers. The blood trail or lack of one is just one of those things you have to work around. I've neck shot deer with a 12 gauge, and there wasn't any trail at all because they were DRT. Seriously, the 270 and 130s are legend, and the late gunscribe Jack O'Connor helped make them so. The only improvement would be to shoot a Nosler Partition, and no skinny whitetail needs one; maybe a Sasketchewan or Alberta brute might, but not around here. Besides, the RP brass is great for reloading when you get to it. I just put 100 rounds together for bear territory with RP brass, 50.0 of H380, CCI 250, and the 180 PSP Core-Lokt from Midway. It should shoot through a bruin from stem to stern. CB.
 
I like the stopping power of the 150's over the 130's for whitetail. Just my opinion. I have seen a noticible difference over 20 years of hunting with my .270. Especially the big ones.
 
I have used a 270 shooting 150 grain Winchester Super X ( soft point) bullets on deer and found them to be one shot stoppers. The 2 deer I shot with them did have much bigger wounds than one sees with smaller lighter bullets.

I also think that worrying about blood trails is mostly not relevant for any deer which is hit solidly in the chest. I got a deer earlier this month with a 45/70. It ran a zigzagged course through the brush and woods with no blood trail at all for the first few dozen yards. All its blood drained out when I picked it up to put it into the truck. :barf:

IMHO your 130 grain Core Lokts are perfectly adequate for deer, though they are not my favorite. Any bullet which has been a consistent seller for a half century must have something going for it. I've shot several deer with Core Lokts. :) However IMHO I would steer clear of solid copper bullets as I'd fret about whether they would open at all in a deer.
 
Sounds like the jacket is too thin, which is why you are not getting an exit wound. You should w/ that round. Try a different manufacture that uses a Sierra Game King, like the blue box federal. The 130 is the optimal bullet weight ballistically speaking for the 270...
 
I use the 150 gr. Rem Corelocs because my 270 shoots them better than the 130gr. Never had a deer go too far and I have never recovered a bullet. Shots good, deer dead. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
For the average whitetail woods or brush hunting situation I honestly don't think you need to be that descriminating with bullet weight in .270 if you hit them in a decent spot, unless you are into long range shots. When I hunted deer I rarely had a shot over 100 yds. My model 70 liked Rem 150 gr core-lokt soft points and the deer did not. Lots and lots of deer around here taken on .243 and even .223.
 
I'm a newbie here butI second Meek and Mild, the Winchester X's are hard to beat, and take a boattail reload very well also. I shoot both a Weatherby 270and a BrowningA 270 with them.
 
The 130 is the optimal bullet weight ballistically speaking for the 270...
Click to expand...

Ballistically speaking, the 150 gr. .270 slug is head and shoulders above the 130 gr.

For the Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet, the BC (ballistic coefficient) for the 130 gr. is .433, while the BC for the 150 gr. is .496.........quite a difference.

For the .270 Win., you just can't do better than the 150 gr., no matter which brand bullet you use.
 
i shoot fusion 130 grains out of my rem 700 270...it loves them and so do i!!and at 20 bucks a box they arent too expensive...
 
Not trying to be argumentative, but to clarify the statement above, I wasn't talking from a ballistic coeffecient prospective. I should have been a little more clear about that. I was talking from a trajectory prospective...;)
 
Sasquatch, how big are your deer up there? Down here they run small, usually less than 200 pounds, which means that a 100 grain 6mm projectile will pass through them.
 
I've used a Remington (Sportsman 78) in .270 for 20 years and have always used a 130 gr bullet in Federal, Remington, & Winchester. The deer ethier dropped right where they stood or ran about 20 to 30 yards. The only other bullet that I have used was a Hornady in 140 gr and I have to admit that there was a really good blood trail left behind. Even though it only ran about 25 yards. I've thought about using a heavier bullet but I can't bring myself to doing that, when I can hold 1 inch groups at 100 yards. I guess it's just that I am very confident with the 130 gr bullets. Just my $.02
 
I have a browning a-bolt 270.win with boss and love it i can cover five shots with a nickle at a hundred yards and doesnt kick much at all. I shoot federal
power-shock 150 grain soft point round nose bullets factory shells and again
shoots great

good luck
sj mag
:D
p.s. i can drop a deer easily and bear eaisly thx for lisining
 
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