.270 ballistic silvertips or accubond ct for deer?

[buckmastermn]

I just put in an order for a new deer rifle. I've been looking at different ammo and narrowed it down to two, Winchester Supreme 130 gr Ballistic Silvertips or Winchester Supreme 140 gr Accubond Ct. I don't reload so it will be factory ammo.


Shots could range from 10 yards up to 150 yards.


I'm leaning towards the Silvertips because they are easier to get in my area and are cheaper. My only concern is how well will these bullets hold up on a 10 yard shot? Or hard quartering shot?


I would appreciate any and all feedback.

[mete]

While many want the spectacular kills of the 130 gr bullets you'll lose a good bit of meat if used under 100 yds .Stick to the 150 gr and a premium one like Nosler Partition .You may say expensive but how many bullets does it take to get a deer ??

[nate45]

I'm going to disagree with you mete. Having shot quite a few deer with Sierra 130 gr and Nosler 130 gr BT .277 projectiles @ top velocity, I've never seen the massive meat loss you speak of.

Furthermore the 150 gr .277 projectiles are structured for elk , mule deer, etc not smaller game. They are the equivalent of 180 gr .30 caliber bullets.

To the OP, either one of those will be fine.

[603Country]

I've shot a couple of hundred deer and quite a few (less than 50) hogs with 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips and I really have not seen many of what I'd call destructive shots. That may be because I shoot em in the lungs, and the ribs won't explode the bullet. Some people seem to think that the Nosler is overly destructive, but if I felt like that I'd switch to a different bullet. As for the higher dollar bullets mentioned by the OP, I'm sure they are even tougher than the standard Ballistic Tip, but I personally don't see any reason to shoot anything other than the standard BT. It's an extremely effective bullet in the hands of a good shot. But if I was going after Elk or something else that large, I'd go to a bonded bullet or the Nosler Partition (probably which ever was cheaper).

I should mention that the Ballistic Tip Varmint bullets are very explosive and destructive and quite deadly on coyotes, but I have quit using them on hogs. Not enough penetration.

[jhnrckr]

I have documented many many kills with ballistic silvertips and they are all gory as hell. I would be happy to post pictures if anyone doubts me. I run ballistic silvertips in my .270, .308, 7mm rem mag and I get the same massive exit wound with all of them. The bullet by design will rapidly expand and it doesnt matter if it is 130 grain or 160 grain. I use them exclusively for hunting to drop deer and hogs in their tracks. Yes I sacrifice some meat but it is a trade off to not lose an animal. Heck these bullets dont even group the best in any of my guns but every single shot has dropped them where they stood. I have made shots from 49 yards to 233 yards this season and they all grenaded on impact. Quartering to and from isnt going to make a difference except you might blow the guts up. These bullets liquify tissue, it is beyond hamburger.

[fatwhiteboy]

I have a M70 in .270 that shoots clover leafs using Remington Corelokt ammo. I reload for most of my rifles but good ol' 130gr Corelokt is the best out of my rifle...

[warbirdlover]

Silvertips drop 'em NOW....

[BIG P]

Near or far Hornady SST's do a fine job for Me 130gr.
Good shot placement stops the lose of meat.

[Zach W.]

I don't get the meat loss argument.

Where you shoot deer, there is no meat.....

[taylorce1]

Grab some of each; see what shoots best in your rifle. Go forth and slay deer! You don't need either bullet if they don't shoot well in your rifle, and any 130-150 grain factory load that shoots well will work on deer white tail or mule. If you shoot them through the ribs you will not lose any meat worth worrying about.

[1hogfan83]

When my .270wsm, I know its a different caliber but the only real difference is the length of the action, I could really only find a few find a few bullets for it and since I didnt reload I was stuck with 130gr ballistic tip. It will do wonders on deer.

[doofus47]

buckmastermn,
Invest in a box of each. Find which your rifle shoots better. Probably from 10 to 150 yards it won't matter much, since I believe that either one will do the trick.

good luck.

