one shot, dead in its tracks, stop?

[polik6887]

I have been looking at getting into deer hunting. I was hoping to get some personal experiences from you guys on whether .270 winchester and 270 WSM will drop a good sized deer in its tracks.

also which is louder and has more recoil between the .270 winchester and WSM?

 

[mossberg]

no problem.

.270 winchester is a fine caliber for deer. I've eaten many deer killed with it. Can't help you with the .270wsm though.

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

no cartridge guarantees a "DRT (dead right there)" that being said, a well placed shot from either of those cartridges and the deer shouldn't go far....I say shouldn't because I've hit deer through both lungs with a .300 WSM and they have still run over 100 yards.....blood trail that stevie wonder could follow though

The whole line of WSM's are loud.....recoil from a .270 should def be manageable.

 

[koja48]

Shot from any caliber needs to be well-placed. That being said, .270 is all you need. My personal choice at present is a .25-06, but harvested lots of deer & elk with a .270. Big magnums kill at one end & wound at the other. Get something you won't mind practicing with . . .

 

[Ifishsum]

Get something you won't mind practicing with . . .

And then practice, as much as you can. As previous posters have said, one shot stops are much more about shot placement than caliber. If you practice and have the self control to pass on bad or iffy shots, you'll do fine.

 

[DWARREN123]

The problem would be not the caliber but the shooter. A good shooter can use any reasonable caliber to drop a deer.

 

[DixieTexian]

Deer I shot this year on opening day was about 15 yards away. I shot him through the neck with my .30-06. I wish I'd a had a spear or a big rock instead, since he walked right under my stand. Learn the anatomy and what you can do. If you have a real close shot like that one, you can shoot confidently somewhere like the neck, but out farther, it is always better to take the heart lung shot if you are not 100% confident in your ability to hit a smaller area.

 

[Waywatcher]

I would get the tried and true .270 Winchester because of ammo cost alone. And availability.

 

[Art Eatman]

I killed a fair number of deer with a .270, before I sorta drifted back to an '06. No flies on a .270.

I don't think the WSM will add much for somebody who's not already rather experienced. And, the ammo costs more (less practicing, probably) and it's got more recoil (why beat on your shoulder?).

I don't care how big the deer is: You bust him with a good hit in the heart/lung area and you own him. Anywhere out to around 300 yards, anyhow. Sometimes DRT; sometimes, maybe a 100 yards and flop. No way to know ahead of time--but that's true no matter what cartridge you use. I've always gone for a neck shot, if I'm confident of my aim--but that's a function of distance and confidence.

Art

 

[spankaveli]

This caliber debate seems the same as the handgun one *kicks the horse*.

Shot placement will beat out caliber every time. You can hunt with whatever you want but as long as you hit him right, you don't have to hit him hard.

 

[Grayrock]

Shot placement is most important. My lil spike was DRT from my Mini-14 a couple of years ago. Another trip I borrowed a buddy's Pre-64 .270 and my doe ran nearly 1/2 mile. (He forgot to tell me it was sighted in at 200 yards and she was only 40 away )

 

[polik6887]

yeh, I am not completely inexperienced, I used to have a .308 G3 and shot that pretty damn well. sold it a while back though when I was really hard up for money. just wondering about the .27 caliber projectiles vs the .30. for stopping a deer efficiently. figure shot placement is more important than .03 of an inch, but I have never hunted before and I wanted real life experiences from you guys.

 

[Picknlittle]

I'll take another opportunity to sing the praises of the 35 Whelen.

This rifle has surprised me in many ways and I'll call that a very good thing.
My 30-06, firing a 165 gr Rem corelok factory load gets pretty uncomfortable to shoot after about a dozen rounds.

The Whelen, firing a 200 gr, bullet backed by 63 gr of BL-C(2) is a kitten by comparison. The gun is a couple pounds heavier than the 06, and has a better recoil pad on it, but when I pulled the trigger for the first time with 55 gr of IMR 4064 driving the same bullet I expected to get punched. It didn't happen then or when I fired the max load 58 gr. IMR 4064.

I really like this gun. It'll take down anything this continent has to offer in grand fashion with punishing the shooter. I don't know if this is the norm for Whelens but sure like this one.

I'm getting ready to load the 06 up with 125 bullets for varmint shootin.

 

[1911ShooterTJ]

I can’t say much more than has already been said. The 270 Winchester is a great hunting round with excellent ballistics. You won't get much more out of the WSM in my opinion. The WSM means less bullet selection, higher cost, and more pain

 

[one-shot-one]

The very 1st deer I shot was with a custom Mauser in .270 with a 130 gr bullet at 57 yards the spike dropped like a rock. My dad traded that gun and the next time I took aim at a deer it was with his .30-06 feather weight mod. 70. the rifle did not fit me and “kicked" the crap out of my shoulder. Shot three deer with that rifle at ranges from 60 to 100 yards and had to follow two of them a long ways before finding them. I could have determined from this that the .270 is a sure fire killer and the 30-06 only wounds and kicks harder to boot, but the real problem was that I just could not shoot that rifle as well due to fit. I have since fired other 30-06’s and 7 mags and 300 mags with out any trouble. My last deer was taken with a 300 wsm because my .308’s scope gave up on me at the lease.
To be honest i bought the 300 wsm because i just loved the way the cartriges looked and i do not need much of a reason to want a "new" gun.

