New member from Colorado

[Blaze Orange]

Hello all,

Been a "point-blank" elk hunter all my life with most elk taken at 250 yards or less.

Over the past 5-10 years, getting fewer opportunities. Had to stretch several shots out to 350 and 400. More than one season, I've felt lucky to have filled my bull tag.

It's time to up my long range game.

My goal is to get proficient out to 800 yards in field conditions. I know this will be not be cheap, or easy and may take quite a while. For some reason, I'm looking forward to the challenges of the journey ahead.

Read a number of articles and threads here at LRH. Been very impressed by the knowledge of the members, their experience, and their accomplishments.

Thanks for all the help you've already provided.

 

[Brewer]

Welcome to the Forum. you will get lots of help here, I have found it that way.

you are right, you will be spending the money and time to get good at that range, but every minute is fun.

What kind of a setup are you shooting or planning to shoot?

I am jealous that you live in Colorado and have the opportunity to hunt Elk. I am in Kansas where Whitetails are the big game.

 

[Blaze Orange]

I've been shooting a Ruger M77 with a fixed 6x Burris scope in .270 Win with 150 gr Core-Lokts for 30 years. My Dad recommended 150 gr for elk when he gave me the the rifle for my 15th birthday so that's what I used.

I dabbled with the Federal Premium Nosler partitions when they came out years ago, but went back to the Core-Lokts. The Core-Lokts worked just as well at 250 yards and closer at 1/2 the price.

Since I've started pushing longer shots, the low MV and horrible BC of the round nose 150 gr Core-Lokts has become apparent. I've thought about switching to Hornady Superformance 130gr Interbonds. I would pick up a lot of MV and BC and cut bullet drop nearly in half at 500 yards with more energy and velocity. They might shoot well in my rifle.

The .270 built its reputation as a flat shooting rifle at 130 gr. I've probably handicapped it by using 150s all these years, but I really can't complain about the results.

Years ago Dad stopped hunting and gave me his Model 70 .300 Win Mag. He was deadly accurate with that gun. He once went 9 years with 9 shots behind the ear. He didn't even warm up at the range. Just dry fired at the TV from his chair in the family family room a few days before the season. Years of marmot hunting turned him into an amazing shot with all rifles.

I helped him sight in the .300 when I was a teenager. We both came home black and blue from the bicep to the collar bone. So even though I've had access to it, I kept shooting the .270.

I'm thinking the .270 with better ammo will be a nice rifle for my daughter and I'll step up the .300 (wince). I do think the .270 has a lot of untapped potential at longer range with the right bullet/load combination.

So I'm going the bite the bullet, jump into reloading and try to develop loads for both rifles.

Plus better optics, range finder, wind meter etc. It's going to be a new chapter in hunting expenditures.

 

[Brewer]

That all sounds good. the Winchester Model 70 chambered was my first highpower. when the gun salesman told me, "this can take down anything in North America" I bought it (young, foolish and obsessed with power). then I had similar arm and shoulder issues as you had... I ported it about 4 years ago and now I like shooting it. I put an aftermarket trigger in it at the same time and it is a new rifle. a couple of years ago, I shot a whitetail at 489 yards with it. that is my farthest shot to date, though I am having Hart Barrels cut a 6.5-06AI right now. I should have it next month hopefully. and boy let me tell you what, till you get dies made and a stock and brass and powder and bullets and a trigger, you are talking the $$$. This is something I have been saving for several years. so I am ready to get it back and try it out. hoping that I will make it out your way someday for a hunt. I have 3 boys that are 6,2,and 1 so it will be a while but I plan to bring them too.

Reloading can be relaxing if you let it. and it can be a headache too. just get good stuff and either get a really expensive digital scale or a balance. one of the worst mistakes I made was buying a $100 digital scale. they are not very repeatable. so I bought a lab model but its overkill. but then, you start doing that kind of stuff in the name of accuracy.

 

[gohring3006]

I've been shooting a Ruger M77 with a fixed 6x Burris scope in .270 Win with 150 gr Core-Lokts for 30 years. My Dad recommended 150 gr for elk when he gave me the the rifle for my 15th birthday so that's what I used.

