Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 130 gr. .270 bullet accuracy question

I have had 3 270s and 4 barrels including one I completely wore out, mostly shooting 100 and 110 grain bullets, bullet weight doesn’t seem to make much difference to accuracy, all would shoot moa with a tuned rifle, and I prefer faster powders for less recoil and blast which means a lot when you shoot a lot

When our neighbor was reloading for us way back when, that was the load he used under a 130gr Hornady Interlock. Shot good enough for Dad to kill deer/antelope and for me starting out.

Then the looney bug hit me. Have often thought of trying I 4350 again, never got around to it. H4831 is now my main powder.

Have some Enduron powder that I want to try, but so many rifles, a little time.

Gunwriter Dave Petzal says 150 grain bullets are best in the 270. I have always shot 130s. Over the last year or so I have tried 150s in my 270s (I currently have four) to find that 150s do shoot well. The most accurate factory I have tried is the Federal 150 grain round nose stuff, oddly enough.

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Have had good luck with 150's. David Petzal aside.

This is interesting, because to my knowledge (and I've known Petzal well for a long time) the only elk he ever dared to shoot with the .270 was taken with Winchester's 140-grain Fail Safe factory load....

In 2011 I bought a box of Hornady interlocks and a jug of H4831. When I got to 58gr, I had a couple of groups no one would believe were made by a 60 year-old M70. Stopped right there.

Winchester brass and WLRs.

My son has it now and probably some of that batch leftover, but 160gr NPs have simply crushed about four deer for us and is the load of choice now. Doubt it really matters much, but there it is. If I run out of those I have a bunch of 150s to start on.

130 gr Interlocks shoot better than any other bullet - in all 5 of my 270s. This includes 9-10 different bullets, 130 and 150 gr.

130 Nosler BT's for me

Just a couple of small data points but my hunting partner and I both have 270 A-bolts ca. 1987 and booth of ours shoot well under 1/2" with 150 gr Partition factory loads. Everything else is closer to 3/4 to just shy of an inch. I bought a box of 130 grainers to test out for the coming season.

D.E.P. has written about it on occasion.


https://www.fieldandstream.com/ideal-deer-and-occasional-elk-cartridge/?amp

Yeah, Dave has changed his tune after more decades of experience. When I first met him, in the 1980s, he was firmly convinced (due too reading much Elmer Keith) that anything less than a 250-grain .338 bullet was inadequate for elk.

Also know that he once shot a big bull elk several times with a .340 Weatherby with, if I recall correctly, 250-grain Nosler Partitions before it succumbed.

But such is life.

For some reason, I just do not like Petzal's writing style, never have. I always find myself just little annoyed after reading his stuff for some reason.

No kidding. I can be acerbic as well but that guy takes it to a whole other level.

RE 19 and 130 gr Sierra Gamekings

I had a Savage WW 116 in .270W that shot as accurate as any rifle I ever owned. My wife and her brother bought it for me and my brother in law really admired the rifle and its amazing accuracy so when I got a stainless Weatherby Vanguard2 in .30-06 which was a sub-minute rifle I gave it to him. It shoots 130 SST beautifully but also will shoot almost anything sub-minute. It got the least accuracy with Nosler Partition although my daughter's .243W. shoots NP 100s the best. That same 130 NP .270 load shot very accurately out of my neighbor's Savage Axis. We loaded 130s with 58 to 58.5 of H4831. I acquired well over a thousand Winchester Power Point 150s from my cousins estate so now we mostly load .270 with that with IMR 7828.

I have 4 each 270’s all 700’s.
It wasn’t hard to get accurate loads. I started by using Nosler’s most accurate load data, Ken Waters and Gun Gack loads.
I’ve shot different mono’s, partitions, and interlocks to the most part and from 130 to 160 grain.

I have not had 270’s nearly as long as many rifles in other cartridges. I now understand why people that started with 270’s don’t feel compelled to change.

In my opinion, Elmer Keith’s experience was valid for his time and what was available to him. I enjoy reading his stories very much! I think his criticism of manufacturer’s rifles, revolvers, and ammo got us better hunting equipment and ammo.

Exactly! Which is why I have all of Elmer's books, and refer to them often.

I've got a few and have had a pile of them. I've not yet owned one that wouldn't shoot a speer 130btsp with 57-58grs imr4831 very well.