.270 for Muntjac?

Alistair

Well-Known Member
So then ladies and Gents, it's once again time for me to avail myself of your knowledge! :rolleyes:

I am sure this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer for the life of me. So would or has anyone used .270 on muntjac or roe deer?
The reason for this question is that I am considering applying for a deer legal calibre (after DSC1) and I ideally want a true allrounder. As such .270 seems ideal; range of bullet weights and constructions, wide availability, supposedly easy to reload if I decide to get into that, and significantly cheaper to buy than .308 due to puzzling lack of love from buyers. Add in that it seems well suited for all of our deer species and for hill stalking as well as being boar legal if that ever became an issue, and it looks like I'm onto a winner! The flatter trajectory (compared to .308) may possibly make it a touch more forgiving towards errors in range estimation as well. However I understand that most stalking available locally is shorter range woodland style stuff for munties or Roe.
I am certainly not sensitive to recoil so the only obvious disadvantages or concerns are
1. will it be suitable for muntjac or roe or is it likely to make an unacceptable mess in terms of meat damage
2. is it less likely to be approved by a West Mercia FEO than a .243 as I hear many seem to take the view of .243 or nowt for novices
3. are rounds significantly more expensive than .243?

I can understand that .243 is possibly better suited for my local stalking conditions, but I would struggle to justify 2 rifles if I ever want to branch out, both in terms of cost, and possibly in terms of getting them on ticket as well so one seems a better bet.
Thanks very much for your help
Alistair
 
The 270 is a good all round cal, I use one daily. The damage done to Roe is minimal. You have a good choice of ammo for it, 110 grain up to 140 grain. Most gunshops will keep ammo for it so you should never be stuck. If you do start stalking the larger species it will cope with them no problem.

Al
 
1) Nothing wrong with the calibre, I have shot munties and roe with a 30.06, tip construction does damage not size. I see about 150 deer shot each year and a 243 with the wrong tip will ruin more meat than the larger calibre.
2) Few FEO have any knowledge about firearms, the may say the smaller bullet is safer, if they do ask them which one would they prefer to be shot with. They will say neither, precisely no calibre is safe if used incorrectly .
3) May be a little, but if you buy a 2.43 you will want a larger calibre before long.
 
So then ladies and Gents, it's once again time for me to avail myself of your knowledge! :rolleyes:

I am sure this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer for the life of me. So would or has anyone used .270 on muntjac or roe deer?
The reason for this question is that I am considering applying for a deer legal calibre (after DSC1) and I ideally want a true allrounder. As such .270 seems ideal; range of bullet weights and constructions, wide availability, supposedly easy to reload if I decide to get into that, and significantly cheaper to buy than .308 due to puzzling lack of love from buyers. Add in that it seems well suited for all of our deer species and for hill stalking as well as being boar legal if that ever became an issue, and it looks like I'm onto a winner! The flatter trajectory (compared to .308) may possibly make it a touch more forgiving towards errors in range estimation as well. However I understand that most stalking available locally is shorter range woodland style stuff for munties or Roe.
I am certainly not sensitive to recoil so the only obvious disadvantages or concerns are
1. will it be suitable for muntjac or roe or is it likely to make an unacceptable mess in terms of meat damage
2. is it less likely to be approved by a West Mercia FEO than a .243 as I hear many seem to take the view of .243 or nowt for novices
3. are rounds significantly more expensive than .243?

I can understand that .243 is possibly better suited for my local stalking conditions, but I would struggle to justify 2 rifles if I ever want to branch out, both in terms of cost, and possibly in terms of getting them on ticket as well so one seems a better bet.
Thanks very much for your help
Alistair
308 standard get ammo from any good gun shop little meat damage good all rounder from the smallest to the biggest deer
DJC
 
Deer legal is deer legal. Ask a dead deer what it was shot with.

Rifle builders will always try and sell you a better mousetrap but that's just marketing, so if you like .270 get one. It's entirely a personal preference.
 
Having watched 48/50kg Fallow fall straight over at 230 yards when shot with my .243 last weekend then any slight notion of getting a second rifle faded very fast....


Tim.243
 
I pick snowdrops with a JCB...

