Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Winchester Deer Season XP and 270Win

I recently picked up a 270Win and the rifle really likes the 130gr load of Deer Season XP. It stays right around MOA for 5 shots. I also shot the Winchester 130 Power Point and Hornady Whitetail Hunter with a 130 Interlock which were both just over an inch for 5 shots. The Remington 130 factory load was 5 inches. Yikes.

I am a little leery of the advertising of the Deer Season XP bullet. Do they stay together and get through a deer? I much prefer two holes in everything I shoot. Are these up to the task or should I chose the slightly less accurate Hornady Whitetail Hunter.

I plan to do some handloading for it eventually and have 130gr Interlock, 130gr Remington Core Lokts and 130gr Barnes TSX with H4350, H4831SC, RL19 and Varget to try. I was thinking about adding the 145gr ELDX to the bullet choice. Is that worth it?

Stick with the interlock

Yeah, I have been doing some reading and while it is really accurate, it does not penetrate too well. On to Hornady…

Yeah, they are designed for massive expansion and moderate penetration. If you want two holes more often than not, I would go Interlock or PowerPoint.

I haven't shot anything with the 270 Deer Season XPs, but have with the 95 grain 243 and 125 grain 6.5 CM. I don't recall any providing through and through penetration, but they penetrated deep enough to liquify the lungs and none of the deer went more than 10 or 15 yards. There weren't any noticeable blood trails, as all of the blood seemed to be the pleural cavity.

If you want deep penetration from a 270 Winchester factory load, you might consider trying the Copper Impact.

I have a sample of one. But in my experience they did make 2 holes but did a lot of damage. Penetration was not at all an issue though. That was with a .308 Win, 150gr.

I had an old Rem700 270win, it hated 130gr ANYTHING, but would put shot into shot with CoreLok 150gr RP. Rem CoreLokts were my go to for any rifle I hunted with.

Interesting. I know the potential is there due to the super tight group from this load. I may try some 145ELDX to see if a bit longer bullet helps.

I have seen a bunch of 270’s that shot better with 150gr. It’s a thing apparently.

I've seen it too. I actually took 150's in my 270 on a pronghorn hunt because it preferred them

My only .270 kill was with those Deer Season XP’s- I missed with my first shot (which I didn’t know) and followed it up with a running shot that just nicked the back of the lungs, and a bit of a rodeo ensued. Granted, it was not stellar shot placement but it took too many shots to end, enough so that my best hunting buddy got me a 10-round magazine for the 7600 I was shooting (what are friends for?). I went back to my bolt guns (none of which are .270’s), but when I do get another .270, I’ll try a different bullet. Probably.

I have a lot of experience with the 270 on deer and I can say you can't go wrong with either the Hornady or the Power Point. I know this because I've seen both work perfectly many times.

hi first post , had to comment on the XP Deer Season , i have shot 11 red deer in the last 6 months with this ammo , ranges from 15 to 250 yards . apart from 1 head shot at 30 all shots have been from 6 inches behind the the sholder crease , to on the sholder ,. i have experienced no pass threw 130gr 270win , massive internal damage , all deer have traveled. between 30 and 160 yards , 160 yards was hit 6inchs back from shoulder crease , deer were between 180lb and 340lb . minimal blood trail , have used rem corlocks 130gr and power point 130gr befor these , i will not use Xp DeerSeason again , thanks

So, are you saying that the "rodeo" happened because of poor bullet performance or poor bullet placement?

If you just nick the lungs, a deer can travel much farther, as long as it will take for the deer's blood to pool in the pleural cavity and end oxygen transfer to the brain.

Proper placement of a properly constructed projectile leads to a successful outcome. Failure at either point can lead to a less successful outcome.

I have killed two large bucks and one doe with my 350 legend using their 150s at 170-185 yards. All three dead as Elvis but no pass thru and bullets were busted up. The last buck we found the bullet in three pieces. Granted that not a 270 win and out pretty far for a 350 L and the last buck I shot at a poor quartering to angle thru the shoulder so a lot of bone. I’m somewhat mixed on the bullet because they broke apart but all three deer never got ten steps from where they were standing when shot. Two DRT.

I think that the Deer Season XP is better suited to behind the shoulder lung shots that don't require deep penetration or the structural integrity to break bones because, IME, they perform a lot like the early Nosler BTs that were more fragile than the same bullets are today. If you need to break bone or get deep penetration, a tougher bullet, regardless of the brand or style, is going to be a better choice then the Deer Season XP 10 times out of 10.

I have long preferred to load Partitions in cartridges with bore diameters smaller than 0.264". While they generally aren't quite as accurate as some other component bullets, using them gives me peace of mind, confidence, that they will provide deep, often through and through, penetration on deer. That said, proper bullet placement is a critical component of a success shooting sports outcome regardless of the bullet that is fired.

Or so it seems to me.

I have had exactly the same results with the .350 Legend version. Admittedly much slower than the .270 but we have take 8 deer over the last couple of years with the Deer Season XP and all were dead within 40 yards.

Some think a massive energy dump is their key to happiness; some want good expansion with two holes. It’s good that there’s stuff available for both and in-between, especially when the makers are up front about it.

Just be certain to glom onto what you pick early, the earlier the better. Things might get tight by Summer, or even sooner.

150 gr., be it factory or inexpensive Speer Hot-Cor/Grand Slam hand-loads, has worked very well for me.

Very precise, and generally complete pass-throughs.

130-140 gr. copper if required.




GR

It was definitely shot placement, which wasn’t horrible but I wish it was better. Like I said it was my first kill with a .270 and this ammo, I feel like other guns/loads have killed better. Time will tell, I’ll use the .270 again, just not with this ammo.