There seems to be some different opinions about he .270 Win on Deer.

Question:
How would you rate the .270 Winchester for slaying deer?

Choices:
It's the best deer round ever invented.
It's an excellent deer slayer.
It's a good, but there is better.
It's adequate for the task.
Only a fool would take a .270 Win deer hunting.

 

The only true answer is it's an excellent deer slayer just like dozens of other cartridges.

quote:

.270 Winchester on Deer

If you didn't get it done with the .270, then you wasn't going to get it done with anything else either!

I think it is about as good as it gets for a deer rifle but I feel the same way about a few others as well just depends on the terrain I'm hunting in. Got a Savage 99 in .358 that fits in that perfect deer rifle as well as a M94 .30-30 Win that fits in there real nicely as well. Deer aren't hard to kill as long as I do my job. My .270 has the ability to reach out there farther than I have business shooting as well, much better than the other two I mentioned as well.

Excellent deer and hog killin' chambering.
130gr. ballistic tip over a reasonable charge of H-4831 works like a charm.
GWB

OK, I'm going to get hung out for this but...Well, I'd better preface this by saying I have 3 .270s and one .270Wby. (I just added a new one over the weekend as a matter of fact).
In MY EXPERIENCE, I think the 270 is a good deer rifle but there are better. I have probably lost more deer that I have shot with a 270 than any other round. Yes, I am sure most of the blame lies with me, whether I took a bad shot, was impatient, made a bad shot, etc. However, I do prefer a round that might offer me a little more margin for error because I am not perfect. Also, I prefer to hunt for deer before I shoot them. I have had some bang flops with the 270 and my new Kimber will be my "go to" rifle for deer this season. But, if I am on a trophy hunt somewhere that I pay for or travel to hunt, I am likely to pick something else. I have a Brown Precision 7mm Rem. Mag. that is my all around rifle and I feel is more gun. I have heard the statement made too, that a gut shot deer is a gut shot deer whether it is a 243 or a 300 mag. That may be true but I had rather try to find the deer shot with the 300. I could happily recommend the 270 for just about everybody as it will do fine 99% of the time and I am sure my response is jaded by some poor shots on my part.

I've killed 30 some deer(lost track a while back of exact count) with .270 Win, Whitetail and Muley both. My boys have shot 6 deer each with .270 win(that's another 12 between them). With more than 42 Deer killed with the .270, we've only recovered one bullet, my oldest shot a buck at about 35 yards 2 years ago with a 130gr Nosler Partition, it went in the chest and ran through the spine and stopped about half way down the spine just under the hide top of the back. We've never had to track one, everyone of them has dropped within a step or two of being shot. The shots have ranged from 10 yards to 350 plus yards.

Just my opinion, but based on our field results, the .270 is like a bolt of lightning for deer. Your mileage may vary though...

Colin

With a 130 grn anybullet it is just a great killer.

I have concluded it is too fast for Maine deer hunting in general.

The only reasons for bad mouthing the 270win is that; a lot of people shoot em, so you will have more examples of lost animals and see explanation #1 poor shot placement

The 270 is THE best deer and SHEEP caliber ever invented!!

I've got friends converting their 30.06's to 270s. None have regreted the decision.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

.270 Winchester on Deer

If you didn't get it done with the .270, then you wasn't going to get it done with anything else either!

While I do agree the 270 is an outstanding deer round. I have in my past put deer down without a scratch on them. It only took a 120mm sabot flying close enough to scramble them up a bit. Not so sure the venerable 270 will do them in without touching them.

quote:

While I do agree the 270 is an outstanding deer round. I have in my past put deer down without a scratch on them. It only took a 120mm sabot flying close enough to scramble them up a bit. Not so sure the venerable 270 will do them in without touching them.

Could you post the video for the rest of us???

I agree with what Magnum Hunter 1 said above. I have two .270s and love them dearly. They have taken many deer and I plan to use one this fall on local deer hunts. However, when I pay to travel far to a special place to hunt for potential monsters, I also prefer a bit more gun. I do this because I've had a couple of experiences where the bullet from the .270 did not exit, the hide sealed the entry hole, there was no blood trail, and tracking was very difficult. I found all the animals, but one of them I did not find until the next day and the meat was destroyed by predators and vultures. I have tried Barnes X bullets for more penetration, but my pet .270 does not like them at all.

