Which rifle should I use?

bowhunter223 · Apr 27, 2006

Alright boys....as my name says, I'm a hardcore bowhunter...I guess not that hardcore since I put in for and drew a central UT buck deer tag. Well I got a little "tip" of an area with some nice bucks and I know that the shot's WILL BE long! 250-500 yds.....so I had to put in for the ole "powder burner". I'm not going to flip an arrow across the canyon. Anyway, I have a .270 Win that is a good shooter and a new Savage .243 with Accu-trigger that is even more of a shooter and a lot lighter to pack. Question: If it were you...which rifle would you pack knowing that your shots will be long and that it takes about 4 hours to pack in on foot? (too nasty steep for a horse...maybe a goat) Do you take the heavier, more walloping .270 or will the lighter punching .243 do OK out to 500 yds? Let here what you think!!!

antlerrick · Apr 27, 2006

Take the 270 to be sure you put it down right away, or you may be tracking and packing further than you bargained for!!!
WALLOP!

1shot1kill · Apr 27, 2006

For what it's worth here is my .02 cents. I would go with the 270. I have a 243 and a 270 and I can personally shoot at longer distances with my 270. Plus having that extra knockdown power will wont hurt either. It might weigh an extra pound or two, but I think its worth it.
1shot1kill.

sremim · Apr 27, 2006

A big muley can be, well.... BIG. I'd use the .270 to make sure you knock him down if shooting that far.

bowhunter223 · Apr 27, 2006

Unanimous so far......keep'em coming. Any .243 takers out there?

SneakAttack · Apr 27, 2006

How much heavier are we talking with the 270? My first bet is to go with the 270. More down range ftlbs is always good.

'It's all about the gut pile'

triggerhappy · Apr 27, 2006

I own both and without a doubt without thinking twice it would be the .270 based on your criteria.

ismith · Apr 27, 2006

LAST EDITED ON Apr-27-06 AT 03:31PM (MST)[p]Id go with the .270 as well. Just a better long range round for big bodied mule deer in my opinion. A .243 would be fine for those tiny Texas whitetys, but a big muley buck can weight 300# +.
ismith

WAsharpstick · Apr 27, 2006

LEAVE THE 243 AT HOME 270 IS THE ONE THAT WILL PUT THE PIG DOWN IN HIS TRACKS.

Chef · Apr 27, 2006

Too sehvehntee

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"

txhunter58 · Apr 27, 2006

Take the 270 and I guarantee you that you will not ever regret the decision.

If you take the 243, I can not make the same guarantee.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

bowhunter223 · Apr 27, 2006

Thanks Boys for the input! That's the way I was leaning, but wanted to get a little confirmation! I better get the ole' Winny out and start blazin.....Uhh, better start gettin' in shape first though! Good luck to yall on your hunts and outings!

clyde · Apr 27, 2006

Heres a little more conformation. 270 please!!

peakfreak · Apr 27, 2006

No brainer take the 70!!!

ansonlynn · Apr 27, 2006

Agreed with everyone else on the rifle selection of the two options. Neither one is responsibly fired at a buck mule deer at 500 yards (no need to rebut with incredible tales of 500+ yard kills with these calibers, I've seen them too. I'm talking ethical, not impossible).

MY OPINION: 250 yards max. on a big mule deer buck with .243, 350 yards max. with a .270.

Phantom Hunter · Apr 28, 2006

.270 no question. Before you leave, while you are getting in shape. Pick the load you want to shoot. Heavy for caliber bullets carry velocity further than light bullets. Chronograph your load, then sight in for max point blank range for that velocity. Should be around 3" high at 100 yards. That will let you hold "center of buck" out to around 350+/- yards. Anything further than that will require holdover. Practice at long range. Gallon anti-freeze jugs are the approximate size of a large bucks kill zone.

Good luck
Phantom Hunter

smokepolejohnson · Apr 28, 2006

Go with the two seven O!

bowhunter223 · Apr 28, 2006

Tell me about this "maximum piont blank range" thing. I don't know much about it. You're telling me that if I sight in @ 3" high at 100 yds.....I can hold dead on out to 350 yds? I know the bullet trajectory from muzzle out, drops---rises----then falls.....does that mean that the deer "kill zone" will be in that rise and fall trajectory out to 350 yds?

