Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Woods loads for the .270 and .30/06?

My first two deer were shot at woods range with an '06. The first with a 180 gr. Speer and the 2nd was with a 150 gr. Speer. Both were well under 75 yards. Both were hit in roughly the same spot and went down immediately. The 180 didnt mess up much meat but scrambled the lung/heart area. The 150 on the other hand shot up a fair amount of meat. For that reason I would use a heavier bullet If mostly hunting at woods ranges. I would also load up with normal loads instead of reduced in case you got a longish shot you hadnt anticipated.

I guess with the newer bullets though, meat loss isn't really an issue...

Shoot 130 partitions at 3100 in the 270. Waste of time to have a reduced brush load. If you insist then use H 4895 or RL 15 and move them at about 2950. Sell or trade your cup and core bullets. In brush you can't be as selective re shots so need the penetration.

I am pretty demanding about bullet behavior. I almost insist on a hole in-hole out EVERY time.....from ANY angle.

Because of that I normally tend to choose bullets that are a bit heavy-for-caliber. With the .30-06 I never had a problem with factory level loads and 150 grain bullets. However, once I started handloading and stepped the velosity up a tad.....I ran into problems.

When impact velosities went over 3000 fps (with standard cup-and-core bullets) I had 4 of the first 5 shots fail to exit. Not that they actually "failed"....but didn't preform as I wanted. The solution was to go to 165 grain bullets. This gave just enough drop in velosity and heavier weight to shoot through-and-through....every time.

With the .270, I found this same "problem" occuring with most 130 grain bullets. Moving up to a 150 grain bullet solved the problem.

The "key" was going to a bit heavier bullet that dropped velosity to something below the 3000-3100 fps level. I'm not sure the heavier bullet was as important as the velosity level. It seems to me that normal cup-and-core bullets just don't do as well once impact velosity goes above 3000 fps.....so I would choose bullets a bit heavier.

165 grain bullets in the .30-06 and 150 in the .270 would be my choice. As someone else mentioned, in a "perfect" world anything will work, but things aren't always "perfect". When things aren't quite as you'd wish....penetration is king.

A good load for the 30-06 is the 170 gr. Hornady flat point 30-30 bullet over 47 gr. of R15. More than a 30-30 and less than a .308. The same load can be shot under 165 gr. bullets as well. Mild to shoot and accurate as well.

Jim

Jwall's exact loads works well for a hunting buddy who will have his casket lined with IMR 4064 when he dies.

Of the 30-some deer we've taken at camp over the past decade, most were taken with either a 150 grain Rem PSPCL or Hornady Interlock 165 grain over H4895 reduced 5% off max. That includes both 30-06 and 308 WIN loads. It has enough zing to flatten a deer at 175 yards-- my longest shot to date. However, it was gentle enough for a 9 year old to shoot out of a Garand.

Your situation is the best excuse I know for a new rifle......A Savage 99 in .300 Sav!!! You will get the performance you desire with all the killing power you will need. You get to look stylish in the bush and thoroughly enjoy your woods time toting a Ninety Nine!

The .300 Savage (or .308) with 150 grain loads is perfect for that bullet weight....and velosity. The "problem" with the .30-06 is that it CAN easily be driven too fast for normal cup-and-core bullets of 150 grains. A heavier bullet (and thus slightly lower velosity) or slightly less "agressive" chambering (.300 Savage or .308) ACCOMPLISH THE SAME GOAL.

ya don't need much velocity for a 100 yds... cast bullet loads substituting a jacketed bullet works well..

One can duplicate Remington's Managed Recoil Products with IMR 4198, H 4198 or Rl 7...Remington's powder of choice was IMR 4198...

in the 06, they use 36 grains of IMR 4198 and a 125 gr bullet....I load close to that for kids, using 30 to 35 grs of 4198, and a 150 gr ballistic tip or a 150 grain bullet for 30/30s.. a preferred one is a 150 grain FN from Speer or Hornady...

at lower velocities like this, you won't see meat damage..

in the 270 Remington is using a 115 gr bullet, meant for the 6.8 SPC.. again they are using IMR 4198...

good substitutes are Sierra's 110 gr SP, or a good old 130,140 or 150 grain Ballistic Tip can be used... if that is what is desired...

for IMR 4198 in the 270, try loads between 28 to 33 grains to find something you may like...

with both 4198s and RL 7, you should find accuracy across the board....H 4895 loads can be bullseye accuracy with one load and then change it one minor bit and you'll find it throwing them all over the place...

if you want consistency and want to use a 4895 speed powder, then substitute IMRs... it is a lot more consistent than H 4895...

I like either round nose bullets for these applications or Ballistic Tips.... both will open up well at slower speeds, yet will penetrate surprisingly deep...more than most folks expect...

I hunt woods ranges locally here, and an MV of about 2400 fps regardless of the caliber I am carrying, is more than adequate to get the job down, out to 250 yds..

and since 90% of all game is taken within 100 yds, and 95% within 200.. I really don't need much more than that..

I don't believe in foot lbs, I believe in matching the bullet and MV to the game and distance we are going to be taking it at...

I don't need a load capable of 500 yds if I am not shooting antelope in Wyoming or Montana..... while at the same time, you aren't going to find me hunting antelope with a 30/30 speed load...

I tried the reduced loads on 270 Win in a Weatherby ultra light with 20 bbl. Bullets were 130 gr Hornady interlock sp in front of 37 gr of IMR 4895 (2275fps) gave low recoil but very poor accuracy (6" @ 100 yds). The same rifle gave under 1" groups at 100 yds using 56 gr of IMR4350. The Weatherby wanted near max load for accuracy. In a Savage 110 the reduced load gave 2" grouping which would be very satisfactory for what you describe in your request.
I no longer load light rounds or keep reduced loads as it is too easy to mix rounds. Trajectory and point of impact varies too much.

My favorite load for the 270 is 130gr Speer Grand Slam, over 60gr of IMR 7828ssc, and a CCI 250 Primer.

55.0grs of IMR-4350 with 130gr bullets for the 270Win.
57.0grs of IMR-4350 with 165gr bullets for the 30-06.