.270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

I have a .270WSM that I am thinking about using for a possible hunt in Montana this fall. We will go for Antelope, Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer if time permits. I started thinking about different calibers to take with me and I was looking at Chuck Hawks table of "MBPR" and thought about using the .270WSM for this hunt.

I have read all of the ballistic charts for trajectory and energy at different distances but I only have one real world experience to base everything on. That was a big, Whitetail doe I shot 2 years ago. I was using Winchester Supreme 130gr Ballistic Tips, there wasn't a lot of choices for ammo back then. Anyway, at 80 yards, the bullet passed right through her without doing much damage other than a 3/8" inch hole straight through. She ran about 230 yards. The bullets performance, or lack of, really made me doubt the ability of the round so the rifle has sat in my safe since.

Sooo, after that long winded history lesson, my question is to anyone who has used a .270WSM for Antelope and/or Mule Deer. How well does it perform? Where you using factory ammo and what brand/type was it? I don't have the ability to reload ammo so factory ammo is it. The good news is that there are more than 3 choices of ammo for it now.

I would guess that it does very well but I have no experience myself. Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

I think you would have a hard time finding a better round for mule deer and antelope than the .270 WSM. It looks like you just had poor bulet performance on your doe. Load some ballistic tips or buy a factory load with a similar bullet and your results should be a lot better. Also a good old Nosler partition 130 gr would serve you well even if itsnot really needed on antelope, I find they still transmit plenty of shock while losing the nose section.

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

Not with the wsm butI have shot antelope, mulies and whitetails with 270 win/130gr bullets.Ballistic Tip accounted for most of them with .277. I have personally never seen itproduce a wound channel like you mention, especially up close!! 1-2" exit holeis normal,vitalsoften rendered to soupand less than 100 yards after the shot.

Weird things can happen with bullets. Where did you hit her??

Any 130-150gr bullet should be more then up to the task you are asking in 270wsm.

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

I have only killed a 2.5 year old cull buck at 125 yards with mine !! I shot him with a 140 Win.Accubond @125 yards and hit him about mid-ribcage on entry and exit was through the heart and out just behind the opposite shoulder.............the buck flipped over backwards and died right there.....with only a couple of twitches after flopping over !!!

My buddy that got me to get the .270 WSM has killed a lot of whitetail and.......an axis, a fallow, a black buck , 2 audad , and some other stuff !!
We just had this conversation........he has killed all this stuff with his from 125-300 yards and all have dropped but one audad that was the one from hell ......and one buck !! He said most of his exit wounds are big with Win. 140 Accubonds and has had good luck with 140 Failsafe's too !!

The tough audad he shot 4 times though and only one exited !! It dropped on the first shot to the shoulder but kept trying to get up......even with 2 to the shoulder and one through the neck !!The only deer he had run was one shot at over 300 yards on a neck shot and he hit low on the neck and didn't break the spine.......that deer ran less than 100 yards though !!

I am going to keep shooting the Accubonds until I see a reason not to !!

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

I have used my 270 wsm on antelope and whitetail deer in North dakota. I was accually like less than 10 miles from montana and southdakota. but yea i had a around 215 yard shot and dropped my first antelope buckive ever shot in its tracks. it was my first antelope hunt ever. i shot my whitetail that was a 5x5 that scored 122 7/8 at about 150 yards and that dropped in its tracks too. i cant wait til next year to use it again.
edit- i was using 130 gr ballistic silvertip

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

My primary hunting rifle is a .270 Ackley Improved, which is about identical to the .270 WSM. I not only use it with great confidence on antelope and mule deer, but is it also my "go to" elk rifle. You may have somehow gotten a bad bullet in that experience you describe. Most of the time, the WW silvertip/Nosler Ballsitic Tip bullets make a very large wound channel.

Most 130 gr. bullets in this caliber are ideal for deer hunting. The Sierra Pro Hunter, Hornady Interlock, and Nosler Ballistic Tip are all good. The bonded bullets - like the Nosler Accubond, Hornady Interbond, Speer Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, and Swift Scirocco - will allow you to take deer and even bigger game without running into penetration issues. And most 150 grain bullets are going to give performance very similar tocomparable 180 grain bullets in the 30/06 caliber. The Sierra 150 SPBT and Hornady 150 Interlock can handle game as large as elk and even moose. Nosler Partitions and Barnes X bullets will shoot clear through elk on a broadside ribshot and can break bothshoulders of a large animal withoutcoming apart.

The .270 WSM, IMO, is destined to become oneof the all time bestnorth american big roundsever chambered. Give it a chance . . . . .

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

Can't add anything to what Roskoe said.:D

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

Thanks for all of the replies. This makes me feel a lot better about it. Maybe I just had a bum bullet for that shot. :eek:

I will start on the long, expensive process of trying to find a factory load that it likes. The best grouping I had was with the 130 BT and that was 2-1/4" @100 yards. I get better groups with my ML! [&:] But, as I said, there are a lot more loads available for it now.

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

I'd try a few different loads with standard construction bullets. When I first bought my 270 WSM I was shooting 130 and 150 gr BST's. Wasn't really happy with the groups tried the 140 gr accubond and voila, now that's my load for everything with that gun.

RE: .270WSM vs Antelope/Mule Deer
 

Start with the cheaper stuff. I had someone give me a box and a half of 150 Win PSP's for my 270Wsm and they shot great. Makes me wonder why I reload sometimes when I occasionly try some factory ammo and its shoots sweet.