270 Win 130 vs 150 gr

StevieK

StevieK

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I'll be taking my 270 on a moose hunt this year and have been looking into what loads to start developing. I was assuming that a 150 grain bullet would be the obvious choice, but after comparing terminal energy in a 130 gr and 150 gr bullet at max loaded velocities it appears that the 150 gr gains almost nothing to the 130 gr. This being because the weight gained in the 150 loses an equivalent amount of velocity. The energy of the 130 gr stays ahead of the 150 out to 300 yds so saying the 150 will retain it's velocity farther and therefore keep it's energy is a bit of a moot point as I won't shoot past 300 yds. Has anyone ever noticed this or looked into this?
To compound this the bullets that I like best are not offered in 150 gr. The nosler Accubond only goes up to 140 gr and the barnes TTSX is just 130. only the TSX comes in 150 gr. I've got 7 boxes of 130 gr Accubonds and 2 boxes of 130 TTSX. Whichever I choose I'm not too worried about what the results will be. Just wondering if my analysis of the energy is right or if I've missed something. And if so, why does everyone seem to spout off that a 130 is inadequate for moose is there's negligible difference between the bullet weights?
 
I am a big fan of 140's in the 270. Did you compare them against the others? I'm also a fan of accubonds.
 
The TTSX isn't offered in a weight over 140 because sometimes the usual 1-10" twist of the 270 won't stabilize that loooonng bullet very well. That's the reason the 160 grain Nosler Partition is a semi-spritzer. There are no flies on a 140 TTSX though, or a 150 Partition either.
 
The Nosler accuracy load was 52.0 grains of H4350 and the 150 grain bullet.
Used that load 20 years ago and it still the leading load in Nosler's #7 book.
This would be a great moose load with the 150 grain partition.
 
Moose aren't impressed with "energy" - but penetration does get their attention. And ultimate accuracy matters very little for moose hunting. So the two measures you read ad nauseum on this site are almost irrelevant. I would never use a 130 over a 150 for moose based on energy, perhaps if the 130 was copper and the 150 a softly built cup and core. If a strong deep penetrating bullet shoots 2.5" groups and a light "energetic" 130 shoots 1" so what? a moose has vitals measuring about 20" and they are normally shot at relatively close range. What happens IN the moose matters far more than paper ballistics and paper targets. 140 TSX, 150NP, 140 TB are some I'd consider. I'd certainly choose any standard cup and core 150gr. over a similar design 130gr.
 
My Dad carried and shot big game with his 270 Win for a large portion of his life. He swore by the 130s. I carry and shoot a 270wsm and swear by the 130s as well. Take it for what its worth.
 
As Longwalker pointed out, FORGET ABOUT ACCURACY, when working up your moose load.
Two long time, well proven loads for the 270W are 60 grains of H4831 for a 130 grain load and 58 grains of H4831 for the 150 grain. Use Nosler partition for each weight and you will never know the difference on your hunt, of which weight was in the chamber.
I hate to mention the A word, but ironically, each of these loads are very accurate and in many rifles will shoot into nearly the same group.
 
Neilm said:
I am a big fan of 140's in the 270. Did you compare them against the others? I'm also a fan of accubonds.
Click to expand...

I.echo this generally, although lately iv been shooting sambar deer with 130gr sp an they work fine to 300m so far, 99% penetration on front quater shots an some pass thrus with lung shots.

So a better projectile in 130/140 like an AB would do the Job IMO.

The 6.5x55 is common in europe, by using a 150gr you would get a similar result, more penetration due to slower impact velocitys in which the projectile will still do the job.

WL
 
Have hunted moose for a lot of years and would echo some of the other comments here.

You can get pretty close to a Moose most of the time if you are hunting in Ontario. 100 yards would be a "long shot" if you do your part - they are not skittish like deer.

Agree that you can forget trajectory out past 300 yards, and better velocity etc, you want, as has been stated "penetration" - no frangible bullets.

While the accubonds look promising, I could still see them disintegrating while working their way through a moose. Maybe not, but when you have Partitions and A-Frames out there I'm not sure I would "experiment".

I used partitions for a lot years and they worked well, but did find a few "separated" bullets (on half a dozen recovered in the moose). The (nose) separated from the rear core.

The A-Frame is more durable and does not experience the separation issue, so I switched to them a couple years after they hit the market (mid-80's). No more separated bullets.

The moose wasn't any "deader", but since you are shooting a 270 as opposed to a 30 cal or larger, the more bullet weight you can keep together, driving deeper, the better.

The 270 is easily enough for moose - just don't go with a bullet that looks great on paper, because, unfortunately, moose are not made of paper and don't have a chronograph mounted next to their vitals.
 
Shot truckloads with a 130gr Hornady SP and 57gr/IMR4831 Win brass and Fed mag primers....one bull with a 140gr Hornady SPBT and he just stood there at 50 yards after taking the first round through the lungs then wilted after the second hit within an inch of that.......Harold
 
I have looked at the 140 grain accubonds and they actually look like a great option. I did a little more investigating and formulating using some different ballistic calculators and realized that one of factors that limits some of the 150 gr options on the market is that not many are available with a ballistic tip, so their BC is not greatly increased over some of the 130's. However using a different calculator from the one I had originally used I was slightly wrong that the 150 gr does retain a bit more energy. The 140 gr seems to be the most optimized package of weight and velocity. However I had neglected to look at Nosler's new offering of the accubond long range. 150 grain Accubond with a .625 BC! shoots just as flat due to the exceptionally high BC and has the higher weight. I think I'll be giving these a try. I have no doubt that the partitions would work great too, however I have faith in the accubond.
 
Ive always used 150s in my 270 for anything bigger then deer, but one of my uncles uses only 130 grain bullets in his 270 and he uses them on moose every year. He very seldom needs a follow up shot. If you are using a good quality bullet 130s should work fine. If you have any doubts use the 150s
 
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