good 270 elk bullet

[nvarcher]

I've heard stories of soft point bullets (partition) expanding on contact and getting no penetration ending up with a lost animal, even in 30-06. They are fine on deer, but I wouldn't risk it on an elk. Go with a ballistic tipped bullet.

 

[Montana]

Triple shock... For sure.

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I've heard stories of soft point bullets (partition) expanding on contact and getting no penetration ending up with a lost animal, even in 30-06. They are fine on deer, but I wouldn't risk it on an elk. Go with a ballistic tipped bullet.

nvarcher,

Plastic tip bullets do three things: 1. Increase ballistic coefficient. 2. Resist deforming in the magazine during recoil. 3. Initiate expansion sooner than soft points. Bullet designers use this to their advantage. They use the tip to initiate violent expansion of the mushrooming portion of the bullet while constructing the rest of the bullet to resist deformation, giving "controlled expansion." Expansion is needed to cause tissue damage while controlling leads to deeper penetration. Examples of these tipped bullets are the Barnes TTSX, Nosler Accubond, Hornady Interbond, etc.

Nosler ballistic tips are some of those bullets that have, on occasion, expanded too violently, and failed to penetrate. They do not have the reliable, bonded construction of the Accubond.

I have never heard a first-hand account of a Nosler Partition failing to penetrate.

 

[AvidHunterAbe]

I run 140 grain accubonds grouping .5 inches at 100 yards out of a very semi-custom TC Icon. It smacks large mule deer well, but with a caliber that small its ify for ME on elk. I would rather over gun than under gun, and just dont consider the .270 a strong choice for elk. In reality it all comes down to shot placement regardless of what you are shooting, you can eaisily take out an elk with a 22-250....with good shot placement. Last year I watched a fella running 150 gr partitions out of a 270 shoot at 2 elk at 300-350 yards....not a pretty picture. After watching him make a shot just a tad too far back on a cow...which was never found, then a low shoulder shot on a bull I decided if I didnt help hed lose the animals (which I didnt care about him, just an injustice to our game) So i followed the wounded bull for over a mile until he finally bedded down and was left behind. He just couldnt hang with the other elk, but he wasnt bleeding or wounded to the point of expiration. I had no choice but to sit on this animal for 45 minutes until some one could go back and find the weekend warrior who wounded this animal. Right then I swore Id never use even a questionable caliber on game that large. When he arrived I ended up having to let him use one of my long range guns, a 300 RUM built to shoot 1k. A 557 yard shot put him down and out of his misery. I know plenty of elk have fallen to the 270 winchester, but if it were me Id stick to a .30 cal. To each his own...

 

[Jon Boy]

Like you said yourself, its all about shot placement. Obviously the guy you speak of shouldnt have been taking that long of a shot because he failed twice to make proper shot placement. Just because you have a bigger bullet that doesnt enable you to make poor shot placement and take iffy shots

 

[Grantbvfd]

A bad shot is a bad shot. A bigger caliber will help with penetration but a gut shot or leg shot is still a bad shot whether you are using a 22 or 338. It might help a little more with an ass shot but I don't see the benefit of using a larger gun if you can't hit them good with a small gun.

 

[Elkoholic307]

I run 140 grain accubonds grouping .5 inches at 100 yards out of a very semi-custom TC Icon. It smacks large mule deer well, but with a caliber that small its ify for ME on elk. I would rather over gun than under gun, and just dont consider the .270 a strong choice for elk. In reality it all comes down to shot placement regardless of what you are shooting, you can eaisily take out an elk with a 22-250....with good shot placement. Last year I watched a fella running 150 gr partitions out of a 270 shoot at 2 elk at 300-350 yards....not a pretty picture. After watching him make a shot just a tad too far back on a cow...which was never found, then a low shoulder shot on a bull I decided if I didnt help hed lose the animals (which I didnt care about him, just an injustice to our game) So i followed the wounded bull for over a mile until he finally bedded down and was left behind. He just couldnt hang with the other elk, but he wasnt bleeding or wounded to the point of expiration. I had no choice but to sit on this animal for 45 minutes until some one could go back and find the weekend warrior who wounded this animal. Right then I swore Id never use even a questionable caliber on game that large. When he arrived I ended up having to let him use one of my long range guns, a 300 RUM built to shoot 1k. A 557 yard shot put him down and out of his misery. I know plenty of elk have fallen to the 270 winchester, but if it were me Id stick to a .30 cal. To each his own...

Great post. I agree 100%.

 

[sethkuhl]

Wife shoots .270 150 grain triple shocks. Awesome bullet! Hammered her first big bear with it and loved what her bullet did much more than what I have seen out of my 168 grain bergers out of my 7MM on the bullet market myself.

