.270 whitetail bullet shopping again, for the last time.

[Mike Hennig]

Ok, so many years ago when I first started handloading I started off with the Nosler ballistic tip. I shot my nice buck with it perfectly broadside at 110 yards and the bullet completely exploded, it literally just made it to the vitals and that's it, the BT in my book was a varmint round, never shot another one since. I am told they made some changes to them but with all the nice bullets out there I won't give them another chance. Next up, for many years I shot the Nosler Partition. I loved the killing of that round, however I never could get it to shoot accurately out of my rifle, somewhere around 2-3 inch groups at 100 yards no matter what I tried. Next up, Speer Grand Slam. Shot many deer with great success, better accuracy, however I'm not of fan of the soft blunt lead nose that gets damaged and my hunting spots have changed over the years and I am reaching out to longer distances. Next up, the Barnes triple shock, unbelievable accuracy, honest 1 inch groups at 200 yards off a bench. Shot around 4 nice bucks with them, lost one. I will no longer shoot a solid copper. The picture perfect mushrooms in gel are all cute and all, but they don't kill deer the way the others do, some will argue but that's just the facts. I have hit deer perfectly with the Barnes and got little to no blood, deer have run off almost like they were not even hit, only to see them tip over 50-100 yards later. So, no more Barnes, and here I am now, looking again. I have thoughts on trying these options. Federal Trophy bonded tip, Hornady INTERBOND, not interlock, Nosler Accubond, and maybe even the Swift Scirocco 2. Again, this would be in the .270 Winchester round, in WI deer at ranges of 0-450 yards. I only want to do this one last time, enlighten me, give me advice, give me horror stories, tell me what to do..

 

[Korhil78]

If those are the ranges you want then I would go with the Federal Terminal Ascent or the Nosler accubond (the regular one). Both are bonded bullets and will retain their weight to give you exits on whitetails most of the time. The Terminal Ascent comes in a 136 Gr bullet for the .277 cal.

 

[Highvoltage]

Sierra 140 gamechanger or 145 eldx, coyotes through elk, best wishes

 

[BoomFlop]

So you have tried bullets from soft (early Ballistic Tips) to hard (Barnes) and bullets in between. Yet, you aren't happy with any of them.

What are you wanting the bullet to do differently than the ones you have used?

Softer bullets will typically have a more dramatic effect, as in drop without moving. However, you may need to choose your shots a little more wisely. Harder bullets will typically penetrate very well, but you can expect them to travel over 100 yards. Bullets in between will typically have them running 30-100 yards.

I don't believe there is a perfect bullet for taking an animal at 50 yards with the same effect as 500 yards. Pick a bullet for average shot distance and choose your point of aim accordingly.

Good luck
Steve

 

[Bob Wright]

Look at Hammer bullets then. You can do a search in LRH on people that have real animal kills, with reports of their experience. I just started working up a load in a 280AI and cannot give you real world experience just yet.
Steve at Hammer Bullets will be glad to help you. He is a member on this site.

 

[morgaj1]

I use AccuBonds and Interbonds exclusively and choose which based on what the gun likes.

 

[cajun]

The 130 gr nosler accubond is a hammer.

 

[RT2506]

When I used the 270 Win. the old school 130 Sierra Game King pushed by 60 grs H4831 killed every one DRT that I shot with it. Probably the Nosler Accubond will fill what you described you want. I have only used the 130 Accubond in my 264 Win mag at 3350 fps and it exhibits the same performance from 25 to a touch over 500 yards for me. It is a very accurate bullet with very good ballistics. It goes in expands and takes out the vitals and exits with about a thumb size hole. I have killed 25+ deer with this combo and all have been DRT.

 

[LVJ76]

140gr or 150gr SST, it just kills fast when placed through the lungs or through the shoulder, up close and at longer ranges. With a good dose of RL23 or H4831sc and done.

You'll get full penetration with vitals turned to jello, and who doesn't like jello.

The SST bullet is tougher than most frangible bullets like the Ballistic Tips and other non bonded cup and core bullets. It holds together pretty well even at impact velocities above 2,900 fps. It also dumps more energy in the animal than bonded bullets.

Hope this helps and stay safe

 

[FEENIX]

So you have tried bullets from soft (early Ballistic Tips) to hard (Barnes) and bullets in between. Yet, you aren't happy with any of them.

