Anyone using 140 grn bullets for 270?

[mlheppl]

Last fall I was lucky enough to draw out for elk in an area that had a mule deer hunt running concurrently. 270 is the largest caliber rifle I have and I've got lots of confidence in the gun, but wanted a load that would not be too much for the deer and too little for the elk. Anyways I ended up settling on 140 grn Sierra game king bullet. I got a load that was not too hot and grouped well. Anyways off to the woods I went. I never got a shot at an elk, but did get a nice mule deer. 28.5" spread & field dressed out around 250 pounds.

I had a one shot kill @ about 85 yrds. The bullet went in right behind the shoulder, broke a rib turned upward and lodged in the back bone (broke his back). The deer never took another step. I really like it when that happens! However when I recovered the bullet there was only about 75% of the bullet left.

I'm not one to complain about one shot kills, but the bullet changing paths after hitting the rib and the low weight retention have me a bit concerned about having the right bullet for elk.

Anyone out there use a140 grn bullets in 270 and having concerns/no concerns?

 

[mlheppl]

I also wanted to say that I had a hard time finding load data for 140 grn bullets. I've got the speer #13 and modern reloading by Lee as manuals. I ended up getting info from IMR to help me work up a load. Any thoughts on a better reloading manual or newer version that would have info on some of the newer bullets?

 

[Zeke Menuar]

My M700 Tupperware Special likes IMR-4350 and Hornady 140BTSP. I don't know why but that combo is super accurate clear out to 500yds.

I averaged out a load using data from the Lee Manual and this website http://www.again.net/~steve/277_1_140.html

ZM

 

[30Cal]

I shoot a 140 in a 7mm mauser (more similar than different). It does a respectable 2850fps. Works well on deer (results similar to yours--mine also sheds the jacket 20% of the time), but I'd be uncomfortable going after elk with it.

Given your rifle, I'd probably sacrifice a little accuracy for a heavier bullet.

Ty

 

[Jwar88]

I would use a more substantial bullet, not necessarily a heavier one, for Elk ...or for mule deer that size in this caliber. Gamekings and the like are ok for antelope or whitetails at longer ranges, but like ALL the boat tails, they are more than likely to shed their jackets upon meeting any substantial resistance. Standard Boat tails in general do this because there is nothing to prevent core slippage...the law of inertia is working against you... lead is heavier than copper!

Nosler Partition, Partition Gold, Speer Grand Slam, Trophy bonded or the new Accubonds will hold together much better for large game and still open well on smaller game. Also Hornady's Interbond is excellent and as accurate as SMK's in my rifles and inexpensive as well.

Those standard type lead/copper bullets are reasonable priced and perform well enough for all around use, but for use on Elk, moose or larger, if you want the very best, I would use Barnes Triple Shocks... they are actually deadly on both ends. Deadly on game ... maybe even deadlier on your wallet!!!

But even if they cost $10 each, you really only need use just one!

 

[Delmar]

I use H4831SC in my 270 and Partitions, either 140 or 150 grain. The Hornady BTSP do seem to come apart quicker, but you can get the Hornady flat base in any reasonable grain weight and they work very well. Partitions may also lose some weight in traversing the animal, but the soft lead nose does some real damage-even if the whole front comes off, the encapsulated rear section is going to punch a pretty deep hole.

I doubt you are going to see the difference between a boat tail and a flat base at 300-400 yards. Boat tails produce better flight characteristics in the transonic speed range, and at 500 yards, you are still well above Mach 1-which is about 1080 fps at sea level.

 

[Jaywalker]

I haven't used the 140 in 270, but as others have advised, I'd also steer clear of the Sierra Game King and any other boattail, unless it's "Interlocked" (Hornady) or partitioned. Using the lighter "superbullets" Jwar88 mentions allows you to keep velocities high, trajectories flat, and penetration deep. Besides trajectories, they also keep my wallet flat, since I need more than the one I fire at game; I need to work up loads and practice with what I'll be hunting.

OTOH, while writer John Barsness doesn't care for the Game King, he's recently moved from "negative" on boattails in general to "neutral." I'm happy with flat-based bullets, but YMMV. I'm in a retro phase and am loading for a new 6.5X55. With that, I expect to stay in the bullet range of 129 - 140 grain bullets. With the kind of lower velocities those heavy bullets generate, the standard (read "cheaper") bullets work just fine. When I next go elk hunting, I'll use the 6.5, or possibly the .270 with standard 150 grain bullets (Hornady Interlock or Speer HotCor). They've worked for many years, on both elk and deer.

Lyman's 47th has 12 loads listed for the Hornady BTSP 140g bullets, including 6 for IMR powder. For IMR 4831 it shows a starting load at 52.0 g - 2703 fps - 39,900 cup. It shows a max load of 56.3 g - 3010 fps - 51,500 cup. As with all loads, each rifle is different, so start at the bottom and work up cautiously. This is, of course "IMR" and not "Hodgdon."

Jaywalker

 

[ID_shooting]

This is a really cool thread. I usually load the 140 NBT in my .270 and have used it on deer, chucks, yotes, and hopefully lope this year if I draw. verry effective on all three, the 3/4 in group I get out of my sav is the icing on the cake (my gun may be ugly, but it perorms like a vette) anyway, I too have been considering a elk/moose load. Any of you guys ever shoot at big critters with a partition or a grand slam? How did they perform?