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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Rifles
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mcb
.224 member


Reged: 18/12/03
Posts: 24
Loc: Ohio, USA
Elk bullet opinion
      #13077 - 06/04/04 03:03 AM

Alrighty, I am getting ready for an October Elk hunting trip in Colorado. I’m looking for a good factory loaded bullet to use in my 270 Win. I have hand-loaded ammunition in the past but at present I do not have a press and probably don’t have the time this summer to work up a load before the trip this October. I understand the controversy that many see in using a 270 Win on Elk but I do shoot this gun very well and like it a lot. It’s a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 that was given to my father by his father when he was 11yrs old and has now been passed down to me as graduations present when I finished my Ph.D.

I just put a new Leopold Vari-X II on it using Burris Signature double-D rings. It has always shot 130-grain bullets well but sighting in the new scope I used Federal 140gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw and Winchester 140gr Fail-Safe. I wanted a heavier bullet for Elk, but none of the 150-grain 270 bullets I could find appealed to me at all. Both the 140 grain Fed and Win shot surprisingly well. The Winchester produced 0.74inch 3-shot groups and the Federals produced 0.65 inch 3 shot groups both at 100 yards in a decent crosswind.

So what do you guy think of the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw Bullets? Would you recommend a different bullet as a 270 elk bullet? Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks
mcb

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475Guy
.400 member


Reged: 22/08/03
Posts: 1088
Loc: Kali, US
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: mcb]
      #13109 - 06/04/04 11:54 AM

Now, coming from a guy who hunts with an old 45-70 and a 375 H&H, here's what it's worth. For Elk, unless you're very sure that you can get broadside shots into the lungs behind-the-shoulder shot, I'd get heavier bullets for the 270. I'm sure that Federal makes some heavy duty loads for it. I much prefer to go through everything with a flatnose going in one end and out the other with minimal expansion. Practicing in that fashion will make an easier transition for an African hunt when I can finally go there. I like to break the shoulders and all bone matter that gets in the way so that I don't have to chase it. BTW, using the cannons to hunt with, I get much less bloodshot meat to contend with.

--------------------
Lo do they call to me,
They bid me take my place among
them in the Halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave may live forever.

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luv2safari
.400 member


Reged: 09/11/03
Posts: 1408
Loc: United States
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: mcb]
      #13121 - 06/04/04 02:37 PM

I would use the Win 150 gr Partition Gold in their Supreme grade ammo. I think it gives you some of the best of both worlds.

My other choice is Federal Premium with 150 gr Nosler Partitions.

I don't like the Bear Claws...they seem the copper foul my barrels badly.

--------------------
Hunt with Class and Classics

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Gibbs505
.333 member


Reged: 09/08/03
Posts: 442
Loc: BC, Canada
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: mcb]
      #13122 - 06/04/04 03:32 PM

Haven't hunted elk so I can't say. But I am sure that you are going to get a lot of opinion's on this one!!

--------------------
So I can't spell, so what?

Those who beat their swords into ploughshares, will plough for those who don't!

Those who fail to learn from history will be doomed to repeat it

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luv2safari
.400 member


Reged: 09/11/03
Posts: 1408
Loc: United States
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: Gibbs505]
      #13123 - 06/04/04 03:37 PM

Gibbs,

A 270 on elk is like using a 243 on deer. It works...most of the time...A good heavier bullet is needed, like tougher Noslers.

--------------------
Hunt with Class and Classics

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Gibbs505
.333 member


Reged: 09/08/03
Posts: 442
Loc: BC, Canada
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: luv2safari]
      #13142 - 07/04/04 12:45 AM

Well I jump from my 6.5x55 to 375 H&H, then to a 505 Gibbs in my hunting rifles so I will either be considered undergunned by some or overgunned by others!!

--------------------
So I can't spell, so what?

Those who beat their swords into ploughshares, will plough for those who don't!

Those who fail to learn from history will be doomed to repeat it

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Dark_Helmet
.333 member


Reged: 09/01/04
Posts: 399
Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: Gibbs505]
      #13157 - 07/04/04 07:15 AM

I'd go as heavy as possible, and a partition is likely your best bet for ballistics AND terminal performance... a GS might work too, but I don't know what sizes they are made in... I've got a bunch for my 35 Whelen that I'm REALLY anxious to shoot up!

--------------------
_________________________________________________________________
When someone says a rifle is "ugly," what they really mean is "push feed."

-me

(long live the Mauser 98!)

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WyoJoe
.300 member


Reged: 18/02/04
Posts: 234
Loc: Cheyenne, WY USA
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: mcb]
      #13166 - 07/04/04 10:43 AM

"My other choice is Federal Premium with 150 gr Nosler Partitions."

That is pretty sound advice. Can't hardly go wrong with a Nosler PT. My preference is a Barnes X but who loads them in the .270?


--------------------
There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor polite, nor popular -- but one must ask, "Is it right?"

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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mcb
.224 member


Reged: 18/12/03
Posts: 24
Loc: Ohio, USA
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: WyoJoe]
      #13170 - 07/04/04 11:02 AM

I know Federal in loading Barnes Triple Shock X-bullet. Since they are an all copper bullet do they have a decent BC? Federal also only offers a 130 grain X-Bullet. Do they perform well enough to make up for the lack of mass?

Thanks for all the suggestions.
mcb

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mcb
.224 member


Reged: 18/12/03
Posts: 24
Loc: Ohio, USA
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: mcb]
      #13395 - 12/04/04 11:57 PM

Alrightly, I was out walking around a bit on the farm looking for some early groundhogs. No luck with the hogs but my brother and I busted a couple 1/2 gallon juice containers with the 270 Win. I was pleased that the jugs did not explode the way they do when I shoot them with a 6mm Rem loaded with hollow points. The 270 Win with Trophy Bonded Bear Claws simply split the jug open and blew the caps off. No extreme explosions of water. That was a good sign that bullets were not coming apart. I could find a nice in and out hole in the jugs. I was shooting into the side of a hill so I did a little digging and manage to recover one of the TBBC bullets. These shots were taken at about 85-90 yds into a hillside. The farm is in East-Central Ohio in the Ohio River valley. The ground is a fairly heavy clay. The bullet had penetrated a 1/2 juice jug and then about 24 inches of that heavy clay soil. The one bullet I recovered was perfectly mushroomed back about 1/2 its length, none of the petals had broken off and the base of the bullet was in perfect shape. I weighed the bullet when I got home after cleaning off the clay and it weighted 131 grains. That’s a 93.6% weight retention of the original 140 grains.

I do want to try some more penetration tests but this initial test makes me feel good about using these bullets on Elk. I hope to try using some water soaked phone books and find a nice piece of bone to put in front of the phone books and see if the bullet performs as well.

Later
mcb

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475Guy
.400 member


Reged: 22/08/03
Posts: 1088
Loc: Kali, US
Re: Elk bullet opinion [Re: mcb]
      #13414 - 13/04/04 03:47 AM

Sounds like you've got a good combination especially if you're going to use a 270. A 140 definitely won't blow up like a 130 would. Good luck on your hunt.

--------------------
Lo do they call to me,
They bid me take my place among
them in the Halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave may live forever.

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