.277 E-Tip Report

[Whttail_in_MT]

Here are pictures of two bullets recovered from a bull elk I shot this year. