What would be a good weight 130,140,150 grain. I am breaking in a Remington 700,have about 70 of the 100 rounds through her.I have tried lots of basic brands and found that the gun likes the cheapest bullets that I put through it.That would be winchester 130grain powerpoints that are like $13.00 bucks a box,I like the price and the groups but not for the blood trail , Last deer season had alot of non bleeders that I found some and lost some!!I need something that produces a great blood trail.Thanks for any suggestions and happy shooting!!

Hawkeye,
There is nothing wrong with the loads you are using, they are expanding bullets, and are as good as anything available for whitetails.
Where did you hit the deer you lost??? You should not loose a deer with that load with a good shot. Your load is definetly good enough for any deer that walks.

I'm loading 140 Accubonds for a buddy. They aren't expensive and well named. Very accurate!!

Hey Wolfgar thanks for the reply.I usually try to hit them in the shoulder, tring to keep them from running so far.I use to aim for the lungs but they all seem to run alot farther.Last year I dropped 2 does in their tracks but had 2 bucks that I shot that did not bleed, but found by doing huge 360 circles for about 4hrs with no blood!Both were shot right behind the shoulder.Where is the best place to shoot for ,shoulder or lungs or what?The only thing I don't like about the shoulder shot is sometimes no exit!!

The 270 "made its bones" with a 130gr bullet. If you are hitting them behind the shoulder (broadside, not quartering away), even with a factory core-lokt load, I don't see why you aren't finding the deer. You might try some core-lokt ultras. I have never found a bullet after shooting a whitetail with them, and they aren't that pricey if memory serves. If you handload, try some 130gr partitions. They work great!

Federal premium ammo loaded with 130 grain Nosler ballistic Tips. If that don't leave a blood trail nothing will.

I grew up useing a Ruger M77 in .270. Killed a couple dozen deer with it and never lost one. I did have a couple of tracking jobs I didn't like though. I always used 140's.

One thing I don't care for with a .270 is it doesn't knock the deer down. It blows through the animal, leaves a good wound channel, but is fast enough to keep it's energy and not transfer it to the animal. I shot one deer head on and it went all the way through, "end to end". If you are looking to take the deer off it's feet, a .270 might not be the best choice. It will certainly kill 'em though.

Try 130 gr Hornady SST's. We shot 4 Deer with them last fall, and not one got out of sight before going down.

I don't see what's wrong with using the WW power points. Literally millions of heads of game have fallen to that bullet over the years, and it's no less effective today than it was when introduced. I would say if your rifle shoots them well, use them for deer.

Thank you all for the your input.I am going to the range once a week to practice and to try different loads.Happy shootin to all.

For deer the WW 130 grain load is great. Especially if they shoot well in you rifle and are $13 a box. I wouldn't recommend them for elk though.

If you hit them through the shoulder you won't be tracking them. If you hit them right behind the shoulder you should not have to track them far.

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
Federal premium ammo loaded with 130 grain Nosler ballistic Tips. If that don't leave a blood trail nothing will.

What he said

I have tried Federal Nosler ballistic tips and for some reason they did not group well at all at the range.Maybe some of my past experinces were just very unlucky or something.Had to bucks last year that I shot in the shoulder and they never bleed and when I finally found both of them there was no blood except where they laid.Both deer while cleaning had no exit wound and found the bullet right in the skin.It had did a number on the inside but had no blood trail.Where does everyone aim for shoulder or lungs????Thanks for all the input!!!

Load the 150 Hornady interlocks and you will usually get two holes for a blood trail
The 130 power points are a proven round as well so I suspect there's a bit of sighting in to do.

I like the 130 g ballistic tip through the lungs. Any frangible bullet through the lungs kills quickly, with tracking rarely needed.

The Sierra Gameking in a 140 gr leaves a very good blood trail that does not last long. They do a lot of damage on a lung shot and pass thru.

Hawkeye,
My M70 isn't a picky eater but shoots the cheap Rem. 130 gr core lokt factory loads best. My avitar is a four shot group at 100 yrds. using the stuff. I've killed deer from 20 to 325 yards with the load and I've never hit one that went far. If you're getting them through both lungs I can't imagine why you're not getting a good blood trail.
How long were the shots? How sure are you of your shot placement?

I strongly disagree with the above post stating that a 270 doesn't knock deer down. I've been shooting a 270 and killing deer with it every year since the mid 80s.

Blood trails are for archery hunters. Get a tougher bullet and bust the shoulder to hell....partition, TSX, Aframe.

The powerpoint bullet is an excellent, fast mushrooming bullet for any whitetail with a lung shot. I do not know how they perform on the shoulder though.

Most of my 270 deer kills have been with the 150 or 140 Btip right through the shoulders (high front POI). Drop in their tracks.

I personally don't like to even get into discussions about entrance and exit holes and good blood trails when discussing bullets. Just my hard headed paradigm. You want a blood trail, pick up a bow. Maybe I've just had a 20 year run of great luck, but I never even considered a blood trail when rifle hunting.

I must certainly be spoiled. When I rifle hunt I expect 2 hits and 2 hits only....the bullet hitting the shoulder and the animal hitting the ground. With the large number of deer under my belt from hunting in the south with their liberal kill numbers, I got used to bang-flops.

