.270 stopping power

[newshot]

What is the biggest game you can ethically hunt with a .270 round (loaded appropriately for whatever your after) in Canada? I know the final decision on distance etc will come down to knowing your own skills. But my question is, from say 200 meters, assuming the person is a good shot, what is the biggest game you would consider?


You can select more then one option in the poll.

(just for the record, my brain is not working today, and I already had to redo the poll, and I did so in a hurry and that is why it is worded with typoes and poorly....it is embarassing, but you get the idea)

 

[dead meat]

The 270 is very capable of all game in Canada. I would like a little larger caliber for large bears, but with the proper bullet selection it will do the job if you do your part.

 

[cbabes]

Great caliber. Load some 110 Sierras for coyote and use some Winchester XP3s for moose and bear. Winchester gives the .270 XP3 ammo a CXP3 rating. That's the same game taking rating they give the 300 Win Mag.....

w w w.winchester.com/products/rifle-ammunition/supreme-elite/xp3/Pages/default.aspx

Nosler partitions and other premium bullets should eleviate your ethical question for big game.

If you talk to a lot of old timers who have hunted a lot they will tell you the .270 doesn't even need any premium ammo for big game. I can't argue but I am not expert.

 

[Jamie Black R/T]

150gr XP3's in mine are a stone cold killer.

Have put elk to sleep in their tracks with a high shoulder shot (duh), four one shot kills (double lung) on moose and have double shouldered whitetails at over 200 yards...very devastating.

Nothing in NA i wouldnt trust my old Model 70 .270win to take down

It helps that my old man gave that rifle when i was 14 and i have been shooting it every year ever since. Knowing your rifle and placing the bullet is more important than caliber selection. That old girl just feels "right" in my hands and if i pull the trigger **** dies LOL

Love the .270

 

[tigrr]

A grizz can outrun a race horse inside 100 yards. IMHO I want more gun hunting them.

 

[AlexF]

My best shooting buddy is a professional hunting guide with over 30 years experience in Laurentian and Northern Quebec and swears by 270 Win.

In fact, his groups have bagged 28 moose and only lost 2 using 150gr Nosler Partition 270 Win but he never allows a shot past 200-250 yards because he feels that it's pretty much border line and is not satisfied with what I saw past these distances.

Still, it's a small medium bore caliber and Federal ammo won't recommend it for any large game (7mm Rem Mag is their mimimum caliber).

Alex

 

[Slug870]

.270 is ample for anything we have in Canada.

 

[DFarmer]

If I was going after Grizzly, I would want to use a larger cailber, but we have shot everything else on the list except caribou with our 270s.
They have always got the job done.

 

[NAA]

It's more about the operator than the ctg....

NAA.

 

[dan belisle]

Not a big fan (although I own a couple of them), but you really need an "all of the above" option. - dan

 

[rookie wildcat]

He!!, as I posted a while ago, I saw an eskimo (that's how longa ago it was) hunter shoot a polar bear with a .30-30. I realize that he was a very good hunter, but there was some doubt with a few of the younger members of the hunting party, so they were ready to back him up...with .303's.
We were about 300yds away and the old guy shot from about 75yds. One younger doubter was about 125yds from the bear.
No need, old guy shot the bear in the side of the head and then everyone went over to process it.
Stories were told that old guy shot a charging polar bear when he was a young man with one of the first .30-30's ever owned by an Inuit in that area. The bear was at a full run and the old guy just kept feeding rounds into it. It dropped at his feet , he just set the rifle down, got up, grabbed his knife, and started gutting.

I would have SH!T myself. I saw how big that frickin' bear was that he shot that day and it was dead! As I have often said, I like a smaller gun doing the job and a '06 is the biggest I own. However, if I am ever going polar bear hunting...I'm taking a .375 RUM with 300gn RN bullets!!

All that being said, I would not hesitate to use a .270W on anything in NA, EXCEPT a polar bear.

