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270 Winchester bullet choice for deer and elk

I will be ordering some of the bullets before next season to start reloading them, I was just using the factory Federal loads. I wasn't completely happy with the way the 140 Accubonds grouped from my rifle, completely acceptable out to 300 yards but the 130 Trophy Bonded Tips shot better.
 
I loaded 150 SST's for my stepson's 270 on an elk trip. He came out with a pair of Maggie's drawers on that trip, so I don't know what the terminal performance on elk would be. RL19 , can't offhand remember the charge weight but It chrono'ed right about 2980fps. Did take a whitetail buck with it, complete pass through with about 1" dia exit hole. Dropped on the spot. The 130 speer SPBT he used to shoot would never exit a deer. Usually find the slug trapped between the ribs and hide on the opposite side. Judging from the difference in performance on deer I feel the 150SST would be a good elk bullet on a 270 win.
 
I just bought a 270 win and wanted opinions on the best bullet for elk and deer will primarily be used for deer but want a bullet that can take an elk if I happen to see one I have it narrowed done to a few choices 140 classic hunter berger, 145 eldx, or 129 lrx. I know barnes you can use a lighter bullet and get similar results to those heavier Bullets and I know it will have more penetration more than likely. Any other good Bullet choices would be appreciated thank you.
The 270 Winchester was my only hunting rifle for 20 years and currently I hunt with a custom 270 WSM in a browning long action that I modified from a 7mm long action. Long story short, I have a lot of experience with .277, deer and elk. I have shot multiple Elk with 140 grain bullets and have great confidence that they are adequate with good shot placement, however I have grown quite fond of the Nossler Accubond LongRange in 150 grains. The BC is the highest in class and it is super accurate at 3000 fps and higher. I am loaded at 3100 FPS using H4831sc and shoots 3/8" groups at 100 yrds. Every deer I have shot dropped in its tracks and both elk were on the ground in a few yards. I also run the 270 with H1000 but was having a hard time finding any so I developed the H4831sc load, the accuracy is almost identical at 3100 fps. I have validated the BC and speed to 1000 yrds with both loads. Because the bearing surface on the 150 grain Nossler ABLR is about the same as most 140 grain bullets you should be able to get very close to the same Muzzle Velocity from them. They hold together quite well and destroy the vitals before exiting on an elk if you shoot behind the shoulder. I am a meet eater and never shoot the shoulder. I shot two does this year at 465 yards and both dropped on impact from a double lung shot. My point is I am an advocate of shot placement and speed over extreme weight and wasting meet.
 
I just bought a 270 win and wanted opinions on the best bullet for elk and deer will primarily be used for deer but want a bullet that can take an elk if I happen to see one I have it narrowed done to a few choices 140 classic hunter berger, 145 eldx, or 129 lrx. I know barnes you can use a lighter bullet and get similar results to those heavier Bullets and I know it will have more penetration more than likely. Any other good Bullet choices would be appreciated thank you.
While a 270 is not my first choice for elk, I have killed 8 elk with them. 3 nice bulls fell to a load using R-22 powder and the 150 Nosler Partition. One was a front on shot that penetrated 3 ft of elk before stopping. wound channel was very wide and deep. The elk jumped at the shot, and fell over. The range was 310 yds. The others were killed using the 130 gr. ttsx at 3175 fps. Ranges varied from 40 to 300 yds. While not as dramatic as the Nosler load, all were one shot kills, with none of the animals going over 100 yds. Wound channels were adequately wide and penetration was very good. I recovered two of the bullets while the remainder passed through. For my money, the 150 gr. Nosler partition driven at an honest 3000 fps from my 24" tube is about all the killing power that this caliber can provide.
 
I just bought a 270 win and wanted opinions on the best bullet for elk and deer will primarily be used for deer but want a bullet that can take an elk if I happen to see one I have it narrowed done to a few choices 140 classic hunter berger, 145 eldx, or 129 lrx. I know barnes you can use a lighter bullet and get similar results to those heavier Bullets and I know it will have more penetration more than likely. Any other good Bullet choices would be appreciated thank you.
I looked through the forum a little before responding. I didn't see much for the Barnes. I live and hunt in Southern Idaho and shoot Barnes exclusively. You mentioned the LRX 129. I load those rounds for both of my sons. They don't shoot elk at long range with them but they have each killed bulls and cows up to just under 500 yards with that bullet. One son has killed 5 elk. My other has 7. One is 17 years old and the other is 20. One rifle does better with Hidgdon hybrid and the other likes H4350. At the longest ranges of elk we have shot we still have not recovered any bullets. They are a through and through. My only advise with them is make sure you shoot bone or are very accurate because if an elk runs on you the bullet doesn't leave a large enough hole for a good blood trail.

I like this bullet because when they do shoot deer with it, the bullet doesn't destroy meat. In our house we are meat hunters first and with the more conventional bullets we were cutting and tossing to much blood shot meat. I haven't used the new Hornady bullets that are available so maybe this has changed. We just have our rifles dialed in with the Barnes bullets and we haven't been let down to date.
 
I have not taken an elk yet but the 145 ELDX is where my load testing landed me for consistency beyond 300 yds. 140 accubonds were great up to that range but beyond that, my groups got wider, where the ELDX stayed really tight. My hunting partner took an elk with the same bullet out of his 270 wsm @ 300yds this year and the bull took about 5 steps before it died. Of course with the wsm, it was going a little faster than my 270win. His is about 3050 and mine clocks at 2905
 
I just bought a 270 win and wanted opinions on the best bullet for elk and deer will primarily be used for deer but want a bullet that can take an elk if I happen to see one I have it narrowed done to a few choices 140 classic hunter berger, 145 eldx, or 129 lrx. I know barnes you can use a lighter bullet and get similar results to those heavier Bullets and I know it will have more penetration more than likely. Any other good Bullet choices would be appreciated thank you.

