130gn vs 150gn

[Liptugger]

So shooting a 270, usually always shoot 130gn, but going on a hunt and the deer are bigger and may have opportunity for elk so thought 150gn may be better.
Comparing the same ammo side by side the 150gn is slower and produces less energy and drops more. What if any are the advantages for stepping up to 150gn?
Thank you for your input.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

130 grain TTSX will be fit the bill for everything you want to kill with your .270.

Once the regular Barnes Xs came out I went to a 140gn but when the TTSX’s came out I went to the 130gn and haven’t looked back.

SSS

[RackStar]

130 grain TTSX will be fit the bill for everything you want to kill with your .270.

Once the regular Barnes Xanax’s came out I went to a 140gn but when the TTSX’s came out I went to the 130gn and haven’t looked back.

SSS

recently got a 270, will be using it next season.

How far do these Barnes still expand to with the 270? Been thinking of the 150 partition or 130 accubonds , but Barnes seems like a good choice too, I was hoping to set this rifle up for the rare 500y shot that may present itself in the alpine or farmers field.

^^ I would shoot a elk with a 130 grain OP shouldn’t matter if it goes where it belongs

[kevingm1987]

140 gn partition. Best bullet I have ever shot out of my .270. Animals straight up die when they get hit as well. Been apart of 4 moose kills wit the partition. .270,.300 WM and .308. All did the job great!


recently got a 270, will be using it next season.

How far do these Barnes still expand to with the 270? Been thinking of the 150 partition or 130 accubonds , but Barnes seems like a good choice too, I was hoping to set this rifle up for the rare 500y shot that may present itself in the alpine or farmers field.

^^ I would shoot a elk with a 130 grain OP shouldn’t matter if it goes where it belongs

[Redthies]

I’m not into debating environmental impact here, but I am into eating what I bring home. Below are two X-rays of animals shot with copper jacketed lead projectiles. I don’t know exactly which ones, but even the Nosler Partition claims only to retain 60%+ of its original weight. Not what I want in my supper. The Barnes TTSX and other copper monolith bullets are all I will hunt with now. The bullets I’ve recovered are 99% intact. Because of that fact, you can use a bullet with a 20% or more lower initial weight and still have the same or similar energy.

https://i.postimg.cc/pLLK0XKq/564-E6618-B8-F5-4358-BEBF-8-B4-ABADF3-DB6.jpg (https://postimg.cc/XptZqWHC)


https://i.postimg.cc/3J7XvZNM/79-E7-D538-0-A98-47-DB-BB37-57798-A01-E2-F3.jpg (https://postimg.cc/rznR6x5g)

[406elcamino]

Last year on our Elk trip i had brought my 2506 for top side deer hunting but i thought what the hell i will take it for Elk in the morning. In a particular instance i had the opportunity to take a bull moose and the only shot i had was the head.. well aim small miss small shot him at about 80 yards and flattened him never recovered the bullet ( this was a 47" bull and the biggest i had ever seen in my hunting career ). After that i would not think twice in most cases and that is just a 100gr round

[MRP]

I don't have or have ever shot a 270 but every cartage has a sweet spot the most energy and flattest trajectory, 130ish is the .270's. Lighter faster give short range gaine, but at short range ( under 300yds ) probably for 90% of cartridges being used that's point and shoot distance anyway. I see no benefit in going to a heavy bullet that produces less energy despite having a higher ballistic coefficient because you can't pushed it fast enough to take advantage of it. Stick with130, shoot one bullet in one gun and always the same zero.

[Downwindtracker2]

I did a shutdown at Trail in the boiler. Our level of protection was pretty extreme. Companies don't do that for no reason. I'm switching to non toxic. But bonded core bullets like the Accubond hold together much better .

[REMINGTON JIM]

Shot placement (Lungs) is the key to Killing ! 130-140-150 will make no difference . RJ

[Pioneerman]

The weight of the bullet makes less difference compared to the quality of bullet. I have been using solid copper for 20 years and never had a issue and use a little lighter bullet for great speed and performance

[Fella]

recently got a 270, will be using it next season.

How far do these Barnes still expand to with the 270? Been thinking of the 150 partition or 130 accubonds , but Barnes seems like a good choice too, I was hoping to set this rifle up for the rare 500y shot that may present itself in the alpine or farmers field.

^^ I would shoot a elk with a 130 grain OP shouldn’t matter if it goes where it belongs

the TTSX is not a long range bullet, keep it under 300 and you should be good. I haven’t used the LRX but they are designed for longer shots.