What are you wanting the bullet to do differently than the ones you have used?

Softer bullets will typically have a more dramatic effect, as in drop without moving. However, you may need to choose your shots a little more wisely. Harder bullets will typically penetrate very well, but you can expect them to travel over 100 yards. Bullets in between will typically have them running 30-100 yards.

I don't believe there is a perfect bullet for taking an animal at 50 yards with the same effect as 500 yards. Pick a bullet for average shot distance and choose your point of aim accordingly.

Good luck
Steve

^^^ This! ^^^

 

[Muddyboots]

It is extremely difficult to expect a bullet to perform EXACTLY the same for each kill. Every animal is different and kill post mortem will show you that the bullet did the job but probably in different ways. The BT "exploded" and barely entered chest but yet it killed the deer. The Barnes "lost" a deer but still killed others. This is hunting. Bullets will get deflected entering a deer from so many different reasons you could write a book, oh wait there are books.

You may never know if the buck you lost from a Barnes was actually killed and just went a long ways and died in some nasty location. My buck in my avatar was hit with a 200AB at 300 yards perfect 12X ring shot and still went crazy distance. Both lungs jelliefied so how do these animals do this?

I almost lost a big Adirondack buck hit with a 180 gr Partition (300WM) at 75 yards that was hit front side of lungs and still was able to go almost 400 yards and dang near made it into a beaver dam flow which would have been disastrous due to location so far back. He died at waters edge.

My point is, I would not toss a bullet based upon one time experience since we can never truly determine what actually may have cause the perceived lack of performance. Animals can defy logic when it comes to post hit trauma and still go ridiculous distances with what we believe is a DRT hit. The BT and Barnes have long proven track records and I wouldn't hesitate to use either one of them for hunting. There are so many variables when a bullet hits an animal that there are no perfect bullets out there that will kill an animal the same way every time.

 

[jd5521]

I have had very good luck with the Speer 130 grain boat tails in my 270.

 

[seattleman1969]

My buck in my avatar was hit with a 200AB at 300 yards perfect 12X ring shot and still went crazy distance. Both lungs jelliefied so how do these animals do this?

Lots of factors to consider why, but remember, even with oxygen cut off the human brain (As an example) can operate on dissolved oxygen in the bloodstream for up to 4 minutes if the heart is still beating. Transfer that to an animal that is built for efficiency in escaping predators and they probably have additional time available as long as the heart is pumping. So, a double lung, shot, while deadly, may not put an animal down. However, a close proximity shot to the heart can in some cases stop the heart with the impact of the shockwave. This is where I think you see the actual DRT shots that are in actuality double lung.

 

[Backcountry sports]

Ok, so many years ago when I first started handloading I started off with the Nosler ballistic tip. I shot my nice buck with it perfectly broadside at 110 yards and the bullet completely exploded, it literally just made it to the vitals and that's it, the BT in my book was a varmint round, never shot another one since. I am told they made some changes to them but with all the nice bullets out there I won't give them another chance. Next up, for many years I shot the Nosler Partition. I loved the killing of that round, however I never could get it to shoot accurately out of my rifle, somewhere around 2-3 inch groups at 100 yards no matter what I tried. Next up, Speer Grand Slam. Shot many deer with great success, better accuracy, however I'm not of fan of the soft blunt lead nose that gets damaged and my hunting spots have changed over the years and I am reaching out to longer distances. Next up, the Barnes triple shock, unbelievable accuracy, honest 1 inch groups at 200 yards off a bench. Shot around 4 nice bucks with them, lost one. I will no longer shoot a solid copper. The picture perfect mushrooms in gel are all cute and all, but they don't kill deer the way the others do, some will argue but that's just the facts. I have hit deer perfectly with the Barnes and got little to no blood, deer have run off almost like they were not even hit, only to see them tip over 50-100 yards later. So, no more Barnes, and here I am now, looking again. I have thoughts on trying these options. Federal Trophy bonded tip, Hornady INTERBOND, not interlock, Nosler Accubond, and maybe even the Swift Scirocco 2. Again, this would be in the .270 Winchester round, in WI deer at ranges of 0-450 yards. I only want to do this one last time, enlighten me, give me advice, give me horror stories, tell me what to do..

Remington 130 grain core loc always puts them down or nosler partition