Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Sierra bullets in the .270?

Thanks for an honest post.

I will differ only in the assessment that the 243 bullet did not "fail" because you got the buck. IMO, it certainly DID fail because it did not accomplish the task you assigned to it even though you got the deer.....any bullet incapable of penetrating the shoulder to reach vitals on a quartering-on shot is not a suitable hunting bullet. In the case of the 243 bullet you got lucky and one small part of the bullet ( only by chance )
found a piece of spinal cord.

I don't call this "predictable results", the kind you can count on in a variety of hunting situations. This is a PERFECT example of how a bullet can "fail", and yet end up with a dead animal on the ground. Why? Because the results are not consistent, nor repeatable.

In the case of he 180 gr Hornady, I could cite examples of similar hits on elk (not deer, a bunch bigger and heavier boned),where the pelvic structure was shattered broadside by a 165 gr Partition fired from a 30/06 that penetrated completely and exited....or the 140 gr Partition from a 7 mag, also used to prevent a wounded buck from escaping, that had to be shot from behind, angling away, the bullet breaking the pelvis, and exiting through the meat of the offside shoulder.

The only factors that allowed those bullets to perform those tasks were the bullet construction; not ft pounds of energy, nor wind drift resistance, nor 1/2" grouping ability, nor any other obscure ballistic factors......it was due to bullet construction.

In your case, it points out that the bullets were clearly not up to the job, even though you got the deer.....at least, they failed to provide the kind of very consistent performance that lets you know in advance, before the hammer drops, exactly what is going to happen when the bullet lands.

Broadside shots through ribs into the vitals(where the hide is thin, and ribs are easily penetrated),is a test of virtually nothing even on such larger ungulates as moose and elk, because harder angles and shoulder bones are part of the reality of shooting BG animals, from deer sized on up...ad if a bullet is incapable of penetrating to the vitals through the tougher going of hard angles and heavy bones, it is an unsuitable hunting bullet IMHO.

And speed is not the culprit...bullet construction is....and as speed goes up we should have enough common sense to pay attention to bullet construction, or some other factor, to ensure that we will get adequate penetration to accomplish what we need under the worst scenario; not the "best".

Having seen enough of these kinds of snafus, this the reason that I won't use any old C&C bullet, even on deer sized game, for the broad range of hunting conditions.....regardless of its' other characteristics

Seems to me there are two things a BG hunter should "know" when the hammer falls....the first is where the bullet landed(because he "called" his shot).

The second is, that the bullet, or its exit, will be at the end of the wound channel through the vitals, in a straight line, from its' intended POI, even if it has to travel some distance or break heavy bone at some point along the way.

If a bullet is not capable of doing this reliably (95% of the time)at ANY reasonable distance, use it to shoot at gongs or paper, but leave it home come hunting season. I don't care how big or little the game is.

End of rant.

Bob,

I sometimes think I must be a "five-per-center".

Perhaps you recognize this bullet design:



(from a modest-sized caribou, shoulder)

or this even more highly touted...and expensive, 250 grain "premium":



from a moose shoulder.

My own opinion of Interlocks is that they and Core-lokts are 50:50. IOW, they can be very good, but sometimes not. I never have really figured out why some people love one and hate the other. Expecting to ETE a deer, starting at the pelvis does seem like a high expectation for any cup and core though. For that reason, I blame the bullet inserter more than the bullet. You never err in understanding the limits of the bullet, regardless the construction.

Klik they all have limits ....but looks to me like those two need an upgrade.

I TOTALLY agree with BobNH.

Killing an animal is NOT their complete task.

You may kill it and NOT recover it. ( I know you said you did)

If bullets do AS YOU DESCRIBE they can't be counted on to perform their task FROM more than 1 impact place (ribs-lungs).

I will not limit myself to using a bullet that can do ONLY that.

Now on WT deer I've never used ANY premium. There ARE c/c bullets that WILL penetrate and hold together from MOST any angle.

I AIN'T ranting... just trying to emphasize there are GOOD c/c bullets and BAD c/c bullets.

AN ADDENDUM:

I don't AIM for the Texas Heart Shot!!! NEVER!! I would not ASK nor count on ANY c/c to bust the pelvic bone and then penetrate very much.

There was ONLY ONE TIME that I had 'somewhat' of a gut shot. I had shot a deer, don't remember buck or doe, 1/4ing to me and in the penetration toward exiting the bullet NICKED the forward edge of the stomach. It wasn't a large explosion, just clipped the stomach. That was BAD ENUFF when cleaning but the c/c bullet DID EXIT, a nice size exit hole. ( I can tell you what bullet if UR interested)

Remember NO premiums. The only bullet failures I've had on game, were 1 130 gr 270 and a FEW 180 gr. in 300 WM. With the 300 I shot more than a couple JUST TO SEE if those were flukes. Nope, I'd have to count from my records but those were in 08 and 09. ( ALL of those, both cal.s were the SAME brand)

Before 2010 I changed bullets - no prem - and the results changed. Same gun, same load, same vel. and the same 'general' hunting ranges.

I suppose the devil made me say it. Both bullets did fail. I just got lucky. On the Interlock, my original supply amounted to some dozen or maybe more boxes of the LMs. I bought a couple initially and went back for more after establishing the rifle liked them. At that time of my life, time and space to reload was at a premium All other times they had acted properly, but if I stay with the replacement Superformance, I will go Interbond, likely in a 165, or roll my own with Partitions. Bullets are the cheapest part of the hunt. The fuel to get to invited hunts is more.

I agree we should know where the bullet is going and how it is going to act before we turn it loose. First the aim was good. Secondly, everything had been good up until then. On the easier broad side shots or slight angles, I usually got pass through or found the bullet under the skin on the off side. Jack

10-4 Jack.

I've been getting hay stored for the Winter so I've been in/out today.

I should make one thing perfectly clear.

IF I was (were) going to make a hunting trip out of State - WT - MD - Elk etc. I would USE PREMIUM bullets. I have N Partitions for any rifle I'd take. I know some don't consider NPs as premium but I do.

As much as I like and have confidence in H Ils for LOCAL WT hunting, I would not hesitate to use bullets of PROVEN performance on all manner of game.

Jerry

cze..,

Dad started using Sierra 130gr BTS in the 50's. I use them to this day. Honestly, I can't even guess how many white tail deer have fallen to our .270's. Yeah, after 60 some years of experience, I'd say they work.

O

Too bad more couldn't grasp that concept. Well said/good thread.