One of my neighbours has coyotes coming in to eat his sheep once in awhile. He ran into a good buy on a 270 and asked me if it would fill the bill in correcting the problem. It's an easy enough question to answer in some ways, I guess, since the 270 has certainly logged countless hours hunting many kinds of game and certainly has loads listed for lighter bullets. On the other hand, I have little direct experience using the 270 myself and none hunting varmints with one. So, it seemed a good idea to ask whether anyone here uses the caliber for varmints (I have found some comments.) and what the performance was like. I have heard that one can have some difficulty getting good accuracy with light bullets in the caliber and this could be true. Its my impression that it is used primarily for other forms of hunting. So, it may not be set up well for light bullets. Most guys I know who hunt with the 270 use bullets in the 130 to 150 grain range. Any thoughts about this?
270 as a Varminter
- Thread starter BCFred
- Start date
It's my only hunting rifle, the 130's are light and would be perfect if not a little much. I think if 1 shot 1 kill is his game, the ammo cost shouldn't be too bad vs, say a 223. If you were shooting gophers, the ammo cost would not make sense.
In my Savage 111, it's a laser.
In my Savage 111, it's a laser.
Pluggin a coyote with a 130 or 150 grainer is gonna be an exclamation point , and maybe his little friggin coyote buddies will get the hint sooner than later to bugger off to new feasts elsewhere!!!!
My goto rifle is my ruger 270. Kills em big and small. I have shot a couple of wolves with spectacular results. Coyotes could only be better as I suspect they would be more "red misty" than a bigger wolf.
My goto rifle is my ruger 270. Kills em big and small. I have shot a couple of wolves with spectacular results. Coyotes could only be better as I suspect they would be more "red misty" than a bigger wolf.
- Location
- AB foothills
Adrian J Hare
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- NewLowell On. Can.
The only difference between a 130gr and a 55gr is that a 270 is not found in shells much less then 130 gr in which a 223 is and most guys that shoot the smaller cals use the smaller shell choice.
I've killed with both last year and the one killed them as good as the other...
I've killed with both last year and the one killed them as good as the other...
Thank you all for the comments. No doubt in my mind that the 270 will make an exclamation mark. I think maybe I am a bit bothered by the idea of a 130 grainer being "...a bit much..." like 'safety first' said. I did think a 22-250 or 223 might be a better choice and I keep thinking that the 270 might not deliver good accuracy with 110 grain bullet (unless it is set up for it). I know my 06 doesn't with its 1/10 twist. I like the idea of the 25-06 too. Maybe this all comes back to the hoary old question of the all around gun. The 270 is a good candidate there.
Sask_Hunter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan
90gr suck bad, they start fast but slow down fast to, There low bc sucks for shooting much passed 100-200 yards. I'd shoot what ever I would use for deer, but having said that if I neede a new reason to try some new bullets I wouldn't over look the hornady 110gr V-Max.
While I would prefer to use my 6.5x55 if I needed something to reach out farther, the 270 will definitely do the job. It is much heavier on recoil than the 6.5 but for most people it is okay.
I just don't like heavy recoil.
I just don't like heavy recoil.
M12shooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- East St. Paul, mb
Is the 270 Win the "best" varminter for dogs?...likely not, but why not use the same rifle one shoots big game with. This can only improve ones skill for more edible game and I wouldn't think twice about drilling yotes with larger calibre rifles. I would shy away in more populated areas though.
We used a 270 for coyotes for years. 130gr bullets. They did make some big exit holes, but if farm predation is the issue, the hides are unimportant. I loaded some 110 V-Max but I have never really dialed that load in as our Savage 111 in 243 has become our goto gun for varmints. With it we have gone from 100gr deer bullets down to 75 gr V-Max that were very good, and now we are loading 55gr ballistic Silvertips that are awesome.
- Location
- Center of Oil Country
I have shot several coyotes with the 270 and no complaints. I personally wouldn't bother loading the lighter bullets to plug a coyote they all work 130, 140 or 150 pick one that works for you. Be sure of your backstop applies to all calibers.
Canadian_Zuk
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Pickering, Ontario
My .270 Savage loves Hornady 110gr V-max bullets over a charge of H4350. A very impressive load with very dramatic terminal results on small game. It shoots them well under an inch @ 100 yards. I also have hundreds of 90 and 100gr sierra HPs, I can't get those to group any better than 1.5-2" but that is still a very dead dog out to 250 yards or more.
110Gr Hornady Vmax traveling at full tilt out of a 270 should just about turn a coyote inside out.
If this particular .270 being offered is a good deal, I think he should take it and try it. It will certainly kill the coyotes now, which is his principal purpose, and if he finds the lesser factors bother him enough, having got a good deal he won't suffer much, if at all, by later trading it or selling it to buy a more appropriate calibre such as .223, .22-250, .243, etc.
