Thread: Recommendations for subsonic .270 ammo?

Just be careful that the bullets you use will open up at the lower speeds. Many years back when I started meat hunting me mate loaded some rounds for his 270 but cut back on the powder a bit, back then no chrono so we had no idea the speed but it would have been a fair bit slower than normal rounds. He lost three deer in a row with good hits I think the bullets were not opening properly causing the animals to get away. Nowadays there are plenty of more fragile bullets some it shouldn't be to much of a problem.

A mate of mine did up subs in a .280 using trail boss, so can be done. He found that he could not get projectiles to open up on goats/deer and gave up on the the project. He just uses them now for dealing with camp possums. That was a decade or so ago, so may be a better selection of projectiles...although I can't imagine that .270 cal is well supported in this regard.

I like @Micky Ducks idea, try a frangible varmit style bullet at low (but still supersonic) speed with Trail boss, I reckon you could get great results and still be a lot quieter than standard ammo.

Just buy a 300blk ruger

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

Dama dama...that gives me idea...the hornady 110grn hpfb are absolutely volitile at std speeds....they MIGHT be ok at lower speed and not blow to bits so he could have some penertration along with expansion...the 150 speers have reputation for being very soft and ok down to 1800fps was why I suggested them...

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Dama dama...that gives me idea...the hornady 110grn hpfb are absolutely volitile at std speeds....they MIGHT be ok at lower speed and not blow to bits so he could have some penertration along with expansion...the 150 speers have reputation for being very soft and ok down to 1800fps was why I suggested them...

Yes that is the type of thing I mean. At those low speeds, say 1500-2000 fps, a varmint bullet would likely hold together and mushroom ok(ish). Could be worth a try but do some research first.

Edit: This is all theory on my behalf, no doubt others on here will be better able to make more informed comments.

TRUE...but.....if a person is asking about buying subsonic poohseventy loads,they probably havent had the experience to gain the expertise to place the said projectile with screwdriver type precision.....
some of us have suggested a graduated licence system before and got lynched for it.

Originally Posted by mimms2

Am I the only one on the forum who has never had an animal not-die from being shot??

If you put a screwdriver in the right place it's lights out. Firearms are a luxury.
Perhaps, like driving licenses, FALs need to be issued on a "learners, restricted, full" basis. If you can't kill a think with a knife, then bow and arrow, you can't step up to the full noise.

Weeellllll....difference between dying where you want and getting away to die somewhere else
An old acquaintance I used to play footy with and a way better hunter (and shot) than I will ever be (doing guiding now for a crust) was telling us the day after how he smacked a deer with the 308 in heavy bush. Probably shoulder shot. Even found bits of bone on the ground. Right on dark. He had gone back with a mate and his dog to try and find it in the dark with a spotlight before it started to rain and wash all hope away. Expressed frustration of looking at the beech leaves thinking it was a drop of blood but they had that red spot on them as well.
Didn't get the deer. Wasn't happy for a whole lot of reasons.

Not sure what you are driving at here @mimms2

I was specifically discussing shooting large animals with reduced loads and varmint bullets - I've never actually done it. BUT there seems to be plenty of examples of varmint bullets blowing up on the shoulder when pushed at full noise. Put those two things together and I'd love others to comment on whether my theory of low speed varmint bullets will work humanly and consistently. Its theory to me as all my recreational hunting has been with standard loadings using standard cup & core hunting bullets and at very much standard speeds - which work well, but not what the original poster was interested in.

Also, you've made stop and think; I've killed lots of animals in a rather surprising variety of methods....

Dama dama the 130grn speer HP in .308 are a classic...VERY fragile in the big case...poke them out of a 7.62x39mm and they are awesome,the nosler ballistic tips work well at slower speed too,so NO you not being at all silly with the idea.
Ive killed possums with a wooden sword,untill it broke.....oh also stabbed one in ceiling with my deer antlers one day too LOL. have probably killed possums with more varied methods than any other,stabbed/shot/squashed/drowned/shot some more/hit with axe/exploded with large calibre/shredded with .12ga and magnum goose loads/donged with various items....had one hanging onto my finger through welders glove with its teeth one day...wanted my mate to cut the hua off with chainsaw...man it hurt like a son of a bitch....teach me to take it off dogs.

