The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Best .308 and .270 Bullet for Close Range on Deer?

bamaranger · October 15, 2013, 01:41 AM

jmr is on target with his comment about "most any .270/.308 will do the job..."

Properly hit, deer are not that tough and certainly not bulletproof. The new mono/space bullets are great, but I don't think you need them, or the cost, for the typical 150 lb (or less) whitetail and a rifle in the .270/.30 class. If I were hunting Canadian bruisers, or muley's, I might spring for them, but otherwise I'd stay traditional.

I have trended towards the lighter end of the spectrum on almost all my deer loads. The Rem Corelokt has a heck of a rep as a good over the counter deer bullet. A friends new .270 Rem 700 shoots CL 130's into MOA consistently, and I hear other good reports. My old Win 88 in .308 shoots W-W factory 150 Power Points nearly as well, and when I hunted the old rifle regularly, never failed to produce quick kills. My new .308's all use Sierra 150 PSP's in handloads, though a rather stubborn Hog Rifle seems to like heavy bullets better. These are all Wally World choices, you can stumble into the local shop mart/chain store and pick these up as cheap as anything, if they are stock these days, of course.

My old great uncles, grand dad, uncles and Dad all believed that a .30 cal/ 180 RN was the best killer in the woods, but my observations on the deer I've shot with that load was that it certainly killed, but did not open or seem to drop deer as rapidly as a faster bullet. As a kid, the heavy RN's seemed to kick more too!

October 15, 2013, 01:41 AM	#13
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	most any jmr is on target with his comment about "most any .270/.308 will do the job..." Properly hit, deer are not that tough and certainly not bulletproof. The new mono/space bullets are great, but I don't think you need them, or the cost, for the typical 150 lb (or less) whitetail and a rifle in the .270/.30 class. If I were hunting Canadian bruisers, or muley's, I might spring for them, but otherwise I'd stay traditional. I have trended towards the lighter end of the spectrum on almost all my deer loads. The Rem Corelokt has a heck of a rep as a good over the counter deer bullet. A friends new .270 Rem 700 shoots CL 130's into MOA consistently, and I hear other good reports. My old Win 88 in .308 shoots W-W factory 150 Power Points nearly as well, and when I hunted the old rifle regularly, never failed to produce quick kills. My new .308's all use Sierra 150 PSP's in handloads, though a rather stubborn Hog Rifle seems to like heavy bullets better. These are all Wally World choices, you can stumble into the local shop mart/chain store and pick these up as cheap as anything, if they are stock these days, of course. My old great uncles, grand dad, uncles and Dad all believed that a .30 cal/ 180 RN was the best killer in the woods, but my observations on the deer I've shot with that load was that it certainly killed, but did not open or seem to drop deer as rapidly as a faster bullet. As a kid, the heavy RN's seemed to kick more too!