[Logan9885]

I don't get the meat loss argument. Where you shoot deer, there is no meat.....

I agree with zach w. Shoot a deer in the vitals and unless you eat guts its all ok. If you have to shoot a deer up the butt you may mess up some meat! I shoot a 270 wsm with 130 nosler bt's and it will put holes the size of grapefruit and the only trouble I had was with one tenderloin having a small amount of blootshot on bottom due to a high shot. If your meat hunting pick ur shots, if head hunting who cares!

[spclPatrolGroup]

I've allways stayed away from the silver tips, I dont know much about the lubalox coating or whatever they claim it is, if its anything like moly then if you shoot anything other than silvertips the bennifits are deminished, and I am constantly trying new things.

[jimbob86]

While many want the spectacular kills of the 130 gr bullets you'll lose a good bit of meat if used under 100 yds .

Simple fix: Don't shoot them in the meat.

.Stick to the 150 gr and a premium one like Nosler Partition .

While I like 150's (SGK's @ 2900) out of my .270WIN, Accubonds are much tougher bullets than needed: on a frontal shot on a whitetail at under 100 yards, that bullet will travel right on through the boiler room and into the "fuel processing center" ...... making field dressing a foul operation...... since good tasting meat is the object of the excercise for me, and busted guts are not conducive to that end ....... save those bonded/all metal bullets for tougher critters.....

.You may say expensive but how many bullets does it take to get a deer ??

Starting with 100 rounds in the box, that's 12 to zero from the bench, 9 to stick in the butt-cuff on the rifle, and 78 to practice on milk jugs full of water at unknown distances, from field positions.


I handload, so my cost differential is less than yours: .277 140gr Accubond bullets run $28/50 ...... 150SGK's are $33/ 100 .....

For loaded ammo, Cabela's lists the Winchester Ballistic Silvertips for $35/box of 20 ..... and the Winchester CT Accubonds for $43/20 ..... jeeminy peets! By the time you buy 100 rounds for the season, you could have bought a Handloading set-up and components to develop a load .....


My advice: Handload ...... or, failing that, don't pick a premium factory load, as you would be better served by practicing twice as much with standard $20/box Winchester SuperX or Remington CoreLokt ammo as 1/2 as much with the spendy stuff...... YMMV.

You said you are shooting up to 150 yards: A standard Power Point or CorLokt will kill them just as dead as any other bullet at that range, provided you do your part. Practicing more, especially from field positions, will make more difference than the type of bullet used, and using more economical ammo will help with that......

[Pathfinder45]

Try to get some original Silvertips. I hear Winchester quit making them but I've got mine. Hunt with older guns and ammo in a place that looks no different than it did before WWII. Leave your electronics and modern contraptions behind and pretend it's 1928 or something. When you see your deer, place the Silvertip in the center of bodymass just a little behind the forelegs. The new-fandled bullets won't kill them any deader and besides; I know from the shows these younger folks watch on TV these days that there's a considerable increase in the possibility you might run into werewolves out there nowadays. No worries though, if you've got your rifle stoked with real Silvertips. [I]Think about it.[I]

[jimbob86]

I've allways stayed away from the silver tips, I dont know much about the lubalox coating or whatever they claim it is, if its anything like moly then if you shoot anything other than silvertips the bennifits are deminished,

Both of the choices the OP gave are coated in that black stuff ......

I agree about the moly: it opened up my groups when I shot other loads after shooting the moly coated stuff.......

[kraigwy]

I don't know about Silver Tips or any other factory hunting ammo, but I do know the 270 Win.

In my opinion its perfect for anything from varmints to elk. A tad bit over kill for deer and antelope but effective.

The problem is, the 270 to way "underrated".

Running the numbers, if you take a 130 grn bullet (I used Hornady SSTs) and sight it in at 325 yards, and aim at the center of the Heart Lung area of a deer size animal, (point blank range) you'll never be more then 5.5 inches high or 7.5 inches low all the way to 400 yards, well beyond the normal hunting range for these critters.

My shooting the 270 bears out the numbers.

