Will my 270 do the job?

[huntallday]

Well just got back from a pig hunt Sunday and Monday, and we did meet up with some pigs. I gave my buddy first shot and really unsure of what happened next. We glassed the two pigs from about 800yds away or more. And we closed the gap to about 200-275 yds. They were just grazing on the edge of the field. My buddy had a great rest off a tree limb and took his time. The shot was directly downhill, a pretty steep grade. After the shot the pigs just ran off with no sound or nothing and just dissaperaed quickly into the brush. The funny thing was that we found his 270 bullet mushroomed up ontop the dirt with about a 5inch skid in the dirt. Why did the bullet mushroom up in very loose soil. The bullet should have burried in the dirt. There was no sign or trace of blood or hair on the bullet. We went up and down were the pigs ran into the brush and followed some fresh tracks but no sign of anything. We went back the next day and also found nothing. Came up with the conclusion that it was a miss, but still confuse on why the bullet mushroomed up in very little dirt and was laying on top of the soil. Also wouldnt the bullet have blood or matter on it? And Will my 270 do the job on a good size pig? Want to be ready for the next opportunity because it is my turn to shoot first.

 

[Shot]

The 270 will do the job just fine, but there are excetpions. What I mean is shoot a big boar in the shoulder where he has all that "armor plating" and it won't do any significant damage. The 270 is a great rifle, both lacks power at 200+ yards for a pig (I think so). But it will do the trick if the bullit hits the chest cavity or the head.

 

[paulc]

huntallday, the rifle and bullet weight are more than adequate out to 300-400 yards.
placement is all that matters

 

[SDHNTR]

Short answer is, Yes, they'll do the job if you do your part. The .270 is plenty out to 300+ yards. I know a very successful Central CA guide who uses one exclusively. I do think a 150 gr. is a better choice but if 130 is what you have and what your rifle likes, by all means use them. I've killed them with a 25-06 and have seen them killed cleanly with a .243, 6 mm, .257 roberts and a .260. Your gun is more than adequate.

 

[Shot]

SDHNTR,

Are you talking about Frank?

 

[tnctcb]

a 270 is more than enough for hogs. i watched i guy in hollister drop a hog well over 200 pounds with a model 7 270 and the hog didnt move it just fell over in its tracks.just a note the bullet did not exit through the other side but i figure a dead hog with no exit hole is better than a hog with a shoulder blown out and running off.

 

[SDHNTR]

Shot, Yup thats who. Given his experience I'd consider him an authority on the subject. Now that I reread the post I think that the shot was a miss. Given the steep shot angle and long distance (your guess of a wide range of 200-275 tells me the pig could very well have been 300 yards or more) its a tough poke, and probably went high as can happen with steep angled shots. The bullet should of had some blood and flesh on it it the pig was hit. In my experience, all the slugs I have dug out of hogs had flesh stuck behind the copper jacket in the mushroom. My guess is that it hit the dirt and deflected. That may be why you found it on the surface. Dirt as a ballistic medium is actually quite hard (punch a mound of dirt, its hard). It does a good job of stopping bullets. That is why the military uses sand bags. The bullet definitely should have mushroomed as it did. To me this is not suprising. Actually, the fact that the bullet stayed together and did not come apart is quite impressive. All this said, as already mentioned, your .270 is a perfectly capable weapon.

 

[hogshot]

First of all finding the bullet is a miracle in itself. Like was posted earlier "punch a mound of dirt" is right it is very hard. Just think of the poor idiots who jump off of the Golden gate. When they hit the water it is hard like concrete and they are not traveling 2500+ fps. As with any shot, shot placement is the key. A nice neck shot is outstanding with a ...270. A .270 has a pretty flat trajectory out to about 250 yards. Very comparable to a 30-06, but the 30-06 will handle a heavier bullet. I shot a huge sow last year with a 130 grainer. The bullet hit the shoulder and deflected into the spine. The hog dropped like a rock. If I was shooting a heavier load, I probably wouldn't have needed the bit of luck that I got. That being said the .270 is adequate, but use a 150 grainer just to be on the safe side.
Jason

 

[LAhunter]

Also at a steep angle you would need to know the distances more accurate. If you don't know if it is 200 or 275 it would be hard to place a one shot kill. Also at a steep angle the bullet doesn't drop as much so the shot might of been to high.

 

[oljim]

Yep huntallday,,,that 270 of yores will do fine,,,no problem..

On a hog, shot placement is the key,,,lots of real good info has already been posted here on JHP about shot placement.

Good luck and safe huntin',,,

 

[1SoCalHunter]

.270 will do just fine!

 

[bigrocks]

Down hill shots will always shoot high.
The more your bullet drops on a flat ground shot, the higher it will shoot on a downhill shot.

 

[Speckmisser]

Bigrocks,

That's not quite right and not completely wrong... but welcome to the list anyway!

The drop will be affected more by the steepness of the angle than by the trajectory of your load.

Take a look at this link for a detailed discussion of the way this really works.

But the short form is, your point of impact will be a little higher than your point of aim for both uphill and downhill shots. At normal hunting ranges, though, this difference is nominal unless you're talking really extreme angles.

 

[m57jager]

270 is plenty fine for a big hog. My buddy dropped a 350# hog at 200+ yards with a 22-250. Yes, it was a head shot but it was a one shot, one kill. Think of it this way, if it will punch through an elk shoulder plate it will go through porker armor. It all about shot placement. Remington Core-Lokt are very effective bullets.