Just for whitetail guys, but what's the tougher of the bunch between Hornady, Speer and Sierra? I'm looking into loading for a 270 Win. and was wondering which was the better bullet. I like accuracy but also a decent bullet. What is your favorite?

Ive killed dozens of deer through the years with my .270 win with 130 grn Sierra Pro Hunters and Gamekings alike. As far as the tough part....cant tell you a bunch on that line but all deer have died within eyesight and I hunt in the woods.

The Hornady Interlock is probably a tough bullet and is priced low like the Sierra bullets. I have not used these though.

140 or 150gr Hornady Interlock would be my choice.

The Sierra 130 Game King is a wonderful whitetail bullet. I'm another that does not buy into this amrketing hype for shooting premium bullets at whitetail deer. Good money thrown up a wild hogs ars. If you really think you need a tough bullet, of the brands you mention any 150 grainer that your rifle shoots accurately will work fine.

The words "tough bullet" and "Whitetail" do not belong in the same sentence.

I went thew this very thing some time ago with my .270 Win. and used all the bullets that you have listed. And finally the rifle liked the 140gr. Sierra Game king, he's happy and so am I.
6.5 SWEDE.

My favorite all-around bullet for the 270 is the 140 gr Nosler Accubond. Shooter's Pro Shop has the factory 2nd in stock for about $15/50. That's a nice bullet at a nice price. Accuracy is superb and it's a quick opening bullet that will perform nicely on whitetails - I've killed dozens with it and not one complained.

I'll second the Hornady line as the toughest non-premium - at least, of those I've tried. At 270 Win velocities it ought to hold together as well as it ever did with mine, but for lower velocity rounds, such as the 6.5x55, I've switched to the softer Ballistic Tip. They seem to fall down more quickly with the BT.

I like Hornady for non-premium stuff. Never really bothered with Sierra or Speer as the Hornady stuff shot great and killed things dead. My 6.5x55, 7mm Rem Mag, and .303 all eat Hornady by the box, as does my dad's .30-06. My Weatherby will be shooting 100gr Hornady bullets as well (factory ammo) since they shot well on the factory target. I've also loaded for a .243 and .308 with Hornady for friends with great results.

Not sure what you're looking for. As LionHunter indicates, "tough" bullets are inappropriate for whitetails.

Among non-bonded, non-monometal, non-partition bullets (conventional "cup-and-core"), the old 130 grain Nosler Solid Base (lead tip) would usually exhibit deeper pentration than most and hold together fairly well. Most attribute this to their solid base of jacket material. They are essentially a Ballistic Tip without the de facto hollow point. They are still available from Shooters Pro Shop (Nosler makes them in bulk for ammunition companies from time to time). I use them in my .270 exclusively and have had excellent accuracy and terminal performance. A few weeks ago I made a one-shot DRT kill on a 175 lb hog at 275 yards with this bullet.

But among the bullets you list, for whitetails I would simply use the one which exhibited the best accuracy in my rifle. Typically, that would be Sierra, Speer, then Hornady in descending order, but rifles vary and your results undoubtedly will also.

check out my earlier thread, it might help some

http://forums.accuratereloadin.../3221043/m/368103879

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

Among non-bonded, non-monometal, non-partition bullets (conventional "cup-and-core"), the old 130 grain Nosler Solid Base (lead tip) would usually exhibit deeper pentration than most and hold together fairly well.

Reading the title of the thread, this is the exact bullet that came to mind for me as well. I bought about 1000+ from Nosler's Proshop at about $6/50. Can't go wrong. I used one on a KY doe this past season. Works great, and beats the other 3 in accuracy in the rifles I load.

Choosing one of the 3 listed in the OP, I like the Speer Hot-Cores the best. Sierra never impressed me in terms of accuracy and Hornady never has. Even though I think the old Hornady Interlocked bullet is a good deer bullet.

I have used the 150 grain Speer Hotcor on a bunch of deer, it opens fast enough and penetrates deeply. This bullet doesn't open as wide as the others which tends to be easier on meat. I'll chime in on liking the 130 grain Nosler Solid base which is on sale right now at the Shooters Pro Shop. If the 6MM version comes up click again on the prompt in the corner, the darkened one.

