Brand new hunter with ammo questions

PaulRevere

PaulRevere

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Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
809
Location
Western Montana
Howdy,

Just purchased my first hunting rifle a .270 Webley & Scott Empire rifle made by Howa and got a nice Leupold scope mounted on it.

I plan on hunting bear in the spring and elk in the fall. I've heard 140 grain bullets might be best for a .270. Thoughts on that? I know that certain ammunition performs better or worse depending on the gun. Does anyone know if there's a specific brand that performs best with a Howa? I also know that I want a high quality and efficient bullet that will be able to soundly put down big game (assuming my aim is on!)

Sorry, this isn't the most organized post! Any help would be most appreciated.

PaulRevere
 
Federal Fusions have a good reputation as shooting good in most rifles and they have performed well on game. I have not used them personally but have read a lot of good stories about them.

Nosler Partitions and Accubonds are good ones too, hand-loaded or in factory loads. A 130 gr. in either of those bullets would serve you well as would a 140 gr. I would try some of each and shoot the one my rifle likes the best. I would feel comfortable with either 130's or 140's for the game you list. Best of luck.
 
I'm assuming you are looking for factory loaded ammo since you are just getting started? Nosler is a good option, see what bullet weight your rifle likes. Some rifles can be picky. I run Hornady 130 gr in my wife's remington .270. I am partial to Hornady, and their 130gr inter-loc will kill everything you need. Just my 2 cents.
 
I run Hornday SST 140g in mine and have very good success.

I suggest getting a few rounds and seeing what your rifle likes.
 
The .270 is a rifle caliber that does seem to get slow with bullet weights over 140gr. and explosive with lighter than 130gr.
The type of bigger size game you have mentioned hunting with a .270 would see good results from the Accubond or Partition type bullets. The 140gr. in my opinion is the best for all around weight.
 
Get some ammo loaded with the 140 grain Accubond. I don't buy factory, but I bet Nosler loads it. I handload the 140 Accubond for our .270's. Great bullet. mtmuley
 
I'm a big fan of the Accubond. It does a very good job on elk and most guns seem to like them.
 
Shooters pro shop has Nosler trophy grade 130gr accubonds on sale for $32.00 a box. Might be a good start at least barrel break in and some good brass if you ever decide to reload.
 
I have shot lots of big game with a .270. My favorite bullet is the Nosler Partition 150 gr. (elk, caribou, deer). I have used the 150 gr. Fusion successfully on deer several times and once on elk. This year I switched to the 130 gr. Fusion in an attempt to flatten out the trajectory on a certain Whitetail hunt. Big mistake !!! I had three 130 gr. Fusions blow up hitting on shoulder bones, never entering the chest cavity.
 
Lots of solid choices mentioned so far. If you prefer not to shoot lead bullets, Barnes, Hornady, and Nosler each have a 130 grain factory load available. I've not tried the Hornady or Nosler bullets, but I've killed everything from coyote to moose with a 145 grain Barnes.

Find what your rifle likes to shoot, and practice with it.

Congrats on the new boomstick.
 
Might try Federal trophy coppers as well. I've had good luck shooting them in my 300 WSM. It just wouldn't handle the Nosler TG AB as bad as I wanted it too. I like the Accubond bullet. I think any of the bullets mentioned previously have the potential to shoot great, and do a good job on elk/bear.
 
Pretty typically there is strong support for the following bullets on elk (with a strong Nosler bias on HT), Nosler Accubond, Partition or E-Tip; Hornady Interbond or GMX; Barnes TSX -- Pick whichever one shoots best in your gun.
 
All I can add to this thread is: Most .270 ammo is 130-150 grain. With elk on the menu, I'd say run closer to 150 if you're shooting lead and closer to 130 if you're shooting all copper bullets, or other high weight retention loads, like Federal Trophy Bonded Tips. Off the top of my head, I think you've got good access to factory loads with 140 accubonds, 150 partitions and 130 ttsx's. Those would all be good options.
 
There is a huge range of ammunition mentioned here by people. Don't get overwhelmed. I think that you can probably get caught up in buying the absolute best ammunition around and forget that there are hundreds of thousands of animals killed every with the more inexpensive ammunition offerings that you can get for around $20/box. I've killed dozens of whitetails at ranges from 15-250 yards with Federal Fusion, Remington Core-Lokt, and Winchester white box. You could probably say the exact same with Hornady's American Whitetail, but I've never used it.

I think that instead of looking at more expensive offerings by all of these manufacturers and others, you should think about giving the less expensive ones a try. Yes, you might get slightly better groups out of something that costs $30-50/box with a little better terminal performance, but it'll cost you that much more.

I shoot a 30-06, so no bullet weight advise from me unfortunately...
 
Barnes TSX IMO. Nosler bullets are good, but they had a tendency to separate on me, hence why I switched over to all copper bullets and have yet to have one fail after 10 years.
 
Last edited:
OhHeyThereBen said:
There is a huge range of ammunition mentioned here by people. Don't get overwhelmed. I think that you can probably get caught up in buying the absolute best ammunition around and forget that there are hundreds of thousands of animals killed every with the more inexpensive ammunition offerings that you can get for around $20/box. I've killed dozens of whitetails at ranges from 15-250 yards with Federal Fusion, Remington Core-Lokt, and Winchester white box. You could probably say the exact same with Hornady's American Whitetail, but I've never used it.

I think that instead of looking at more expensive offerings by all of these manufacturers and others, you should think about giving the less expensive ones a try. Yes, you might get slightly better groups out of something that costs $30-50/box with a little better terminal performance, but it'll cost you that much more.

I shoot a 30-06, so no bullet weight advise from me unfortunately...
Click to expand...

Probably pretty good advice, millions of animals were harvested before premium bullets appeared. CoreLokt and Hornady American White tail have been my go to ammo for black bear and whitetail in woods of MN and never thought twice about it. However, as I look towards my first western hunting trip this fall, where the shots will be longer, and the animals bigger, I am going to move up to a premium bullet. The cost of bullets shot to select one that works in my guns and to get a new zero will be a rounding error compared with all the other costs associated with the trip (and needed upgrades to other gear such as pack and spotting scope).
 
Stock up on federal blue boxes for practice. For go time, if you want to get fancy, go with accubonds or partitions or TTSX's. Although you would be able to easily kill any elk standing with the factory Hornady 140 gr Interlock ammo. Remember, finding them is a lot harder than killing them.
 
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