[priv8ter]

Picked up a NEF Firearms Handi-Rifle in .270 for my wife to use on deer this year. When I bought the gun, I picked up two boxes of Federal Power-Shok, because it was the cheapest thing they had on the shelves, and I felt that was fine for initial zeroing of the rifle.

Now, I went back to Sportsmans Warehouse to pickup more, and, I'm quite confused.

In .270 Winchester, there are no fewer than 22 loads, ranging from Remington Express 100gr Pointed Soft Point to 150gr Winchester Supreme Power Point Plus. And, the prices range from $14 to upwards of $27.

And I thought it was confusing trying to figure out which .357 load to carry in my SP-101!

What I am wondering then, is, when going after 120-150 pound black-tails, which, are relatively thin-skinned, small bodied deer, is, can I expect something inexpensive like the 130gr Federal Speer Grand Slam to get the job done, or do I need to pay out the big bucks for Remington 130gr Bonded Scirocco(Like even know what that means!!!!).

I thought I would look at the ammo companies websight, but, if you believe what they say, then each of their rounds is perfect for each and every situation! Then why do they make some many!?!?!?! I know, I know...$$$$$

Well, that's enough of a rant for now....I look forward to everyone's input on this trying subject.

greg

[dakotasin]

ahh, factory loads... lol! i remember those days - sure glad i roll my own now!

to answer your question: yes, for your blacktail deer, the inexpensive factory loads will work just fine. a box of whatever will work great. if the gun is zeroed for federal stuff, and group sizes are acceptable, why not stick w/ that?

when i used to hunt w/ factory loads, i really liked the hornady light and heavy mags. the hornady custom is good stuff, too, but the light and heavy mags were what i really liked.

some pretty good sized deer here have fallen to the cheapest stuff that was on sale at the local discounter... you don't need premiums for deer. premiums will work, but so will standard stuff.

[priv8ter]

I was looking at the ballistics for the Hornady 140gr Light Magnum load, and, if I(or the wife) ever decides to try this gun out for Elk, that load is at the top of my list.

greg

[Art Eatman]

Way back when the mountains weren't so high, I used a .270. I loaded the Remington 130-grain Bronze Points. I used the old 4831; dunno how it compares to today's. Anyhow, I just scooped the case full, tapped it once to settle the powder and spill off the little heap at the top, and compressed the load with the bullet. It gave about 100 ft/sec under the factory load.

That worked just fine on Bambi...

IOW, for deer, I don't really think you need more than the most accurate 130-greain load that happifies your rifle.

:), Art

[critter]

My .270 loves 130 gr Nosler BT's over IMR 4350 powder. It is a DRT killer on our rather smallish whitetails.

[Sunray]

"...initial zeroing..." There's no such thing. You must sight in with the ammo you intend to hunt with. If you're not reloading, you must try a box of as many different loads as you can to see which one your rifle shoots best. Those 130 grain Federals will do the job, if they shoot accurately enough out of your rifle. 2-3 inches at 100 yards is good enough for deer. Then practice shooting at a 9" pie plate off hand at 100 until you can put every shot into it.

[JuniorG]

Never met a 270 that didnt like 130 gr bullets. Mine likes H4831 and the Hornady SP. I've used various cases and primers with this load and seen no noticable diffrence, all shot good.

[priv8ter]

"...initial zeroing..." There's no such thing.

I agree sir. However, by initial zeroing, I meant, getting the scope into the 10-ring on paper. Once that is done, which ever load I pick for hunting won't require large amounts of adjustment anymore. That is one reason I am trying to decide on a load for hunting now, so my wife has four and a half months getting used to the ballistics of the factory load.

Thanks for all the help, even the advise on re-loading. My wife and I are renting an apartment now, and unfortunetaly, I don't have the space to get into reloading, nor can I justify spending the initial capital, until we have bought a house.

greg

[Art Eatman]

I loaded a bunch of '06 stuff, with nothing more than an old Lyman 310 Tong Tool and a set of scales. That was in a rooming house in my college daze.

:), Art

[priv8ter]

Maybe I've just fallen into the hype that you can't get into reloading for less than $700 dollars. That's been the budget I have been looking at for an initial setup.

greg

[dakotasin]

rockchucker master kit, a set of calipers, and a bullet puller offers the most for the least... don't need $700, unless you just want to spend that much.

[NRA4LIFE]

I second the RockChucker Kit. Bought one 15 years ago and never looked back. I am also a big fan of 4350 behind Hornady (insert anything). My BAR in .270 has belched out 3 or 4 pounds of the stuff, easy. I use 150's for MO whitetails and 130's for Muleys and Pronghorn.

[MeekandMild]

For low end factory loads Winchester Super X 150 gr does well. My rifle puts these in 1.25 MOA at 100 yards. I can get down to 1 MOA with Hornadays and .75 MOA with handloads but a deer heart is about 3 MOA at 100 yards.

[only1asterisk]

The 130 grain plain jane factory stuff should work out fine. Some of the fancy controlled expansion bullets and some of the 150 jobs are built a bit tougher. In your shoes I'd but a box each from Rem, Fed and Win and see what shot best.


David

[HankB]

Art Eatman:I used the old 4831; dunno how it compares to today's. At one time, there was only one 4831 powder, so reloading manuals used to simply list loads for "4831" and not specify the manufacturer. (Hodgdon) I also believe it was originally a surplus powder.

But then DuPont came out with a new rifle powder, and called it IMR4831.

A friend of mine bought some to use in his new .270, and used "4831" data from his Speer #8 manual.

It took two of us to get the bolt open after he fired the first round. :uhoh:

It turns out that IMR4831 is faster than the old 4831, which is now designated H4831. (We also have H4831SC with shorter grains.) Loading data is not interchangeable between the "H" and "IMR" varieties!

[sumpnz]

priv8ter, Do you know anyone that handloads? If so, see if they'll load some ammo for you. If they already have the dies, offer to pay them for the materials, plus something for their trouble. If they don't have the dies, buy it, and then have them load for cost of materials plus something. Guaranteed to be cheaper than factory, and if they have a chronograph and are willing to help you out, you can fine tune the load for that rifle. That will likely get you better accuracy, more power, and higher quality bullets all at a reduced price.

Just to give you an idea, a guy I know who's got his FFL also does custom loads. Since we work at the same company I get a bit of a discount, but for my 8mm and 6.5mm Mausers, he's loading for around $75 per 100 rounds with new brass. Reloads are $52/100. Equivalent factory loads, if you could even find them, would run $100-150/100.