270/140gr accubond enough?

[idcurrie]

I've been hunting Northern Alberta (where I live) for many years up around the Hines Creek area.

We have plentiful and large Mulies, White tail, Bear, 1800lb Moose, and elk.

The animals here are plentiful and hearty.

I have been hunting them for years with a 300 winchester magnum shooting 180gr accu-bonds.

The rifle has served me very well and has put down anything that I did my part on.

Now, I've just bought a nice rifle in 270 winchester and worked up a load for it that's printing somewhere under 1MOA. It's shooting 140gr accu-bonds at around 2950-3000fps.

Even better, it seems to have roughly the same point of impact as my 300wm at 100,200,300 yards at the range so I should be able to use them interchangeably without worrying too much about bullet drop.

Here's the problem: as I get a little older I'm finding the recoil from the 300 winchester magnum to be less and less pleasant. I find I just don't get enough trigger time with it for that reason.

The 270, on the other hand, I find a pleasure to shoot with the recoil not troubling me at all.

So is the 270 enough for those Elk and Moose or should I use it just for deer?

In my experience, the Elk are much harder to put down than the moose even though the moose are much larger. Would the 270 maybe be good enough for moose but not elk?

With the 300wm I have taken shots through shoulders as needed successfully.

Any input appreciated.

 

[hardluk1]

I would rather have barne's X140gr bullet for the moose and norma and pierce load it. Use the 130gr barne'sx for elk. I have take'n one elk with a 140gr X 7mm rem mag and it worked just fine. A buddy used a 140gr 270 on a moose in the far north and it also did fine. These were the origninal X design too, years ago. They offer a better choice today for factory ammo for barmes bullets. Visit there site. To me the accubond would work on elf too. But i don't own a 300 wim mag ether.

 

[idcurrie]

To me the accubond would work on elf too.

I'm not THAT far north!

Seriously, though, I'm not fond of the Barnes bullets for my own reasons. I've experienced horrible unmanageable fouling with them.

 

[Risky buisness]

the caliber you mention- .270 is perfectly suited for your intended purpose, generations of shooters have relied on the .270 for it's accuracy, lessened recoil and game stopping preformance. There are those who will dissagree and tout all manner of "expert" opinions as to why a "magnum" is absolutly nessasary. Do not believe them. Ask if you could, all the game harvested with the 270, was it by some stroke of luck they died, no , not hardly, certinaly there are all manner of other cartridges avaliable, take for instance the .300 Win you refer to, as you mention recoil is a factor in your desision to move away from it, I can not agree more, in my observation there are VERY few people who can actually shoot a punishing rifle effectivly, and even fewer that will admit it.
the combo 140, .270= good deal all around.

 

[xfyrfiter]

You might want to up the ante on elk a little, as they are the toughest north american big game on the hoof, as it were, maybe 165 gr or so, just a little more oomph.

 

[groundhog34]

May I suggest a muzzle break on the 300, 270 may be fine for 200-300 lb herbivores but for larger a 300 has more dropping power . As an older guy myself I want the animal to drop where I shot it not run 20 to 100 yards. Animals ALWAYS run down hill. Where I hunt that can result in a very difficult retrieval.

 

[dprice3844444]

http://www.gentrycustom.com muzzle breaks

 

[Onmilo]

I follow the principal of use enough gun and I also know the natives still use .30/30s and .303s to kill Moose.

If you reeally want to use the .270, best advice is use the heaviest bullet you can shoot well in the weapon.
The .270 will work fine if you do your part.

 

[snakeman]

barnes x, hornady gmx, or nosler e-tip.

 

[TwoEyedJack]

I like the 150 gr. Nosler Partition for Elk in a .270. It might not be quite as accurate as the plastic tipped bullets, but it is accurate enough for bullet placement out to 300 yards, and it will penetrate better. I don't think I ever saw a broadside lung shot that did not come out the other side.

