270 Winchester with Hornady 130 grain SST ammo for Elk?

[tkdguy]

Too lite of a bullet? 130 SST is all I have in 270 but have 30 cal and heaver bullets. For go the 270; it is a sweet heart and accurate. What do you think?

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[USMC1911]

I would rock it and not worry about it much if thats all I had. If you are proficient and just as comfortable shooting the 30 cal I would use that. The SST is not a bonded bullet and that would be my first concern. Not something I would trust to anchor a big bull if I had to.

 

[coltemp]

130gr is the standard bullet for 270.
I personally hunt with a 110gr Custom Lite to cut down on the recoil. 130gr is a perfect deer wieght. Probably a little light for Elk unless you are really close and can miss the ribs.

 

[titsonritz]

Bullet weight is not as important as construction.

 

[thorborg]

I've used the .270 and loaded for it most of fifty years using 130 gr for deer, but I personally liked the 150 gr for Elk. I like the performance of the 150 over the 180 and found it very efficient on Elk not needing the heavier.(albeit most were Nosler's, Hornady factory's gave a good show to). Earlier on I had used Winchesters Silver tip on Mulies but never had the opportunity for Elk before I started loading my own with Nosler, but suspect it to be just fine too, Though I always thought Winchesters performance was some what wanting, on impact, it did the job, plus, the tips flattened in the magazine unlike the polycarbonate tipped Nozlers.
While the 130 I am sure would do Elk, its more likely to disintegrate should it hit the heavier ribs or shoulder of an elk due to its speed and lighter weight. If you clear the bones, then it definitely would penetrate and Buzzsaw the vitals sure enough, but you may need to track him down depending o the position of the hit.
Lastly, .270, makes a very small entrance hole so depending on blood loss for tracking is a challenge unless you get an exit hole which would not be a good thing on Elk as it needs to be messed up good inside if you want to lay him down and find him.
All in all, if that is the best you can do, I personally would keep it well under 200 yards and avoid the through the shoulder broad side shot if you can. 1/4 round through the chest for heart lung but those legs easily get in the way if even moving slightly, side of the head, or neck if you can hit the spine but his withers make it deceiving as to where the spine actually is, both should drop him on the spot even with a 130

 

[No_Regerts]

130gr is the standard bullet for 270.
I personally hunt with a 110gr Custom Lite to cut down on the recoil. 130gr is a perfect deer wieght. Probably a little light for Elk unless you are really close and can miss the ribs.

As a handloader, with newer powders like RL26, I'll never use another 130gr bullet again. I can push 140gr and even 150gr bullets at 3000fps with less pressure. Like the 180gr bullet in a 30-06, the 150gr bullet in a 270 covers a lot of bases when pushed at 3000fps.

 

[Koda]

Too lite of a bullet? 130 SST is all I have in 270 but have 30 cal and heaver bullets. For go the 270; it is a sweet heart and accurate. What do you think?

as someone who hunts elk with an even lighter bullet, just stay away from quartering shots or anything over 300yds and you'll anchor them. The 270 is fine for elk though in the future I would look for a better bullet construction with a higher sectional density....

FWIW, heres a pic of recovered 25cal on elk, the one on the right is whats left of a 117gr Hornady Interlock (same as SST but without the plastic tip) at 100yds double lung shot. The front half of the bullet exited. The one on the left is a 117gr Sierra Game King at about 40yds perfect neck spine shot. I dont really like the way the Interlock held up but he went down with that one bullet just fine though it was a well placed behind the shoulder double lung shot, must have hit a rib... so dont hit the shoulder bone with light Hornady bullets.

 

[bionic knees]

it's more where you hit them than what you hit them with. .270 will be fine. I run a .270 short mag and haven't had any complaints.

 

[slm9s]

With a 270 shooting 130s at elk I'd pick a premium bullet, partition/accubond/tsx/etip/etc. You don't have as much margin for error with a "small" cartridge for elk, so take away the chance of poor bullet performance as much as possible.