.270 ammo choice

First of all let me say this I am not a hand loader, therefore I do not consider myself a purist of the shooting world. Last year I bought a weatherby vanguard deluxe in a a .270 and it shoots ok but not as good as my .25 remmy. I shoot hornady 117 gr. SST's in the .25 and it drives nails. I have tried american hunter by hornady, the SST'S recently I bought a box of Federal Premium 130 gr. Vital-shok using the Sierra Gameking BTSP bullet. I haven't tried them yet but look forward to tring them. My question however is this what factory ammo are ya'll using to get the best results out of your .270? The picture below is of a 25 target, I pulled the last one.

I'm using federal power shok 130 grain soft points. Every deer dies. Biggest buck ran 20 yards.

You don't need a half inch group at 100 yds. to kill a deer.

150 gr Nosler partition at 2950 fps is a heck of a good round -- factory ammo will not be quite that fast so you'll need to buy from Dallasreloads.com, double tap ammo, or hendershots ammo.

I have not tried the 145 gr Hornady Precision Hunter (eld-x) but I bet it is fantastic.

I'm shooting Chads hot loads for the 270. 130 grains at 3080 FPS. It is a true killer.

Core-lokts have always worked for me in any caliber

X2

Ok I appreciate the info but not a great fan of core-lokts, bad experience years ago, but I may give them a shot. Don I know that you don't need 1/2" groups, but with the technology we have today at 100 yards I enjoy knowing exactly where the bullet is going. There's no challenge in hitting a 10" area at 100-150 yds., I like to take ear shots at hogs. Don't misunderstand me I appreciate the feed back but I take pride in knowing that if I miss and a deer or hog runs off the odds are it was a clean miss because of ahead move. Say what you want, I probably shouldn't have started this in hind sight.

Folks forget that no 2 barrels off the same production line, one right after the other, will shoot the same way with the same ammo. BTDT at the SAKO Plant in 1984 after watching two consecutive barrels go thru the Mfg'ing process from the thick as my wrist billet go thru the process of being stretched into the 1st step on the way to being fired for the 1st SAKO accuracy test each of them are subjected too. If the barrels pass the 1st firing test, having been chambered & rifled, then screwed onto an electriclly fired peranently mounted universal receiver they are sent over to the final finishing shop...if they don't pass the initial accuracy test, at SAKO, the barrel's back then were not fixed or tuned , but cut in half and melted for scrap after spending 7 years curing the billet bar base material. Today that kind of dedication to craftsmanship is almost non existant elsewhere I would believe in volume produced rifles...and I wonder if Beretta still operates that way today, but Tikka T3's who are using the unmarked SAKO barrels out of the same plant in Rihimaaki appear to shoot equally as well as the parent brand's guns do.

IMO If the OP wants that kind of dependable shot to shot accuracy then the OP needs to try 6-8 brands and bullet weights per brand & production LOT #'s of never the same exact product factory ammo to find "That Special One Load " ...or give the gun to Chad to cut to the chase and save lot's of $$'s & time by letting him work his magic....then buy several hundred rounds in ONE Lot - enough to last umm say 5-10 years of HUNTING - of THAT ONE Special Hunting Load, then buy whatever's decent & cheapest to practice his trigger, breath and sight picture disciplines and save the Good Stuff for nothing but strictly hitting living 4 footed furry critters.

Wish I had 10% of the money time and effort I have expended over the last 40 years of reloading chasing that ONE SPECIAL LOAD in a given rifle, 'cause I could prolly buy a new Mercedes pickup truck that is in the works with it. But I don't keep a rifle very long anymore either...but I am willing to accept MOA Plus better than Minute of Deer hunting capable groups since I don't shoot at living critters out past 3-400 yards anymore either.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron

If you don't reload but want better than average accuracy, I'd go with Wiley's suggestion and get Chad to work up a magic load for your rifle. Even if you find that Rem factory loads shoot good, that's only this lot number. Next year's lot number might not be so good.

It's a good feeling to know that your rifle and load will shoot exactly where you aim...every time. And it's a feeling that you won't want to lose.

Cheap Winchester power points are very accurate in my rifles and have killed everything I have shot quite quickly

I understand. I had a bad experience with a Win silvertip in .270 & never shot another. But I'm surprised at having a problem with a Rem Core-Lok. Over the years I have shot & others have shot deer with nothing but great performance. I'd say give them another chance, especially if they give you the accuracy you are looking for.

BTW: I agree sub-MOA accuracy is not necessary, but it is a great confidence builder!

