Best ammo for .270 and 30/o6

Chummer

Active Member
I have always shot fusion bullets but I seem to get a pencil hole in and out. A friend told me to switch to Winchester silver tip. He says almost every deer he has shot with has dropped in its tracks. Anyone use them or what do you prefer. I am trying for the drop in their tracks result. In my terrain a hundred yard run can result in a lot of extra work or a deer making it into the swamp. Gander is going out of business and has 25% off ammo so I figured it is a good time to switch.
 
It has been a few years since I was into gun hunting. However, I killed quite a few pigs and deer with both Federal premium (factory loads) and hand-loaded Nosler Accubond. I was shooting 140 grain Accubonds out of my .270 WSM and never had a deer take a step after the shot. This really has more to do with shot placement (high shoulder) in my opinion but the Accubond bullets from Nosler are excellent for deer sized animals. The fusion bullets were a less expensive answer to Noslers bonded bullets and I don't have any experience with them for comparison.

Midway has .270 Accubond ammunition on sale at the moment loaded by Winchester "expedition big game".
 
Federal Fusion is good ammo. Measure the holes on exit and entrance. I would almost bet that one is slightly bigger than the other. The damage in the middle is the tell tale sign of what is happening with the bullet. Not all of them are going to make large holes on the exit, especially if they don't hit bone. The Fusion is a bonded bullet that should retain 95% or more of its weight once it expands. The Silver Tip is a Nosler Ballistic Tip that is a different color. Great bullet, but ammo is expensive compared to the Fusion. I really think the Fusion bullet is a Speer Deep Curl bullet.
 
I also like Fusion ammo . I shoot 130 grain in my 270 . They are easy to find and reasonably priced .
 
For deer, there's no real reason to shoot bonded or premium bullets. I've long had a preference for Remington core loct or Federal blue box soft points. Most of the time, I find the Federal tends to shoot the best in my rifles. I've killed critters with Winchester ammo--worked great. It just seem the last few years, it hasn't tended to shoot as well in my rifles.
 
I know a lot of folks like the notion of dropping a deer in their tracks. As Weekender mentioned, that has more to do with shot placement than the bullet used. I do not aim for a high shoulder shot because it typically results in a lot of wasted meat, and quality protein is a big part of why I hunt. I like a bullet that does four things: APEE

Accuracy - First and foremost, it must hit very close to where it was aimed, consistently.
Penetration - A bullet must penetrate all the way through an animal, leaving a sizable exit wound and substantial blood trail.
Expansion - If designed to do so, a bullet should expand appreciably, causing extensive wound channel damage in the process.
Energy - Although frequently touted, a bullet need have only enough energy to ensure the above factors.

Everyone should be proficient at blood-trailing a deer; saying you're not good at it and that's why you want a "DRT" shot result isn't a good excuse for failing to learn this important skill. The reason being is that if you shoot enough game animals, you WILL have one that runs off a couple hundred yards...it is part of your responsibility as a sportsman to be able to trail and find your game. When you place a bullet in the heart-lung region of an animal, which offers you a much larger margin for error, all that bullet needs to do is perform as described above and you will be putting your tag on a critter after a relatively short, easy-to-follow blood trail.
 
Like Elkaddict said above Corelok, poweroint, interlok. All basic bullet are designed with deer in mind. Any of those bullets can get through the vitals of any deer from any angle. More explosive "drop on impact" bullets can't always claim that.
 
For deer, there's no real reason to shoot bonded or premium bullets. I've long had a preference for Remington core loct or Federal blue box soft points.
Like Elkaddict said above Corelok, poweroint, interlok. All basic bullet are designed with deer in mind. Any of those bullets can get through the vitals of any deer from any angle.
The Core Loct and Powerpoint are bonded bullets even though it may not say it on the box. The Interlock and the Federal Power-Shok SP are cup and core bullets. When people picture a bullet after it has hit an animal and mushroomed, the Core Loct and the Powerpoint is what most people see whether they know it or not. I have powerpoint bullets from a .30-30 that ran from stem to stern on deer and pulled it out of their rear ham and it is the perfect mushroom, minus where it hit the femur.

