Need a Hunting Caliber Suggestion Pros/Cons

[Deersniper270]

I currently have a .270Win and it has been a very successful round for the past 11 years. It has however failed on me 5 times now with 4 different bullets from 50-265 yards on perfect behind the shoulder in the boiler room shots by not passing all the way through the deer. Now before you jump on me, there were no obstructions, and I recovered 4 of the 5 shot. Tonight I shot a cowhorn at 198 yards and tracked blood for 1,700 yards before we came to a 10ft wide deep creek that went to private land before we stopped our search. The blood was off and on drips then heavy blood and so forth. The blood was foamy at first then regular blood splatters the rest of the way. He was standing behind a pine and all I could see was from the beginning of the rib cage forward so I know I did not gut shoot him. I believe the bullet did not pass because the entire trail only had blood on the entry side.

Bullet I have now used and have failed:
Winchester Power Points- 200yds
+Hornady ballistic tips- 50yds
+Remington ballistic tips- 75yds
Remington Corelocks- 265yds
Monarchs- 50yds

At 200 yards this should not happen with a .270 130gr bullet. So to the point, I am looking to increase my cartridge power but I don't know what I want. I'm thinking 30-06 but that's only because I am familiar with that round since that's what my dad shoots. So not to be blinded by that, what are your suggestions on a successful caliber? If I can make a successful 200, 250, 265 yard shot, I want a caliber that won't let me down.

 

[Stanley13]

Go with .308 it's NATO and everyone makes it. Cheap to stock pile also compared to. Kills deer deader than shit! I like the 30-06 a lil more for hunting but not if I was only gonna have one gun and not for over 200 yard shots.

 

[Dan1612]

.308
Near 30-06 ballistics in a short action. It'll take anything in North America, wide and versatile range of bullets and loadings.


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[HEIST]

I have that problem with my 243. Ive never had an exit wound and I do neck shots.

 

[JohnAL]

No reason a .270 should not perform at those ranges. I truly don't like Remington corelocks. They destroy too much meat and don't exit.

Try some ammo with Nosler partition bullets like http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=236

or something with Barnes bullets.

I have made over 50 one-shot kills with a .25-06 using Nosler Partition bullets. Never had one not exit. Never had one run more than 40 yards. Yes, I have missed a few. Hit a few saplings. I don't take chances with poor shots or shoot running deer. The deer I have hit have all gone down.

 

[Deersniper270]

John- I am not a bullet expert so I don't know, but why would a different brand change bullet penetration and performance?

For the others suggesting .308, what are the ballistics on that round? .270Win is a super flat round. Is a .308 flat or will I hit zero at 100 and 5inches low at 200? (Those aren't exact numbers just making sure you know what I mean)

 

[Dan1612]

Not quite as flat, but when you're talking minute of deer, it won't make much of a difference, especially with the increased energy.

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[JohnAL]

Construction and strength of bullets varies widely. The Nosler Partition is just that. The jacket metal divides the bullet into two cores with 2/3 the weight in the back half. I don't think there is anything strong enough in a Whitetail to stop that back half from exiting at ranges under 300 yd.

 

[M.O.A.]

X2 for Barnes or Nosler partition. AFA a .308 its no secret that's my favorite caliber out to 900 yards. " flat shooting " is just advertising hype. I have seen a lot of issues with factory polymer tip loadings failing to exit BTW. Essentially they're just hollow points.

 

[JohnAL]

I'm moving to .308 for hunting for one simple reason. I'm too old and tired to carry that heavy long barreled 700 BDL .25-06 all day. It takes all the fun out of it. I found me a nice little compact Model Seven in .308 with a pencil thin barrel. I'll still be using Nosler Partitions or Barnes copper bullets.

 

[Deersniper270]

I updated my post. The bullets with a + are ballistics. The others are normal soft metal tips or look like a Corelock.

Thanks for the info guys. Keep the suggestions coming! I'm here to learn.

 

[M.O.A.]

Not quite as flat, but when you're talking minute of deer, it won't make much of a difference, especially with the increased energy.

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Run those numbers again with a 150gr .308 exiting muzzle at 2864 fps. Will be a better comparison to his 130gr .270.

 

[Snow Bird]

I used to have a 270 and all of my boolits passed through. The only boolit I had a problem with was the core locks but mine was alot diffrent than Johns. Mine didn't expand. 2 shots 2 inchs apart and neather one expanded through the rib cage.

No advice,Just never heard of it before.

 

[Dan1612]

Only a 0.6" difference, and your deer won't be running away. I think we have a winner, good call on the 150, John.

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[Deersniper270]

I've never heard of it either but after tonight I am reluctant to keep using my .270 when it fails on me.

Any suggestions on a medium to use to test bullet penetration at 200+ yards besides deer?

 

[Deersniper270]

That's awesome Dan. Just downloaded the app

 

[M.O.A.]

I've never heard of it either but after tonight I am reluctant to keep using my .270 when it fails on me.

Any suggestions on a medium to use to test bullet penetration at 200+ yards besides deer?

My suggestion would be better shot placement. Rib cage shots aren't my favorite. Too much margin for error and I hate tracking animals. Hit the neck just forward of the shoulder and they're DRT with pretty much any caliber.

 

[Deersniper270]

My suggestion would be better shot placement. Rib cage shots aren't my favorite. Too much margin for error and I hate tracking animals. Hit the neck just forward of the shoulder and they're DRT with pretty much any caliber.

The red is my shot placement at 200+ yards and the green is 100 or less. Is the blue dot what you are suggesting? The dots were hard to place on the editor app but you get what I mean by double lung and heart shot.

 

[M.O.A.]

Absolutely.

 

[bigbulls]

I posted on pff also so im not going to post it all again here. STOP LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT CARTRIDGE. They arent going to do anything different than what a .270 will do. Ive used a bunch of different cartridges to kill deer from .243 to .338 ultra mag and the results were all the same. Dead deer.

The .270 winchester is more than capabe of taking everything from coyotes to moose. If you want exit wounds then pick a bullet that is designed and constructed more heavily and shoot a bunch.