.270 whitetail close range

You want something that is a bit tougher so it won't expand too rapidly, but will expand some. the Nosler Partition, Barnes TSX (or copy), or a bonded bullet are what you're looking for. Federal makes a load using the 130 & 150 gr Nosler Partition. Might be a good choice. You don't want the ballistic tip or standard cup & core bullets for close range, high velocity.

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Anything designed to retain weight will work well. I use 2 bullets on opposite ends of the spectrum depending on where I am hunting. In the woods I use a 130 Gr game king or PowerPoint. I use Hornady poly tips in fields. Both work well, but the solid bullet puts out a blood trail more quickly for some reason. Poly tips leave more blood once the trail starts. It makes no sense to me, but that's what I have seen in the field. Either bullet anchors the deer quickly.

For your purpose I can't recommend a bullet more strongly than the 130gr Sierra Gameking. Some folks like the 150s but my gun shoots the 130s much much better. On that note, either 4350 pushes the bullets out of the barrel with extremely good results at about 2/3 up the load range.

Personally if factory is requested, id just got with a box of 150grn cup n cores of your choice. Unless your whitetail are much over a foot and a half wide any of those will go clean thru from point blank on out.

I handload for a friends .270. We settled on 150ablr, as hes not inclined to shoot more than one load. He shot a large axis doe (120lbs) quartering towards us. Bullet went thru onside shoulder out offside just in front of the hip. The shot was at about 10yds, as she was coming down the trail we were going up.

Ive used his gun and the same load to shoot sheep, and have had good performance at med distance.

You're over thinking this. Almost any 130 or 150 gr bullet will do the job. The best way to avoid damaging edible meat is to shoot them in the non-edible parts.

jmr40 said:

You're over thinking this. Almost any 130 or 150 gr bullet will do the job. The best way to avoid damaging edible meat is to shoot them in the non-edible parts.

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Yes indeed.

Impact velocity can ruin meat too. This was a meat-saver shot on a whitetail that ruined both backstraps and some shoulder meat as well. Pretty sure the 165 gr Trophy Bonded Tip was still above 3000 fps at impact.

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I've never shot at a deer. I've always shot at a particular place on a deer. And it ain't the eating part.

Art nailed it. ANY high velocity rifle bullet will tear up meat. The trick is to shoot behind the shoulder where all your going to loose is a bit of rib meat. Personaly id use the same thing id use if it was a 300 plus yard shot. ie the most accurate load in that particular gun so a surgically placed shot will cause the least amount of meat loss.

A 130 grain 270 factory load that performs well in the rifle accuracy-wise will be just as effective at 10 meters as it will be at 200. Its just a deer. Definitely over-thinking the problem, which isn't even a problem.

Any .270 Win ammo you find at WalMart will do fine. Hold behind the front leg, about a third of the way up the body and you'll get a quick kill with little meat loss.

Go with 150 grain Remington Core-Lokts !
You cannot go wrong with this ammo!

Personally, I think the .270 is a bit overgunned for the standard whitetail, unless they are weighing over 250#. My .243 does a fine job on any whitetail I've run across on the east coast.

A 130 grain 270 has 25% plus more mass than a typical 243 hunting round at 100 grains. At close range, that thing is going to rampage through that deer just fine. I prefer 243 for deer myself, and its never let me down.

Personally, I think the .270 is a bit overgunned for the standard whitetail, unless they are weighing over 250#. My .243 does a fine job on any whitetail I've run across on the east coast.

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Hence my hesitation to use my .30-06 on a deer, when I know my much slower .45 Colt will poke a bigger hole right through one, without nearly the damage. I just don't see the need for massive damage when a finger-sized hole through both lungs works fine.

I found a guy on a different forum that used a controlled expansion bullet for whitetail using a .270. Hope this helps.

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=536131

I personally use Remington Core-Lokts in my .30-06. I have taken whitetail anywhere from 30 feet to 70 yards. All have gone down without running an inch. The one shot at 30 feet had a fist sized hole coming out the front left shoulder. That was with an entrance hole in the right front lung. I have taken base of neck shots ever since.