I know that I am old school and follow the rule to bring enough gun. Personally I believe that the 270 is too light, but I have loaded it for ELK and have used my 270WSM successfully on ELK. I have noticed that many who are new to ELK do not seem to grasp how large the animal is. Where a good size Deer may be 200 lbs. a Cow Elk will run in the neighborhood of 500 lbs. The Elk is a thick skinned and heavy boned animal making shot placement critical. I have seen/tracked ELK that have been hit in the shoulder, hitting bone that stopped the bullet and only crippled the animal. We owe it to the animal to make a clean kill, no suffering. With that thought in mind I would recommend something like the 150 grain Nosler Partition, some other heavy bonded core or a solid bullet. There are some new powders that help stop the copper fouling in the barrel if you decide to use the solids, IMR 7977, RL 23 or RL 26. Personally, I have a 270WSM where I use the 140 grain Fail Safe but that bullet has not been manufactured for 10 years. My 270 is reserved and is wonderful for Deer and Antelope. It appears to be a perfect match with the 130 grain bullets in that environment. Today when I hunt ELK I am using a 300 Weatherby loaded with a 200 grain bullet, a 300 Win Mag with a 190 grain LRAB, 7mm RUM with 175 grain LRAB or an old trusted 7MM Mag with the 160 grain Fail Safe. I am getting older and I don't have to track wounded animals any more.
 
I use Barnes for both my 270 WSM and my wife's 270. 130 gr for deer and antelope, 140's for elk. I've never had one fail me. I've tried several different bullets, Barnes are my favorite.
 
I just bought a 270 win and wanted opinions on the best bullet for elk and deer will primarily be used for deer but want a bullet that can take an elk if I happen to see one I have it narrowed done to a few choices 140 classic hunter berger, 145 eldx, or 129 lrx. I know barnes you can use a lighter bullet and get similar results to those heavier Bullets and I know it will have more penetration more than likely. Any other good Bullet choices would be appreciated thank you.
 
I have not personally taken or, been there, an wlk with the 270 cal. There were several this year with the Sledge Hammer bullets all with very good reaults. I don't know of any this year with the 117g Hammer Hunter. I know there was a couple with that bullet the last couple of years.

One bull this year that I know about in sw MT was shot with the 117g Sledge Hammer. We loaded his rifle with this bullet as he is a normal range hunter and needed less recoil due to physical limitations. Report from the hunter was one shot through and through no tracking needed.

Young hunter that was with us this year on our trip shot 3 muleys with the 117g Hammer Hunter. All between 400 and 450y. One doe took a second shot because he hit her too far back. Put her down but needed a humane finisher. Other doe and 4pt buck were one shot. I learn more from poor shots than perfect shots. They thought the buck was liver shot. On butchering that was true but the entrance was in the middle of the hind quarter and exit just back of the ribs on the off side. Typically this shot would have resulted in a whole lot of wasted meat due to entrance wound and blown paunch. This deer did not travel after the shot and lost only a couple of lbs of meat from the hind quarter.

I agree with bigngreen. There really is no replacement for displacement when it comes to shooting elk. With that said I have no fear in taking elk with our 117g Hammer Hunter out of a 270win out to 500y

Steve
 
I've hunted with the 270 exclusively (until last year when I finished a 300 WM custom rifle build) for some 25+ years. In that time I've tried many bullets often times very disappointed. The one bullet which has NEVER failed to amaze me is the Hornady 140gr BTSP or SST. Even on large Wisconsin whitetail, if I do my job - DRT at ranges from 30 yards out to just inside 500. Loaded to around 3000 (a tick more with the 27" Krieger on my rifle) this thing has never EVER made me have to do any tracking of any kind. It's the only thing I'll hunt with in that rifle anymore. Granted, I've not tried them all but have tried several that have caused me a good bit of grief. I was concerned about their suitability on larger game such as elk and moose being of conventional cup-n-core design since I do plan to pursue them when life permits, so I contacted Hornady on their thoughts as to whether the bullet was up to the task. Their one word response, "absolutely". I have to believe them given what I've seen with them to date.
 
I just bought a 270 win and wanted opinions on the best bullet for elk and deer will primarily be used for deer but want a bullet that can take an elk if I happen to see one I have it narrowed done to a few choices 140 classic hunter berger, 145 eldx, or 129 lrx. I know barnes you can use a lighter bullet and get similar results to those heavier Bullets and I know it will have more penetration more than likely. Any other good Bullet choices would be appreciated thank you.
Having shot all major brands and bullets in my new 270, I found Berger's Classic Hunter to be the most accurate for my rifle. I've found that a well placed shot is more important than brand of bullet.
 
I just bought a 270 win and wanted opinions on the best bullet for elk and deer will primarily be used for deer but want a bullet that can take an elk if I happen to see one I have it narrowed done to a few choices 140 classic hunter berger, 145 eldx, or 129 lrx. I know barnes you can use a lighter bullet and get similar results to those heavier Bullets and I know it will have more penetration more than likely. Any other good Bullet choices would be appreciated thank you.
I've had great results with the Nosler ABLR in my 7mm STW but loading for a buddy building a long range 270 and he is going to use the newly released Berger 170gr EOL (Extreme Outer Limits) just released but you have to have an extended magazine or Mag well, as they need to be out to the lans for accuracy and you need a 1:7 twist or better. I'm pushing them at 3,100 fps.
 
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