.270 whitetail close range

[BigBore44]

If he wants to use a .270, there's nothing in the world wrong with it. You said he's a decent shot. Define "decent". Is he capable of MOA accuracy? Is the rifle? My preferred shot placement is 5" behind the shoulder crease, 1/3-1/2 way up from the belly line. Don't overthink the bullet construction thing. Only bullet I wouldn't recommend is the Winchester Ballistic Silvertips. Those things make a real mess when they hit ribs. Fist sized holes from my '06. NOT an exaggeration.

Have never shot a deer in the neck. But I'm going to this year to see how well this works. But my understanding is they are "bang flops".... We shall see.

 

[Art Eatman]

The last mule deer I killed was shot at no more than 25 yards. .30-'06. Max load with a 150-grain Sierra SPBT. MV probably 3,100 ft/sec. No meat spoiled.

Neck shot. Easy-peasy. Sorta ashamed that I didn't use a handgun.

I note that picking fly-poop from pepper is not a remunerative career path.

 

[Nature Boy]

Only bullet I wouldn't recommend is the Winchester Ballistic Silvertips

Man, that's all I ever hunted with because Winchester was the only one making .358 win in quantity.

 

[Captcurt]

Man, that's all I ever hunted with because Winchester was the only one making .358 win in quantity.

The 35 caliber bullets may have a thicker jacket. I know the Ballistic/Ballistic Silvertips are pretty fragile in the more intense calibers. If you want to see a mess put a 100gr out of a 257 Weatherby through a whitetails shoulder.

I bet the 358 is fun. I missed out on a Ruger 77 a couple of years back. Still kick myself.

 

[Nature Boy]

A .358 win was the only rifle I've I hunted with for ~30 years. Never felt I needed anything else. It would take some effort to recollect how many deer it has taken

All of them were killed with Winchester silvertips. They certainly weren't perfect, but I rarely had to shoot one twice.

Now that I'm reloading I'm really looking forward to using the 'Ol deer slayer again with taylored loads and more sophisticated projectiles

 

[HighExpert]

I would agree that at longer ranges, the .270 comes into its own. The title of the post was whitetail at close range. Actually, I have had great luck with a .357 carbine at 75 yds. which would be close range on the east coast. The .243 uses way less powder, has way less recoil, is very flat shooting (as is the .270) and with a 105gr bullet is deadly on whitetail out to 150yds.

 

[EIB0879]

I shot a doe at 35 yards with a .270 using 130 gr Fusions a few years back. She ran about 20 yards and dropped.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I've tried interesting him in other calibers/guns and he's very stuck on using his .270

No reason why he shouldn't be. It's as fine a whitetail round as exists.

is there a bullet (preferably factory but can load once I get the die thus asking so far in advance) that will take white tails at this distance from most frontal, broadside, or angling shots to the vitals WITHOUT damaging too much meat?

For potential for shots that close, I would stay away from violently expanding bullets like ballistic tips and the like. Stick with a controlled expansion cup and core soft point bullet like a Remington Core Lockt.
Even with those you will get pretty rapid expansion at close range.

The only way to avoid meat damage, no matter the bullet, is to not shoot them in the meat.
It is all about what is important to you. If you want spectacular, drop in their tracks performance, a high shoulder shot will give it to you, but you are going to lose shoulder meat and likely the front part of the backstraps.
Put the crosshairs 6" behind the shoulder on a broad side shot and you should lose little if any meat (other than organ meat if that's your thing).

 

[jrdolall]

Scoped rifles (as most 270s are) are not really very effective at 10 yards as even a 3x scope will just show a bunch of hair.
With that said I believe that just about any factory ammo made for the 270 will be more than adequate at any range your friend is capable of shooting accurately. As has been said many times in this thread just put the bullet behind the shoulder and, assuming a broadside shot, there will be virtually zero meat loss. White tails are just not that hard to kill so don't overthink it. For 200 yards and down there really isn't a better round than the 270. '06, .243, .300 and many other calibers will be "just as good" but not "better". 200 yards is stretching it for ME with a 30-30.

 

[Sniper66]

I'm new to deer hunting and killed my first whitetail last year with my new .270. Not knowing much aabout .270 ammo and not having time to work up loads, I picked up a box of Remington 130 gr core lokt. It's cheap and easy to find. The only meat I lost was the heart because that round tore the top half of the heart off and the big doe dropped in her tracks without a wiggle. Going for neck shots this year.