I take your point, and maybe it is slightly overkill, but that wasn't the question. The question was ' is there any Ballistic reason why I shouldn't us the calibre vis a vis meat damage'. Anyway, I'm not entirely convinced that a degree of overkill is such a bad thing. After all there are always those saying that .222 is not a suitable cartridge due to marginal performance despite it knocking over plenty of deer. Stalking, in the end is about playing the averages; shoot often enough and you are eventually going to make a poor shot and on that day you are, purely from an ethical and tracking point of view, going to be glad of the wider wound channel and shock effect of the larger round. The question is whether you view this safety margin as being worth the possible loss of meat from all the other animals that you do drop on the spot, if of course, and I am not yet convinced, there is actually any additional loss in the first place!
Alistair
 
If you want a .270 and have made your mind up then get one as it will certainly kill the deer.
trajectory advantages of .270 over any other deer legal chambering at normal stalking ranges are usually exaggerated (.308 really isn't that much worse in real terms).
youncan have bad meat damage with whatever round you choose if shot placement is off, that said it has been found by many that slow and heavy rounds are better for meat conservation.
 
Always interesting to hear other peoples views :)
Thanks to all who posted, I think I will go for the .270 then.
Alistair
 
I use a 270 on muntys and roe, meat damage is no more than a 243, a badly hit deer is badly hit what ever the calibre, As to cost of ammo, even the most expensive is the price of one fallow, never understood why people get hung up on ammo price for stalking.
Tim good shooting, I have a 243 as well, and have shot a lot of deer with it. But like the 270 as we have 5 species in thick cover so never know what you are going to shoot.
 
Was in exactly same position, brought a .270 and never looked back. You're right too, there's some real bargains out there!
 
You sound like you have already made up your mind which is half the battle as in reality, it's splitting hairs.
These threads run to so many pages because it is a very personal choice and to be honest, having confidence in what you're using is all that matters.
The more stuff I shoot with the more different calibers, the more I realise that actually, the .243 is a hell of a piece of kit and unless you shoot big stags and boar, it's the perfect all round uk caliber.

My boss shoots all our munties and roe with his .270 and gets perfectly good results/meat damage.
 
yeah, to be honest I kinda have. I just thought it was probably sensible to check these things with a few people with practical experience before committing, after all thats why I joined the forum in the first place! Anyway, gotta keep the old calibre debates alive :evil:
 
You sound like you have already made up your mind which is half the battle as in reality, it's splitting hairs.
These threads run to so many pages because it is a very personal choice and to be honest, having confidence in what you're using is all that matters.
The more stuff I shoot with the more different calibers, the more I realise that actually, the .243 is a hell of a piece of kit and unless you shoot big stags and boar, it's the perfect all round uk caliber.

My boss shoots all our munties and roe with his .270 and gets perfectly good results/meat damage.

eh, so not an all round calibre then,lol:stir:

 
eh, so not an all round calibre then,lol:stir:

I guess if there was a perfect all round calibre...... There would only be one calibre.
all deer legal chamberings will kill all uk deer, some need to be fired more precisely than others, some have to potential to damage venison ore than other etc etc.
 
I've shot muntjac with my 7mm-08 and 140gr bullets, which isn't very different at all from a .270. There was one that was a bit mangled because it didn't hit it perfectly, but other than that there's not been significant meat damage. They have all been very dead indeed though. Buy a .270!

Actually, last time I was at the BSRC and said I was going stalking, I had some disbelieving looks when I said I was going to stalk munties with the 7mm-08. Well I don't shoot very many deer, so I'm not going to buy a specific dinky little muntjac rifle. One size has to fit all in this case, and it does! Although I do think there are a lot of stalkers whose real hobby is collecting as many rifles as possible....
 
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I guess if there was a perfect all round calibre...... There would only be one calibre.
all deer legal chamberings will kill all uk deer, some need to be fired more precisely than others, some have to potential to damage venison ore than other etc etc.
There are plenty of perfect calibres but like bullets you need to choose the one that suits your purpose, and a 270 will perform well on any species that decides to step out in front of it even running game, you takes your choice, to me a 243 is a varmint round but people use them to good effect so thats good, atb wayne
 
My current "go to rifle" is my 270. I have shot all 6 UK species with it, as well as some big wildboar and even a few goats. 130grain IMO is the best. No necessary reason to have different loads for different species.

I am off out this arvo for a muntjac, roe doe or fallow buck or doe. I have never considered a 270 to be too much gun. Dead is dead.

Go with the 270. Like some have already said it is a great all round calibre for what you describe you need.

When I eventually get my arse to Africa, my 270 is what I will be taking!!

Cheers
 
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