I'm about to give up on the 150gr Nosler Partition for the 270 Win. The amount of destroyed tissue from this combination is unbelievable. I keep wanting to give it another try because it is very accurate in this gun and it does kill the animals quickly but the amount of trauma is just unacceptable.

My wife made a textbook perfect shot behind the front shoulder of her deer at 275 yards. We used a laser rangefinder on the deer before the shot. Hit a rib going in and coming out, shoulders were not hit. Trauma from brisket to spine, 16" circle of trama around entrance and exit wounds. Fortunately backstraps were fine.

She has shot several animals with the 150gr Partition. I'd written the others off as being too close and that was the reason for the trauma but not this time. I think it is time to say enough is enough and try something else.

You might try the Swift or Trophy Bonded 150gr bullets. They retain more weight and do not blow the the nose off, as Noslers were designed to do. Tissue damage is common with a hi-velocity round such as the 270, but as a long time user of this cartridge I can't say that I've ever seen that much, even when using a literal bomb like a Ballistic Tip!

In my opinion there is no such thing as excess trauma. I'll trade a few pounds of meat for a cleanly killed animal every time.

Sure, all that damage was not necessary for the hit she made. But, what if she had muffed the shot, which we all do from time to time. The partition might have made the difference between recovering and losing the deer.

I agree the 270 is excessive due to velocity..Try this, slow it down and use the 160 Nosler..2500 to 2700 FPS is more than enough..

You don't have to have trauma to kill an animal cleanly..you have to choose your bullets and caliber wisely..keep shots off the shoulder and behind the shoulder.

The Nosler in the heavy weights is one of the least destructive in the new form with the partition moved forward..One of the heavy Barnes X should work.

The African cull hunters use heavy bullets for caliber loaded down as they are docked on price for bruised carcasses...they like the 308 and 30-06 with 200 and 220 gr. bullets, the 175 gr. 7x57..they slow them down a little.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I use 140 X-BT at an estimated 2700 in .270 for almost everything. The problem with deer and antelope is a lack of destruction at longer ranges.

OK I need some help. Deer season for rifle starts in a couple of weeks in Tx. I have a 270 but I'm not set up for reloading yet so what factory shell and bullet should I try; to avoid the kind of damage like Jayloar??
I was thinking of Horanady 130gr sst but it has that plastic tip also and that seems to be abad thing now for such high vel. Please any help??

Try the Remington Safari ammo that is loaded with Swift bullets, Federal premium with Trophy Bonded or Winchester Supreme with Fail Safe bullets. The WW will defintely not over expand, but might not expand much at all on a smallish deer. Stay away from anything with the poly tips, as well as conventional Hornady, Speer or Sierra bullets as they are typically a bomb when used up close.

FYI, although my wifes deer showed excessive trauma the deer I shot did not. I shot my deer at 300 yards, as measured by laser rangefinder prior to shot, from a 300 WSM and a 150gr Hornady SST.

My shot was not as picture perfect as my wifes. My deer was hit further back and did not hit rib bones. Either way the result was a dead deer but I didn't lose any meat on my deer.

I Don't know how the Hornady SST will perform at closer ranges or what will happen if it encounters rib bones. I'll have to wait until next year to find out.

Elk season is next up this year and I'm skeptical about using the SST on elk, especially a 150gr SST. I've got some GS Custom 150HV bullets on order but don't know if they will arrive in time for my Dec. 1 hunt or not. If not I may go with the 180gr factory Power Points as those shoot very well in my gun.

My wife will be shooting those same 150gr Nosler Partitions for elk this year. I know that load makes a very effective elk load. With pheasant season opening this weekend, there will be precious little time available for experimentation.

I agree with Ray, heavy for caliber could be called the poor mans premium bullet. I have took deer with a .300 Win Mag using 200gr. Sierras at 2,700fps with minimal damage. Certainly less by far than a factory 150gr. corelokt.

PaleoHunter:

Here's your answer: If you've got an Academy nearby (I think there are two in Plano), go and get a box of Hornady Custom 140-grain Interlocks. Now that the boxes for Light Magnum and Custom look the same, make sure you get the Custom ammo.

For my rifle this is the best factory load there is. Hopefully, it will work well for you, also.

Good luck,
RSY

Jayloar,
Your Hornady didn't damage the deer because the 300 win at 300 yards is basically a 30-30 Win. at that range..A time proven, non bruising caliber that kills game cleanly...

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com