.270 bullet inquiry

[COOSEFAN]

I had asked before on here about caliber suggestions for my Alaska hunt this Sept., and had settled on my 300 win mag. BUT, due to an incredibly busy past couple of months, I have not gotten that gun ready. Several knowledgeable guys here told me the .270 caliber is sufficient for Moose/Caribou and that is the gun I am most confident with. SO, my Winchester Model 70 .270 w/ Leupold VXIII 4.5-14x40 B/C scope, is sitting at the gunsmith getting a trigger job as I type. Too late for me to gain confidence in my other guns, so the .270 it is. My question is, what is the biggest bullet I can get? What is the best bullet/grain to use for these large animals? Do I really need to go big on bullet size or is there a combo bullet/grain that would work better? I really don't have much knowledge about ballistic stuff, so I appreciate your input! Thanks, JIM>

[coueshunter]

I am not a ballistic expert either, but know that placement is number 1. I personally would look up the ballistic coefficient on the 165 grain vs. 130 grain and look at using a partion in Federal Premium. I gonna guess that the 130 grain bullet may be a good choice even though it might sound too light...........have a great hunt..............Allen...........

[Red Rabbit]

Federal loads a 150 grain Nosler Partition. That is what I would run with in the 270.

 

RR

[josh]

Hey coosefan where abouts are you going and what exactly are you hunting. I used to hunt in Alaska quite a bit and worked for a buddy of mine with a guide service out of anchorage and saw a couple guys kill caribou with the 270 they are pretty easy to take down but the grizz might take more than one shot. I just picked up a 270 remington 700 and was wondering if the 4x14.5 with the adjustable was worht the extra bucks just curious if yours is the AO.Josh

[hunterdude]

I would also have to say 150gr. Nosler Partition would be about your best bet. It has a good solid base and will hold together well on inpact. Good luck on the hunt.

[DEERSLAM]

Jim are you going to be using factory loads or reloading. Either way I would go with the 150gr bullet. The Nosler partition is a great choice or any other well constructed bullet. I would stay away from the Nosler Ballistic tip. The Nosler Accubond might be a happy medium.

[.270]

bigger bullets don't work real well in a .270. i guess i should say, they're not my preference. i shoot 140 gr hornady btsp. just the interlocks. i bought a box of 130 gr interbonds but haven't got around to loading them yet. a .270 is fairly small caliber. small calibers should shoot lighter bullets. if you need a heavy bullet, get a bigger gun. i can't even remember why i started shooting the 140's, but i know they really work well in my rifle. it's a real old model 70, 24 inch barrel. it has a real long throat, so i can poke the bullet way out and get a lotta powder in it. i shoot 140's a little over 3000 fps. the reason i started using hornady bullets in general is because the sierras always seemed to come apart. but this may not be a bad deal, at least for deer. they killed the heck outta things for sure. i've never had an interlock come apart. and they very seldom go through. which to me is a good thing. all the shock and energy is staying inside the animal, doing damage to it, instead of using a bunch of left over energy to push a wadded up bullet across the landscape. i don't like pure copper bullets at all. too long, too much barrel drag, too slow and too stinkin' expensive. after last year's late elk and what i saw copper bullets do, i'd never have one. i hate chasing animals around waiting for them to die. i don't much care for nosler's, mainly because of the price. they are a great bullet for heavy animals. but when elk is the biggest thing i hunt, i can't see where they are a benefit. if you're going to shoot caribou or sheep or black bears in alaska, i'd use 130's or 140's. no need for anything bigger. my kid shoots 100 gr hornady interlocks out of his .270 wsm. for everything. they will tip an elk right over with a good lung shot. a .270 is made to shoot medium weight bullets fast and flat. it isn't an elephant rifle. load it accordingly. for factory loads, i'd suggest the hornady light magnums, federal supremes or any of the other well made styles from winchester or remington. 150's are ok in a .270, but they are the absolute max i'd evern think of shooting. they do hold their speed and trajectory a little better at long ranges. but how far are you gonna shoot? 165's are a joke. shoot like a rainbow. my dad still uses 130 gr sierras. 2 years ago he smacked a real good 6x6 bull with em. running flat out too. a .300 mag wouldn't have done any better. but he is still an exceptional shot. remember one thing, nothing makes up for poor marksmanship. a gutshot is a gutshot. doesn't matter how big the rifle is. Lark.