.30-30 150r Win. Powerpoint
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If it aint broke, don't fix it. I have shot a lot of deer and have only had a couple DRT. Most ran off to be found at the end of a short blood trail. I am like several of the other members and prefer to put it in the heart/lung area, with me leaning more towards the lungs than heart. I like a high shoulder too, but it tears up the end of the backstop if you are off to much. A neck shot is awesome, but it is a small target to hit at distance. Pick a hunting bullet that your gun likes and learn to blood trail and never look back. You can shoot 100 deer and will get 100 different different reactions every time.
 
No problem tracking deer. I have killed around 50 deer and only lost 3 I can remember and 2 of those were bow shots that the coyotes beat me to. I hunt some terrain that is straight up and down with no atv's access. A 100 yard death run can result in lots of extra work and I am getting to old to drag a deer up hill. I am a heart/lung shooter. Most of my shots are 50-70 yards, could that lead to my perceived pencil hole in and out observation? My favorite shot is straight on, they do drop every time. I have been aiming at the heart since I was 10 years old so not sure in the moment my brain allows me to take a high shoulder shot.
 
Anne and I both shoot Corelokt bullets aimed at the top of the shoulder mostly or a little high on front end shots and almost every deer drops in their tracks. Shot distances are generally less than fifty yards and more often thirty or so. Anne shoots only a 243 so your guns would do it perfectly as well. Not having to risk having to drag a deer up one of those Tugg Hill ravines is worth the minor amount of meat lost with the high shoulder shot.
Also with our emphasis on low impact hunting the top of the shoulder shot or a little high on the straight on shot is a must for us.
 
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I have shot Remington corelokt as long as I can remember. I did have a problem having to track deer with bad blood trails. That was in my younger days of thinking bigger was better. I switched from 180 grain to 150 and I very rarely track now. My shots are generally less than 100 yards in the woods but I have shot 250 and I dropped her on the spot.
 
Nosler Partition or Ballistic tip ammo has worked well for me. This premium ammo tends to cost more than some of the other ammo mentioned here. However, each to his own. I do have legitimate 250 yard shots on my land, but most of the shots are at 100 yards or less. I like the deer to die on my land even though I have permission from adjacent landowners to retrieve deer that run onto their land and die.l
 
I'm a huge fan of the Sierra Spitzer bullet. Out of my 25-06 it left a hole the size of my fist on the exit of my daughter's buck. He was dead on the ground within 20 yards with the 120g bullet. These were hand loaded by a friend.
 
I have always shot fusion bullets but I seem to get a pencil hole in and out. A friend told me to switch to Winchester silver tip. He says almost every deer he has shot with has dropped in its tracks. Anyone use them or what do you prefer. I am trying for the drop in their tracks result. In my terrain a hundred yard run can result in a lot of extra work or a deer making it into the swamp. Gander is going out of business and has 25% off ammo so I figured it is a good time to switch.

I shoot the ballistic silver tip in my Browning A bolt 30.06 and my buddy shoots them in his A bolt 300 WSM. We've both been super happy with them. Accurate and devastating. Just bought 2 more boxes today from Cheaper Than Dirt. Less than $70 total shipped to my door. Good luck.
 
As a handloader of several different calibers I've loaded and tinkered around it's lots of different bullets. In my opinion when it comes to bullets for deer they're pretty much all going to be acceptable. I shoot a lot of Hornady interlocks in my deer hunting loads. They're inexpensive and very effective. As a personal preference I really,like Nosler Partitions though. They're a little more pricey but still acfordable for a handloader. If I was buying off the shelf loads for deer hunting I wouldn't hesitate to shoot corelokts, fusions, or any other reputable brand. I doubt I'd pay the asking price for premium bullets. I too am a heart lung shooter so I wouldn't change what you're accustomed too. I think that's a responsible and ethical target choice. The DRT shots are kind of nice when they happen but they're also sometimes just the particular reaction of the particular shot angle, individual deer and the way the moment unfolds. There are just too many variables sometimes. For everyone that drops right there you're just as likely to have one run a sizeable distance. I shot a running doe through the lungs at less than fifteen yards once. She just about ran right to my truck before she died. I actually had to drag her away from the truck to field dress her. I'd choose a load you have confidence in and that is accurate out of your rifle then just go hunt. Take good shots and accept the results.
 
Remington Corelokts or Hornady American Whitetail. Either in 130gr. Have not had good luck with SuperPerformance or anything with a ballistic tip.
 
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