Now when I pay good money to go on a deer hunt far away, I take a gun that will always give me that exit and a nice blood trail. Lately, the "big gun" I have used is a .338 WM that I also really like. Yes - I agree - you do not need such a big gun for deer, but it sure is fun to use on them - and I always get an exit hole without much meat damage.

All that being said, the .270 is a great deer csrtridge and if I can get a good load with a Barnes X type bullet (others like Hornady are making them now)I think my .270 is likely to get me the reliable exits I want on deer. I will be trying the Hornady GMX this fall on local white tail with my .270.

The .270 is a lot more fun to practice with too. The .338 WM will start to bounce my brain around inside my skull after a box of shells on the range. I realize fully how much nicer the .270 is for practice when I shoot the .338 then switch over to the .270.

I have been shooting a pet load in my numerous 270's for years. 61.5 gr of RL 22, fed 215 behind a 130 NPT or accubond. Shoots about 3200 FPS across my chrono. Kills like lightening. Will mess up some meat but I shoot them behind the shoulder so it is just "rib" meat.
Shoots flat, accurate and deadly on deer sized game.

Friday, I've had excellent success with the Barnes TSX and TTSX. Try cleaning your bore to bare metal prior to shooting the Barnes bullets. That seems to work well. And, if going back to traditional bullets, clean out all of the copper from the Barnes as well.

If you want an exit from your 270, go buy some partitions in the bullet weight of your choice and don't look back. The 338 for deer is way too much gun.

I agree that the .270 is an excellent deer rifle, but to say it is the very best? There are so many others that are really good as well. In choosing a deer rifle, one must consider how they are going to hunt, the terrain, distances shots are likely to occur, etc. and etc., and then choose the rifle that will best fit that situation. That's why I have several deer rifles (well, and the fact that I like guns).

quote:

Originally posted by Antelope Sniper:

Could you post the video for the rest of us???

Sorry, I do have some video (old VHS tapes) of going downrange, but none with critters being 'mistaken' for troop targets. I will say that the resulting field expedient BBQ was a damn sight better than standard field rations.

For some purposes the 130 grain bullet is maybe about 200fps too fast.

Here in UK there are a number who load, as I do, a 140 grain bullet at about 2,850fps.

Personally although I have a 270 I consider that for deer and upwards the 280 Remington is the better round simply because of the 165 and 175 grain bullet options.

Although I've only owned one for a short period of time, I'd say the correct statement is the .270 is one of many excellent deer rifles. (It's almost as good as the 7-08 )

If it ain't perfect it's darn close. I think like most rifles, there are many that will work for most applications but IF the right bullet isn't chosen for the application you can have issues.

To say one bullet and one load for all encounters is overly optimistic at best, but like many I seek that combo too--I hunt ocassionally in settings where I might have a close (under 50 yards) shot, or farily long, out to 350 yards or so shot, so having a bullet that will handle both is tough. I shoot 270 for deer more than any other caliber....a 130 gr Barnes, or Accubond is awful damn versatile IME, and a 140 in more frangible pills like NBT's and Hornady SST's does well also.

I have a lot of friends that have converted to the 270 after seeing my real world experience with them, and they have been very happy since doing so--all of this for deer hunting.

One year Dad and I shot a pair of antelope with almost identical broadside shots. I used a .270 Win with a 130gr Nosler Solid Base (this was before the BT's), and Dad used a .338 Win Mag with 250gr Sierra Game King. One antelope had a small hole in, small hole out. The other had a big hole in, big hole out.

All our friends came over and marveled at the Big Holes
They all got a shock when we told them the big holes came from the .270 Win. The big 250gr game king was just too big to expand much in a little antelope.

Doc: Thanks for the suggestions. I actually clean this .270 to bare metal all the time. It has a great Schillen barrel and cleans up so fast its like a dream. It just does not shoot very well with the TSX. Some guns are just like that with certain bullets. This particular .270 is finicky. If it likes a bullet, it shoots it sub MOA. If it does not like it, it gives 2 inch groups.

I agree that the .338 is more than needed for any deer and I would agree that it is way too much gun for a person who does not shot it well, but I shoot this gun accurately. I fell in love with it on a trip to South Africa in 2000 and using it on deer occasionally gives me a chance to hunt with it more often.

I will try the Nosler Partitions as you suggest. Again, I agree that the .270 is a great deer cartridge and I love using it on deer. Thanks again.

