[CoRoMo]

I just recently configured a handload for my .270 that impressed me, so I figured I'd create this poll to see what you guys would prefer to have in the chamber when you set out to take this year's monster.

Which handload would you prefer to hunt with?

Unless my picture isn't self explanatory...
Group A (a nice sub-MOA group) represents a starting load using the projectile that your particular rifle prefers to be most accurate.
Group B (close to 2" group) reflects that same bullet charged up to a nicer velocity.

Your votes please...

[dakotasin]

depends on the bullet and velocity.

i would do accuracy first unless it was too low to get reliable expansion at a few hundred yards.

but, w/ a little time and effort, many velocity-getters can really be accurate.

[R.W.Dale]

for my hunting loads 2MOA will more than suffice in the accuracy dpt. For hunting I'm after the best internal and external ballistics

[Water-Man]

Accuracy doesn't mean much if the bullet doesn't do the job!

[buck460XVR]

I assume the targets were @ 100 yards? Where I hunt for deer I don't see many shots over 100 yards so either is plenty accurate for me. Without knowing bullet weight and type, It's hard for me to say. Right or wrong, I tend to like large/ heavy slow moving bullets that will plow thru the brush instead of small/light fast moving bullets that may deflect off a small unseen twig. Different situations call for different tools.

[rcmodel]

According to tests I have seen in the past, there is no such thing as slow heavy "brush busting" bullet. The 45-70 did about as poorly as some of the smaller calibers.

It all depends on bullet stability to start with.
And often times, a long for caliber bullet with a fast twist barrel (High BC) is the best one, even if it is a smaller caliber faster one.

rcmodel

[CoRoMo]

To clarify, this was supposed to be a hypothetical bullet of whatever caliber that produces the best accuracy in your rifle. You really don't need to know the bullet weight & type. Those specifics don't necessarily apply to the point of this poll, just whatever imaginary bullet would be a good match to your gun.

The point here is that you either want a super accurate load even if you give up a lot in ballistics. Or maybe you want a well performing bullet with acceptable hunting accuracy.

I tend to agree with Water-Man.

The load I worked up for my .270 performed excellent with the starting charge in regards to accuracy, but it has poor velocity. Like many handloads, as I step up the charge, my group might open up. I'm okay with that. When my group reaches about 1.5" then I've reached the velocity/accuracy compromise that I'm happy to hunt with.

This super accurate handload isn't going to have much punch out at long ranges, but then again, the harder hitting load isn't going to be as accurate out there (although the loss in long range accuracy isn't practically detrimental).

I've fortunately never had to take a shot farther than 100 yards, so I'm happy to have a harder hitting load with negligible loss in accuracy.

Thanks for voting guys!!

[~z]

I choose C. A high velocity, high BC sub moa bullet. Most of my hunting is cull hunting and most of that is at extended range. My hunting loads are my target loads and I expect sub moa. For sub 200 yard hunting I guess it wouldnt matter as much as 2 moa seems acceptable at that distance.
~z

[buck460XVR]

According to tests I have seen in the past, there is no such thing as slow heavy "brush busting" bullet. The 45-70 did about as poorly as some of the smaller calibers.
.........as I said RC, right or wrong, I use what works for me. In heavy brush with my M1917, I personally have had better luck with 180-220 gr roundnose than 150/165 spitzers. Here's a summary from a test shooting thru wooden dowels at a paper target. Not exactly like shooting at a deer standing in the brush, but probably as accurate as any.





Lessons learned:
1. Light weight, fast bullets like the .223 were knocked off their axis and deflected more than heavier bullets. In fact, it was flying sideways after 10 yards.

2. The .308 was not deflected as much as I would have thought. Not enough to miss a deer 10 yards behind the brush.
3. The .45-70 plowed through the dowel without much deflection.

4. The 12 gauge slug shrugged off the dowels and went right on to the target.

5. I brought a much larger piece of cardboard than I actually needed. I expected to see "feet" of deflection, not inches.

