What is the general feeling regarding 140 gr. bullets in the 270 Win vs. the more common 130 and 150 gr. pills?

Specifically I am talking about eastern deer hunting. I am thinking hard about loading the 140 Hornady BTSP for my buddy's use next season. He has been shooting factory Ballistic tips and getting their typical explosive results. I want to give him something flat shooting, but not so destructive.

I was thinking that going up in bullet weight would help drop the velocity and allow better penetration with cleaner entry and exit wounds.

Is the 140 as good a choice here as I am thinking? I'm guessing it is it sorta like the 165 is in the 30-06.

Thanks,
Mark in GA

If you want better penetration with cleaner entry and exit wounds without having to go to a 140-grain bullet, try the new 130-grain Barnes Triple-Shock. Works well on pigs here in Calif. Better accuracy in most rifles than the old kind of x-bullet.

Only problem with X-bullets and such is we are poor boys!!! We can shoot a whole lot more Hornady's for our $$$. I always say a practiced shot is an easy shot when the time comes during the hunt!

Thanks Though. If our financial situation changes I may give the Barnes a try.

Mark in GA

Mark,

I'm switching over this year to the 140 Hornady BTSP for the exact same reasons your friend is--and I too was using 130 gr. BTs.

I shot a nice doe at about 80 yards last year through both shoulders (snap shot), and ended up throwing both away

Problem is, I want my cake and eat it too! I'd like to be able to push 3000 fps with the 140s, but am afraid at this velocity they will do the same thing (inside 100 yards) as a BT.

We'll see--which is 1/2 the fun anyway!

friar

My buddy hit two does at close range (1 at 40 yds and 1 at maybe 60) this past season and WHAT A MESS! I jumped all over him about shooting the shoulders after he told me they were both pretty much broadside. He should have blown their heart/lungs out behind the shoulder.

It gets worse. The closest doe had the ballistic tip explode on her right front shoulder bone and while she dropped at the shot, it wasn't for long. He thought she was down for the count and began climbing down from his stand. When he reached the ground and looked up, guess who is hobbling off on three legs? He lets her have another one as fast as he can to try and end her suffering. Well she is angling away now at maybe 75 yds when his second shot hits her just in front of her left hind leg. Of course that one angles forward and blows up inside (we think anyway) since we had multipe small exit wounds in her belly and found only extremely small fragments. So a ruined shoulder and gut shot too. YUCK is only work I can think of.

I told him right then that I would help him get some more suitable loads together because the ballistic tip is just not ment for those kinds of shots. If he had hit her behind the shoulder or with a tougher bullet he would have likely had a DRT deer.

Anyway, that's why I what a tougher buller for him. I figure the 140 BT configuration will still shoot pretty flat and is much more likely to hold together than the explosive (by design) ballistic tip. That's what I hope anyway.

God Bless,
Mark in GA

I have been using the 140 grainers (Hornady)in my Model 70 since they first came on the market. I get much better accuracy with them than with 130's or 150's. I have shoot quite a few deer with them at ranges from 50-60 yards to 300+. None of the deer went more than a few steps. I don't get the 3000 fps though. I stay nearer 2800 and they have worked very well. Good-luck...BCB

If you are wanting less meat damage, You'd be better off going w/ a tougher bullet than the Hornady. The 140 grain Hdy SPBT is not going to have a noticable performance difference than the 140 NBT when pushed at the same velocity.

Maybe you should try Accubonds or Interbonds, they are not near as expensive as the XXX. You can get the ABs for $14.99 from Cabelas or you could get the Seconds from Shooters Pro Shop for around $11. The Interbonds usually only run around $26/100 or you could wait and see if Midway puts on another big Blem sale. Last year Midway had the Interbond Blems pretty cheap. If you went w/ the 130 IBs you could still get your Fast and Flat loads that your buddy likes.

Good Luck!

Reloader

Our family shot two mule dear bucks, one in the 180 B&C score, and two elk, one 5X5 bull and a large cow, all with the 270 in the 130 Nosler BT loaded to 3155 fps. All were instant kills at ranges from 125 yards to 360 yards. I've used the 180 g Nosler BT for a 300 Win Mag at 3165 fps and taken two large elk with that combo at 300-400 yards. Again all one shot drop dead kills. IMHO the BT will perform just fine if the shot is placed properly.

I'm shooting the 140 gr. AccuBond in my 270 and like the accuracy and terminal performance. Usually get a pass through.

A 140 is the only bullet weight I would ever use in a .270!!! It's ballistically superior to a 130 and can be driven faster than a 150. In the .270 Win, I use Ballistic tips at 2850 fps. That's all anyone would ever need in a .270. As a side note, I should state that I use a .338 for elk since I believe a .270 to be usable, but marginal on very large game animals.

Mark,

I have used the 140 Hornady BT on deer and several large black bear...I like em

Shot two buck this year with the 140 accubond, very clean kills, nice holes bored right thru, very little wasted meat around the wound channel. Try them.

quote:

Originally posted by TEANCUM:
IMHO the BT will perform just fine if the shot is placed properly.

I agree to a point. If the shot is over 100-125 yards I have seen the Ballistic Tips perform well. The areas we are hunting have a lot of thick woods where shots are sometimes very close. We also have slashs and cuts that on occasion offer a 250-300 yd shot. The Ballistic Tips are NOT holding up for the close shots. Therein is our problem.

Some folks have suggested the Interbonds. I see they only come in the 130 gr. weight. I may give them a try and back off the velocity some.

Thanks,
Mark

The Hornady 130 1nd 140 interlocs are not as soft as Ballistic Tips but if you put em into the meat you will surely loose some. If you want to keep the velocity up and use less expensive bullets give the 130 grain Speer Hotcor flat bases a try. A very impressive bullet with premium performance and low cost. I now use 150 grain Hornady Interlocs almost exclusively in my 270 with the exception being the 130 Interlok loaded to 2700 fps for Texas deer.