I dabbled with the Federal Premium Nosler partitions when they came out years ago, but went back to the Core-Lokts. The Core-Lokts worked just as well at 250 yards and closer at 1/2 the price.

Since I've started pushing longer shots, the low MV and horrible BC of the round nose 150 gr Core-Lokts has become apparent. I've thought about switching to Hornady Superformance 130gr Interbonds. I would pick up a lot of MV and BC and cut bullet drop nearly in half at 500 yards with more energy and velocity. They might shoot well in my rifle.

The .270 built its reputation as a flat shooting rifle at 130 gr. I've probably handicapped it by using 150s all these years, but I really can't complain about the results.

Years ago Dad stopped hunting and gave me his Model 70 .300 Win Mag. He was deadly accurate with that gun. He once went 9 years with 9 shots behind the ear. He didn't even warm up at the range. Just dry fired at the TV from his chair in the family family room a few days before the season. Years of marmot hunting turned him into an amazing shot with all rifles.

I helped him sight in the .300 when I was a teenager. We both came home black and blue from the bicep to the collar bone. So even though I've had access to it, I kept shooting the .270.

I'm thinking the .270 with better ammo will be a nice rifle for my daughter and I'll step up the .300 (wince). I do think the .270 has a lot of untapped potential at longer range with the right bullet/load combination.

So I'm going the bite the bullet, jump into reloading and try to develop loads for both rifles.

Plus better optics, range finder, wind meter etc. It's going to be a new chapter in hunting expenditures.

Welcome to the site, your at the right place for longrange, I don't think you handicapped your .270 by shooting 150s one thing you will learn about longrange is retained energy at distances, if you reload will more than likely find yourself seeking out even heavier bullets than those 150s good luck ....

 

[Blaze Orange]

Welcome to the site, your at the right place for longrange, I don't think you handicapped your .270 by shooting 150s one thing you will learn about longrange is retained energy at distances, if you reload will more than likely find yourself seeking out even heavier bullets than those 150s good luck ....

I was looking at Remington's site comparing the 150gr Core-Lokt's to other bullets they offer in .270 Win.

130gr Accutips come out of the muzzle with the same energy as the 150gr Core-Lokts (2702 vs 2705). At 500 yards, the Core-Lokts are down to 639 ft/lbs with 61.2 inches of drop while the Accutips still have 1243 ft/lbs and only dropped 37.7. The Core-Lokts come out of the muzzle at 2850, while the lighter Accutips come out at 3060.

I'm new to the long range game, but it seems like the big problem is the longer the flight time, the more tiny variations can have more effect on your bullet. The constant acceleration of gravity generates so much downward velocity with longer flight times that being consistent at long range gets progressively more difficult.

Tiny variations in MV or drag (altitude, temperature, pressure, wind) can create large errors. Combine this with effects of shooter error being magnified at longer range, it's quite a challenge.

Seems like selecting the best bullet for long range hunting comes down to minimizing flight time and having the right combination of energy transfer and penetration once inside the animal. AND...the bullet needs to be consistently precise out of the gun it's being fired from. Every gun handles bullet/powder combinations a bit differently.

So the 150gr Core-Lokts come out of the barrel slower, then loose velocity faster because of the blunt, rounded nose and no boat-tail. They're all done just past 300 yards in terms of velocity and energy. And that's exactly where I started having problems with them. Difficult to hit the target, and sub-par terminal performance once inside the animal. The 1000 ft/lb minimum on medium game is probably right on the mark. The Core-Lokts have 1185 ft/lbs at 300 yards and 872 at 400.

On the other hand, I never had a problem from 50 yards to 250 yards with 150gr Core-Lokts out of the .270. Any problems at that range were shooter error (me). The Accutips could not have done any better, and may have experienced problems where the Core-Lokts performed perfectly. I've never had "pencil-through" or inadequate penetration due to bullet blow-up.

You're right, I can't complain one bit about the 150gr Core-Lokts from 0-250 yards. And a 150gr bullet with low drag and good terminal performance might be THE right choice in the .270 for longer range, if I can get adequate MV.

Matrix offers high BC 165 and 175 gr for .270. Not knowing much about reloading and what's possible with .270 Win (case size, max pressures, different powders etc.), I've got a lot to learn.