Thread: Tikka?

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

When I read that I read made by the cheapest tender.

This doesn't quite answer the conundrum that has puzzled me for years. Why wasn't the 270 accepted in general by the culling fraternity. As you would go a long way to find a profession that took more pride in the tools of the trade and using the best available at the time.

We 222 users were happy to buy a sako vixen through the NZFS and thrived on three 222 rounds per kill. Mostly we were supplied with sako or Hertinberg Ammo. Very good stuff it was too but I think we mostly preferred the Hertinberg.

The only other Ammo supplied to shooters was 270, 130 gr, CAC. Most every shooter that took 2 270 round per kill then traded these packets of bullets for powder and projectiles and reloaded for the Sako Forester 243's they were all using.

These shooters could just as easily traded for Powder and better 270 projectiles (if that was the problem) and reloaded for the 270 if they found the calibre acceptable.

Originally Posted by Scribe

This doesn't quite answer the conundrum that has puzzled me for years. Why wasn't the 270 accepted in general by the culling fraternity. As you would go a long way to find a profession that took more pride in the tools of the trade and using the best available at the time.

We 222 users were happy to buy a sako vixen through the NZFS and thrived on three 222 rounds per kill. Mostly we were supplied with sako or Hertinberg Ammo. Very good stuff it was too but I think we mostly preferred the Hertinberg.

The only other Ammo supplied to shooters was 270, 130 gr, CAC. Most every shooter that took 2 270 round per kill then traded these packets of bullets for powder and projectiles and reloaded for the Sako Forester 243's they were all using.

These shooters could just as easily traded for Powder and better 270 projectiles (if that was the problem) and reloaded for the 270 if they found the calibre acceptable.

I think you have probably answerrd your own question with your earlier post!

Initial failures and wounding due to poor quality supplied ammo led to loss of confidence in the calibre which was then passed down from mentor to apprentice, "don't use the .270, it wounds game, just trust me!" and so the opinion was spread without a lot ever trying it.
After your mates initial failures was he keen to try loading for it? I doubt it as he had already lost faith in it due probably to poor ammunition rather than the actual calibre.

It has suffered a similar stigma that all weatherby chamberings suffered in Africa, weatherby is still uttered as a swear word even though most who have this opinion have never even seen a weatherby chambering!
When they were launched back in the 60s with their high mv, premium bonded and mono bullets were not available, this let to a lot of failures and bullet blow ups.
Now we have much better bullets that perform well at high velocities, but the stigma has stuck.
Sounds familiar doesn't it?

The .270 is very popular in Africa, probably due to being marketed as a long range chambering from the start and was used as such, lower impact velocities meant the bullets could handle it and far fewer blow ups.

Originally Posted by Spudattack

I think you have probably answerrd your own question with your earlier post!

Initial failures and wounding due to poor quality supplied ammo led to loss of confidence in the calibre which was then passed down from mentor to apprentice, "don't use the .270, it wounds game, just trust me!" and so the opinion was spread without a lot ever trying it.
After your mates initial failures was he keen to try loading for it? I doubt it as he had already lost faith in it due probably to poor ammunition rather than the actual calibre.

It has suffered a similar stigma that all weatherby chamberings suffered in Africa, weatherby is still uttered as a swear word even though most who have this opinion have never even seen a weatherby chambering!
When they were launched back in the 60s with their high mv, premium bonded and mono bullets were not available, this let to a lot of failures and bullet blow ups.
Now we have much better bullets that perform well at high velocities, but the stigma has stuck.
Sounds familiar doesn't it?

The .270 is very popular in Africa, probably due to being marketed as a long range chambering from the start and was used as such, lower impact velocities meant the bullets could handle it and far fewer blow ups.

This 270 problem spread over into the meathunting phase as well, We had as you mentioned blow-ups where the projectile hit bone making a big hole and pumping gut gas and contents all through the meat, so many of the carcases went off before we could get them to the chiller. Pure fly bait most of them

Or if the projectile missed bone it would rip through without expanding. We used to say if you had three deer standing in a line it would kill the third one cleanly and you would spend the rest of the day blood trailing the other two.

It was always great handling the carcases shot through the neck or ribs with the trebbly. A little bit of moss dipped in pepper or flyspray and they would keep for five days even in the summer if you kept them dry.

