270 Winchester?

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I've taken more deer with a .270 than any of my other rifles. The 130 grain bullet will stop a deer in it's tracks with a well placed shot. I've never had a deer make it further than 10 yards, and most hit the ground where they stood.

The only time I bring out my .30-06, is when my son chooses to go hunting with me. I really like the .30-06, but I LOVE the .270.
 
Late gun writer Jack O'Conner claimed there was no game on the North American continent that the .270 couldn't handle.....it was his favorite round and no doubt some bias, but multitudes of his readers & hunters agreed with him.
 
That fella has misinformed you badly. The .270 win is a great deer cartridge with a 130 grain bullet. You sure don't need anything fancy, using an expanding bullet like a plain old corelokt or powershock in this combo will expand very well on deer. In my first hand experience sometimes the entrance and exit wounds are even a little much. I have seen a couple of nearly fist sized wounds from this combo. This cartridge is very fast and will expand reliably hands down end of story with a standard 130 grain hunting bullet. The .270 is probably THE best deer cartridge there is. Yes I would go as far as to say this. :D
 
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I heard a fella say the other day that the 270 with 130 grain bullets was a horrible deer round.... He said it was too fast and would zip thru a deer with little expansion.... Small hole..Small hole out....
Click to expand...

The nicest way I can comment is to say that guy is a moron. That's putting it mildly;)
 
I think your friend is what is now days referred to as "that guy"

I won't comment beyond that as his ballistic knowledge has already been well documented by all the folks on the thread who have actually shot animals with a .270.

I shoot a .270 and load Hornady 150 SSTs just because they group better in my rifle than the 130. We have taken antelope, deer, and hogs with it and rarely have to track anything. As someone else said its pop and drop.

SSTs seem to produce an exit wound about thumb size but when you open the boiler room, the lungs are in liquid form and the heart is usually in more that one piece. Devastating any way you spell it.

I am quite certain any quality .270 hunting bullet properly placed will end Bambi's day in short order.
 
"Posted on Texas Hunting Forum"

This post is to let the 270 fans out there know what the Barnes 110g TTSX is capable of doing in the field.

My rifle of choice is the 270 Win Ruger M77 Hawkeye equipped with a Burris Black Diamond 8x32 scope.

I have been an avid deer hunter for the past 50 years and a dedicated reloader for the past 40 years. I have always shoot Nosler bullets in a variety of rifles over the years and have no complaints with that bullet. It has put a lot of deer in my freezer & some nice horns on the wall.

In 2009 I got interested in the Barnes TTSX 130 and loaded them with 57.5g of H3841sc. This round was very accurate and put 3 deer in the freezer for me. One a nice 9pt, chest shoot at 225 yards (stand to feeder). Two does at the same range, both neck shoots.

In 2010 I decided to try the Barnes 110g TTSX because I wanted a little flatter trajectory due to the distances of possible shots at our lease. I loaded the 110g TTSX with 57.5g of H4350, OAL 3.340, velocity 3300 fps. Shoot 7/8” 3 round groups at 100 yards. Went to the lease and took a really nice 10pt at 225 yard. The bullet entered just behind the left shoulder and exited just behind his right shoulder. The bullet shattered ribs on entry and exit, exit wound was approximately 2.5”. The heart & lungs were torn to pieces. I was amazed at the damage that bullet caused. After impact the buck ran for 10 yards & dropped.

This year while in Cabela’s I found that Federal loaded the 270 win with the Barnes 110 TTSX with an advertised velocity of 3400 fps.. When I examined the round I saw the seating depth was much deeper than the rounds I was loading. I bought the box and measured the OAL, it was 3.22. With my rifle still “Zeroed” for the OAL round of 3.340 I shoot a 3/4” group one half inch right of zero point. I was surprised to say the least.

So far this hunting season I have taken 2 does at 220 yards both neck shots with devastating wounds, a 10 point (same distance, left shoulder shot) all 3 deer dropped in their tracks. Shot a bore hog, that we estimated would weigh about 350 lbs. The hog was walking at a 45 degree angle at about 150 yards, the bullet entered the neck and from what we could tell it exited his mouth. He dropped in his tracks.

The Barnes 110 TTSX in my 270 is hands down the best performing round I have ever shoot.
 
Interesting report Will Lee, Thanks. I think I will investigate those
Barnes bullets. I have read a couple of articles about that type of bullet delivering impressive performance.