[azyoung]

I?m by no means an expert on bullets and ballistics but I would agree with .270 I really like the hornady 140 btsp. My son shot a nice muley last year and loved the performance even on a poor shot. 1st shot in the back hip bone and we recover most of the bullet. The year before we used the Barnes solid bullet on his elk and he hit the elk 3 times 1st in the liver, 2nd high in the front shoulders and finally center spine. The cow just stood and took all the hits. When we gut the cow the hits looked like we pushed a pencil through the liver and front shoulders. Small hole in and small hole out.

 

azyoung

[More D]

What kind of terrain are you gonna be hunting? What are the ranges going to be like?

 

I have NEVER seen a Moose but you ever see on TV are REALLY up close type hunts. I have NEVER seen a Caribou eaither but they seen to go down pretty quick on TV.

 

Some of the guys on here will be able to tell you first hand about Caribou and Moose. Talk to your guide too. He has seen it all when it come to good and bad ideas about bullet selection.

 

Look to the Remington Cor-locs and the ultra version of that bullet, you never seem to hear to much negative stuff about them.

 

telling you what you all ready know isn't much help but I am sure every one else will be!

 

 

 

 

[azryan]

ditto to the 150 grain nosler partition by federal....that would be my recomendation

[DEERSLAM]

Depending on the rifle and how old it is the .270 was pretty much built for the 130gr bullet. 140gr and 150's are relatively new bullets for the .270. Rate of twist is going to determine how well the heavier bullets shoot out of a specific rifle. Lark correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I have shot elk with 130gr Nosler partitions but given a choice if I were to hunt elk again with my .270 I would chose a heavier bullet. Moose, most definintly a heavier bullet.

[COOSEFAN]

Thanks for all the reply's! The reason I'm taking my .270 instead of my 7mm or 300 win. is because I am very confident with it and won't have the time to invest into gaining that same confidence in my other rifles. I too believe it's all about placement, so again.....270 it is! I really don't yet know where I will be hunting, just know I will be in Anchorage on the 3rd of Sept. and then on to a smaller town, stay at a bed n breakfast then on to camp in a bush plane on the 5th. It will only be my buddy and I and the outfitter. The outfitter isn't allowed to guide us, just stay in camp and cook for us! Thats how I wanted it! My mom and dad are fishing with the same outfitter right now in Alaska and talked to my dad today, he said the outfitter is really excited because of the size of animals in our hunting area and said were gonna have great opportunities at huge Moose! He said the Caribou are like rabbits and to make sure we don't shoot one until the second to last day, because you'll see bigger ones every day after your tag is filled if you shoot early?!! He also said he has one of the best success rates for non-guided hunters in Alaska. He said he's right at 50%, and told me if I learn how to hunt Moose before I go and have a hunting background, I'll have no problem killing a good one! I'll believe it when I see it! The terrain looked very open in his pictures and even where some of the Moose were killed it looked very open with a good sized mountain nearby. We are hunting at a secluded lake and I guess the Moose hang around the edge of the lake in the willows. I'm guessing shots will be far possibly for Caribou and should be able to spot n stalk the Moose. We'll see.

I will be buying factory loads and have always used Federal Premium Vital-Shoks in the 130 Gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips on my Coues. I killed 3 bucks last season, from 210 yrds to 363yrds and none went farther than 10 yrds with this bullet, only one just hit the ground, but he was already in his bed. My rifle was brand new last year and was given to me as a tip for an elk hunt I guided, so I don't know much about the barrel twist and it does have a fairly short barrel. It is the Classic Featherweight model and I don't have the Adjustible Objective scope, but it does have the B+C reticle and it works awesome with the .270 caliber and my 130 gr. BTips. The 150 gr. partitions sound good but Mr. .270 has me thinkin about the 140's? I WILL NOT be using the Ballistic Tips, just so you know, I need to save them for my Coues hunt in Oct. Sorry for ramblin', just trying to answer all the questions in everyones reply's. Thanks again for all the info JIM>

[ultramag]

take lots of pictures and have the EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME.good luck, dont sweat it just kill it.

[ruffcountry]

.270's fine for caribou,.300's better for moose.If your set on .270, I'd choose the 150's for moose and woudn't consider less than 140's for caribou. Are you taking a backup rifle? Again I suggest .300win . If not consider packing backup riflescope. What about bears?(.300Win!!!) Good luck and have a great hunt.

 

.300 fan

[COOSEFAN]

I am not taking a back-up rilfe because we have to limit our total weight for the plane rides and I am taking video equipment and all of our optics. My thoughts are, my buddy is bringing a 30.06 and we can share either gun if we have to, and worst case scenario, we will be out there trying to kill Moose and Caribou with our .44 mags.! THAT would be fun, but hopefully it doesn't come to that. JIM>