[jlirot]

I generally shoot a 270. I've considered going to copper but just haven't made the plunge. With the price of ammo I'd kind of like to use what I have. That X-Ray is pretty knarly.

I know my 270 shoots the Hornady Precision Hunter really well so that's what I use. 145gr. 2 deer and 1 bear never made it more than a couple of yards.

It's flogging that proverbial dead horse - but I will shoot whatever my rifle likes best. Having a high level of confidence that my bullet is going exactly where I send it is more important to me than all the tales of how a bullet held together on that deer in '82. :-) Yes, I think this is mainly psychological (at 100 yards 2" one way or another probably isn't going to make a hell of a lot of difference) but it makes me more confident so that's what I do.

I grabbed a few boxes of what's considered decent ammo (I don't reload) and use what my rifle shoots best with. For my 270 it's the Precision Hunter. My 308 wasn't nearly as consistent with the Precision Hunter but seems to like the Hornady Whitetail. - 150gr. The bear I shot with the Whitetail had no idea that didn't use the precision hunter. And it cost me 1/2 as much.

[Citori54]

I preferred 140 grain over the 130 in .270. Lethal on deer with the Hornady BTSP which is a reasonably priced bullet and was very accurate <1/2” group at 100 yds. For moose I used 150 Nosler Partition

[kolofardos]

I’m not into debating environmental impact here, but I am into eating what I bring home. Below are two X-rays of animals shot with copper jacketed lead projectiles. I don’t know exactly which ones, but even the Nosler Partition claims only to retain 60%+ of its original weight. Not what I want in my supper. The Barnes TTSX and other copper monolith bullets are all I will hunt with now. The bullets I’ve recovered are 99% intact. Because of that fact, you can use a bullet with a 20% or more lower initial weight and still have the same or similar energy.

https://i.postimg.cc/pLLK0XKq/564-E6618-B8-F5-4358-BEBF-8-B4-ABADF3-DB6.jpg (https://postimg.cc/XptZqWHC)


https://i.postimg.cc/3J7XvZNM/79-E7-D538-0-A98-47-DB-BB37-57798-A01-E2-F3.jpg (https://postimg.cc/rznR6x5g)Meh. Doesn't compare to all the lead paint chips I ate as a child. What were we talking about?

[kolofardos]

130 is a proven killer in 270. If you want more penetration or want to bust through shoulders use a monomental and keep in mind they like speed and should be still carrying 2000 fps at the target so they'll open up

[RBH]

Assuming you will be using a quality bullet (copper mono or bonded lead), it probably doesn’t matter whether 130 or 150. What does matter is finding a load that shoots sell in your gun. Once you find that, stick with it and become expert with that round.

[Bugle M In]

If I am out and know I am hunting elk, I use either 140 or 150.
My biggest frustration is Winchester keeps changing the bullets in their supreme series over the decades.
At one point, I had both a 130 for deer and 150 for elk, and the only difference was I knew the 130 hit 1/2-1” higher @100.
Vertically both were the same.
Now I just use 140 as that’s what I have left.
Dont expect the 150 to go thru and thru on elk outside 100m.
Usually hangs up on inside of hide on opposite end, I’m my experience.

[Redthies]

I did a shutdown at Trail in the boiler. Our level of protection was pretty extreme. Companies don't do that for no reason. I'm switching to non toxic. But bonded core bullets like the Accubond hold together much better .

And Tech will pay to have a full meter of soil removed from your entire yard in Trail, then replace with fresh soil and then landscape for free. They don’t do that for no reason either! Obviously there is something going on with lead ( :mrgreen: )

[BimmerBob]

I’m not into debating environmental impact here, but I am into eating what I bring home. Below are two X-rays of animals shot with copper jacketed lead projectiles. I don’t know exactly which ones, but even the Nosler Partition claims only to retain 60%+ of its original weight. Not what I want in my supper. The Barnes TTSX and other copper monolith bullets are all I will hunt with now. The bullets I’ve recovered are 99% intact. Because of that fact, you can use a bullet with a 20% or more lower initial weight and still have the same or similar energy.

https://i.postimg.cc/pLLK0XKq/564-E6618-B8-F5-4358-BEBF-8-B4-ABADF3-DB6.jpg (https://postimg.cc/XptZqWHC)


https://i.postimg.cc/3J7XvZNM/79-E7-D538-0-A98-47-DB-BB37-57798-A01-E2-F3.jpg (https://postimg.cc/rznR6x5g)

Those somehow do not look right to me, can you provide a source for those images? I would like to investigate further as those distribution patterns and lack of bone fragments look strange.