 

[Art Eatman]

My ol' daddy always said to me, he said, "Son (He called me son.), if you shoot 'em in the white spot, they don't go anywhere."

That works for a .222, a .243, a .270 and a .30-'06. As Lily Tomlin's "Gertrude" said, "And that's a fact." I sorta guess it would work for about forty-'leven other cartridges, as well.

And if the heart/lungs are all mushed, Bambi doesn't really go very far.

Most of these stories about, "I shot him in the heart, but he ran a mile!"? Hey, the heart ain't that far back, sorry...

Art

 

[Afy]

1 shot DRT consitently irrespective of shot placement...

416 Rigby, or just to be safe a 700 Nitro will do it every time.

I personally know people who have shot Barasingha deer (300+ LB) before they became endangered with a .22 LR.

When I was still hunting growing up I got Cheetal (150+ Lb) and Neelgai (300+ LB) with guns ranging from .22 LR to a 12 Ga (Using LG Cartridges or simillar to 00) to 30-06. Admitedly the Neelgai were with the 12 ga, 30 Carbine and 30-06. But I have gotten a few Cheetal with a .22 LR (2 to be exact), and at least a dozen barking deer (30-40 lb) with the .22.

Shot placement will beat caliber in most cases if you want to eat the meat.

Bottom line go with what youre comfortable with, and practise at the range as much as possible.

At ranges in France where I now live, hunters regularly practise with moving Wild Boar targets at 50 Meters in the off season.

 

[testar77]

Man I am glad I re-read that last post, I thought at first it said he was hunting Cheetah with a .22 and thought to my self "he must pack his around in a wheel barrow"

Toby

 

[testar77]

LMAO that would be about right.

 

[hounddog]

270 win has been the best gun I have hunted deer with. 90% have been drt. Other 10% went down under 50 yards.

 

[Afy]

Man I am glad I re-read that last post, I thought at first it said he was hunting Cheetah with a .22 and thought to my self "he must pack his around in a wheel barrow"

Toby

Lol...

Cheetah's unfortunately went extinct in India before I started hunting. But I wouldnt shoot one, if if they were available. Though I would love to have one as a pet...

BTW I believe the largestest Kodiak ever shot was with a .22lr... but I wouldnt advise trying that.

Good luck with what ever you choose, but please practise at the range.

 

[eliphalet]

Most of these stories about, "I shot him in the heart, but he ran a mile!"? Hey, the heart ain't that far back, sorry...

So true, more like ten feet if the hearts blown up.

I;ve shot my share of deer and never had one go any distance to speak of at all that had a busted heart, feet not yards. Lungs yes in rare occasions a couple a hundred yards but even thats rare. Had a little buck go 2 or 3 hundred yards once litterly blowing pieces of lung out his side as he went, incredible. I guess neck shots are great but I have never tired to take one. I did hit a nice buck through the neck once running and it worked terrific.

Mule Deer in the sage brush is what I general hunt and mulies will nearly always stop for a look a few seconds within range and give you a shot if your patient. By then I am ready and about 2 seconds after he stops I shoot. If you hit those lungs, not much tracking is ever needed. Gutting is easy and not messy either and they are bled out internally pretty good before you even get there in most cases. The chest cavity blood can be flushed out the back end as a cleaning agent if needed.
If I was still hunting and had good shots I would do some necks cause I am sure Art knows what he is talking about.

 

[critter]

30-06, .270, 25-06, .44 mag handgun, 30-30 Win TC Contender, 45-70, .35 Whelen, .54 cal ML, .45 cal ML, 300 Win Mag

I have taken whitetail with each of the above calibers. None of the deer knew the difference of what they were shot with. All were efficiently killed as long as shot placement was good. Many of them were dead in the tracks they were originally standing in. Many of them ran a small distance.

Hit one in the head, neck, spine, etc and they will be DRT. Another good DRT shot is low in the chest and through both front legs. Heart-lung shots are really good and a rather large target but they sometimes run until they run out of oil pressure or the breath they are holding when shot or some such. It won't be far.

Make a bad or poor shot and they may run so far you will not get your deer and they will die a slow, agonizing death. They deserve much better.

There are three rules: 1. Shot placement, 2. Shot placement, 3. Shot placement.

Good luck.

 

[langenc]

The heart on a deer is way up and way DOWN between the legs practically. A lung shot is a dead deer-sooner or later.

Whatever rifle sight it in and then shoot at 25 or 35 yards and make a cheat card and place on the rifle. The rise and fall of a bullet is not well understood.

I recall shooting a spruce grouse at about 15 yards. I thought Ill just take the head off. Place the crosshair on the junction of neck and body and pow--grouse feathers went in many directions. It seems at that range the bullet hits right wher the hairs are. No grouse for dinner.