No problem

I have taken more deer with the 270 than any other caliber. One rifle (I have had 3) has taken 22 whitetails, 2 mulies, and 2 pronghorns. The majority were taken under 100 yards. I shot the old 130gr Speed HotCor most of the time. If Nosler had made the Accubond then I would probably picked it. Both bullets mushroom well but hold together at close range. Some people like the solid copper bullets like the Barnes. They work fine, but I never could justify the cost for deer. Elk sure, but I am cheap. If you have any doubt you can always go to the old standby. Nosler Partitions have been the standard for over 60 years.

Hence my hesitation to use my .30-06 on a deer, when I know my much slower .45 Colt will poke a bigger hole right through one, without nearly the damage. I just don't see the need for massive damage when a finger-sized hole through both lungs works fine.

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I've killed a boxcar load of deer with the .30-06. Put the bullet through the ribs, behind the front leg, and about 1/3 of the way up the body, and you will have virtually no meat loss.

Right on, Vern!

Vern Humphrey said:

I've killed a boxcar load of deer with the .30-06. Put the bullet through the ribs, behind the front leg, and about 1/3 of the way up the body, and you will have virtually no meat loss.

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A 300 WSM will do the same thing. With the proper bullet there is a hundred calibers that will work with no problem. To be honest, if I had to pick one caliber, your 06 would be it.

As Townsend Whelen said, "The .30-06 is never a mistake."

I've killed a host of deer, bucks & doe's with a featherweight 270 Winchester. I shoot 130 accubonds. All shoots have been under 200 yards and shots have completely anchored I repeat, all shots have completely ANCHORED DEER...

Personally, I think the .270 is a bit overgunned for the standard whitetail, unless they are weighing over 250#. My .243 does a fine job on any whitetail I've run across on the east coast.

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I shoot a lot of deer every year doing crop damage culling at a big farm. Ive used about every caliber to kill them through the years. Now granted if were talking 30 yards it doesn't really matter. But if you think a 243 kills as quickly as a 270 you just haven't shot enough deer. If anything ill say that once the range gets much over 250 yards the 243 is UNDERPOWERED. Personaly I'm not a fan of the 270 and prefer the 280 and 06 but that's just me. When you shoot 3 or 4 deer in an evening chasing wounded deer isn't something you relish. Deer dropped in there tracks is what you want. Ive seen probably a 50 percent different in dead right there deer with 06 based cases compared to the 243/6mm. Ill put the 240 wby and 2506 in the middle of that fight. Add to this the fact that you will get a lot more exit wounds with the 270 and larger rounds then with the 243 so if you do have to track you get better blood trails. Ive had a number of deer shot with the 243/6mm that have been recovered a 100 yards away and didn't bleed a single drop before they fell. Fine if your out west in the wide open spaces where you can watch a deer run but up here you leave a field into chest high grass and swamps and usually loose sight of a deer after the first or second leap. The 270 overpowered for deer?? Hardly!! Tell me how its overpowered. Hit a deer in the shoulder with a 243 and your going to loose both shoulders. Hit the deer the same with a 270 or even a 300 mag and the results will be the same. If anything a lot of the bullets used in something like a 300 mag are designed to open up on bigger animals and hold together at higher velocitys and can punch through a deer doing less damage then something like a 243. Funny thing is in all my years of killing deer the most violent damage ive seen with any round is with the 3030. Those thin jacketed corelocks will tear the heck out of shoulders at short ranges.

.270 is a fine round for this hunt....the much more important question is can your friend discern how and where to place the shot where needed?

And I do not now, nor ever have owned a .270, but seen them take many deer out to 300+ yards in MT.


Take Care,

Buzz

As a conservation officer I've seen hundreds of deer shot with .270, and killed a few myself.

Any of the .270 rounds are going to be potentially devastating depending on shot placement. However, any of the various 150gr factory loads will meet your criteria. Due to lower impact speeds, the 150's tend to hold together better than faster 130's

Worst will be any of the plastic tipped bullets ( not including such as the Barnes TTSX ).

A box of 130 or 150gr Remington Corlokt or Winchester Power-Points, or Federal Hi Shock will be fine. A broadside heart/lung shot on a whitetail with a .270 isn't really a bad shot as it minimizes meat loss. The Hornady 130 and 150gr Interloks are also excellent.
Don't over think it... Just sight in +2" at 100yds and go hunt!