MNHunter · Apr 28, 2006

270 hands down

"Whatever you are, be a good one."
- Abraham Lincoln

Phantom Hunter · Apr 28, 2006

Maximum Point Blank Range--is any distance out to where the bullet's path will not rise above or fall below the line of sight more than a given amount. Example; my 7mm Rem mag with 160 gr. Nosler Partition handloads chronys an average of 3009 fps. If I sight in at 3.0" high at 100 yards at 1,700 feet elev.(app. 3.7" at 10,000 feet),the bullet will not be above or below the line of sight by more than 5" out to app. 367 yards. This gives me a 10" kill zone. I can hold "center of bull" out to this distance. Past this distance the bullet drops quickly below the kill zone and hold over is required. It does not take into consideration wind drift. Lots of practice is required to learn to "dope" the wind. Pick up a good handloading manual for better explantion of terminal ballistics. An accurate muzzle velocity is required to get the MPBR for a given load. Some riflemen just sight in 3" high and then practice long shots regardless of load.

If I have totally messed up this explation and confused folks, someone jump in and help with a better explanation.

Phantom Hunter

bowhunter223 · Apr 28, 2006

No, I got ya! That's what I thought MPBR was.

NOW that we have the rifle decision down.......what bullet/load should I use given the above situation?
Lets here it.......what do you all think?
Got any good reloading recipes?
Let's open up this Can of Worms and see what we get.............

SMELLYBUCK · Apr 28, 2006

How well do you shoot your 270 at 500 yds? How well do you shoot your 243 at 500 yds? You should be able to answer that question before you ask people which caliber to use. If you haven't practiced 300+ yd shots with either rifle, you're in a dream world - and the bucks will be there in 2007. Go site your gun in at 500 yds & you'll find you have a ton of practicing to do.

Califelkslayer · Apr 28, 2006

LAST EDITED ON Apr-29-06 AT 01:04AM (MST)[p]Bowhunter. If you are going to reload for this rifle and haven't done so before, purchase a good reloading manual. Start there and work on different bullets until you find one that shoots well in YOUR gun. I would never take the info I got from anyone without checking it out in a manual and see where it compares for pressures. Most rifles shoot certain bullets better than they shoot others. In the 270, for long range, I would start with a 150 grain boattail but that is my personal preference, heavy for caliber and streamlined. The Nosler Ballistic Tip is cheap and shoots accurate in my guns but is kinda fragile for game bigger than deer. The 140 grain Barnes X-boattail would also be a good choice but they are about 2 1/2 times more expensive but they would work fine for your caliber on elk also.

If you haven't reloaded before, I know I confused you. I was trying to. Reloading isn't rocket science but it's not just putting a primer, powder and bullet in a case and blasting either. It would be simular to building your own arrows for your bow. You could customize the arrow for your bow by changing your fletchings for a faster spin to stabilize your arrow quicker or a slower spin for more speed.

My recommendation for long range shooting would to buy some Hornady factory ammo. They make a light mag load that is suposed to gain a couple 100 fps over standard factory ammo. See how these shoot out of your gun.

Also, when you sight in @ 3" high @ 100 yds, don't just shoot the load @ 500 yds. Shoot it at several distances in between, say 250 and 400 yds and note where you're hitting. Good Luck in whatever you decide.

Pre64 · Apr 29, 2006

I love my .270(s). My preference for deer is 130 grain bullets. Of course, if your rifle likes 140s or 150s go with them. Here's my opinion of bullets for deer hunting. Other's opinions will, of course, differ. Deer are not as tough as elk so a super premium bullet isn't needed. I'd be comfortable with partitions, interlocks, sierras, etc. Cheaper bullets mean more shots for less money, hence more practice. BTW, I will never use ballistic tips again; too fragile. However, if you might use this load in the future for elk, stick to partitions or a bonded bullet. I've used H4831, IMR4831, and IMR4350 all with good success.

BTW, I'm not a fan of the maximum point blank range method. Most of my game is taken between 100 and 200 yards. With the point blank method the bullet reaches its highest point in the trajectory at ROUGHLY 150 yards. This means the point of impact will be 3 to 5 inches high, depending, at my most common shooting distances. So if I'm a few inches off, and the rifle is a few inches off, the bullet will be several inches off. I just sight in for 200. Which means I'm about 8" low at 300. Which means "hold on hair" out to 350. That's far enough. Of course, this is how I practice so this is what I'm comfortable with.

I've got a couple of ballistic plex reticles; one on a .270. The hold over has marks are quite accurate. Blowing up milk jugs at 400 yards can be lots of fun.

NVbkblstr · Apr 29, 2006

Another vote for the .270 here. I've had great results with sierra 130 grain bulllets. I've never needed a second shot. I also vote for closing the distance to less than 300 yards. With your experience as an archery hunter that should not be a problem.