Because of new regulations enacted a couple of years back, portions of California require hunting ammo are prohibited from containing lead so as not to harm condors. Now I am all in favor of experimenting with new components but being forced to use something I don’t agree with is another thing. That being said I move forward. Local deer in our area are not known to be tough to bring down with a well placed shot from any number of calibers. With that in mind I decided that the 270 would be an easy one to start with. That and 270 bullets were the ones that were on sale at that particular time. The rifle I would use is a Winchester model 70 synthetic stock equipped with a B.O.S.S. (Ballistic optimizing shooting system) . Bullets traveling down a rifle barrel cause it to vibrate effecting accuracy . The boss is an adjustable weight that reduces or eliminates the vibration, improving accuracy. Effective? Yes. Loud? Absolutely. Cheating? Maybe. So my bullet of choice noslers etip, a 130 grain polymer tipped projectile with no lead in its construction, suitable for use in Lead free zones. Unlike other no lead bullets these do not have grooves cut in them to reduce pressure caused by the bullet being in contact with the rifling of the barrel, more Bering surface of the bullet, more pressure. Less Bering surface, less pressure. Nosler recommends starting powder loads at minimum velocities for that reason, keeping an eye on things to stay safe. Powders. I experimented with three, IMR 4350 , IMR 7828 and Accurate Arms 4350 with IMR 4350 coming out on top . Groups under an inch at 100 yards gave me plenty of confidence for shots out to three hundred yards considering I don’t like to shoot big game any farther. 200 yards is more like it for me. Speed? I never did chronograph any of these but according to Noslers reloading guide I was getting about 2950 feet per second, which is plenty fast enough. Performance. Did they work? Yes they did. The second buck I took was at about 200 yards at a down hill angle. I held just a hair low because of the steep angle. He stepped forward when I was squeezing the trigger and I Caught the back of both lungs and the exit wound wasn’t as big as it used to be with leaded bullets, but he didn’t go anywhere and expired soon enough. Performance was better than the first buck I took a few years ago. The bullet did not exit the deer and he traveled 50or 60 yards in kind of a big curve without a blood trail, but he didn’t get away. Yes I will keep using them. I just got some more in 7mm and first round testing gave me some good tight groups in my Ruger 7mm Remington magnum. I can’t wait to try them on some critters or anything for that matter.
Written by, Pro Staff Rick Tonkin
