Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What do ya'll think about 140 gr. bullets in the 270 Win?

What is the general feeling regarding 140 gr. bullets in the 270 Win vs. the more common 130 and 150 gr. pills?

Specifically I am talking about eastern deer hunting. I am thinking hard about loading the 140 Hornady BTSP for my buddy's use next season. He has been shooting factory Ballistic tips and getting their typical explosive results. I want to give him something flat shooting, but not so destructive.

I was thinking that going up in bullet weight would help drop the velocity and allow better penetration with cleaner entry and exit wounds.

Is the 140 as good a choice here as I am thinking? I'm guessing it is it sorta like the 165 is in the 30-06.

Thanks,
Mark in GA

The Horn. 140BTSP is a good deer bullet, but I don't think your friend will notice a tremendous difference between it and recent manufacture Ballistic tips (some difference, but not much). If your friend is looking for a sleek bullet of a stronger construction, you might consider the Nosler 140 Accubond.

As to the 140 grain weight compared to the 130 and 150, I don't think you will really notice much difference on game, comparing bullets of the same construction, i.e. a 130 grain Ballistic tip compared to a 140 grain ballistic tip. IMO, bullet construction has a greater effect on terminal performance than 10 grains of bullet weight.

AEL

I'm a big fan of the 140 Hornady BTSP in the .270 Win and am particularly fond of the Hornady light mag load with the same bullet. That being said, the bullet can be hard on meat if bone is encountered, just like any high velocity round. My impression is the bullet is much tougher than the 140 ballistic tip, but I haven't seen the .277 ballistic tip used on game in about 10 years, so things might have changed (not knocking the b-tips, they gave devastating results). The 140 hornady has always given me exit wounds on deer sized game with no signs of bullet blow up. I expect you will be happy if you choose this bullet.

-Lou

Based on the range results I've gotten so far (using 57.5 gr. H4831) I'm probably going to take the Hornady
140 deer hunting this fall. I'll soon be testing 58 and 58.5 grain charges, and I'm betting the 58.5 does the
trick. My rifle has always done best with full throttle charges of H4831. It really sings with 60 gr. and just
about any 130 grainer out there, but I just want to try the 140's this time.

Dave

Are they better than the 130/150s? I don' t know. That said I have been shooting our little Texas whitetails with 140 Nosler bal tips for a lot of years.

The recently manufactured ones are much better than ones manufactured just a few years ago.

They leave nothing to be desired for me.

The Hornady is a good bullet, I have used them. I just like the ballistic tip better.

BCR

I started with 140s in my .270 and that is all it will shoot, but it shoots them GOOD. I think they are a good balance. 140 BTips have taken a lot of deer, antelope, and a stone sheep, 140 TBBC for a couple caribou, and 140g A-frames for a yukon moose. I don't think you can go wrong.

The Hornady 140 BTSP has been a favorite of mine for a while.
My son and I have shot a pile of mule deer with it. If the file attatches correctly you can see a buck my son shot "corner to corner" at 310 yds. The bullet still weighed around 100 grains and we only lost a little meat.

I'm going to try the 140grn Failsafe next.

I love 'em. The 140-grainers may never overtake the 130s in overall popularity, but as time goes on I think those in-the-know will see the 140s as the new standard .270 bullet.

My personal favorite: the Hornady BTSP InterLock. Maybe someday Hornady will give us a 140 flat-base, as well. Please, please, please...

RSY

I have shot 130's, 140's and 150's. There is not that much difference and any whitetail will never know the difference.

Over the last 5 or 6 years, I have gone to Hornady Custom ammo with the 140 gr. BTSPs. I don't know that they kill deer any better, but they are more accurate in my rifle. I have had zero failures or complaints about that load but generally most of the deer taken were under 200 yards distant. Not that the 140s would not have worked farther away, but I just don't have any experience with them farther than that.

I've only used Sierra's 140 gr. HPBT, but that works fine on deer. It opens up somewhat easily, it seems, but the penetration is such that I've never recovered one and the 7 or 8 deer I've taken certainly didn't go very far -- most just dropped right there but one made it 50 yards and I still can't understand how (tough deer for sure!).

I used 53 gr. IMR-4831 in a Rem case with CCI-250's for the load (.020 off the lands). I went higher, but decided on that for the accuracy and felt I didn't need more oomph in any event. The longest shot wasn't much over 200 yards and most were around a 100 or so.

I have standardized on 140 Barnes TSX in my 270WSM. My rifle shoots them great. The elk I've shot with them the last couple of years have droped on the spot.

I found very little difference in velocity between the 130g and 140g bullets. So why not throw the 10g heavier bullet if they give the same velocity. Maybe the 270WCF won't push the 140's close to the same as the speed as the 130's. You'll have to play with your chrony to see.

Might be overkill for whitetails and no need to spend the time & effort working up a 140g load. But if you ever think you might want to hunt something bigger than a whitetail, you'll have a dual purpose load.

The Hornady 140 is the only bullet I've taken deer with out of my .270. I think they make more sense than 130's do IF you can get accuracy. AW

I am all for destructive bullets. If it's an easy shot then double lung it. Lungs are no good to eat anyway. If it's not an easy shot perhaps the 140 BT is not the best choice for raking shots thru bone.

I shot a large buck at 191 yds with the 270 WSM and the 140 BT. That bullet started at 3210 so it must have been going 2800 or so when it hit. Sort of like a close range shot with a 270 Win.

The bullet hit just under the bucks spine shattering a rib going in and it blew up there and made no exit. Some of the bullet bits must have hit the bucks spine as it fell immediatly and then stood up but it could only take one small slow step. It just stood there until then next one hit it in the neck. That bullet did not exit either.

I may use that bullet again. A harder bullet may not have anchored it.

Y'all thinks theys good.

markinGA/ i found that my win shadow (24in bl) gave me 7/8 in 5 shot gps with 140 sierra with 58.3 gr 4831, RP 1/2,ww brass. took a very nice muly at 178 yds laramie mts, Wy. fell in its tracks. going back for another this october.

I think the 140 is the "natural" weight for the 270...

Savage_99, which 140 did you use?

41Keith:

I believe "BT" denotes Nosler Ballistic Tip in the post in question.

RSY

Correct. It was a 140 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip.



The buck was just standing there eating the left over corn at dusk when it got hit. I can see why you guys change bullets. I used to be all set with the Speers out of the .358 and still am but the 270 and BT's?

I am now in doubt in particular since I have a good coyote load for the 270 WSM now. I just tested some Interbonds but it's too early to tell.

The buck was a very heavy deer but in this case I don't think that mattered much.