.270 Cartridge discussion

[Buckrub]

Not sure where to put this. The Savage ML thread has discussions about both hunting as well as loads (recipes). But I'm not sure where to go to discuss the right cartridge for .270 for deer hunting.

I guess the discussion could be about accuracy, but it's really about accuracy AND performance.

I love the Savage and can't wait to shoot it again. But if I'm going to be in the south Arkansas woods for 29 days this year, and maybe 32 depending on when the kids come for Christmas, I will have my Tikka .270!!! What an amazing piece of machinery.

That said, I'm venturing off into uncharted waters this year! Well, not very uncharted, but uncharted for me.

I've posted this before elsewhere on here, but as background I spent several very stubborn years shooting the Hornady SST',s, then moving to the Interbond. My goal was bullet performance. I then went to the Light Magnum Interbonds. I (mistakenly) figured that all cartridges these days were pretty much accurate and high quality and I wanted performance. To be blunt, I wanted a cartridge that would compensate for a less than perfect shot. I'd seen enough deer bangflop with corelokts, and even FMJ's (yes I did see this), that I knew if I hit one perfectly it didn't really matter much. But I wanted to stop tracking deer all over the woods.

Well, that's all I've done now for over 7 years (I told you I was/am stubborn). I've missed. I've missed vitals. I've hit but still tracked all day. Tracking is about all I do, and my bad eyes make it a bad situation. I have to get help, and the guys are growing weary of me.

Sidebar: I gave some LM Interbonds to several guys to try. One was in a Rem Mod 7400 and two were in Ruger M77's (25 years apart, otherwise identical). Their groups were literally over 3 feet!!! Amazing.

So I sat and thought and figured that performance didn't matter if I couldn't hit anything, so I listened to a lot of advice from several hunters in our camp, and have switched to their favorite, Winchester Supreme Silvertip 130g. So far, it's done fine work on an Antelope, and tore the bejeebers out of some paper.

Then my son calls and tells me of two AWFUL experiences he had with this cartridge in a 7MM WSM. Double lung shot, but it ran 400 yards! Dead, but dead much later. Another similar experience.

I remember why I switched from SST's to Interbonds, it was because if I didn't hit bone, the deer bled but barely, and if found had a pencil entry AND exit hole. I swore off of Ballistic Tip type bullets.

Now it seems I'm back, more out of a sense of last resort than anything else.

I did investigate the new XP3's, but at the time I bought cartridges, they did NOT make them in 130g, only 150g, too large for a .270 for my needs, I thought. So now I have 3 boxes of Win Sup Silvertip Ballistic Tips 130g and a season ahead of me.

Another .270 shooter switched to the Win Sup 140g Noslers. I visited that but went with the 130g BT's because we have 3 hunters in our camp that have shot them for many years and bangflopped more than 85% of their deer. Now the XP3's come in 130g also, but are dang pricey (but what isn't)!!

Reckon I'm ok?

What would you experts recommend?

[ozark]

For me it isn't difficult to have confidence with the .270 that I used for several years. 130 grain weights seem to be what best fits the needs. I liked factory Remington Core-Lokt and the Winchester surpreme in 130 grain weight. IMO if you do your job and place the bullet well any popular bullet will provide plenty of all that is required. As you know, the very best bullet is a matter of individual opinion. In your quest, it is my long considered opinion that you can't hardly go wrong. Yep, I reckon you are ok.....Ben

[briar]

.270 wsm is awesome. i love this round. field and stream posted a couple of months ago that round has taken lions and bears. less recoil than 30-06 and is kinda flat shooting. i have never had a deer run more than 75 yards with a double lung shot either with bow or gun. we have used the xp3's for antelope at 350 yards with absolutely no problems. both antelope's fell in there tracks.

