What ammo for the xl7 in .270?

[baddarryl]

I guys. I am wondering what factory ammo you have found best to work in these Marlins and if there is a consensus? I am mostly using 130 gr for Whitetail.

[Paul B.]

The ammo that has shot the best in my several .270 Win. rifles has been the Winchester 150 gr. Power Point. I've shot the Winchester 130 gr. Power Points but groups are right at one inch of slightly larger. Same goes for the 130 gr. Remingtons. For the record one rifle, an M70 XTR does .50" with the 150 gr. PP's. The other three run closer to .75" on average. I get basically the same results with the 150 gr. Sierra Game Kings and .75" groups with the 150 gr. Nosler Partitions. I imagine I'll be able to tweak them into smaller groups yet.
Paul B.

[FrankenMauser]

I always fall back on Remington 130 gr Core-Lokts, if nothing else will work -- or if I am 'benchmarking' a new rifle.
Never the best, but always pretty decent, and 3" or less from any rifle my family has ever tried them in. (Often well under 2" at 100 yards.)

From what I have seen, most X7s like the Core-Lokts.

Beyond the Remington stuff, I would jump to Nosler Partitions or Ballistic Tips (hunting version). They're some of the more 'universal' bullets. The variable, though, is the company loading them.


Stay away from Power Points.
I have never met a Winchester Power Point that I liked (in factory ammo or as a component bullet). They're terribly cheap bullets with next to zero quality control. Jacket material varies wildly. Cannelures (when present) are never in the same place. Runout is all over the map. Weight is all over the map. Even the nose profile can be radically different from one bullet to the next, in the same box.

Most bullets will be within 1% of the target weight (much less, for many premium bullets). But, Win PPs, in my experience, often vary by 5% or more. (So "130s" can easily range from 122 gr to 137 gr - or further from the target weight.)
Even if you get a batch that's fairly consistent in regards to weight and profile, you have no way of knowing if that lot will have bad jacket material and 'grenade' in your deer; or if it will fail to expand, fold the nose over, and just tumble.

I don't like Power Points.

To me, recommending Winchester Power Points is like telling someone that they should give herpes and HIV a try.


(This was not directed at you, Paul B. It is simply my opinion. I had intended on sharing my opinion on PPs, anyway. It's just unfortunate that you replied first.)

[baddarryl]

The reason I ask is I just restocked it with a Boyds stock and going to take a few different types to try. Core Lokts always and whatever else is on the shelf I suppose.

[steveNChunter]

Try Federal Fusion 130 gr. I haven't tried them in a Marlin but my dad's Ruger M77 MK II All-Weather .270 loves them. They are the only ammo it will group sub-MOA. Everything else is at least 1.5"

Of course, as always, YMMV

[Mystro]

I second Federal Fusipn 130. In fact, Fusion seem to shoot outstanding in all my calibers. Its a good bonded bullet and is easy to find. Give it a try.

[taylorce1]

Originally Posted by Frakenmauser

Stay away from Power Points.
I have never met a Winchester Power Point that I liked (in factory ammo or as a component bullet). They're terribly cheap bullets with next to zero quality control. Jacket material varies wildly. Cannelures (when present) are never in the same place. Runout is all over the map. Weight is all over the map. Even the nose profile can be radically different from one bullet to the next, in the same box.

I can say the same about my experiences with core lokt components I've used in the past. I won't use either Winchester or Remington bulk reloading components for any of my hunting loads. If you weigh sort your bullets before you reload them they will shoot okay groups. IMO for reloading they aren't worth the effort.

As far as factory ammunition goes, I find the Federal blue box ammo to be the best of all the cheap stuff. I also like the Barnes Vortex ammo but it's way more bullet than needed fore deer in a .270. A happy medium for me would be Federal Fusion or Winchester Silvertip ammunition.

[FrankenMauser]

As far as factory ammunition goes, I find the Federal blue box ammo to be the best of all the cheap stuff.

That just goes to prove just how much of a crapshoot it is to find ammunition that works.

Other than their premium ammo, I consider the Federal ammo to be some of the worst stuff around.
Sure, it's generally pretty consistent.
Sure, it uses better bullets than Winchester or Remington offerings.

However...
Every box of non-premium Federal rifle ammunition that I have bought, been gifted, or have otherwise dealt with in the last 15 years has had headspace issues. Sometimes the headspace is way too long (by as much as 0.080" [EIGHTY THOUSANDTHS!]), and the ammo won't even chamber. Other times the headspace is short, and creates a dangerous situation.

With one particular box of 8x57mm ammo, headspace was 0.130" short. One HUNDRED thirty thousandths! That's TEN (almost eleven) times the safe limit.




Just start handloading. It's the only way to be eliminate the variables and problems with the trash ammo being put out by ammo companies in their "budget" ammo lines, today.

[jersurf101]

The Federal chp 130 grainers with the dreaded polymer tips have worked great in my .270. They shoot really well at distances up to 400 yds for me and I have hunted with them for at least 10 years. Performance on deer up to 220lbs and accuracy have been great for me.

[BIG P]

I've had real good luck with Hornady SST 130'S.off the shelf & even better if u role your own.