Thread: If you reload 270 Win.

I recently retired my 270,it has brought down numorous whitetail over the years.The 130 grain spitzer boat tails was my go to bullet,then I switched to Hornady 110 grain v-max giving me better results( in my humble opinion ). For Father's Day,my kids bought me a TC Prohunter 243, ( hence the retirement of my beloved 270 ).
My new bullet is an 85 grain Sierra boat tail hollow point, so far it has been superb in dropping every deer in its tracks,the furthest shot at 300 yards,the closest at 55 yards.Not to stir the pot,but shot placement,and no exit hole is my criteria for a proper deer cartridge,I want all the energy to do its job inside the deer,when it does,there needs not be an exit hole.
I will however be trying different bullets and loads in my 243,bullet coefficiency being very important also, I'm particularly fond of V- max bullets no matter what caliber,again I want no exit hole.

Shoot three inches behind the front shoulder as you would with a bow (double lung shot) and you won't have to worry about ruining any meat.

I've shot whitetail with a .270 from 30 feet to more than 500 yards. I was a sniper in the Marine Corps so my abilities in this matter were not an issue.
Balistic tip bullets get the seal of approval on my end but, I can tell you that when loading precision rounds, IMR 3031 at 46 grains for 130 grain Speer Spitzer was the recipe we used for years. If memory serves me, we used just a tad less but, as others have said, I won't give the exact recipe. Head spacing was key with this round out of the Rem 700. Unfortunatly, when loaded at tight tolerences, these bullets would NOT seat in a Ruger M77 as the spacing was too long.

I've since retired all rifle hunting simply because it was too easy, specifically due to all of my training. I just didn't find it fun to see animal, kill animal, no matter the distance. I now shoot a single shot muzzle loader when I am not bow hunting. Doesn't mean I don't shoot the long gun still, just not for hunting. When trained to engage targets greater than 1000 meters, it just wasn't much fun anymore.

Yaker...I disagree totally with you using Varmint bullets to deer hunt.. These bullets are made to expand very quickly, and can lead to shallow non-lethal wounds. I also disagree with the "no exit hole"...You can't track a deer with out a blood trail. I used to have a blood trailing dog the camp used to track wounded deer...most of the deer we were able to recover had a killing shot with no exit hole...Shot placement is important, but I have also seen deer that should have dropped run a long ways. I am looking for less meat destruction than I have been getting with my load.. I have harvested over 80 deer with a 270....never lost one. ..but have lost meat to being blood shot, and totally desteoyed.

I'm not as advanced shooters as most of you guys but as far as shot placement it depends on what I'm shooting at. I use only a muzzleloader and I take real good care of it. I clean it after every shot cause I only get one deer permit a year and on the years that I shoot more than one shot is because a coyote runs out in front of me. I don't use the top of the line power, bullet, scopes ect. but I do use good ones. I shoot a Thompson Center Triumph 50 cal. with the T/C shockwave bullet, triple 7 black power pellets, 100 grains, a Banner Dusk til Dawn scope that is made for a muzzleloader.

I sighted it in at 100 yards and can plug a quarter at that distance.

Most of my hunts 95%, take place in the woods so as far as where I aim at on a deer for the least amount of wasted meat is simple. A doe, head shot every time. On an average buck that I'm going to get an European mount, neck/spine shot. A big buck like the one I shot this year, I try if possible to shoot it as it is walking towards me, lower chest so that I take out the lungs or the heart and not ruin any meat cause I don't eat the neck meat. I just think it taste nasty when they are old and rutting. The entrance hole is small and easy for the taxidermist to repair. I just hate busting a deer in the front shoulder and ruining all that meat.

Just my 2 cents and I wished I knew more about shooting and also regret not going into the service to learn more, but thanks to all that did. I'm eternally grateful for all that you great service men and women have done.

Originally Posted by KnightShadow10

Yaker...I disagree totally with you using Varmint bullets to deer hunt.. These bullets are made to expand very quickly, and can lead to shallow non-lethal wounds. I also disagree with the "no exit hole"...You can't track a deer with out a blood trail. I used to have a blood trailing dog the camp used to track wounded deer...most of the deer we were able to recover had a killing shot with no exit hole...Shot placement is important, but I have also seen deer that should have dropped run a long ways. I am looking for less meat destruction than I have been getting with my load.. I have harvested over 80 deer with a 270....never lost one. ..but have lost meat to being blood shot, and totally desteoyed.

While I respect your opinion,I hope you don't really believe a 243 with an 85 grain bullet is going to give shallow non lethal wounds,an exit hole means wasted energy,energy better spent inside the body cavity of the deer.I won't attempt to guess how many deer my 270 has killed,but It took my son the researcher to prove to me that exit wounds mean energy is flying out the other side of the deer instead of giving its all where it counts.
That said,our deer average less than 150 lbsfor a buck,and 110- 120 lbs for a doe.Yes if we had big corn fed heavyweights roaming our woods,I would still carry my 270, properly loaded with a bullet and powder charge to give me all the shock and awe inside the chest cavity where it belongs.

I base my ideas of what works on my actual experiences in the field...Yes, I have seen several non-lethal wounds with 243s....Most were either shot with Varmint, or match type bullets not designed to be hunted with...The same thing can be said about other calibers when used with an improper bullet....This thread was put up so that I might see what powder/bullet combinations others were using in the 270..I might change loads this summer...might not...

Originally Posted by Yaker

I recently retired my 270,it has brought down numorous whitetail over the years.The 130 grain spitzer boat tails was my go to bullet,then I switched to Hornady 110 grain v-max giving me better results( in my humble opinion ). For Father's Day,my kids bought me a TC Prohunter 243, ( hence the retirement of my beloved 270 ).
My new bullet is an 85 grain Sierra boat tail hollow point, so far it has been superb in dropping every deer in its tracks,the furthest shot at 300 yards,the closest at 55 yards.Not to stir the pot,but shot placement,and no exit hole is my criteria for a proper deer cartridge,I want all the energy to do its job inside the deer,when it does,there needs not be an exit hole.
I will however be trying different bullets and loads in my 243,bullet coefficiency being very important also, I'm particularly fond of V- max bullets no matter what caliber,again I want no exit hole.

Try the 80gr begers in a trial. No exit and maximum internal damage on everything thing I've used it on.


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Knightshadow,I don't believe there will ever be that perfect magic bullet and load,no matter what caliber.I did drop down to 110 grain v- max before I retired my 270, I only used them on one deer,but it worked superbly.The shot was no more than 120 yards,dropping it where it stood with no exit wound,I don't think there was an internal organ un damaged.