 

[AlexF]

Be serious, you have to be nuts to use 270 against a grizzly!
Famous african hunter Bell killed 400 elephants with a 160gr solid 7mm Mauser but hundreds of hunter have died trying to kill one elephant with a 7mm Mauser!

A lot of Alaskan professional hunting guides carry .338 Win Mag and the minimum recommended load for grizzly protection is 220gr round nose 30-06, with the recommended load being 250gr 338 Win Mag, 300gr 375 H&H Mag, and 500gr 458 Win Mag.
We're talking 3000-5000 ft-lbs with a 0.300 sectional density here.
The bullet has to incapacitate the grizzly instantaneously!

Were not talking about a moose or an elk charging here, we're talking about a giant 500 - 1000 lb predator with humongous claws. Failure is not an option!
Alex

 

[bearkilr]

Be serious, you have to be nuts to use 270 against a grizzly!
Famous african hunter Bell killed 400 elephants with a 160gr solid 7mm Mauser but hundreds of hunter have died trying to kill one elephant with a 7mm Mauser!

A lot of Alaskan professional hunting guides carry .338 Win Mag and the minimum recommended load for grizzly protection is 220gr round nose 30-06, with the recommended load being 250gr 338 Win Mag, 300gr 375 H&H Mag, and 500gr 458 Win Mag.
We're talking 3000-5000 ft-lbs with a 0.300 sectional density here.
The bullet has to incapacitate the grizzly instantaneously!

Were not talking about a moose or an elk charging here, we're talking about a giant 500 - 1000 lb predator with humongous claws. Failure is not an option!
Alex

I figured it was only a matter of time before this turned into another bear defense thread.

 

[sunray]

No such thing as stopping power, but the .270 has killed all of those beasties.

 

[Turkeyslayer 1300]

Be serious, you have to be nuts to use 270 against a grizzly!
Famous african hunter Bell killed 400 elephants with a 160gr solid 7mm Mauser but hundreds of hunter have died trying to kill one elephant with a 7mm

If you could shoot at an un-aware grizzly from say 200 yards you would be better off with a small relatively light recoiling rifle (.270). Assuming you have paid good money to a guide his job is to utilize his large rifle to prevent you becoming a greasy smear in the alders.

People were killed shooting elephants with 7mm because they had to get close and were not skillful or knowledgeable to place the bullet correctly.

The op didn't ask what the best cartridge was to smash a Grizzly at card playing distance with.

 

[Bigbubba]

Yes, I agree with Turkeyslayer.
At 200 yd a 270 will dump a Griz and he might run a bit before he calls it quits but he will be dead in a minute.
I have shot tons of deer and a few moose with my 270 and they didnt go anywhere.
Hornady 140 BTSP doing 2800 fps or Speer Nitrex 130 going about 3100 fps will sure knock stuff down quick. (They dont make Nitrex ammo anymore - damn)

Charging bears is a different story.

 

[glang1]

The .270 is a very capable round, & will take all NA game with the exception being large bears. As most of you already know, the .270 cartridge is just a necked down .30-06 case, so the only real difference between the .270 & .30-06 is bullet diameter.

George

 

[Jamie Black R/T]

The .270 will take all NA game with the exception being large bears.

wrong...double lung a 1000lb bear at 100 yards with a .270win or a .458win and try and tell me one did a better job than the other!

Not saying it would be my first choice for bears...but thats only cause we cant always have "ideal" conditions....chance of a close quarters charge with little time for precise bullet placement? Yes absolutely go big or go home (possible in a box)

But to say its not capable of killing large bears is just silly IMO. Grizzlys have fallen to single shots from my smaller guns than the venerable .270

 

[crazy_davey]

This grizzly was dropped with one shot from a .270 at close range. Geez, who woulda thought eh

 

[IH8ATTN]

I'm torn between a 30-06 and a .270 win right now. I hope to use my rifle for deer, caribou and bear. I know in Ontario you can't use 30-06 in certain areas so I am looking into this now.