Best 270 Win Boolit for Whitetail

[tomcat13]

I don't wanna start any Arguments; however, need some advice:
What's the most effective .270 Win Load for Whitetail (All shots under 300Y)?
Bullet Wt, Brand, Configuration, Powder Recipe, etc.

Thanks in advance for Input!

 

[Michigan Slim]

Rem Cor loc
Hornady Interbond
Nosler Ballistic Tip
ON and on.

Lots of good choices. The real question is: What weight bullet does your rifle like?
My Ruger loves 130s, good with 140s, not so good with 150s. My boys Rem 700 eats them all.

 

[Broom_jm]

I started loading for my 270 back in '88. Being a bookworm, I poured over several reloading manuals and their ballistics tables until I convinced myself that 140gr bullets offer the best compromise between flat trajectory and retained downrange energy. (Truth be told, for deer-sized critters, it doesn't make any practical difference.)

Once I had settled on a bullet weight, I went with the one best known for incredible accuracy; Sierra! I shot the 140 grain SGK (Game King) bullets for several years, but found that they didn't perform very well on the large Wisconsin whitetails I was privileged to hunt at that time, so I switched over to 140gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. They weren't quite as accurate as the Sierra bullets, but still plenty good enough for deer hunting. Unfortunately, they had the same problem as the SGKs; if the range wasn't at least 75 yards or so, they just blew up and often failed to exit. Right around that time, Nosler came out with the Accubond bullet. I have found them to be just as accurate as anything else I've tried, but their terminal performance is much more predictable. They always exhibit good expansion and complete penetration. I can show you bits and pieces of SGKs and BTs, but not Accubonds.

IMR4350 always gave me good accuracy, but H4831SC is dang near as good and it meters SO much better!

I recently decided to play around a little and bought the 110gr Accubond bullets, intended for the 6.8 SPC, and loaded them over a reduced charge of H4895 for a muzzle velocity of around 2,500fps. I can shoot those all day long and I'm confident they will be just as effective on thin-skinned medium game, although they won't have quite the range of the bigger and faster 140s.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Whatever is most accurate. It's a .270... don't overthink it.

 

[Broom_jm]

Whatever is most accurate. It's a .270... don't overthink it.

The 270 Winchester is not only one of the most successful rifle cartridges over the last hundred years, or so, it is quite possibly the most versatile round ever devised. It's a superb long-range, heavy wind varmint cartridge, and is a perfectly suitable elk cartridge.

When it comes to hunting all of the thin-skinned medium game in the world, it continues to be one of the very best rounds from which to choose. Picking the right bullet for the job is part of the fun of reloading, as it allows one to tailor a load to a specific need.

So, when you say, "It's a 270...don't overthink it", what do you mean?

 

[Mark 1911]

I've loaded all kinds of bullets over the years. Hornady's were my go-to for several years. Then I discovered Barnes TSX, which is what I use now. Barnes TTSX is the same bullet with a polymer tip. Awesome expansion. Any bullet well placed is going to kill a whitetail. The TSX and TTSX are more pricey but the expansion on them is excellent, produces larger wound channel.

[video=youtube;nV8ij1gK-ck]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV8ij1gK-ck[/video]

 

[Hohn]

When I loved out west, Noslers and Barnes were the preferred bullets. But this was mostly for elk, where you'll need more penetration than for a WT deer.

I was looking at hunting calibers recently and it's likely that if the 280AI had existed first, we'd never have heard of 270 win. It's even more powerful, even more versatile, and is unbelted also. Compare the BC and speeds in comparable weights, you'll see.

Heck, I'm still considering 280AI for a hunting gun.

 

[Trapper Jim]

130 Winchester PP Silver Box

 

[Disposable Heart]

The 270 Winchester is not only one of the most successful rifle cartridges over the last hundred years, or so, it is quite possibly the most versatile round ever devised. It's a superb long-range, heavy wind varmint cartridge, and is a perfectly suitable elk cartridge.

When it comes to hunting all of the thin-skinned medium game in the world, it continues to be one of the very best rounds from which to choose. Picking the right bullet for the job is part of the fun of reloading, as it allows one to tailor a load to a specific need.

So, when you say, "It's a 270...don't overthink it", what do you mean?

I mean that I've hunted in other states with my Savage .270. Unless you are needing critical expansion at really long distance against thicker skinned game (elk, caribou, etc... which I handloaded Nosler Accubonds for and swear by them for elk at 500 yards) as long as the bullet is accurate, even the varminting stuff is adequate for deer at most distances we encounter hunting. My focus, however, is that most .270 rifles I've encountered ARE finicky for best accuracy, so get what works or hand load what will work. He asked about white tail and I can solidly say that even the Hornady Vmax varmiting rounds I've used worked exceptional on deer.

I agree on it's versatility and up until relatively recently, the caliber was hindered by a lack of good, 'match grade' factory ammo and not a variety of match bullets, kinda got a bad rap for accuracy by the long range crowd. But now, there's a ton to choose from.

 

[Broom_jm]

When I loved out west, Noslers and Barnes were the preferred bullets. But this was mostly for elk, where you'll need more penetration than for a WT deer.

I was looking at hunting calibers recently and it's likely that if the 280AI had existed first, we'd never have heard of 270 win. It's even more powerful, even more versatile, and is unbelted also. Compare the BC and speeds in comparable weights, you'll see.

Heck, I'm still considering 280AI for a hunting gun.

I agree with you, completely. I tend to think of the 280AI as the ultimate evolution of the '06 case and put it on a short list of the very best all-around cartridges ever designed. If I ever rebarrel my current rifle, or have to replace it for any reason, the 280AI is one of the cartridges I would choose.