A 10 MPH full value wind will only drift the bullet 10 inches at 400 yards.

The energy at 400 yards is still over 1500 ft lbs.

If you think the 130 is too light for elk, then look at the 150 grn bullet, it only drops less then a half inch more then the 130s, is bucked less by the wind, and has about 250 ft lbs more energy then the 130s.

After you start shooting the 270 Winchester you'll come to realize that Jack O'Connor knew what he was talking about.

[jimbob86]

Try to get some original Silvertips.

I used those ...once. At 15 yards, the bullet hit a rib, and disintegrated ..... killed the deer, true, but the wound was maybe 3" deep..... he either died of shock or fright....... had the bullet not blown up right over his heart, he may have run a lot more than the 100 yards he did..... I imagine any of the 130 gr plastic tipped bullets such as the BT, SST, etc, designed for max expansion at long range would have not fared any better, given the very high impact velocity involved....... this was part of the reason I went to 150gr SGK's ....... lower muzzle velocity and more mass for the close shots, higher BC and more mass for more retained energy and a relatively flat trajecory for the 400yd shots....... True, they recoil a bit more, but TANSTAAFL.

[jimbob86]

The problem is, the 270 to way "underrated".

You can say that again!

Many say it is overkill for deer, but it is just what I need for where I hunt: shots can present themselves very quickly at very short range, as the deer comes down the creek, or they may be very long shots at deer grazing on the huge alfalfa fields on either side of it.....

The 1 in 10" twist my rifle (and nearly every other mass produced .270) will stabilize everything from 90 gr hp for grass rats to 140 Accubonds for elk to 150gr Berger VLD's for the "Long Range" crowd.....

Mine has been very tolerant with different loads, printing under 1 1/2" with 5 different bullet weights from 4 different manufacturers .....

Complaints against it say it is wastefull, with too much case capacity- a 7-08 can develop the same velocities in a shorter barrel, in a shorter action, etc.... that there are few .277 target bullets, etc......

It's a hunting rifle, and combined with a handloading set-up and some diligence, will do for all the centerfire hunting in the lower 48, and certainly all the hunting I need to do.

[Cowboy_mo]

IMO, you're wasting money on any premium bullet.

Get a box of "plain jane" Remington, Federal, and Winchester 130 grain ammunition. Shoot them all through your rifle and determine which one it prefers.

Then go kill a deer at the ranges you specified by aiming for the vitals (heat, lung, liver area just behind the front leg. There isn't much, if any, meat in that area to destroy and you will find your dead deer within 100 yds of where the bullet struck him

[603Country]

I completely agree with Cowboy Mo on every point he made. Beyond that, handloading would be a good move for you. You can get better accuracy from tuned loads and you can shoot just about any bullet you want to. The 270 might not be an official target rifle, but it'll shoot just about that well with a good rifle and those tuned loads. And back to the Nosler Ballistic Tips...that is one great shooting bullet. And the Sierra Gameking and the Hornady SST's will also shoot extremely well. I've shot 'bragging' groups with each of those bullets in various rifles. So come join us in handloading. Just think about all the stuff you can ask about and talk about. And very soon you'll be shooting those 1/4 inch groups that just about everybody on this forum shoots.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Since you wrote it would be around 150-yrds or less. Either would work very well for your application. Availability is the next issue?

[hooligan1]

The 130 grn bullet is the "Cats meow" for the .270 win, my favorite bullet is the 130 grn Accubond from Nosler, ( I handload) I'm not sure there is a commercial loading, might check Nosler website to be sure. It works extremely well on deer, I think anything heavier isn't really necessary to Cleanly take whitetails.. No real meat loss, like Taylorce1 says shoot'em through the ribs dude..
I'm not worried about the Accubond exploding at ten yds it'll just mushroom more!

[Kreyzhorse]

See what shoots best in your rifle and go from there. I'd buy a box of each and take them to a range and see what groups for you.

Either round will drop a deer. Personally I've had great luck with Winchester Silvertips as well as with good old Remingtion Core-Lokts.