X3

FWIW I've had 2 out 3 300Wmg's who's grouping in RP 180's looked more like a shotgun pattern than anything else & the 3rd wasn't brag worthy...but all 3 of 'em would shoot Fed Blue Box & WW 180's into 1 1/4"- 1 1/2" groups all day day in and day out from 15-20* to 105*'s ...and Hornady SST's in the same hole on the '90's era Win M70 Classic CRF SS/syn, while the Savage Weather Warrior liked the BBox Fed's better. The Browning Abolt SS/syn didn't care about ammo as long as I could get the 7-8lb trigger to go off when I wanted it to, and would run about 1 1/4"+ groups consistently in anything BUT RP's, where I could usually get a consistent 2"+ group.

FWIW Fed Premium has been the most reliable accurate ammo across the board in any caliber I've found.
Ron

My .270 shoots rely Corelokts amazingly well, but I don't like Remmy ammo so I shoot hornady custom 130 grain. It shoots these amazingly well also, clover leaf groups all day long.

I like 130 grain loadings a for deer regardless of make. The superformance in 130 grain sst is a deer killer as well

I've been shooting 130 grain Core-Lokts in my .270 since 1972. They've been so accurate I never felt the need to try anything else. I've found Core-Lokts to be very accurate in most of the rifles I've tried them in.

I just sent a Vanguard Sporter .243 back to Weatherby because I cannot get it to shoot. I've tried two scopes, six different ammo choices and experimented with the torque on the action screws. I cannot get better than 2"-3" MOA. I've had very good experiences with Weatherby customer service in the past so I hope they can get the rifle to shoot or replace it.

My Tikka like Barnes Vort-tx 130 grain bullets. 1/2 inch MOA every time for 3 shot groups.

X3

My 270 likes 130 grain Barnes TTSX

Winchester 140 grain Accubond.

Another vote on the core lokts

I would check out Federal Power Shok (blue box). A buddy told me about them and they have been deadly out of all of my guns. 30-30, 30-06 and AR 223 in 64gr.

They are very similar to Core lokts but seem to have better uniformity especially in the lead portion and they are generally a tad cheaper.

This is what my .270 used to shoot most accurately. Sold the gun(wish I hadn't), but that was my go to hunting round.

Barnes 130gr but any of the commercial 130's I tried over the years shoot well.

Use to be Fed premium 110g bttsx runnin 3400fps

My job don't pay for that now so I use Winchester SP or Rem Coreloks both in 130gr... both do anything I need never fail

I've seen and shot Core-Lockts well out of two .270s: a Mossberg and a Howa 1500 (identical action to Weatherby Vanguard).

X2.

Another Core Lokt shooter here. Have been using them in every .270 I have owned (Ruger, Remington 710, and T/C Encore Prohunter) and they have been great. Have taken game from literally under my stand to 350 ranged yards and it always did the job if I did mine. Tried a number of higher-end ammo choices, but have always come back to the green box.

Having said that, the guys at Hill Country Rifles here in New Braunfels like Federal 130 grain soft points in this caliber. They seem to know what they are talking about, so it may bear checking out.

Core Lokts.

Been killing whitetail, axis, hogs, blackbuck with them out of my .270 for many years. Very accurate, very deadly. Rare I have to follow an animal very far at all. Only thing I haven't seen big exit holes in are a very large axis buck and a very large hog.

Federal Premium 130 pick your bullet they all perform well

I choose bullets that provide reasonable accuracy on the range but ultimately I choose based on the hunting that I am doing. I do most of my Texas whitetail hunting with my 270.

I have killed lots of deer, hogs, etc. with Core-Lokt, Power Point, and similar "basic bullets" from Hornady and others. I really like them but like everything related to shooting, they do have limitations.

Most of the complaints about these bullets are not related to accuracy (rather most have good luck with one or all of them) but lack of penetration. The thing to keep in mind with those bullets and a high velocity caliber like 270win is that they are not bonded for controlled expansion and as such they can over-expand at/near the surface at high velocity.

If I expect to shoot primarily <= 100 yds with some shots out to 200 yds, I would opt for a controlled expansion round like the Federal Fusion, Winchester Power Max and the higher end bullets like Barnes TTSX, Nosler Accubond, etc.

I also have moved from shooting primarily 130 grain ammo to 150 grain. Trajectories are very similar in a 270 (100yd zero ... ~2.5" 130gr vs. ~3.25" 150gr at 200yd, ~10" vs. ~12" at 300yd) but the 150's tend to be more consistent for me.

Fusion or Power Max 150 grain bullets are what I use the most with my 270. I usually have some Core-lokt, Powerpoint, or similar in my pack if I am hunting wheat fields where I may want to shoot farther than 200 yds where those fast expanding bullets really work well (or a tipped variety like the Winchester Ballistic Silvertips).

Same experience for me. My Tikka loves the factory barnes and with a Leupold CDS its accurate at distance. best is to get some various boxes and have some fun figuring out which one it likes the best.