I found the 140 grain sierra HPBT Gameking to be very accurate, but too tough for deer.

quote:

Originally posted by Claret_Dabbler:
140 or 150gr Hornady Interlock would be my choice.

Thanks fellas, I should have explained myself better. What I am looking for is just a decent bullet that will penetrate well and not blow gapping holes in deer. I don't mind tracking one a little ways if needed. I agree from my limited experience on Nosler solid bases. We also have pigs here, some are pretty big. I tried the BT's and did not like the way they performed. They do kill well but waste a lot of the deer. Thanks guys

I haven't had very good luck with the HDY 150 IL FBs from the 270 Win in terms of penetration. I've loaded them for 2 model 700s and a 760. They do great for killing deer, but quite a few didn't exit on broadside shots. That was on rather small whitetails. It doesn't make much sense, but I've had exits almost every time when using the 130 and 140 NBTs. The only .277 NBT that didn't exit was on a 200lb 11pt that was shot quartering to in the neck, the bullet went through the neck bone into the chest and was against the hide of the offside shoulder. That said, I prefer the 130 and 140 NBT for whitetails even though some hate them. If I had to go cheap, I'd go with the NSBs if you can find them or the Win PPs.

Good Luck

Reloader

You might also want to try Sako Superhammerheads or Lapua Megas. Inexpensive and very effective, but not as devestating on deer as the Sierras.

My experience is the 140 Accubond is very deep penetrating, similar to Partitions at much less money followed by the 140 gr Sierra HPBT.

The Speer Grand Slams are good too and while I haven't priced them in a long time, they used to be mid-way between the standard and premium bullets.

I have a bunch of Lapua 200 gr 30 cal bullets I haven't tried yet; glad to know they're not too soft. Thanks, McFox.

In several different 270s I have used Hornady 130, 140, and 150 interlocks successfully on pronghorn antelope, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and elk.

I shot Speer Grand Slams for years. They shot to one hole in my BDL 270, and they held together wonderfully well. No secondary projectiles with these bullets. I have shot through ribs and through front shoulders on deer, and without exception, the bone looked like you had cut through it with a hole saw.

I shot a big boar in S. Texas one winter with a 130 GS. He was ~140 yards away, quartered away from me, angled down a hill. The bullet entered right behind the head. I recovered it against the skin of the right side chest, and when I got him skinned down to the shoulders, I cut the head off without having to use a saw. It literally pulverized the neck bones. I have the bullet somewhere. It was still together, and weighed 77 grains if I remember correctly.

Speer markets that bullet as a premium hunting bullet and they are a bit pricey, but no more of them than we would typically shoot in a year, they are well worth the price, as far as I am concerned.

I prefer the 130 Ballistic tip in both of my 70's. Excellent accuracy, and good all around performance. That said, the best inexpensive bullet I have used for the 270, and would work great on white tails is the Winchester 130 grain Bulk Bullet. I shot an elk with that load, and while the bullet did shed the jacket, the elk dropped in his tracks.

Jerry

Hmm. My definition of a "tough bullet" is one that blows a big hole in the deer. The "softer" bullets stay inside but don't leave as good a blood trail, and at least IMO, tend to kill a little more quickly.

I would say the toughest non premium bullet for the 270 would have to be the 150 grain round nose corelokt by remington. Try this link, If it doesn't work cut and paste it into your browser, it should work then.

http://www.stevespages.com/jpg/bestbullet.jpg

quote:

Originally posted by Rick 04:
I would say the toughest non premium bullet for the 270 would have to be the 150 grain round nose corelokt by remington. Try this link, If it doesn't work cut and paste it into your browser, it should work then.

http://www.stevespages.com/jpg/bestbullet.jpg

Those round nose bullets are designed to open very quickly and as a consequence, may not penetrate as well as we think they should. I would agree they are good bullets but a lot of hunters want that exit hole too. As an example, a friend of mine shot a black bear (maybe 200 pounds but probably smaller) at less than 10 yards with his 30.06 and a 220 round nose coreloct. Killed the bear on the spot. Bullet was an absolute picture perfect symmetrical mushroom. But, no exit hole. You would think at that distance with that much power it would have/should have blown through and put a gaping hole in the ground. Such did not happen.