Thanks and be well.../B

[kevingm1987]

Those somehow do not look right to me, can you provide a source for those images? I would like to investigate further as those distribution patterns and lack of bone fragments look strange.

Thanks and be well.../B

Agree with you Bob. This seems to be a propaganda photo the copper bullet machine would put out. Where is entry? If bullet fragments that hard, we should see broken bone chunks in the photo. It’s a 2D image, where’s all this metal? In the meat? The organ cavity? Photos look to be a little misleading to me

[Squire]

Agree with you Bob. This seems to be a propaganda photo the copper bullet machine would put out. Where is entry? If bullet fragments that hard, we should see broken bone chunks in the photo. It’s a 2D image, where’s all this metal? In the meat? The organ cavity? Photos look to be a little misleading to me

Agreed; no context to the images. I can’t imagine tiny fragments having the kinetic energy to travel that far through dense tissue (the parts that we eat). The second image might represent two points of impact or a lengthwise bullet path. You also can’t tell if the fragments are pieces of jacket or lead; I have to wonder if soft lead breaks into sharp fragments as shown.
I’ve consumed a lot of game meat shot with jacketed lead bullets and never set off the alarm at the airport screeners until I got my knee replacements.��

[MRP]

Consumption of lead bullet fragments go straight through, very little would be absorbed. Lead as a trace element is absolutely absorbed. Lead dust is deadly so unless you lick or sniff your targets and you'll be fine. ;)

[elker]

I'm interested in the x ray findings. I have hoarded 200 pieces of accubond in .366 and some eldx .should I bury them? Lol
The link shows the source of the research

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/...fig1_326321990

[RackStar]

That x ray photo seems bs ,

I decided to try blue box feds in my 308 this year. See how it works ,

[Redthies]

Yeah, I’m sure they injected all those fragments to fake us out…

Link below to article on copper vs lead. Photo below is excerpted from the article. There are plenty out there. Lots of videos on the subject too.

https://i.postimg.cc/PrYhWBd6/29-C3-DE7-C-3-EF2-4-FDF-A6-D1-83-C12038-EACD.png (https://www.ronspomeroutdoors.com/blog/copper-versus-lead-bullets)


https://www.ronspomeroutdoors.com/blog/copper-versus-lead-bullets

If you want to eat lead, go for it. I’m going to pass.

[Bugle M In]

Think my XP3 are 140, (no longer make them).
Took a buck last year at 125 yards.
The bullet didn’t look any different than the copper Barnes you see images of.
4 way split curled Bach just a bit.
Just about ever bullet I pulled out of an elk back with 150 pier points (lead core) we’re all mushroomed and smooth.
I never had one shatter like that image.

[Redthies]

Here is a study done in 2022. It has been published in more than one scientific and medical publication.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9401160/ (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9401160/)

The X-Ray photos (1st one is a deer with link to source below, second one is a coyote).

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/radiograph-dead-deer (https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/radiograph-dead-deer)






I give zero shits what bullet anyone hunts with, I just posted a couple of images to point out that weight retention is far greater in monolithic bullets over multi component bullets. If you do the research, there are clear advantages to monolithic bullets. We are lucky to have the choice here in BC. It’s probably not too far off that we won’t though.

[MRP]

All the bottom link says is lead bullet. Was it a jacketed bullet if so what brand what design could have been a hollow point or a bullet designed for varmints, was it a cast bullet if so what was the bnl hardness. The pic with out any background info is is just propaganda crap!
The bottom link is no better in its details.

The thread here is 130 vs 150 not lead-a-phobiaic hunters.

[Bernie O]

I have shot and eaten many animals and birds with lead bullets and and shot. I have also been making my own lead shot for trapshooting for 20 years. Finally about 2 years ago all the hype about lead poisoining got to me and I mentioned it to my doctor. He said I was not the first person to worry abouit lately and ordered the blood test.It came back below average and he said the other tests he had done except for 1
were also well below average. He also said the other test was not related to a hunter but would not tell me more for privacy reasons.

I think this is much like covid, If someone mentions it enough it becomes an accepted truth.
Back to the original post, I think borderline shots can always use more weight. I shoot a 7mm exclusively but I find 140gr works just fine on everything I shoot and even the not so good shots put the animal down pretty quick.

[kevingm1987]

Here is a study done in 2022. It has been published in more than one scientific and medical publication.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9401160/ (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9401160/)



The X-Ray photos (1st one is a deer with link to source below, second one is a coyote).

