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130 grain vs. 150?

63K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  Hunting Man 
#1 ·
I've had a beautiful Remington Model 700 .270 handed down to me from a family member, so I'm looking for ammo. I've seen that 130 grain bullets generally have a little more velocity and power than the 150's. Is there any big difference between the two? I've only ever used 150s in my old 30-30. I usually don't shoot more than 100 yards, but if the opportunity arises, will a 130 take a buck down cleanly at 100-150 yards?

I've got four in mind right now:
Fiocchi 270HSB (150)
Hornady 140gr SST
Winchester Supreme Elite XP3 (in 150 or 130)
Federal Premium VitalShok (w/ 140gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw)

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
 
#27 ·
130 or 150 gr

I shoot a rem. 700 .270 and I use the new 110 grain Federal Hyper velocity an they work great they shoot real flat out to 350 yrds and beyond. The 130 and lighter bullets in the 270 are designed for deer sized game the 150 gr. are designed for elk and bigger game with thicker skin and heavier bone they don't expand as fast so they penetrate deeper to get in the vitals of larger animals so for deer I say you need 130 or lighter bullets in the 270 because they expand faster and deliver more of their energy in doing so.
 
#29 ·
OP............ the 130 grain bullet in the .270 will work just fine for deer and you will have no problems at the distances you are talking about, in fact it will get the job done quite a bit further than that. Any of the rounds you listed are OK but you do not need 150's for deer.

Some ardent .270 users have gone with the 140 grain bullets and use it for everything. Bullet construction is really the big thing. If you are shooting Barnes TSX or TTSX (and yes they are available in factory loads) you can pretty much do anything with the 130's due to their mono-metal construction, but they really are not needed for most deer hunting and a plethora of different bullets will work for deer.

For years I used the 130 grain Nosler Partition and I shot a lot of game with it, including a lot of deer, antelope, black bear, grizzly, elk, moose, caribou and sheep. If you use a bullet that will stick together and put it in the right place the .270 will make things happen. It would not be my first choice for elk, moose or grizzly, but when it was what I had in my hands I did not hesitate to use it.

It is a great cartridge for deer, sheep, antelope and caribou.
 
#31 ·
I've used Remington Core-Lok'ts in both 130 and 150 grain. Like others have said, get yourself several boxes of ammo, different brands, different grains, and let the rifle tell you which one it likes. I use a Savage Model 111 in .270 and have found mine 'prefers' the 150 grain. Core-Lokt's have never let me down and have repeatedly proved to be a one shot, one kill round. Any issues with not dropping the deer with a Core-Lokt with a single round have been proved to be the fault of the nut behind the trigger and NOT the round in the chamber. ((Nahhhh, say that isn't so!!!))

Oh, for giggles and grins, my daughter bought my son-in-law a Remington 710 in .30-06 and he has never had any issues with it. He uses Remington Core-Lokt's in his as well (just not sure of the grain). Don't have a .30-06 so I can't provide any input on that caliber, figured that .270 is plenty enough for any whitetail here in central Texas.

Just my $0.02 worth . . . . .

And that's after finding two pennies walking through a Wally World parking lot.

Anyone else out there using Remington Core-Lokts???

RR
 
#32 ·
I have used a 270 for over ten years now and have put many deer down fast with it. The biggest issue I have with 130 gr is it leaves a realy small entry n exit hole. This has been an issue before because the deer usually don't start to leave blood for 20 to 30 yards from impact point. For example I shot a 180 lbs buck 3 years ago and knew I made a great shot on him, I climb down out of the tree about 45 mins after the shot n look for blood. I did not find any blood for about 20 yards from we're he was shot, then it was like fallowing a trail of someone slowly pouring out liquid from a bottle. I tracked that trail 150yards up hill n then another 150 yards down hill quartering back down n there he lay at almost 300 yards from impact. Now ya thinking bad hit well after field dressing this deer I found my shot went through the top of the left lung put a burn on the heart n went through the right lung about 3/4's down. Yep 300 yards!!! I never ever would had belived it if I didn't do it myself n had my dad there when tracking n field dressing. I have now switched to 150 grain just for a bigger hole. Since I've moved to 150 gr every deer I've shot since, if they didn't drop I got blood within 10 yards. Now I only chest ( heart) shoot nice bucks all other deer I just head shoot n they just drop like a sack of taters. But if them racks wold get even just alittle chewy I'd shoot them in the head too. I like eating the hearts n liver from my deer too.
 
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