no exit wound/blood with 130 grain federal .270

[fr0sty]

I shoot basic blue box federal 130 grain in my .270 The deer I shot this week was dead in about 3 seconds, but the bullet didn't exit. When looking at the deer I didn't find the entry wound either. Lucky the deer ran about 30 yards before dieing. It did take a bit of searching though to find him. I thought maybe I had missed (80 yard shot). I only found a few drops of blood right where he expired. No blood trail at all.

When looking at the processed rib cage, the entry point was about 5" from the bottom of the rib cage. The bullet shattered the leg bone on the other side.

I found my bullet when processing the deer. It was mixed in with tons of pebble sized bone fragments. Attached is a pic of the round. My question is this, was this a fluke that the bullet didn't exit or is that the way this round is supposed to perform?

[Ufatz]

It is not a given that a bullet will go all the way through an animal. You may have read that somewhere but it simply is not true...in fact you are better off shooting a load the expends ALL it's energy IN the animal rather than just blowing throuh the animal. Your 130 grain did exactly what you wanted it to do: put the deer down quickly and a clean kill.

Just a thought, but why not shoot a little heavier bullet next time.

Your okay, no worries, congratulations on your deer.

[tacklejunkie]

My youngest son got one with a .270 and I believe he uses 150 grain.

Why would I need to deer hunt when family can supply me with venison??

[Pooh]

I used to shoot federal premiums in 150's. I now shoot very similar hand load. Shot a 2 1/2 yr old buck last year at 35 yards. The bullet didnt go through. Deer tipped over and never moved.

[Neighbor_guy]

I shoot a .270win for deer. My prefered load is 130grain Federal Fusion. I would guess that 6 in 10 I shoot through. The others not. If it is true broadside, and only ribs, then it will. But if I hit a shoulder, chances are better it will not.

This year I had a pass threw on a head shot deer , and no pass through on a deer quartering twards me. That bullet ended up in the skin in front of the far side rear leg. Both were shot at 65 yards

A bullet that passes through and into the ground on the other side is wasting energy. I bullet that mushrooms to its fullest potential and hangs up in the skin on the far side is giving up 100% of its energy to its target, not the ground.

FWIW, I have never had to track a deer that the bullet sayed inside. They usualy fall were they stand.

[swamptiger]

My son has had the same experience with the last several deer he has taken with his .270 shooting lighter bullets. Fortunately, they were all good hits, so there was no tracking necessary. But it could be a bad situation if the shot was a little misplaced. I would go with a heavier bullet with more penetration.

[Grayfox]

Frosty,

That 130 grain round is plenty for whitetails. I mostly bowhunt but pick up the rifle just to extend the season and have taken around 20 with the Remington 130 gr PSP rounds. Any deer where I have a good rest gets it right in front of the shoulders in the neck,dropping them instantly, otherwise it's right behind the shoulder. Some run, some don't but if I shoot at one I always assume I hit it and follow up with a search of the area. 5 inches up from the bottom of the ribcage sounds like the shot was a bit low but i think the bullet did exactly what it's supposed to and spent all it's energy inside the ribcage as well as breaking the far side leg.

Rob

[fr0sty]

Yea, it didn't travel far. The thing that throws me was no blood trail. I used to use a 12 gauge and have also taken deer with my muzzle loader. You know where the round went in with those :0

I am guessing it was a high heart shot. It only ran for 2 or 3 seconds before dieing.

[marksman]

I experienced the same thing a few years ago with the blue box federals. I now reload my own with Barnes X bullets. My opinion is I want two holes, and a lot of blood.(if the deer does not drop) The Barnes bullets also mushroom perfectly and retain approximately all of the bullets weight.

[jay83196]

I like federal premium noslar partition 150 grain works great i like heavier heard they little slower and expand better ? But do work great...

[harvey lee]

Not a 270 but I have had issues in the past with the 7MM Ballistic tips by Winchester. They shoot well out of my gun but I only get one hole. The deer also seemed to go a distance.

I changed to a Hornady brand thats blows right through the deer and does alot of inside damage. Those deer go about 10ft and thats it.

I do not mind that my bullet goes through the deer all I care is that it drops fast with no tracking. I shoot a heavier bullet like a 172 grain but I am still able to drop deer at 350 yards. My average shot typically is 220 yards where I have my stand located in an open field.

In my 270, I shoot like a 150 grain bullet but of hand, I do not remember the brand or bullet style. They do clear the deer though. I guess I like the heavier ammo as I can shoot them just as far with good accuracy but they do drop a tick more than the lighter stuff.

Maybe I shock them to death with the heavy ammo.