@Micky Duck yup also had a possum bite me through a heavy leather glove. Couldn't believe hard it could bite. I expected to be missing a lump off my finger. I was supplying an outfit with live possums and had to get about 20 from leg-hold traps into juke sacks, what a fucken' act!
One thing I learnt out of that exercise was how much more aggressive male possums were compared to females, not something you notice when simply whacking them on the noggin with a hammer.

Originally Posted by mimms2

What I'm driving at, and it wasn't specifically at you or anyone else, is that you dont need a .375 SuperfuckemupUltraMag, to kill things. Precision beats horsepower every time.

Again you mention the shoulder shot. To me, this should be erased from the vocabulary. The shoulder is not a vital organ. Hoping to "punch through" to the vitals is almost guesswork. Will the projectile get through? will it deflect? Will it fragment? Sure you can "hope" to "take out the front wheels" and the animal wont go far...

Fuck that. Nothing, and I mean but nothing, survives after you take out the medula oblongata, or much longer if the heart.

I honestly cant believe you wrote that.........hunters have been specifically AVOIDING hitting the heart for generations....and the shoulder shot is the mainstay of many many wise folk as animal is anchored,the vital lungs and major blood vessels are hidden/protected behind/between them....punch through being almost guesswork is the dopeyist thing Ive read in ages....for many years folk have been told to picture a balloon/basketball between the legs inside the chest and aim to shoot through it,preferably breaking one of both legs at same time. if a fella is using enough gun,precision may be desireable but not necessary....a 8" vital area isnt that hard to hit from MOST angles....this reminds me of my time using the wee x39mm BHSR it was capable of better grouping if Id bothered to try but with 2" grouping with any ammo anyday...it was perfectly ethical killing machine for up to about 150 yards,thats still less than 4" or half the vital area needed to be hit.
Ive killed enough deer with single shot to the chest to know it works very well...some of them were with .223 by careful projectile selection to ensure it would drivethrough and do the damage needed...I have headshot deer too,not often but have done it...only when I knew a 2nd shot was guaranteed if I stuffed it up. red yearlings both times that come to mind,one with 223 at hundyish,mate and son were both within similar range with rifles if I missed. 2nd one was in spotlight with .12ga........oops thats not a precision weapon...but at the right range it works.

Originally Posted by mimms2

What I'm driving at, and it wasn't specifically at you or anyone else, is that you dont need a .375 SuperfuckemupUltraMag, to kill things. Precision beats horsepower every time.

Again you mention the shoulder shot. To me, this should be erased from the vocabulary. The shoulder is not a vital organ. Hoping to "punch through" to the vitals is almost guesswork. Will the projectile get through? will it deflect? Will it fragment? Sure you can "hope" to "take out the front wheels" and the animal wont go far...

Fuck that. Nothing, and I mean but nothing, survives after you take out the medula oblongata, or much longer if the heart.

While Micky Duck and I have got a long way off track ourselves with discussion on possum bites, I think you have missed the point of the thread....?

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

I honestly cant believe you wrote that.........hunters have been specifically AVOIDING hitting the heart for generations....and the shoulder shot is the mainstay of many many wise folk as animal is anchored,the vital lungs and major blood vessels are hidden/protected behind/between them....punch through being almost guesswork is the dopeyist thing Ive read in ages....for many years folk have been told to picture a balloon/basketball between the legs inside the chest and aim to shoot through it,preferably breaking one of both legs at same time. if a fella is using enough gun,precision may be desireable but not necessary....a 8" vital area isnt that hard to hit from MOST angles....this reminds me of my time using the wee x39mm BHSR it was capable of better grouping if Id bothered to try but with 2" grouping with any ammo anyday...it was perfectly ethical killing machine for up to about 150 yards,thats still less than 4" or half the vital area needed to be hit.
Ive killed enough deer with single shot to the chest to know it works very well...some of them were with .223 by careful projectile selection to ensure it would drivethrough and do the damage needed...I have headshot deer too,not often but have done it...only when I knew a 2nd shot was guaranteed if I stuffed it up. red yearlings both times that come to mind,one with 223 at hundyish,mate and son were both within similar range with rifles if I missed. 2nd one was in spotlight with .12ga........oops thats not a precision weapon...but at the right range it works.

Yeah mate, I've always found there are a bunch of kinda vitals things behind the shoulder.

them there 180grn round nose slugs seem to be rather good at finding them too.....LMFAO

I started typing a reply, but just don't care enough. @199p made most sensible post in this thread.