270 wsm for long range hunting in nz

[memyselfni]

i have just purchased a tikka t3 lite ss in 270 wsm for long range red and sika deer hunting, i have fitted a vxIII 2.5-8x36 leupold to it, what would the max range of this cartridge be? i have shot a few sika and reds with my other rifle a ruger ul .308 but longest shot has been only 270 yards, any help would be appreciated, ie best way to sight in etc, is it capable of 500 yard shots? as this is probably the longest distance i would even consider a shot at
thanks
Gary

[davewilson]

first off welcome aboard. the cartridge is certainly up to the task.only thing left to do is shoot the gun under field conditions with preferred ammo and see how far you can shoot accurately.that will be your distance limitation factor.

[royinidaho]

Decent loads w/the 140gr bullet would be good for well over 700yds. If it would shoot the Wildcat 169.5 RBBT at close to 3000 fps then a bit farther than that.

Those would be sika ranges. Reds would be a bit shorter, I suppose, but 500 to 600 should be doable ranges.

[memyselfni]

excuse me if my questions seem kinda stupid,im new to this, what sort of accuracy is required for 500yrd+ shooting, i went out today and fired five 3 shot groups that averaged right on 30mm at 100 yards, this was the 130gr winchester ballistic tip loading, does anyone have bcs for the 277 wildcat bullets? what sort of velocities are obtainable with the various weights in this caliber? i have sighted it to be 2.1 inches high at 100 yards, is this about right? lastly how does it perform compared to the 7mm rem mag out to 500 yards? any suggstions for accurising would also be appreciated
thanks in advance
Gary

[skip AI]

5" is MOA at 500yrds, if your shooting deer sized game its good enough (but could be better in my opinion).

[Derek M.]

You may want to try the new Berger 270 bullets coming out. It is my understanding they will make a 130, 140, and 150 VLD.

[smack]

Your plenty good out to 500-600 yards,spend some serious trigger time with the rifle in field shooting positions.Accuracy,it's a hunting rifle.People will yap your ear off and argue non stop over this subject .When comes to any rifle the tighter the groups the better.When your talking about deer size game it doesn't matter if your shooting 10-12" groups at 500-600yards,let's say for example your average Mule deer is 16-18 tall through the chest belly to back.
With a 270 WSM and a quality bullet holding tight behind the shoulder any hit from 2" bellow the back line all the way down to the pocket is going to get the job done...Most people start sniveling about 500-600 yard shots on game,most have not done it maybe due to never having the chance or the skill.it's no different than shooting 100yrds,you just need to know your cartridge,dial it and send it....I have shot PLENTY of Mule deer between 400-600 yards..Strange as it may sound I have put deer down faster at these ranges with a .243 Win and a 7x57 than I have with my bigger magnums 7mm Mag,,300 Win Mag and 7mm Ultra.