If you were hunting moose with a .270 Winchester, what bullet would you use and in what grain?

I would use either a 150 gr. Northfork or the heaviest Barnes X you can get.

150 gr. Northfork or Nosler Partition. Don't have an opinion on Barnes. Bear in Fairbanks

Good advice you are getting, either of the above would get my vote as well (although I have not tried the North Forks, unfortunately). Both X and Partitions work well on heavy game. Because you are a bit small in bullet diameter for game chosen, going to 150 grs is a good idea.
- mike

When did Mike start producing 270 bullets at Northfork, my brochures don't list them..

I like the Nosler 160 gr. in the .270, its a great bullet...

I used a 140g Swift A-Frame. 100 yards, went in on the point of the shoulder, found it just under the skin behind the ribs on the other side.
It weighs 125g now and measures just over 1/2" on the mushroom.

Not sure if they're still making it, but my choice would be the Nosler Partition 160 grain semi-spitzer.

Mike

My wife just shot a Shiras bull last Saturday with her .270. She was using Federal Premium factory ammo with a 150 grain Sierra Game King bullet. The first shot would have killed it, but she paid the insurance with a second. One very dead bull.

Leo M,

Shot my first moose with a .270. Used 150 gr Partitions and they worked great. Recovered one bullet on the far side against the skin. Moose did not take a step, fell where it was standing.
JD

Barnes x!

Never hunted moose but if I went with my .270 it would be loaded with 160 grain Nosler Partitions.

I have a customer in CO using his 270 Whby and our 113gr EXP Groove Bullet for his elk hunting. He is elk hunting now and I hope he gets one. If I were to use a 270 for moose I would use the 113gr EXP Groove Bullet - if you want the best penetration. On a double lung shot I have no doubt you would get a complete pass through.

Don

federal high energy, with heaviest grain available, likely a 150 gr.

cold zero

Leo,

Another vote for the 160gr. NP. My rifle would give about 2800fps with it and grouped nicely. I personally only have hunted with the 130 & 150 NP but given my experience with them I'd say the 160 would do a good job at least on a lung shot.

Nobody mentioned Failsafes, even if they only come in 140 grs, they show as much penetration as the X bullets do.
- mike

150 grain Nosler Partitions. That's what they are made for. Shot a Woodland Caribou a couple of weeks ago. Bullet never stoped but did plenty of damage.

Rich Elliott

Holy handgrenades SBT, how is it possible to kill anything bigger than a jackrabbit with a Sierra bullet, let alone a moose.

I have a six pack of your choice of beer that says any 130 gr. X, Groove, GS custom, or 140 Failsafe at 3,000-3,100 fps will do an in-an-out on a moose on a broadside shot. JMO, Dutch.

I'd try a 150 gr. Swift A-Frame, Partition Gold, or the heaviest TBBC, or a 130 gr. Barnes TSX or XLC. Plunk him in the lungs....

When a friend of mine in Wyoming finally drew a moose tag he used Winchesters 150 grain Power Point in his .270 and it worked perfectly as expected. Elk are tougher to kill than moose.

Pulled this out of an elk 3 weeks ago in Idaho.


130 XLC .270 at 210 yards. Dropped like a rock.

IV

quote:

Pulled this out of an elk 3 weeks ago in Idaho.

IV, where did you hit that elk? I am kind of surprised the X didn't penetrate the off-side...

There are better choices for Moose than the 270 Win but the 140 grain Failsafe is as good or better than any for the job. Like Dutch says it will give complete penetration on the side shots. The trouble I have had with them is too much penetration and not enough expansion.

Hawkeye47

Any of the following would work fine and all would be a choice of mine (in no specific order):

160 or 150 Partition
150 AFrame
150 Northfork
150 TSX
140 TSX
140 Failsafe

If I had but a couple to choose from, that makes it hard, but ultimately, I'd go with the 160 Partition, 150 TSX, or 150 AFrame. And I wouldn't think twice about any of those 3.

I've never killed a moose but from accounts I've read and heard, they're not that difficult to put down...compared to an elk.

Get the bullet in front of the diaphragm, and it's dead.

It went through the right shoulder and hit the inside of the left shoulder (we could see the bruise) and deflected towards the abdominal cavity where we found it lodged between two ribs. This is the first x-bullet I have recovered.

IV

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
When did Mike start producing 270 bullets at Northfork, my brochures don't list them..<br /><br />I like the Nosler 160 gr. in the .270, its a great bullet...

Look here Ray. Wonders never cease do they?.

these have worked very well. TBBC 140, SWIFT AF 140 AND NOSLER 160------ONE SHOT KILLS. Something about a .270 calibre. Must be me.

quote:

Originally posted by Leo M:
If you were hunting moose with a .270 Winchester, what bullet would you use and in what grain?

I'de use 140 or 150 gr Barnes X or TSX.

My wife's "normal" moose rifle is a M70 Super Grade .338 with 225 Partitions.

One day after freeze-up in the NWT we were looking for Barren Ground caribou and she had her M77 in .270 loaded with 130 Partitions. She happened across a nice bull moose at 200 yards, and one round through both shoulders killed him DRT. The bullet exited, which surprised me.

BTW, this is one more excellent reason for using a premium bullet. In zones where we might encounter a legal species bigger than that which we happen to be hunting, a GOOD bullet makes a clean kill on the bigger critter much more certain, I believe. (My better half still takes the .338 when actually hunting for bigger animals.)

Wow, I believe the Barnex X is the winner, All these testimonials have made a believer out of me!

Penetration on a Moose is not that difficult but a large wound channel can be very beneficial. I would NOT use a monolithic from a 270 on a Moose, but if you do you may want to shoot for bone and plan on ruining some shoulder meat. Better to go with a Northfork or Accubond with their large diameter mushrooms IMO. Partitions will work fine as well. I would go with the heaviest bullet you can as getting close to a moose is not a problem.

Frankly I think a heavy Hornady, Speer or Sierra would be a better choice for moose as it will transfer more of its energy to the moose than an X or failsafe which is sure to pass right through. Especially from something as small as a 270.

The Monolithics have their place, I just dont think they are a good match in this particular case.

I use the 160 Noslers and they have always worked well for me. I like the Trophy bonded as well. Not much of a Barnes fan for no reason other than my gun doesn't group well with them. I might try Swift A frames in the future.