 

[NCsmitty]

If you keep your ranges within the power level of the cartridge, and put it in the vitals, they will die. The 270 Win has the energy at 200yds, that your 300 Win mag has at 300yds, and if you keep that in mind, you'll be fine.
The 270 Win has been doing it for many years, and the Accubond is a superior bullet, if it's accurate in your rifle. It's a good thing when a bullet stays together, and it's hard to beat a cup and core.


NCsmitty

 

[rcmodel]

Wasn't it Jack O'Connor that killed everything that walked or crawled with 1950's era 130 grain .270 bullets?

I agree if you put one of todays bonded core 140's through an elk or moose's boiler room, it is gonna fall down and die within fairly easy retrieval distance.

rc

 

[Kachok]

There is no such thing as "enough" or "not enough" for any given anamal, only enough or not enough for a given shot placement. A bonded 140gr 270 win bullet should penatrate aprox 20"-26" of soft tissue with good expansion. This would be enough for a large moose if you can keep your shot behind the thick shoulder muscle, it is not however adaquate for a sharp raking shot or a breaking shoulders shot. Larger calibers and heavier bullets give you more options on what shots you can take, but with careful placement a 270 will do the job on anything that walks North America with it's heavier bonded/partitiond bullets. I love my 140gr Accubonds but if I were hunting anything over half a ton I would personaly perfer heaviest TSX, Weldcore, or A-Frame available.
Jack O'Connor's bullet of choice was a 130gr Partition, a solid performer even by today's standards, and yes he killed everything that walks North America with it, though even he would admit that it was far from ideal for large dangerous game.

 

[ChefJeff1]

I killed my first elk with a 140gr accubond from federal premium ammo. It was about 250 yards, there was no trace of a bullet. I also love the 150 gr. partition. I"m remembering that the 140 was actually quite devastating to both shoulders.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

If a 7mm.08 139gr Interlock will do the job on Elk, there is no reason a 140gr accubond .270 couldn't do it. Like the others said, just keep in mind your range limitations since you will be shooting a lighter bullet and pick your shots well. (As you should anyway). I have a few .300wm's and with my age and busted up shoulders, I too find range time to be difficult to say the least. Even my old .30/06 is starting to get a little "unfun" at the bench unless I load her down with 150's or 165's. But in the field I have yet to notice a kick! Didn't even notice the gash in my eyebrow one time until the blood got in my eye (Was a fast rise and shoot on a nice cow Elk and not a whole hell of a lot of eye relief)

 

[41 Mag]

While I have not personally shot anything in the weight ranges you refer too, they all have the same thing in common, they have to breath and get blood to the proper parts of their odies in order to function. Remove either, and they will go down.

As has been mentioned your shot placement might be a bit more critical now than it was, but the Accubond has shown to be one of the better bullets, along with the Interbond Hornady builds.

If your getting nice groups like you mentioned, it should be no issue to put the bullet exactly where your wanting it to go. Slipped in behind a heavy shoulder it will be devastating on the internals for sure. Also as your range increases the slower velocity will allow it to retain weight and penetrate much better as well.

Good luck with your hunting.

 

[jmr40]

The 270 will kill anything the 300mag will kill. The 300 gives you more energy at longer ranges that is all. On larger animals such as elk you might have to limit your shots to 500 yards instead of 600. On smaller animals you will not notice a bit of difference.

 

[Ankeny]

I too am getting a little older and I no longer care for the thumping I take from a magnum. I have dropped down to a 6.5x284 for a distance rifle and a 7mm-08 for closer ranges (just because it is a short action). Both of my brothers and myself have used a .270 off and on for elk. I suppose we have shot a dozen or so between the three of us without an issue. Just poke them through the ribs broadside and keep your distances reasonable.

 

[interlock]

yes. it will be fine. the accubond is a bonded... tough bullet not to be mistaken to with the ballistic tips.
140 gr from .270 gives plenty of sectional density.

its a deadly load

 

[spclpatrolgroup]

Moose really arn't as tough as a lot of people think they are, not as tough as an elk thats for sure, your bullet choice is fine, of course a 155mm howitzer will have more "knock down power" but thats not really what you asked .