100 grain .270 win too light for deer?

[BIGINNER]

i got a savage .270 cal rifle,  and i mostley hunt coyotes, abd i like to use the same bullets all the time,  i like the flat shooting of a 100 grain bullet for coyotes, but is that too light for deer? 

[Curly]

If the bullet is a Barnes TSX or the like, then it will be fine.

[carpsniperg2]

it depends on what bullet you are using if it is a good soild bullet that will hold together well no prob but if it is just going to blow up on impact i would not risk it. but a good bullet no problem with the 100grainers on deer. i have shot a few deer with 100 and 90 grain bullets with no problem.

[KimberRich]

100 grains is fine.  I've shot plenty of deer with 100 gr. speers out of my .243.   

[Curly]

A 100 gr bullet will be going a lot slower out of a .243 than a .270 Win.........so not really a good comparison.

[huntlakewood]

I hunt deer with a .270 Rem good gun 100 grain will bring down a deer just use good shot placement.
I use 130 grain and I love it

[Pathfinder101]

I would switch to a 130 grain bullet.  You will have to resight in, but I think I would like having the extra punch.

I am picturing a worst case scenario where you hit a 250 lb muley buck square in the shoulderblade at 300 yards with a 100 grain bullet.  You know, the "buck of a lifetime", with a little bit of muscle up front and a thick bone structure...

[Curly]

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=752

Looks like Federal has 110 gr Tipped TSX bullets loaded.  They may shoot close to the same point of impact of your 100 grain load.  I don't think you can find a decent factory load in 100gr bullets that will be acceptable for deer.........

Like Pathfinder said, you may be better off going with 130 gr for deer and coyotes if you only want one bullet for both....

[KimberRich]

A 100 gr bullet will be going a lot slower out of a .243 than a .270 Win.........so not really a good comparison.

He wasked if it was to light for deer.. Not how fast it will be traveling.  I'm aware that it will be moving at a pretty good pace and IMO without a good solid core bullet and good shot placement you'll be doing some pretty serious damage.

[NWBREW]

 100 grain will bring down a deer just use good shot placement.
 

Bingo....we have a winner. I shoot a Rem 270 and use 130 grain....100 grain is fine, like was said before....shot placement is the key to bringing down game no matter if it's 100 grain or 150 grain.  

[Curly]

A 100 gr bullet will be going a lot slower out of a .243 than a .270 Win.........so not really a good comparison.

He wasked if it was to light for deer.. Not how fast it will be traveling.  I'm aware that it will be moving at a pretty good pace and IMO without a good solid core bullet and good shot placement you'll be doing some pretty serious damage.

Yeah, that is the problem.......the bullet will likely blow up unless it is a solid copper bullet because it will be going so fast.

[bobcat]

I would not use a 100 grain bullet out of a 270 for deer. The 100 grain bullet in 270 caliber is not made for big game. You're really not gaining much trajectory wise anyway. It might drop a couple inches less than a 130 but the wind will also push it a lot more due to the poor ballistic coefficient. Try using a ballistic calculator and you will see you're not gaining anything by using a 100 grain bullet in your 270. For a ballistic calculator just Google it and you'll find several. The only exception would be as Curly said, if you want to use a Barnes, all copper bullet, then going lighter than 130 grains wouldn't be so bad.

[Pathfinder101]

I would not use a 100 grain bullet out of a 270 for deer. The 100 grain bullet in 270 caliber is not made for big game. You're really not gaining much trajectory wise anyway. It might drop a couple inches less than a 130 but the wind will also push it a lot more due to the poor ballistic coefficient. Try using a ballistic calculator and you will see you're not gaining anything by using a 100 grain bullet in your 270. For a ballistic calculator just Google it and you'll find several. The only exception would be as Curly said, if you want to use a Barnes, all copper bullet, then going lighter than 130 grains wouldn't be so bad.

Agree with Bobcat.  Not worth the risk.  I'd move up to a 130 gr.

[Rgrady35]

Dang, and I've killed 3 deer in TX with 55 gr Remmy Core Locs out of a .22 250. Whew I gues I just got really lucky to have 'em practically drop in their tracks.  

[Pathfinder101]

Dang, and I've killed 3 deer in TX with 55 gr Remmy Core Locs out of a .22 250. Whew I gues I just got really lucky to have 'em practically drop in their tracks.  

Sure.  People shoot deer in other states with far smaller bullets than a 100 grain .270, but keep in mind that I am talking about the "worst case".  A big, heavy deer, at long range, hitting a bone...
And the question is not "is there any chance that it will kill a deer?", it is "would you recommend it for deer hunting?"  And in Washington State, with big mule deer, long shots, and wind... I would say "no".  Make the move to the heavier bullet.