In contrast, my 30.06 180 Sciroccos always exited.

FWIW I just bought a box of 130 grain interbonds for my new M-70 .270...yes you wanted non premium.....but for 45 cents a piece I can get (probable) exit holes and long range and reliable expansion. I won't shoot this gun more than twenty times a year so five bucks a year isn't a big deal......and if it is.....you shouldn't be hunting anyway!

I've been using tsx's, I also want to shoot more with the bullet I am hunting with. I shoot more than twenty rounds a range session vapo. LOL anway looking for a good bullet. The thing I was wondering is like a speer btsp is tougher than a hornady spire point or vice versa. I'll probably shoot 150's in my marlin and 130's in my remington. Thanks Guys

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Rick 04:
I would say the toughest non premium bullet for the 270 would have to be the 150 grain round nose corelokt by remington. Try this link, If it doesn't work cut and paste it into your browser, it should work then.

I went to Africa and used 200gr Nosler Partition with my 300 RUM and took 4 animals with it. I don't know if it is concided a premium or not.

I have shot the 270 Winchester for over 35 years and have used it on Whitetail, Mule Deer, Large Black Bear, Kudu, Wildebeast, Zebra etc. and the bullet I have found to be the toughest and also which does the most damage and MAKES QUICK KILLS is the Barnes X-bullet. Last year My wife and used it in 338/06 and nothing ran further than 5-6 steps and this is Zebra, Kudu, Black Wildebeast and similar animals. This bullet was the TSX-Triple Shock-X. This past deer season I shot a whitetail at 133 yards in the shoulder that dropped at the shot. This bullet was the polymer tiped TSX. Total devestation inside the animal. I have used it in a variety of calibers from 6mm to 416 Rigby. The 6mm dropped a buck at 165 yards only to get up and jump about 20' and go down for good. Left on the ground by his first fall was a piece of lung that had been sucked out the exit hole and was left on the ground. This secondary trophy was about the size of a small orange! They are a DRT (Dead Right There) bullet for my wife and I.

Good Hunting.

i prefer 130gr partitions in my 270win. never found a bullet, never had a complaint, and i don't care what they cost as they have always worked. i've used numerous other popular 270 bullets and most worked just as well. but i have settled on the partitions and have no desire to change. ymmv.

150 gr. speer hot cor.

nothing scientific, but from what I've read in multiple threads - Sierras for accuracy, Hornady for toughness

remington

Another twisted Xfanatic but's in with out of context comment.

I also prefer the Barnes TSX on everytbing. If I have to use factory amunition or a non premium I use Remington Core Lokt. DW

another vote for the nosler solid base, works for me. Here is another thought, just run the bullet a little slower. I used to use 60 grains of RL22 but have backed off of that as it is not needed for my usual less than 50 yard shots on WT deer in Georgia.

silvertip

quote:

Originally posted by Stoneybroke:
I found the 140 grain sierra HPBT Gameking to be very accurate, but too tough for deer.

These things shoot very well in my .270, too, but I also was concerned about whether or not they'd perform in small Oregon black-tailed deer, so I called Sierra.

The tech I talked to agreed with Stoneybroke: he strongly discouraged me from using them — said they're tough and designed for heavier game.

quote:

Originally posted by raybass:
What I am looking for is just a decent bullet that will penetrate well and not blow gapping holes in deer.

Recommended to use the Barnes TSX.

Cheaper bullets are around $20.00 / 100

TSX are around $35.00 / 50

Figuring the cost out, should be able to develop an accurate load using 20 rounds. That leaves 30 for hunting.

Many times no more than 2 shots is used on game during a trip and many times only one. Having to shoot 7 times or more is quite rare.

Shooting a deer and some other animal every year could stretch the $35.00 box of TSX to last 2-3 years using a couple shots before season to check zero.

Cheap bullets can be used for practice.

The TSX is an exceptional bullet for all game.