130 grain vs. 150?

[Hunting Man]

ronn, unlike a washington politician?

[Lordsknight]

As a new hunter in 2008 I settled on a .270 Ruger (.270 my choice, Ruger the brand my wife surprised me with for Christmas. Nice clean weapon). I shoot 130 Grain Remington Core Lokt. I've heard that you need to try different brands and types to see which one your weapon likes. I need to try some others. Though I can't afford Hornady I like the Ballistics on it. I am having trouble sighting in my weapon, sighting in my M-16 was easy, I can't figure why my clover leafs are all over the paper. I can tell you that a 130 Grain will knock down a doe at 440 yards and go clean through the neck. I will probably never take that shot again for fear of wounding a deer, but I'm convinced it will do all that I need it to do.

[sean]

As people have already posted, different rounds will shoot differently out of different weapons. You really should test fire different rounds at the ranges you normally hunt. I looked up the ballistic tables on the different rounds you mentioned. They read as follows:

Winchester .270 150 Gr. Super Elite XP3:
Velocity (fps)/Energy (ft-lbs)
100 yards- 2763/2898
200- 2583/2223
300- 2411/1936
400- 2245/1679
500- 2086/1449

Trajectory (inches) with a 100 yard zero:
100 yards- 0
200- 3.1 in low
300- 11.3 in low
400- Not Available
500- Not Available

Federal 130 Gr. Trophy Bonded:
Velocity (fps)/Energy (ft-lbs):
100 yards- 2841/2330
200- 2633/2001
300- 2434/1711
400- 2244/1454
500- 2063/1228

Trajectory (inches) with a 200 yard zero:
100 yards- 1.4 in high
200- 0
300- 6.4 in low
400- 18.7 in low
500- 38 in low

Federal 150 Gr. Trophy Bonded:
Velocity (fps)/ Energy (ft-lbs)
100 yards- 2635/2313
200- 2449/1997
300- 2270/1716
400- 2099/1467
500- 1935/1246

Trajectory (inches) with a 200 yard zero:
100 yards- 1.7 in high
200- 0
300- 7.6 in low
400- 22 in low
500- 44 in low

Hornady 140 Gr. SST
Velocity (fps)/ Energy (ft-lbs):
100 yards- 2750/2351
200- 2569/2051
300- 2394/1781
400- 2226/1540
500- 2065/1325

Trajectory (inches) with a 200 yard zero:
100 yards- 1.6 in high
200- 0
300- 6.8 in low
400- 19.7 in low
500- 39.7 in low


I couldn't find a ballistics table for the Fiocchi round, sorry. As you can see by these numbers, 130 Gr. round travels faster and flatter. If you hunt long range a lighter bullet is typically better for accuracy purposes. If you can shoot well and place the round where you want it, the deer's heart won't be able to tell the difference, 130 Gr. or 150 Gr. Try out the rounds, or if you don't have that kind of money laying around, use these charts as PART of your decision. A box of 20 rounds will cost anywhere from $30-$60, and you get what you pay for. Hope this info helps a little.

[timberghost]

Great info sean, thanks for sharing it.

[sean]

No problem. By the way Timberghost, I am glad to hear someone else in the hunting community uses a 710. That's what I shoot as well, and have been ripped by so many people telling me what a horrible weapon it is. I've never had a problem with it though, and it shoots straight for me. Not sure why others hate them so much.

[Hunting Man]

Thats good information to share. I shoot three 270 weights, 130, 140, and 150 gr, all depends on what and where I'm hunting.

[bighorn9]

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.

All i have owned is 270's. ive always shot the 130's an it usualy drops em in there tracks. I recomend windchester power points in 130 grain

[Makwa]

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.

[NYHunter]

No Problem!! I shoot a .270 with a 130 gr. nosler partition. The round always exits the opposite shoulder. I've killed deer from 30 to 150 yds with this load!