[whyohe]

buckrub I'm a bit surprised about the performance you have experienced. the SSTs are known as a very fragment able bullet. and most go to the interbonds to get a pass threw. I've used both the winchester and hornady ballistic tip bullets out of my 30-06 and shot deer at 30 yards with out a pass threw. it almost sounds like you got it back wards? is it possible? and even at that id think the interbond should still leave a little bigger hole. now i have a friend that uses the winchester fail safes and he gets that if he doesn't hit bone but he hasn't had one run over 100 yards.

id use what is most accurate and what you have your confidence in. from time to time they just wont go BANG /FLOP even with a good hit. i don't think there is too much besides a head shot that you can guarantee a BANG/FLOP with every shot.

[Buckrub]

Ozark, If'n I could hit what I aim at, I'd use any cheap bullet. They all work if you hit the right spot and make the right shot. I am convinced the entire discussion of which bullet is only done by those (like me) who make LESS than the best shot.

Briar, I've shot my last WSM or any magnum. I bought a 7MM WSM (almost same as .270 ballistically) and gave it to my son because it killed me. He's a strapping lad, but it kills him too. You can have it. The ballistics are just not that much better (if any).

Why, I only know what I experienced. I realize tons of folks are more intelligent and experienced than I am. I shoot very little compared to them. But the SST's went right through UNLESS they hit bone, at which time they exploded like a hand grenade. It was binary. One or the other.

The Interbond would have performed quite well.......IF I could make it enter an actual animal! I couldn't. I kept missing. When I did hit, it did wonders. It's a great bullet, and a sorry cartridge.

I don't want to guarantee a bang/flop on EVERY shot, but I'd sure like to get way ahead of ZERO of 'em, that I've experienced lately. I used to pop 'em and drop 'em. It's easy to attribute my issues to age, but I still shoot paper fairly well. I just can't seem to carry that over to the field situations. And a bullet is just one of the variables I'd like to maximize to help ensure success.

I'm actually thinking the XP3 will be the best, but it's about $50 a box and totally unavailable now. That tells me they make very little of it, and it might be hard to get forever, who knows.

Sidebar: I am a non-believer when it comes to published ballistics. I'm sorry. I know this will generate an entire 'nuther discussion, but it just doesn't happen the way the book says. In general, when I sight in at 100 yards, I sight in an inch or two high. But when I get to 200 yards, it doesn't drop at all, or almost none. I've shot antelope at a ranged 400 yards, and I've not 'held over' one bit, just put it on 'em and shoot. I've shot AT them, running, at 800 yards and held over only slightly, and seen dirt fly right behind them (meaning I was behind but not low). I've also seen a ton of folks come back to camp griping because they missed a nice deer by "holding over his back" because they thought it was a long way. I don't get many long shots at deer, but I do get a few. Truth be told, I hit the longer shots with a much higher percentage than I do normal woods shots. I don't know why. I know, that wasn't the topic, but..........

[whyohe]

buckrub , i hope i didnt insult you, was not my intension. i have shot 2 different shells in a shooting session and put them in wrong box . my 30-06 didnt like the light mags untill i very thoroughly cleaned gun. had more copper fouling than what i thought. maybe your gun just doest like them. with the price of ammo going up and up its so hard to buy boxes to just try.

[Buckrub]

You can't insult me. Trust me. I get busy, and don't check replies for a while. But nothing you can say would insult me. I'm not smart enough to be able to be insulted!

Clearly some guns likes them better than others. My new Tikka is better than the old WIN Mod 70, which is better than my buddies' Ruger M77's. But these won't shoot worth a darn in too many guns. Sorry, but that's unacceptable to me. Other folks love 'em.

Sort of like the comments on the Savage thread. Some folks shoot exactly what I'm shooting, and can't hit a barn. I shoot MOA with same recipe.

Beats me. just totally beats me!

But unlike the Savage ML discussions, which are mostly about bullets, this is more about cartridges..........

[DW]

Have you checked out Fusion ammo? The guy I work with took the 300mag 180gr, I believe, out to Colorado. Dropped a elk at 339yds in its tracks with a boiler room shot. He shot a 3 inch group at 500 yds the day I was there shooting with him at a friend of his' range. They are accurate out of his gun and the reports I have seen on this as well as another board seem to all be favorable.