Since I've been using the TSX in various rounds, I've still maintained the "2 hit" record no matter the shot angle. Since this experience must defy the norm, then I can only conclude that God must really like me, and/or lady luck can't keep her hands off me and my rifles.

quote:

One thing I don't care for with a .270 is it doesn't knock the deer down. It blows through the animal, leaves a good wound channel, but is fast enough to keep it's energy and not transfer it to the animal. I shot one deer head on and it went all the way through, "end to end". If you are looking to take the deer off it's feet, a .270 might not be the best choice. It will certainly kill 'em though.

A) No cartridge will "knock a deer down" unless the CNS system is damaged. If that happens, almost any cartridge will work.

B) "fast enough to keep it's energy and not transfer it to the animal" Sorry, but I can't buy this statement. Generally a "fast" bullet will deform and transfer its energy faster than a similarly constructed "slow bullet". What bullet are you speaking of?

C) Have you found cartridge that will always "take a deer off its feet"?

I've used 140 grain bullets exclusively for hunting in my .270 featherweight.

Used the failsafe for years for both whitetails, black bears and moose.

Now I use the accubond with a load of IMR4831. This load is very accurate.

I've shot deer form every angle and the accubond is an extremely good bullet. A near or off shoulder/lung shot knocks even the largest whitetail right on his butt.

I've even taken some Texas heart shots - bullet to the base of the tail - at running bucks. Bullet penetrates right through and buck crumples in about 20 yards.

I have recently taken nine big mule deer with nins shots with the Federal 130 grain Fusions. None of them went more than 20 feet. Nothing takes deer down quicker than the 270 I don't care how many Magnum names you tack on.

I once shot a coyote with a 140 gr PowerPoint. It didn't exit but the coytoe didn't exit either. It dropped so fast I thought I missed the shot.

Bottom line is, "if" you want a blood trail you need to use a bullet that "expands well" but "exits" the animial!!! Normally the blood only "exits" the animial from the exit hole...

Looks at this buck, All i did is walk up to him, take a pict. and then roll him over and take another pict... Here's the entrance hole,



And here's the exit hole,



There's all the proof you need!!

Personally, i won't use a cartridge or bullet that won't expand well but still exit the animial i'm hunting!! This is why i like NP's so much!

In my 25 year hunting career in Alaska, nothing worked better that NP's, as they expand well at low velcities, but also "drive on through" at higher velocities!

DM

Its mighty hard to beat the Nosler Partition. If only one bullet was available I would hope that would be the one.

What brand and grain Nosler Partitions are you'll using for the 270??Thanks for all the suggestions and happy shootin!!

quote:

Originally posted by hawkeye101:
What brand and grain Nosler Partitions are you'll using for the 270??Thanks for all the suggestions and happy shootin!!

not sure what you mean by "what brand of Nosler Partition" but the 130 would be an excellent choice. It is a very tough bullet for the 270. 140, 150, and 160 partitions might make you feel warm and fuzzy but are certainly not necessary unless you plan on shooting only heavy game and on a regular basis.

Otherwise, my advice is to go with the 130.

NP are great bullets, but for the normal whitetail, a good old 13 grn Remington Core Lokt will work great.

The remington 130gr core-lokt bullet is all you need!

quote:

Originally posted by hikerbum:
NP are great bullets, but for the normal whitetail, a good old 13 grn Remington Core Lokt will work great.

I disagree. I don't think a 13 grain bullet will penetrate at all.

I know a lot of people don't like Sierra bullets but I've had great luck with the 130 grain SPBT for Mule Deer sized deer and smaller.Colorado Mule Deer

Hey Doc,
Im wondering like what brand ammo for example federal,winchester,remington and so on.Do they all make the Nosler Partition??? Thanks for the help.

Also my gun does not like the 130 remington core lokts cause that is the first thing I tried.

Oh, I see. You used to be able to buy Federal Premium ammo with partitions. It's been so long since I've shoppped for factory ammo, I can't remember if it is still available. You can certainly go to their websites and see.

Nosler and Winchester seem to be the new married couple. If indeed you purchase Winchester factory ammo with a partition, it will most likely be a partition gold. But, I'd be your more likely to find the accubond over the partition.

I was told by a guy at the local gun shop that the Nosler partitions are generally not that accurate?!!I know everyone has their opinion but I thought I would throw that out there.He said that boattail and ballistic tips were more accurate.With that being said I can't get either one of those to group up well.Thanks for all the replies and I have a few months to test some more
out.

hawkeye101, nosler partitions are very accurate,130 is all the weight you need, funny no body mentioned the great speer hot-core spitzer. pretty sure federal loads em in their factory ammo.again 130 is plenty,regards jjmp

I've had better accuracy with partitions with minimal effort over Sierra bullets. And Sierra has an excellent reputation for accuracy.

Thanks for all the good and helpful info!!!I'm gonna try some nosler partitions soon.Will report the results.Thanks again for your replies.

I've never had a problem getting NP's to shoot in any of my big game rifles...



As for Speer Hotcores, under tough conditions they will blow up like any other non premium cup/core bullet... Hotcore means nothing more than the core goes in the jacket "hot", and then is swaged just like any other cup/core bullet.

DM

The .270 is still my "go to" rifle, and I have shot a lot of deer and pigs with Speer 130-grain and 150-grain Grand Slams. They are not a cheap bullet, but I have yet to have one fail to exit, and they typically cut a clean hole completely through, no matte whether you shoot shoulders or ribs (lungs). Meat damage is negligible, and they truly mess up the lungs if a lung shot is taken. Yes the deer will run, but it is dead on its feet. No problem tracking at all...