Factory .270 ammo for elk

ElPollo

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Aug 31, 2018
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do you have a preference for lead vs copper? if that factors into your decision then that should narrow down your selection a bit.

i finally went lead free last season and don't feel i've lost any performance. plus the family and kids eat wild meat several times a week so i felt the need to.

Like Sled, my wife has a preference for me to shoot non-lead bullets out of my 270 Win. I currently use the Barnes TTSX 130 gr and I like them. The one caution I would add about these is to pay attention to your impact velocity to ensure sufficient expansion. Barnes says these expand down to 1600 fps, but I tend to be conservative on that and prefer 1800-1900 fps. That puts my own personal limit on these bullets at around 500 yards for deer and about 400 yards for elk. In reality, I have never pulled the trigger on any game beyond 325 yards, which is my current longest shot with a non-lead bullet. That bullet opened up to the base of the cavity, broke a shoulder, three ribs and then traversed the length of a pronghorn, coming to rest under the skin behind offside hind quarter. It wasn't the best shot to take for a dirty meat hunter like me. But aside from the front shoulder, the damage to the meat wasn't too bad. I've got a lot of faith in these bullets as long as you don't stretch it too far. I've read that the Barnes LRX bullets have a higher BC and are built to open at slightly lower velocities than the TTSX, but I would not trust what I read without some personal testing. If you really want a bullet that stretches your range, I would stay away from non-lead in favor of a bonded lead bullet or a partition.

I would also echo what Charon says above. Shot selection and shot placement are key with a 270. Pick your shots to avoid the big bones. Put it in the boiler room at a distance where the bullet will open up and it'll do its job.

Good luck.
 

16Bore

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Mar 31, 2014
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Is it about the hunting or the shot? The past 5 or so years everyone has gone tacticool sniper. The animal population has doubled and success rates cut in half by guys limited to 300 yards.

We are being overrun....

Next thing you know, the liberal company that bought MeatEater is going to use helicopters to trap and relocate animals to the North Pole to help feed polar bears.

Then here comes another caravan from the southern border while Joe Biden plays grab ass with Nancy Pelosi. This whole time sugary sodas are killing me,

We need help....we need Superman. Or Wonder Woman....to be politically correct.
 

Ryan Avery

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Shoot2HuntU
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Is it about the hunting or the shot? The past 5 or so years everyone has gone tacticool sniper. The animal population has doubled and success rates cut in half by guys limited to 300 yards.

We are being overrun....

Next thing you know, the liberal company that bought MeatEater is going to use helicopters to trap and relocate animals to the North Pole to help feed polar bears.

Then here comes another caravan from the southern border while Joe Biden plays grab ass with Nancy Pelosi. This whole time sugary sodas are killing me,

We need help....we need Superman. Or Wonder Woman....to be politically correct.

Are you on Meds?:)
Don't even know how to respond to that?
 

Broomd

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Sep 29, 2014
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North Idaho
130 gr. Barnes TTSX for me as well.


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Yep.....in 2011 I took two mountain goats (the gun was borrowed for a third billy that year as well), two good whitetails, and an elk with that load. Placement is everything, but that Barnes bullet config. flat out gets it done.
 

Ryan Avery

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My tinfoil hat was on too tight. It’s better now...ha!


BTW....I think a 129 LRX at 3,100 might be a humdinger.

Haha! I posted yesterday on a thread and confused myself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

dla

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Oregon & Idaho
"Learn to hunt" That’s an ignorant statement. I have killed 12 elk with a stick bow yet I have learned more about animal behavior while watching/waiting on them before I made an LR shot. Which IMO has made me a better hunter. Not to mention some of my hardest "hunts" have involved a long-range shot.
As long as your Elk to tag ratio is 1:1 I've got no complaints. But long-range tends to invite a class of hunter that hits 2 or 3 Elk for the 1 tagged.
Every year there will be someone on a forum lamenting how he made a good hit at 500 yds, hiked over, found blood, skin, bones, brains, credit cards, etc. , searched for hours and decided that the Elk would survive and then blamed bullet construction. Every year.
 

Ryan Avery

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As long as your Elk to tag ratio is 1:1 I've got no complaints. But long-range tends to invite a class of hunter that hits 2 or 3 Elk for the 1 tagged.
Every year there will be someone on a forum lamenting how he made a good hit at 500 yds, hiked over, found blood, skin, bones, brains, credit cards, etc. , searched for hours and decided that the Elk would survive and then blamed bullet construction. Every year.

Every year I talk to bowhunters that loose multiple animals. Don't even get me started on trad hunters.

There are lazy ass hunters in all categories but for some reason, LR hunters get slammed the most. The fact is I know lots of guys that shot 600, hell over 1000 yards long before it was effective. You can't fix stupid.
 

chindits

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Feb 25, 2013
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Westslope, CO
My cheap 1990 era model 70 likes 140 trophy bonded tip. It shoots well out to 500 meters once a week in any weather except windy days. I don’t practice past that. I shot last years bull at 25 meters with that bullet. It done died. I’d rather bow hunt though and the rifle is always second choice.
 
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