Has anyone tried the .277 115grain SMK in a .270 Win.? If so what kind of velocities/accuracy did you get? For some reason the catalogs list this bullet in it's own catagory as for the 6.8 SPC. I don't want to start a big debate here over the use of match bullets on game, but I'll bet it'll drop a whitetail like a bolt of lightning.

it seems awfully light for deer with a .270, but i will qualify that by stating that i have never hunted with a .270.

as for the combination of match bullets for use on big game, i would recommend that one not even go there, let alone with a light-for calibre bullet. matchkings are designed for use on paper, not to expand and penetrate flesh and bone. there are many, many bullets of much better design.

I don't trust any Sierra bullet for hunting purposes anymore, since I had some failures with them, even on roe deers. I wouldn't go below 130 gr. with the 270 W. excepted for varmints.

Thats what some people say about the 30cal MKs but I know from in the field experience that they are instant death on a whitetail. Let me say that I respect everyones opinion but, I wasn't asking for a hypothetical answer, real world experience works better for me. Also, I used to be of the same mindset about light for caliber bullets on game. But after 25+ years of whitetail hunting, my favorite deer round is the 6mm Rem. with an 85gr. Sierra GKBTHP . I hunted with a .308 and .270 for years but this little 6mm bullet will dropem every time,no blood-trail necessary, (with proper shot placement of course). I believe a lighter-faster bullet is the way to go on thin-skinned game.

quote:

Thats what some people say about the 30cal MKs

those "some people" include the good folks at sierra.

quote:

but I know from in the field experience that they are instant death on a whitetail.

your "field experience" is worth little when you use a bullet in a way that it is not designed to be used. you can have 9 "instant deaths" and one disaster and it would still prove that there are better-designed bullets for hunting deer.

I've always found the .270 really easy to load for although I really have no use for such a light bullet so I haven't tried it. Light bullets may start out faster but they also slow down faster. At 500 yards which is a long ways for most people the 130gr will be going slightly faster or be about the same. The drop differences are insignificant. The dropped "like a bolt of........." really is more a result of bullet placement. I don't buy the theory of energy transfer with a light bullet that doesn't penetrate and I don't like a bullet that may put a pencil hole thru the animal. But if you want try it nobody here will change your mind..........

quote:

I don't buy the theory of energy transfer with a light bullet that doesn't penetrate and I don't like a bullet that may put a pencil hole thru the animal. But if you want try it nobody here will change your mind..........

Who said they would'nt penetrate? I've taken deer with a .223, 22-250, .243 and 6mm and penetration was'nt a problem. As far as the "pencil hole" (IMO of course)It's shot placement and bullet design that matters, not so much bullet diameter. I know a lot of guys down my way who literally slam their deer every year with a 22-250. I said in my original post that I did'nt want to start a big debate. I've heard it all before. I was simply asking if anyone had tried the 115gr SMK in a .270. Guess not, never mind.

quote:

I was simply asking if anyone had tried the 115gr SMK in a .270.

quote:

It's shot placement and bullet design that matters, not so much bullet diameter

So you're advocating the MK design is a good hunting bullet Using your own logic you've sunk your first post. Will it kill deer, usually. But, why choose the inferior option? Most of time just to be contrary to accepted and established norms. Why even ask the question? If 22-250's are dropping them like the hammer of thor the .270 and MK should cut them in half.

If you are interested in a good light weight bullet for the 270, try the 110 TSX. I have experience with it. I believe you'd be very pleased with the results.

I do not know what the 115 smk would do.

Lots of people use the 30cal. SMKs on game. They may say match on the box, but they perform extremely well on game. Some bullets simply perform way better than they are supposed to. Like I said, I was not trolling for an argument,I was looking for some real, in the field experience. I used to shoot 130gr. partitions in my .270. But after seeing several deer run off with pass-thru double-lung shots, I'll never use them again. Granted, they did'nt run far. Switched to Nosler BTs, same placement no more run-offs,DRT. Same with the 6mm. Everyone said you have to use the heavy bullets on deer. But I found out by "experience" that the little 85 grainers kill MUCH quicker. Keep using your "premium" bullets and large calibers and following those beautiful blood trails. I'll keep dropping them with what I know works. No BS. BTW Thanks Doc, for the input.

I have to strongly agree with you regarding the Btips. Boy, that is a bullet that can be cussed or praised and I think it is more controversial that shooting Match bullets at game. You love them or hate them.

I LOVE them. I have never ever had a problem with a Btip and I've been hunting with them since ~ 1990. Use to kill deer almost daily in some counties in Alabama, and in a state where you can take a deer a day, and sometimes 2, or more if you have doe tags, well, you tend to get a lot of experience under your belt. Not to mention, I was loading for 5 guys including myself. All btips.

Sierra told me that they are well aware that their MK bullets are used quite a bit for hunting. They have and always will state that the bullets "were not DESIGNED for hunting" but "we know that a lot of hunters like the accuracy, so they use them all the time on game and we hear the good and bad stories."

I understand that the jackets are harder than what the GameKings use. That could be a problem with mushrooming.

The thought crossed my mind last year to try them in addition to the 110 TSX just to compare accuracy. I considered using them on antelope. But, then I thought, why mess with perfection? The TSX has MORE than proved itself on several antelope and deer. ALWAYS, DRT.....all except 1 KY buck my brother shot last season at 80-ish yards. It did run a little ways.

i am sure that the TSX, a TBBC or some other heavily-constructed bullet would probably be an adequate choice for the .270 at 115 grains, but the MK is not. period.

any anecdotal stories from billy-bob or joe hunter mean nothing when compared to the established FACT: that MKs are not designed to perform on game. that means that every time you pull the trigger, you are in effect pulling a lever on a slot machine or rolling a pair of dice, and the game deserves much better than that, assuming one is an ethical hunter.

further, the accuracy claim of the MK bullet, while well deserved, is heavily marginalized by the field conditions that accompany hunting. unless you go hunting deer with your bench, rifle vise, etc., the .5 MOA improvement of the SK will not be noticed, either by you or the deer. shooting in the field at living creatures and shooting from a benchrest at paper are two very different things.

we've all been told since we were kids to use the right tool for the right job; the MK is not the right tool for hunting big game animals, ESPECIALLY when using such a small-diameter, light and fast bullet. if you want red spray, go shoot gophers or enlist and go to iraq.