I am considering using my 270 win to shoot coyotes at ranges beyond the limit of my 22 Hornet. While any bullet fired from a 270 will kill a coyote, what would you consider the optimal bullet to use in this calibre for this purpose. I am primarily concerned with using a bullet that for safety's sake, will disintegrate on contact with any object, be it coyote, ground or brush.

Wooly,

I respect your concern about safety. I load the 110 VMax in the 270 Win but I just would not trust it richocet wise. The bullet is just too big. This is just opionion and I have not tested it.

I would use a 220 Swift with the 50 gr. That's the orginal death ray.



Here is one of the places I hunt. See the houses to the right. I would shoot at a coyote in the field there with the Swift but not the 270. This has worked for me for a long time.

I find the Sierra 90gr. HP to be very accurate and it breaks up on impact. Loaded with Winchester LR primer and IMR4064 powder it gives good accuracy and speed. I've shot this load in three different rifles with accuracy under one inch in all three.

The Speer TNT 90 grainers would be another option and would give similar terminal performance.

You know its kind of a funny thing. The idea of varmint calibers.

I think that safety is always a primary concern. Smart money where we are limits bullets to 100 grain and those varmint hollow points.

Having said that, heavy varmint rigs run to .308 size cases with calibers

.243 Winchester
.260 Remington (née' 6.5-.308, my particular favorite.) with 100 SVHP
7-08 with 100 SVHP

and a few adventuresome souls with the:

6mm-06
.25-06

but many like the

.22-.250
.223

and even the .17 Remington.

The crazy's like the "Red Mist" scenarios with .300 Winchester at 300, etc but you have to be really careful about your back stops. There is also the 2000 yard chuck folks that use hight BC bullets in attempt to achieve some really strange stuff, but I hope they live out at the fringe.

The 6.5 and 7mm 100 grain HPs have a BC of around .200 or so and so terminal performance at long range is limited to about 700 - 800 yards.

Even the Swift has a max. range of something like 2900 yrds with a 50grain bullet. A 270win with a 90gr HP only has a range of of 3000yds.@3400fps. Not alot of difference is their? Seems to me you need to be carefull any time with any bullet!

By the way I took data from Sierras Infinity Suite, using 4000fps for the 220 and 3400fps for the 90gr HP in the .277cal. (.270win). Using either 23 or 24 degrees above thr horizon for max range.

By the way, can anyone explain why max range is not 45 degrees, it seems to be around 23 or 24 degrees?

The Sierra 90 grain HP is one of the most frangible and also most accurate of the lightweight .277 diameter bullets. And while this projectile does come apart fairly rapidly, there's still enough mass there to result in exits on any broadside presentation, so the safety of your backdrop will still be of utmost importance.

IN OPEN COUNTRY the 270 would be an excellent varment round, with the 90gr., 100gr., and 110 grain, out to maybe 500 yards. I have 2 considerations that are worth considering:
[1] The nosie from the 270 Winchester.
[2] Rickoshae/shoot through...allowing the round to get into areas/things you do not want the bullet to go.

Any 90 gr varmint/HP bullet will do in open country or if you wisely pick your shots with the proper backstop. I am planning a trip to Idaho this fall to deer hunt and will be loading at least 50 rounds in this varmint config for the trip. This will primarily be for coyotes and rock chucks while hunting deer.