6. It sure is hot in Texas today. smilie abused We were leaking water like a couple of rain clouds. Come on Fall. smilie wink

But even when it's hot, it's still fun to shoot stuff. smilie

[azar]

...specifics don't necessarily apply to the point of this poll...

I think the poll is kind of meaningless (or at least unanswerable) without some specifics. At what ranges do you expect to take game? Is the shot going to be typically over 200 yards? If so, will the more accurate but weaker bullet have enough energy to humanely kill whatever animal I'm hunting? If not, that bullet is obviously out. However, If the shot is expected to be 300 yards or more (think hunting antelope on a wide open grassy plain), could I accurately get a clean hit with the less accurate but more powerful bullet? If not, then neither bullet is suitable and you should keep developing a load.

If the shot is going to be less than 200 yards, then the question is moot. Either one will do. If that is the case, I would probably take the more accurate bullet. Simply because I doubt I need the extra power and when you have buck / bull fever, extra accuracy never hurt.

[Bezoar]

depends on alot of factors. some bullets will behave the same way at range no matter the velocity.
ive seen pics of a sierra rnsp for 35rem that at 200 yards WILL NOT EXPAND, its basically a fmj past 120 yards.
so in that load, load a would get you 10 rounds through the same hole at 200 yards, while load B wuld get a 3 inch group at 200,
the user cant choose as bullet performance will be the same.

[cpttango30]

What ever one was the fastest. Both groups offer great hunting accuracy. So I would go with the fastest one out of the two.

[345 DeSoto]

What good is velocity, if you don't hit where you aim? The WHOLE point is accuracy, and I really doubt that a combination that shows the best accuracy wouldn't get the job done...unless the range was unreasonable...

[SCPigpen]

I'm from the school of thought that believes shot placement is the most important thing, especially when hunting. When you consider the difference in velocity of the 2 rounds, it would not make much sence to go with the less accurate, for a hundred or so more fps in velocity. I really don't see the point.

[The Bushmaster]

Just who shoots deer or other game through brush. I've hunted the Northwest for most of my life and made shots as short as 4 yards up to 100 yards and never shot through a bush...Bushes tend to deflect bullets. Yes, even the venerable 170 grain .30-30...

That said...2800 fps with accuracy will win over 3000 fps with less accuracy any day...I doubt that the deer or other game animal will notice the difference...

[buck460XVR]

Just who shoots deer or other game through brush. I've hunted the Northwest for most of my life and made shots as short as 4 yards up to 100 yards and never shot through a bush...Bushes tend to deflect bullets. Yes, even the venerable 170 grain .30-30...

Feel fortunate my friend, that you have an area to hunt that is open enough that there is never a obstruction between you and the animal you are after. I know some will say that one should wait till the animal is totally unobstructed, but many of my favorite and most successful spots for deer, are areas that this will never happen. Altho I never intentionally shoot at game standing behind a bush, for some reason, the deer in the area I hunt, tend to stay in heavy cover. Evidently they feel safer in the thick brush than wandering around out in the open.....once the first gunshot of the season is heard most tend to head for the thickest Tamarack/Cedar swamps they can find.....or clearcuts that have grown up with pencil Poplars so close together that even snakes have a hard time gettin' thru. Even when one cannot see brush or twigs thru the scope, we all know that there may be some there, they may just be out of focus. Many an avid archer(me for one) will tell of taking a shot at a deer that looked like a clear shot only to have a small unseen twig/branch deflect the arrow. All of the state land I hunt prohibits the removal of branches and the clearing of shooting lanes. Many times when I shoot at deer, I'm standing in waist deep water after sneaking up on a deer bedded down on a small blackbrush island in the middle of a thousand acres of shoulder high swampgrass/cattails. So again, right or wrong I use what works for me......and I have a high success rate. Duh....I know brush can and will deflect a bullet, any bullet, that's why I use ammo that in my experience tends to deflect less. That's where experience and woodsmanship come into play. Why others here tend to be so critical and negative about situations they know nothing about always amazes me. But then I ain't perfect like they think they are.