 

[HuntinFool]

I had a partition blow apart on a little antelope doe this last weekend. I didn't hit anything but ribs. The exit wound was bigger than my fist. That being said, I have never had that happen before. I have killed elk with them just fine.

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I run 140 grain accubonds grouping .5 inches at 100 yards out of a very semi-custom TC Icon. It smacks large mule deer well, but with a caliber that small its ify for ME on elk. I would rather over gun than under gun, and just dont consider the .270 a strong choice for elk. In reality it all comes down to shot placement regardless of what you are shooting, you can eaisily take out an elk with a 22-250....with good shot placement. Last year I watched a fella running 150 gr partitions out of a 270 shoot at 2 elk at 300-350 yards....not a pretty picture. After watching him make a shot just a tad too far back on a cow...which was never found, then a low shoulder shot on a bull I decided if I didnt help hed lose the animals (which I didnt care about him, just an injustice to our game) So i followed the wounded bull for over a mile until he finally bedded down and was left behind. He just couldnt hang with the other elk, but he wasnt bleeding or wounded to the point of expiration. I had no choice but to sit on this animal for 45 minutes until some one could go back and find the weekend warrior who wounded this animal. Right then I swore Id never use even a questionable caliber on game that large. When he arrived I ended up having to let him use one of my long range guns, a 300 RUM built to shoot 1k. A 557 yard shot put him down and out of his misery. I know plenty of elk have fallen to the 270 winchester, but if it were me Id stick to a .30 cal. To each his own...

I agree with Jon Boy and Grantbvfd on this one. It seems to me that the experience would make you swear off poor shooting, not the 270. That said, I sure like 30 magnums for elk. I run a 300 RUM myself.

 

[EdD270]

I've shot several elk with the Barnes X and Triple Shock 130 gr. bullets and also their 150 gr. bullets. I love them, never have recovered a bullet, always go clear through.
I love my .270, thus the username, and have it sighted in for a 200 yard zero and feel comfortable with it for shots out to 600 yards. Most places I rarely need longer shots than the 200 yards, but occasionally a 300- or 350-yard shot. I've shot metallic silhouettes at 600 meters with it with no problems. I generally use the 130-gr. bullets, but if in open country where shots may be long I use the 150 gr. bullets.
I've also had good results with the Hornady's, Speer's and Sierra's premium bullets, but they are not up to the performance of the Barnes, IMHO.
As already so well stated, shot placement is much more important than fps or diameter of the bullet. I don't take iffy shots, waiting for a good broadside or quartering shot or passing on it.

 

[bigshot]

Hey EdD270,
Just curious how far did the elk travel after being shot with the Barnes bullets.

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

Hey EdD270,
Just curious how far did the elk travel after being shot with the Barnes bullets.

I am not EdD270, but I did shoot a nice six point bull with a 140 grain TTSX out of a 270WSM. The bull tipped over right where he was standing. I recovered that bullet. It was dangling petal-end-out of the offside hide' with just the grooves on the shank holding it in the hide. I don't know how that happened. It had broken both shoulders, and turned the lungs to ribbons. The solid copper bullet had hit so much bone that it sheared off one petal and bent the shank slightly.

 

[Drhorsepower]

I am not EdD270, but I did shoot a nice six point bull with a 140 grain TTSX out of a 270WSM. The bull tipped over right where he was standing. I recovered that bullet. It was dangling petal-end-out of the offside hide' with just the grooves on the shank holding it in the hide. I don't know how that happened. It had broken both shoulders, and turned the lungs to ribbons. The solid copper bullet had hit so much bone that it sheared off one petal and bent the shank slightly.

How was weight retention?

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

How was weight retention?

I will weigh it tonight, but it still has to be something like 90%.

 

[bigshot]

Wow, sounds like the Barnes did great. I'm gonna try loading them in my brothers 270Win.

 

[Jon Boy]

So between the accubond, partition, and ttsx what one would you guys think is best?

 

[bigshot]

If, "I," was going to hunt elk with a 270win cal, from what I've been reading so far on this site and a couple others, I would feel most confident with some Barnes TTSX bullets. My brother is going elk hunting with us for the first time this year and he will be using his Rem. 700 in 270win cal. I plan to load him some 130grn Barnes TTSX bullets traveling at about 3050-3100fps. As a matter of fact I just placed an order of 100 bullets. If u reload, I'll let you know what recipe shot the best in my brothers rifle. I should know within a couple weeks.

 

[Drhorsepower]

So between the accubond, partition, and ttsx what one would you guys think is best?

IMO, it is the one that shoots the best out of your rifle. Accuracy is FINAL! The above three mentioned are all top caliber bullets and can't go wrong with whatever one you choose. Order all three and see which one shoots the best. Fwiw.

 

[Shaun]

Big fan of Barnes ttsx my self they are makin a lrx now that has a super high bc