Looking for a good .270 Win. load for Mule Deer

[iamanoak]

Hello everyone,

I just purchased an old Ruger M77 in a .270 Win. at a gun show. The gun was in great condition. The seller claimed that it had never been shot. I do not know if I believe that, however upon inspection the rifling did not show hardly, if, any signs of wear, and the gun was in over all great condition for its age (about 30 years). It looked almost brand new, except for some signs of case wear in the blueing.

Anyway, I just wanted to know, what is a good load in a .270 for taking mule deer. I am entertaining the Nosler Balistic Tip in 130 grain. However, I am open ANY to suggestions. Bullets, powder, primer, etc... :?: :grin:

Thanks,

 

[Eagleye]

Because the 130 Ballistic Tip tends to be a bit fragile when shot at 270 velocities, I would recommend the 130 Partition instead. However, a better deer bullet overall might well be the Nosler 140 AccuBond. Driven at close to 3000, it is an excellent bullet for the biggest muley. That being said, I have taken some monster Northern Canadian Muleys with my 270 shooting the 130 Partition, right out past 400 yards. Regards, Eagleye.

 

[JD338]

I would go with the 140 gr AB, it will work fine for deer, bear, caribou size gave and give you long range performance as well.

JD338

 

[john-brennan]

Eagle eye said it all i load 130gr partitions in my sons 270 win and they work very well, i use the same 130s in my 270 WSM with H4350 at 3300fps and they are deadly, i would use the 140gr. AccuBond if i was hunting anything larger.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I believe for deer, one does not need a tough bullet. Any BT offerings are excellent for the .270. For longer range, the 140g and 150g would get my vote. For out to 400 yards, the 130g BT will work great. The .270 does not push the 130 to overly fast for it to be a concern about penetration. The AB is a good bullet for one wanting to use it for multiple purposes, but for deer alone, I feel any weights of BT's are awesome. I used the 115g out of my 25-06 at 3200 to take quite a few muleys both at short and long range. I, or the deer never had a complaint, and I shoulder shot them with complete passthroughs. The 130 at 3100-3200 would be no different. I just got a .270 myself and worked up about 30 different loads with 4 bullets and 2 powders. I tried imr4350, and h4831sc. The bullets were 130g btips, 140g sbt's, 140g sst's, 150g btips. My best load at 100 yards was 58g h4831sc for .5" and 30000fps. My best load at 300 yards was the 140g sbt with 59.3g h4831sc for 3050fps, and a 1.9" group. Also shot a 5" group at 500 yards with that same load. That will be my 600 yard deer load. Should work great. Good luck with your .270.

 

[iamanoak]

Thanks guys,

Here in Northern California we have two types of Mule deer hunting. The West side of the Sierra is heavily forrested and the deer are pretty small here. Quite a bit of close range shooting. Ususally within 125 yards. I have had no trouble taking them with a 115 grain CT Balistic Silver Tip in a 25-06.

The East side of the Sierra is a whole lot different. It is not unlike Nevada, where you have lots of open country full of sage brush and the Mules are WAY bigger. So most of the shots are within that 250 to 400 yard range. My dad actually took one using his 25-06 with a 120gr Speer BT at about 275 yards. We try to draw that area every year and get it about once every three. It is actually my home stomping grounds.

Anyway, my point is that I tend to agree with Remingtonman_15_06 when he said:

I believe for deer, one does not need a tough bullet.

I have seen deer drop like a rock with a 90 grain bullet out of a .243 at 100 yards with a well placed shot. I am just looking for something that will "go the distance" and still maintain a certain level of accuracy at about 300 yards. The Nosler Btip seemed to be the logical choice for that.

The one thing I was always taught about big game hunting was a well place shot will always out-weigh a heavy hard hitting bullet. This year I saw a guy take a shot at a forked horn on the side of a ridge using a .338 WinMag and he spent almost a day trying to track the thing because of his "not well placed" leg shot.

Thanks for all you input... :grin:

 

[iamanoak]

oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I iwll use this rifle almost exclusively for deer. I have my 7mmRemMag for anything bigger and tougher.

 

[Buckslam007]

I am working up a load around the 140 grain ballistic tips, currently im using H1000 and hit 62.0 grains at about 1" groups, which is OK but it isnt what i expect from this rifle, the quest continues...
Below is a 5 shot group with one called flier opening the group to 1.755", very windy conditions made holding the gun a challenge.

[/img]

 

[Cariboo]

Another vote for the 130 Partition or the 140 AccuBond.

The 130 BT , while a great long range mulie bullet, tends to cause massive ammounts of blood-shot and wasted meat if you whack a big old mule deer at under 150 - 200 yards. Why cause a huge mess if you don't have to?

 

[iamanoak]

Thanks for the suggestion Caiboo. I kind of wish Nosler would come out with the AccuBond in the 130gr. I just do not get that good of a pattern at long ranges using the Partition. I use the 160gr AB in my 7mmRemMag and that thing does great at about 300 yards. I am within 2". I load the 7mm AB with RL22 at about 61.5 gr.

 

[Reloder28]

58 gr 0f IMR 4831

58 gr of RL 22

130 or 140

Will shoot the cows as they come home.

 

[jbdre]

I had great results on Mule Deer using a 130 Partition in my .270.

 

[REDGREEN]

130 grain is more than adequate. Don't go using no one elses loads. Develop your own, as what works in one firearm could cause an explosion in another. For powders try imr 4831, imr 7828 or reloader 22.

 

[FOTIS]

130 Partition with about 60 gr of H4831 or RL 22.

 

[skeeter]

Either the 130NBT or 140AB will work fine. I don't subscribe to the NBT is to fragile for 3000fps guns, my experience suggests otherwise. We are victims of our own making these days in some ways, a deer does not need a premium bullet to be harvested cleanily or effectively...no harm in using one but no harm in not either. Yes a bigger hole will result at higher velocity but a few less pounds of intercostal rib meat is no skin off my rear. If your going to plunk your mulie in the shoulder then I agree meat wasted and better bullets exist for this purpose. Keep it in the lungs or ribs it will work just fine at 30-XXX.

I like you have found some rifles don't prefer the NP. Sad, it is truly a great bullet. The alternative to select a more accurate bullet that still fits within the parameters I will be using it is more attractive to me as well. So go with what ever you feel.

H4831 55-60grs under either bullet should work well. I like Fed. Gold Match Primers - 210's with my 270's. Remington or WW brass.

Good luck

 

[RRIES]

I think a harder question would be what 270 round is bad for mule deer hunting. Omiting light varmit rounds.

and Yes I am a big fan of the 270

 

[royinidaho]

30+ year shooter of a 270Win at poor mulies.

130 Ballistic tips work great at any distance from close to way out there say 700 yds. Bullet performance is great in that good shot placement has never failed in one shot doing the job. Additionally they are, at least for me, the most accurate bullet in my rifle at long range.

Also took a moose with 130 grain bullet at close range, 75 yds. First bullet took out the heart, which didn't hardly disturb the moose at all. Next shot went through both shoulder blades. Complete penetration on both shots.

I limit muzzle velocity to 3200 fps w/a 27" barrel.