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/radiograph-dead-deer (https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/radiograph-dead-deer)






I give zero shits what bullet anyone hunts with, I just posted a couple of images to point out that weight retention is far greater in monolithic bullets over multi component bullets. If you do the research, there are clear advantages to monolithic bullets. We are lucky to have the choice here in BC. It’s probably not too far off that we won’t though.

The link to the picture mentions the photo was supplied by the The Peregrine Fund, an anti-lead save the birds foundation. Not denying that lead will fragment, just saying there is obviously more to be said about the study and who released the photo and study.

[Bugle M In]

I have hunted with a 270 all my life.
Love it because it allows you to go to the range and not develop a flinch.
When I was little, think you could get 100 gr bullets.
So, like shooting a .22.
It allows you to “practice your shooting”, comfortably, no sore shoulder if you snap off several boxes in a row.
And again, no flinch while using lower grain bullets.
And once in the field, you are so pumped when you have a bull elk in your crosshairs, you could have a big bore rifle and 300gr bullets and not feel it.

But how many folks you know who buy a lightweight Tikka 300mag and suddenly their shooting skills go down the drain.
I know a few.

Why the long speech?
Shot placement is way more important then grain weight, imo.
Have a rifle you can handle comfortably, where you can handle the kick, thus allowing you to shoot superbly.
And then step up grain weight if need be for what you are hunting.
Elk ain’t small.

[jlirot]

I have hunted with a 270 all my life.
Love it because it allows you to go to the range and not develop a flinch.
When I was little, think you could get 100 gr bullets.
So, like shooting a .22.
It allows you to “practice your shooting”, comfortably, no sore shoulder if you snap off several boxes in a row.
And again, no flinch while using lower grain bullets.
And once in the field, you are so pumped when you have a bull elk in your crosshairs, you could have a big bore rifle and 300gr bullets and not feel it.

But how many folks you know who buy a lightweight Tikka 300mag and suddenly their shooting skills go down the drain.
I know a few.

Why the long speech?
Shot placement is way more important then grain weight, imo.
Have a rifle you can handle comfortably, where you can handle the kick, thus allowing you to shoot superbly.
And then step up grain weight if need be for what you are hunting.
Elk ain’t small.

Same reason I shoot a 270.

[Redthies]

I have hunted with a 270 all my life.
Love it because it allows you to go to the range and not develop a flinch.
When I was little, think you could get 100 gr bullets.
So, like shooting a .22.
It allows you to “practice your shooting”, comfortably, no sore shoulder if you snap off several boxes in a row.
And again, no flinch while using lower grain bullets.
And once in the field, you are so pumped when you have a bull elk in your crosshairs, you could have a big bore rifle and 300gr bullets and not feel it.

But how many folks you know who buy a lightweight Tikka 300mag and suddenly their shooting skills go down the drain.
I know a few.

Why the long speech?
Shot placement is way more important then grain weight, imo.
Have a rifle you can handle comfortably, where you can handle the kick, thus allowing you to shoot superbly.
And then step up grain weight if need be for what you are hunting.
Elk ain’t small.

Well said! A sensible caliber with the correct bullet and shot placement is winning combo.

[Redthies]

All the bottom link says is lead bullet. Was it a jacketed bullet if so what brand what design could have been a hollow point or a bullet designed for varmints, was it a cast bullet if so what was the bnl hardness. The pic with out any background info is is just propaganda crap!
The bottom link is no better in its details.

The thread here is 130 vs 150 not lead-a-phobiaic hunters.

I brought up copper as an option due to its superior weight retention, not due to “lead phobia”. Read my full post where I state “I don’t give a shit if YOU use lead”. My post was about 130 vs 130 diminishing to 80 with fragmenting.

Also note in Petrie dish photo the jacket on the cartridge and fragmented bullet.



I’m not starting a copper vs lead debate, merely pointing out an option to get away with lighter bullet…

[Nimrod]

I've been shooting the 140s out of my 270 for 30 years
first the Hornady 140btsp but then they were not available for a longtime so had to try something else.
Tried the the SST, gun loved them but on game they are total garbage.
Went to the accubond and stuck with that for many years, fantastic bullet for retention.
But again haven't been able to find them but the150g accubond were available.
Just worked up a load with 150 and found my gun loves them, getting sun .5" to .3"
the math still favors the 140 but what ever, when the numbers are that close so long as it shoots and the bullet holds together its going to work out fine.

[SSG-man]

I had both dialed in on my 270 but used 150gr most the time.
Didn't seem much difference on deer but ended up using shotgun mostly in timber so an even heavier slug.