Antelope Sniper: Certain bullets for the .338 and larger calibers are so designed for larger game that they do exactly as you report on smaller game. My late father shot members of the "Tiny Ten" antelope in Africa (Steenbok, Duiker, etc) with a .375 H&H with 300 grain Swift A Frames. The big gun made a pencil sized hole going in and a pencil sized hole going out. He used the exact same .375 H&H load on a cape buffalo and got a half dollar-sized exit hole. I was with him when he shot another Steenbok at about 100 yards with his .270 Weatherby and the soft 130 grn Hornady Spire Point literally blew the animal in half from just behind the shoulder on back. These are very small antelope - maybe 20-30 pounds or so.

It's all very interesting and shows that with some animals, you need to pick a caliber and load carefully depending on the result you want.

Friday, load the partition of your choice as slow as possible with acceptable accuracy for you. Aim for shoulder (unless you are one of those guys who faints at the thought of losing 2 oz of meat), and watch what happens.

Look at the nosler load book, pick a powder that will push the partition most accurately at a minimum charge. Save yourself a few grains of powder and you will get exit holes anyway.

Or, you could just go buy some Federal factory stuff with partitions in it but they load them pretty hot.

With ballistic tips and partitions in the 270, I tend to load them slower. The caliber is still a point-n-shoot to 225 yards with a slow load. They work really well that way. By the way, I've killed more deer with ballistic tips than any other bullet and I've done that with ONE 270. And every single time I had an exit. My load was a low dose of 4350 or 4831 with a 150 Btip at about 2700 fps.

Everybody knows that the 30-30win was that best deer slayer ever invented. The 270 comes in right on its heels though.

quote:

Originally posted by txhunter77:
Everybody knows that the 30-30win was that best deer slayer ever invented. The 270 comes in right on its heels though.

+1 on that!
Actually I voted excellent even though I have never owned or shot a .270. I grew up in a world where 30-06 was King! I only knew a few people who used the .270. However I am older now and know a good caliber when I see one. I would not hesitate to own one.

quote:

Originally posted by txhunter77:
Everybody knows that the 30-30win was that best deer slayer ever invented. The 270 comes in right on its heels though.

well, it's definitely better than a 243.

How dead do you need a deer to be? Dead is dead. Shot placement is everything!

quote:

Originally posted by enfieldspares:
For some purposes the 130 grain bullet is maybe about 200fps too fast.

Here in UK there are a number who load, as I do, a 140 grain bullet at about 2,850fps.

Personally although I have a 270 I consider that for deer and upwards the 280 Remington is the better round simply because of the 165 and 175 grain bullet options.

I have owned at least a dozen good .270s and four custom .280s and have shot quite a few deer with each. I love both of these rounds and have a pair of pristine Brno 21 actions with Argy 1909 bottom metal, old Timneys and am awaiting a pair of 3-pos safeties to build a matched pair of .280s as I just enjoy these rounds in good classic rifles so much.

However, I cannot see how a heavier and probably slower-expanding bullet will make the .280 superior to the .270 in ANY deer hunting. For close-medium range hunting, I would look at Sierra- Hornady RN bullets in .270-150 and .284-154 and push them at 2700 fps. mv.

For my uses, in BC's varying terrain and where an Elk, Moose or Grizzly might well be a legal target of opportunity, I prefer 150 and 160 NPs driven as fast as I safely can and, so far, these have done everything I wanted. I would not hesitate to use these loads on any game here and they are both very accurate and easy to shoot.

The .270-140 at slower speeds is just a ".275 Rigby" clone and I can certainly see why one would use that in the UK. Would a soft bullet like a Woodleigh perhaps be an ideal choice?

Logically speaking I have to say it is an excellent deer cartridge, but there are other that do about the same.

Showing my bias, I voted best ever as between my dad and myself, we have killed an awful lot of deer with that cartridge. I hesitate to even guess, but I would put it at well over 100 maybe pushing 200.

The only time we have problems is when the bullet is not put in the right place. I can remember losing one deer, and I can only think of one for my Dad. About 1/2 a dozen that took an extra shot or two. Those certainly were not the fault of the cartridge.

Not too bad considering he has been hunting since the 1960's and myself the late 70's.

Doc:

I'm interested to hear that all of your Ballistic Tips give you exit holes. I have heard that the Ballistic Tips is deadly on deer because it uses all of its energy inside the animal, causing amazing hydrostatic shock, but rarely exits. Do you think you get exits because you back off the velocity a bit? Anyway, my .270 shoots 130 gr. Federal Ballistic Tips loads into incredibly tight groups - often clover leafs at 100 yards. I have not tried them on game, however. Sounds like I will have to do that this fall. Thanks again.

