.270 at close range

I shoot a 270 win , and use 130 grn bullets. At close range I shoot for the neck, or behind shoulder. The 270 can destroy alot of meat,at close range if you hit the shoulder.150 grn bullets seem to be a lot better. Less meat damage.

MIKE
 
In my .270WCF, the 140gr Nosler Accubonds I handload average 2936fps. This load has dropped several mature whitetail bucks all with chest shots from various angles from 45 yards to waaay out there and I am amazed at the lack of bloodshot damage. However, the same 140gr bullet loaded to just over 3200fps in my .270WSM literally blew a mature muley buck all to hell with a frontal quartering shot at about 100 yards. What a mess to butcher...sheesh.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. I guess the two things I was most worried about were 1-meat damage and 2-poor angle shots. I suspect that a deer hit in the shoulder with any relatively high vel. round is going to exhibit some pretty serious meat damage, this underpins the need for good behind-the-shoulder bullet placement. Often in stalking through some of the swamps, I've come upon situations where the only shots offered were less than ideal. I've got to honestly say that, in such situations, so long as I was certain the deer could be killed wit the .308, I'd take the shot, and I've not experienced much in the way of meat loss. Sounds like the .270 will be a much worse offender than .308.

SuperCub- I've often thought about selling the 700 to fund a 7600, as arguably, I've got an awful sweet spot for the .308- tough to defend, but there it is, and I love the 7600. Nonetheless, I'm fond of the 700 and can't see myself getting rid of it as it's been my go-to rifle for a few years and I'd feel incomplete crossing the threshold into deer camp without it (whether I carry it or not)- remember, I said it was tough to defend.

So, my two options: snag the .270 or hold off for a .308. Would you guys shoot for two rifles in the same caliber or go for two separate cals. (I guess I should point out that my folks own some land down in Prince Edward county and the .270, as far as I know, would be a legal coyote gun down there. We've smacked a few with slugs during the deer season in early December, though it'd be tough to explain to a CO why you were loaded up with slugs in the middle of summer/winter. Further, yotes would offer a great opportunity to practice in the off-season. One more consideration.

Thanks for the advice gentlemen,



Stef
 
For still hunting deer at those ranges it's hard to beat a carbine in a lever action. My favorites are Win 94's and Marlin 336's in plain old .30-30. These rifles just balance and carry well in the hand. They're lighting quick up on the shoulder as well. If it has to be a bigger cartidge (for what I don't really know), a Browning BLR (short action)in .308 is also a great rig. I have all three of these and enjoy using them for that purpose.
 
Why not look for a 7600 carbine in 30-06 or 308? (They made the 308 in carbine a while ago) They sure are handy in the thick stuff with the 18" barrel.
 
Stefan said:
So, my two options: snag the .270 or hold off for a .308. Would you guys shoot for two rifles in the same caliber or go for two separate cals. (I guess I should point out that my folks own some land down in Prince Edward county and the .270, as far as I know, would be a legal coyote gun down there. We've smacked a few with slugs during the deer season in early December, though it'd be tough to explain to a CO why you were loaded up with slugs in the middle of summer/winter. Further, yotes would offer a great opportunity to practice in the off-season. One more consideration.

Thanks for the advice gentlemen,



Stef
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Id bring two rifles to camp, so there you go bring a 308 and 270. I always have a spare when I head to Deer or Moose camp for more than a day.
 
It will be fine. Dead is dead. Their is no such things as "too dead".

I'd still hold off for a .308 though. As to the Prince Edward county 270 thing, I cant find anything about it, maybe you can. Heres the link to the hunting regs.

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@fw/documents/document/239852.pdf

The holder of a small game licence may not use a rifle of
greater calibre than .275, except a flintlock or percussion
cap muzzle-loading gun, for hunting small game in
the counties of Brant, Elgin, Essex, Huron, Lambton,
Middlesex, Northumberland, Oxford, Perth and
Wellington and the regional municipalities of Chatham/
Kent, Durham, the former regional municipalities of
Haldimand-Norfolk and Hamilton-Wentworth, Halton,
Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York and the City of Toronto.
 