Originally Posted by Scribe

This 270 problem spread over into the meathunting phase as well, We had as you mentioned blow-ups where the projectile hit bone making a big hole and pumping gut gas and contents all through the meat, so many of the carcases went off before we could get them to the chiller. Pure fly bait most of them

Or if the projectile missed bone it would rip through without expanding. We used to say if you had three deer standing in a line it would kill the third one cleanly and you would spend the rest of the day blood trailing the other two.

It was always great handling the carcases shot through the neck or ribs with the trebbly. A little bit of moss dipped in pepper or flyspray and they would keep for five days even in the summer if you kept them dry.

So they were persisted with? Did anyone try and change the projectile they were supplied with? Would be interesting to know what the projectiles were?
Again it sounds like a poorly constructed bullet, something like a nosler partition that expands rapidly to a point and then holds together would have probably gone a long way to solving these issues as well as going to a 150gr bullet (u have no idea why anyone uses 130gr bullets in a 270 except for mono metals, 150s are just better!)

I see your point with the trebbly, small fast bullet through the ribs disintegrating and making a mess of the vitals and not exiting,perfect for what you were doing.

Wouldn't have been very reliable hitting heavy bone though! At least you were supplied good quality ammo for the 222.😊

Originally Posted by Spudattack

So they were persisted with? Did anyone try and change the projectile they were supplied with? Would be interesting to know what the projectiles were?
Again it sounds like a poorly constructed bullet, something like a nosler partition that expands rapidly to a point and then holds together would have probably gone a long way to solving these issues as well as going to a 150gr bullet (u have no idea why anyone uses 130gr bullets in a 270 except for mono metals, 150s are just better!)

I see your point with the trebbly, small fast bullet through the ribs disintegrating and making a mess of the vitals and not exiting,perfect for what you were doing.

Wouldn't have been very reliable hitting heavy bone though! At least you were supplied good quality ammo for the 222.

It always amazed me as well why people would want to use 130 gr Projectiles too.

When culling the standard shot with the 222 was through the shoulder. This bullet was well able to punch through a stags near shoulder, crippling it, mashing the engine room and lodging in the far shoulder disabling that too, this happened up to a considerable range.

We only changed to neck, head shots when they paid 10cents a pound more. If too far away the target became the rib cage.

You could when close put a bullet into the chest through the little v at the bottom of the throat or straight up the date.
As long as the buyer could not find a bullet hole in the body you got the extra 10 cents a pound.

Originally Posted by Spudattack

So they were persisted with? Did anyone try and change the projectile they were supplied with? Would be interesting to know what the projectiles were?
Again it sounds like a poorly constructed bullet, something like a nosler partition that expands rapidly to a point and then holds together would have probably gone a long way to solving these issues as well as going to a 150gr bullet (u have no idea why anyone uses 130gr bullets in a 270 except for mono metals, 150s are just better!)

I see your point with the trebbly, small fast bullet through the ribs disintegrating and making a mess of the vitals and not exiting,perfect for what you were doing.

Wouldn't have been very reliable hitting heavy bone though! At least you were supplied good quality ammo for the 222.😊

Damn right, I shoot 150gn SSTs in my .270, a mild load, so easy on the shoulder and no blow ups. Drops them like a sack from 25m with Sika, to 325m on Reds.

Originally Posted by Scribe

This doesn't quite answer the conundrum that has puzzled me for years. Why wasn't the 270 accepted in general by the culling fraternity. As you would go a long way to find a profession that took more pride in the tools of the trade and using the best available at the time.

We 222 users were happy to buy a sako vixen through the NZFS and thrived on three 222 rounds per kill. Mostly we were supplied with sako or Hertinberg Ammo. Very good stuff it was too but I think we mostly preferred the Hertinberg.

The only other Ammo supplied to shooters was 270, 130 gr, CAC. Most every shooter that took 2 270 round per kill then traded these packets of bullets for powder and projectiles and reloaded for the Sako Forester 243's they were all using.

These shooters could just as easily traded for Powder and better 270 projectiles (if that was the problem) and reloaded for the 270 if they found the calibre acceptable.

I think the fact that the 222 is so much more pleasant to shot than the 270 (if you are firing a lot of rounds) may have something to do with it too. I don't imagine too many cullers or meat hunters would like to admit they were recoil shy.
Have heard good things about the Hertinberg projectiles but never come across them.