Its a perfect deer round. So are a bunch of other calibers. A deer is pretty easy to kill.

If you slow any bullet down you normally get better penetration..2800 FPS seems to be the cut off point I suppose.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Its a perfect deer round. So are a bunch of other calibers. A deer is pretty easy to kill.

If you slow any bullet down you normally get better penetration..2800 FPS seems to be the cut off point I suppose.

Missed Ya and your Grandpa's 25-35. roger

quote:

Originally posted by Friday:
Doc:

I'm interested to hear that all of your Ballistic Tips give you exit holes. I have heard that the Ballistic Tips is deadly on deer because it uses all of its energy inside the animal, causing amazing hydrostatic shock, but rarely exits. Do you think you get exits because you back off the velocity a bit? Anyway, my .270 shoots 130 gr. Federal Ballistic Tips loads into incredibly tight groups - often clover leafs at 100 yards. I have not tried them on game, however. Sounds like I will have to do that this fall. Thanks again.

Friday, I'll give you a brief history. In 1990 I saw my first ballistic tip for the first time. I couldn't believe those red tipped 7mm bullets. They looked so cool. I asked my employer at the time about them (Jensen's custom ammunition). I was told that pretty much the Nosler Ballistic tip was the most accurate hunting bullet ever designed. So, I was reloading for a short time, and decided to stock up on 140, 150s in 270 cal, and the same for 7mm. I bought 165 and 180s for my 30 cals.

For a few years they were THE only bullet I used for all hunting just because I was told they were so accurate and deadly. In my case everything I was told turned out to be true. I have never ever had a ballistic tip do anything except kill quick and always exit, no matter the distance.

One thing I was told way back then was to "save yourself some powder, load 'em slow, with whatever powder charge is most accurate according to the load book at the minimum charges."

For many years I just thought my loads were as fast as book as I didn't invest in a chrony. Come to find out my loads were all slower than book!

I cannot tell you why my btips always exited but they did. I never aimed for bone early on. I'd guess I killed about 12 to 15 deer with the 140 and 150 btips in my 7mag on Alabama and Missouri deer and none of the shots were over 75 yards. That alone would be a situation where if one would blow up on impact you'd think it would certainly do it here. Never happened.

The first time I heard that the btip could "blow up" on game was when I worked at that gun store but even then, the employees argued among themselves. I was so fascinated by colored tipped bullets I wasn't about to pass up trying them. After years of 100% success with them, I basically forgot there was ever any controversy about them until I joined this site and read the multiple posts about btips blowing up left and right.

Right now, if you look at my bullet supply for hunting you'll see 90% Barnes and Berger. 10% is a combo of partitions, accubonds, solid base, E-tips, and wildcat combined.

I will say that I would not hesitate to buy ALL ballistic tips in my favorite weights again for all of my hunting rifles if I would be shooting deer and smaller game. For me, they've just worked 100% of the time.

To add to this, most of my early hunting was in Alabama where you could kill a deer a day. So, I have plenty of experience with this bullet even though the deer were not that big. I also have loaded all of my brother's ammo. Between the 2 of us, I think only ONE animal has been killed with factory ammo and that was a mule deer of mine. My brother has shot nearly every single animal he's killed with ballistic tips. I loaded about 200 rounds of 140 btips for his friend in 1990 over a mild charge of 4064 if I recall correctly. I haven't talked to this guy in 20 years but just found out he used his last few bullets last season. He's not one to shoot much but he killed a lot of deer. So, I emailed my brother to ask about how many of those 200 were used to kill deer in the south where his friend hunts and how many were paper punched prior to season.

The answer was about 50%. So there's roughly 100 whitetails/hogs killed in Alabama, Tenn., and GA by an ignorant hunter who never knew btips were controversial bullets.

I'm leaving in an hour to go see if I can test the 140 TSX load I've worked up this summer.

Opening day!

It is clearly the best deer slayer ever invented! Not to big and not to small. It's just right.

Of course the differences between it and the runner ups are hair splitting.

what moran said only a fool would take a 270 deer hunting??????

You don't need a 270 for deer hunting..

Hot Core has killed thousands with just a paint ball gun or his ever present Truck Rifle.. his Daisy Red Ryder...

.....

To be completely honest, there is no such thing as a best cartridge for anything. For any use case there are many great options. The 270 is a great option for deer as are an arm load of other rounds both larger and smaller.

The only real purpose for making a case that one round is the best is to serve and individual's need argue about something to tell other people they are wrong.