I have shot 4 deer at close range with my 270, one shot at 20 feet from a treestand. With a lung shot it works very well, minimal meat damage and they expire very quickly. I hit one in the left shoulder and it caused a lot of blood shot meat but I am not sure if any rifle would not have caused the same damage. The shoulder shot deer expired very quickly also. I am using Win 130g Silvertips. This combination also was responsible for a one shot kill on a 750 lb moose.
I have also shot a few with a 300 win mag 180g in the same circumstances and the results were identical.
 
I have used a 270 win for years and use 150 gr core lokts. Never had a problem with meat loss at close range but don't purposely take the shoulder out either. Heart lung shots, no damage and quick end. IF I am in the real thick stuff a particuliar day I will bring the Marlin 336 in 35 remington as it is easier to handle in close quarters. Always have a backup gun at camp as well like someone else mentioned earlier. either can cover for the other.
 
I have used a .270 for many years and have never had any issues with the calibre. It is quite close to the 6.5 X 55 in size and Europeans have been using that on everything from fox to Elephants for over a century. I have shot coyote, Deer, Caribou, Black Bear and my good friend killed a moose with it. I have shot it out to 500m and generally the calibre is quite accurate. If I could only have one calibre for all my hunting I would feel quite comfortable with only a .270. In addition, you can buy ammo just about anywhere in the world to feed it.
 
tikka said:
x3....!
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I have two Rem 760
One is a as new, a .308Win Carbine that has been in my safe for about 8 years. This one has not ever been tapped for a sling stud. I'm thinking it's unfired. This gun will go to my boy some day. The other one is a really nice .30-06 Carbine that i do use now and then. I removed the red dot that was on it and will set a Leupold VXIII 1.5-5x20mm . These scopes work great on these guns.

Great guns if you can find a Carbine, IMO they are short nice to carry guns for bush hunting.

Bob
 
I've owned a few of .270's, a M-700, a M-54 Winchester and a 98 Mauser. While I liked those rifles, the .270 cartridge for some reason has failed to capture my imagination. Still, a pal of mine had a SAKO carbine in .270, and even with the 20" barrel it chronied 3200 with 130s. Certainly that velocity is suitable for the reach out and touch shots, and the carbine length rifle is handy in places where one prefers to have a short rifle.

With any given amount of bullet upset, the higher the velocity, the greater the displacement of soft tissue, so if you anticipate a short range shot the best way to limit meat damage is with careful bullet selection. At close range in thick cover you might have an option to shoot or not shoot, but you might not have much choice as to your aiming point on a big animal, so maybe a frontal chest shot or a quartering toward shoulder shot is all you have. Under these circumstances a bullet that limits its expansion despite a high velocity impact will ensure good penetration and will also limit to a degree the amount of meat destruction. The heavier the bullet the lower the velocity, and if a premium bullet is chosen, it should be less explosive than a cup and core traditional bullet.

The .277/150 gr TSX would be a consideration if they will stabilize in your barrel; Barnes recommends a 1:9.5 twist. The way Barnes has designed these bullets is to increase the length of the shank rather than the expanding section of the bullet when a heavier bullet is produced, thus the expanded diameter of the 150 would be no different than the expanded diameter of the 130, and the lower velocity won't be quite as hard on soft tissue. There is still going to be a big hole though.
 
I would rather my bullet not exit. A complete transfer of energy if whats puts'm down quickly and humanely. If that costs me some grisly shoulder meat, while that is my loss. I love my .270 Win, and would confidently chase any critter on this continent with it.

...except them big b@stard bears. I love life just a little more.
 
My .270 has been my trusty go-to rifle and I took my first moose with it when I was a teenager. I've since upgraded my moose gun to a 7mmRM but keep the .270 with me as back up on hunts. When I'm out for deer, the .270 is the defacto rifle.

You can't go wrong with a .270 - it's a great flat shooting all-around cartridge.
 
As long as I can remember, the 270 Win has always been one of the more popular calibre choices. Off and on over the years I've considered getting one but never did,;) that is until very recently. In the last little while I've picked up I've purchased a couple of very nice Husqvarna rifles from Why not? on this site, one of which is a model 3000 in 270 Win.

Husqvarnamodel3000270Win.jpg


Along with it I got a selection of 150gr and 130gr bullets but I plan to use Barnes 130gr TTSX for game.
 
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