One thing I am learning especially since I started hand loading a few years ago is that there are a lot of choices with modern bullets, and the design and terminal performance vary a lot. I do not think that is a bad thing, it just means we, the users, have to educate ourselves and make sure we are using an appropriate bullet for the game or target we plan to use it for.

Seems that bullet size is no longer the only consideration for penetration and lethality. Bullets like the TTSX and Hornady SST give great terminal performance by controlled expansion on the nose but the mass remains intact and drives the bullet retaining a lot of velocity as it passes through the animal. The result is devastating hydrodynamic shock which is not so much ripping up tissue, but a shock wave that liquifies organs and often produces 0 blood pressure almost instantly. That is what I have observed with SST bullets and you apparently get with the TTSX.

So many bullets to try out, so little time. ;)
 
I dont own a .270 right now, but have in the Past, mine was a Remington Sportsman 78. I did kill a deer with it, and it performed great.
That is one of the rifles I wish I had held on to, Regret Regret.
Anyhow, the guy that said 270 wasnt good, is wrong.
 
Incidentally, Will Lee brought up the neck shots. Nice job at 200+ yds BTW.

I am also a fan of the neck shot because I am old and lame and don't consider it fun to follow Bambi's blood trail thru the brush in the dark. We encourage the hunters on our ranch to do neck shots whenever possible because you usually get a clean kill or a miss. Have only seen one deer leave the scene, it was a solid hit but did not shatter the spine as usually happens. That deer went about 75yds before it bled out. My son felt bad but is was actually a good shot, just did not get the usual result. Note that on our ranch, with box stand/feeder/food plot set ups there are rarely shots taken past 100 yds at most.

I have taken probably 10 or 12 deer with my .223 using neck shots.. None of those deer took even 1 step. Probably more evidence that shot placement takes priority over fire power. Does not matter how big the bullet is if it misses or inflicts a wound in a non-lethal location.
 
I had to use a neck shot on a doe a few years ago as that was all I had in the thick trees she was walking through. Dropped on the spot.
 
If it's too fast, just use a little shorter barrel
It'll only do about 2900 fps
270-pistol.jpg
 
Having 130 gr seated. I reload my 270 cartridge's to 3200 fps at muzzle. I seldom aim for the deer ribs. As the bullet is so flat shooting at that velocity I am confident making terminal lower neck shots having overwhelming energy out to 200 yrds. Closer than 200. I aim at the throats white patch. Ballistic Tip Nosler I no longer use will leave a elongated foot long hole or meat tear where you can easily see the light of day thru the animals shredded neck tissue. As I was taught the faster the bullet speed the more violent/ tissue destructive a bullet becomes. These days the old Win 130 gr. Silver Tips are my preferred. A Lock Stock and Barrel inventory purchase before their bankruptcy.
 
Interesting! More proof of life after death. This thread started in 2011. :rolleyes:

I decided to read all the posts from day one and I noticed something missing. Dunno how many here have used or even remember the old Remington bronze point bullets? Granted I have to admit I never used them in a .270, at least not that I can recall, but I have used them in the 30-06 and found performance somewhat erratic to say the least. I used the 150 gr. BP bullets on several deer and many times they would zip right on through with no sign of having expanded. Other times they would blow up like a bomb giving shallow wounds. When they worked right the were a good bullet.

If the gentleman who made the comment that got this thread started had possibly shot a deer and had a zip though, that might be the basis of his opinion, especially if it happened on more than one occasion.

While I haven't shot as many deer as some here, the ones I shot have been mostly with the Sierra Game King in 150 gr. weight. I always felt the 130 gr. bullets mangled up too much good eating meat hence, the heavier bullet.
Paul B.
 
On the 110TTSX, yes and you are on the right principle of using a lighter for caliber solid. They need the speed to open up. And because they stick together, they penetrate as far as a heavier lead bullet which breaks apart. I shot a 64 gr. solid copper in 223 at our 200 yd. steel gong. All lead core bullets turn to dust. However the solid, I went down there and dug it out of the gong with a pair of pliars.
 
Someone may have shot that deer with a FMJ (full metal jacket) designed to never mushroom...

Suspect the fellow giving you advice never shot anything bit his cousins brother-in-law was the expert..
 
I’ve killed several deer with 130gr bullets. Having more rifles than a sane man should have I loaded some cartridges with lighter bullets to use them on groundhog. The Speer 110 was my varmit load, moving between 3200-3300fps. Friend got damage permits to shoot deer.
We were shooting them of rest, does & head shots only. 100% going into jerky. 100-150 yd
shots. Those 110s would literally take a deers head off. The 130 are more dependable for use in woods.
 
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