Grew up shooting .30-.06 down in deep South Texas with Core Lokt, 150gr. Usually did a very good job, lots of DRT and plenty of blood trails. Purchased my first .270 yesterday, CVA Cascade and have always heard how great of a Whitetail killer it is, fast, flat shooting and with good punch. Will be using this on Whitetail, hogs and varmints in the Cross Timbers TX region.Was considering going with the deadliest mushroom, Core Lokt, 130gr. and generally wondering what kind of expectations I should see? Thanks

Have been using 7MM-08 and .25-.06 the last 10+ years of hunting Cross Timbers.

I got a 270 a few months ago, did some factory ammo testing. Hornady 140 grain American Whitetail and Federal Fusion 130 grain came out on top, Federal 130 grain Powershok not too far behind, and Norma 130 grain Whitetail and Hornady 130 grain Superformance SST bringing up the rear. I've been shooting the Fusion, killed a hog at 310 yards with it. The Fusion has one of the better BCs for a 130 grain soft point without getting into the premium ammo. I might switch to the 140 grain Hornady though just for a little better wind performance and maybe better penetration? Cheaper than the Fusion too.

It's hard to go wrong. Bet you end up loving it.

My favorite load for .270 is a 130gr accubond. Tough enough of a bullet to hold up to high velocity short range hits, but still expands well at longer ranges. Best possible load for a .270 and whitetail IMO.

I have at present three 270 rifles. I have used all kinds of reloads on game up to elk and settled for 150 grain bullets for everything. I found the 150 grain Power Point factory load from Winchester to be an excellent all around bullet for deer,hogs and elk. Never anything to complain about. And I like Winchester brass. I recommend this to all who don't reload. I have as of late played with various 130 and 140 grain Partitions in my reloads. All is good.

I started shooting a .270 in 1997 and started using 130 grain hornady interlocks in 2001.

In that time I’ve killed a ton of animals, mostly deer( I never kept count but it’s well over 100 ) with it.

I prefer the .270 over the 06’ as the recoil isn’t near as snappy.

Like I mentioned on your purchase post DQ, I always used 130 SST's from Hornday. I have gone to the ELDX 145 grain in both of my 270's and every pig or deer I have shot with it dropped.

It groups as good as the SST with a little more punch.

Right, I'm going to see how the mushroom shoots, love the price point and overall availability of it, Bass Pro, Cabelas, Academy, Walmart and anything else in between should I ever get in an ammo jam or simply forget it at home. Sure it should group more than well enough for this very occasional range guy and recreational hunter. If I find it just sucks, Hornady ELDX it is....

I got my first 270 in 1972. Since then, I have shot mule deer, and elk in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Couldn’t start to count how many Texas whitetail, pigs and other critters. I settled on a 130 gr Nosler partition many years ago. Used Hodgden 450, till I ran out, now use Hodgden 4831. All that said, you can’t go wrong the Remington core-locks, if your gun shoots them good. The old and proven 30-06 is hard to beat, and I’ve never been able to feel much difference in recoil between the two.

At the game and ranges you will be hunting you will find the .270win doesn’t differ much from how your .30-06 was performing. I shot factory 130gr core-lokt for a longm time but now mostly use 130gr norma whitetail. I have found it’s more accurate in my rifle and is a higher quality brass IMO

Nothing wrong with a corelokt bullet at all. Ime Remington ammo was always accurate and consistent….although for a number of years their advertised velocity and actual velocity could vary quite a bit. I’ve heard tales of people chronographing the 130 grain .270 load and finding it was only going about 2600 fps.


Now with there being a lot more Joe Shooters with chronographs, they probably had to up the numbers closer to advertised velocities.

I started with a 270 back in the early 70’s. Used 130 gr Core-Lokt for years and for many many deer. Started reloading in the early 80’s and used the 130 gr Nosler SBBT, then transitioned to Ballistic Tips. I have switched to the 260 now (270 Lite), but that’s not due to any problem with the 270. My load is 59 gr of H4831sc (work up to that, since it’s a rather warm load) behind that 130 gr Nosler BT. It does everything for hunting that the 260 and 6.5 CM, but at a higher level.

Did you ever chrono that load? Should have been moving pretty good

I never did chrono it. I used it for 20 years before I knew what a chrono was. The rifle is a Sako, with a barrel just short of 24”, so I reckon the bullet MV was over 3000 fps, and maybe 3100. Great rifle, and I hate myself for never using it anymore.

I've jumped into the .270win as well. Seems like an option that is really hard to beat with ammo that is readily available (and cheap), and ballistics that are really under appreciated.

I've got 130gr Norma Whitetail for deer and hogs around here. I bought a box of Federal Terminal Ascent 136gr and a box of Superformance 130gr SST to play with and test out in my two rifles.

For out west I've scrounged up a bunch of the 160gr Partitions and will also be playing with the 170EOL (my custom is 1-8.4t).

I concur. I had one for a long time, til barrel got pitted. Killed lots of critters with the core loks. I even found some 100 gr. In an old hardware store. The REM 700 would shoot the 100, 130, 150 gr in the same hole.

Started hand loading 130 gr Hornady Interlock back in the mid sixties and killed a lot of deer,mulies and whitetail plus 6 elk. The 130 grouped better than the 150 grain, good caliber for deer.

I bet you are going to like it. 130 grain Sierra Gamekings in a .270 Win is the big game combination I have used the most.

130 was and has always been the classic .270 weight. Jack o Connor made sure of that.
But do not shy away from stuff in the 140-150 range if you really want the .270 to hit above its weight class.

Ultimately it’s gonna boil down to ammo preference, price point and your expected ranges. Really cont go wrong with any of it.


Since you’re a mushroom fan…keep your eyes peeled for some 100 grainers. Bad medicine on light skinned critters.

I have two 270's and have for decades. One is my truck gun and the other is my stand gun.
For deer I use the Hornaday Supra's in 130 grain.
For hogs and coyotes in my truck gun it's core lokt 130's.

In fact, about to buy a 3rd 270 for my night vision.

Great caliber, have done very well with them.

Like your old .30-'06, the .270 is a fine game round. I've shot it on-and-off for better than forty years and it's never given me reason to cuss it.

Shortly after my wife and I married in '89, I set her up with a .270 that fit her to a "T"...and she has taken a slather of critters with it over the years. Deer, hogs, pronghorn, elk, blackbuck, axis here in the States. Red Stag in Argentina. Kafue lechwe, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, puku, reedbuck and impala in Zambia. The .270 may not be absolute perfection in a hunting cartridge but it does just fine, thank you very much. I'm convinced that she'd sooner dump me than lose that rifle...

Pick a load that your rifle likes and go hunting: there are precious few BAD choices in .277 diameter. For instance, her last animals in Zambia all fell to Cutting Edge Raptors weighing a scant 110 grains and we didn't recover a single one...all exited!

My wife shoots 140 grain magnum”hot” loads from Chad. Never had a deer go more than 35 yards. She goes for heart/double lung.

The .270 has been going strong for a hundred years. There must be a reason.

You're going to love the 270. I have others, but it's been my go to for over 50 years.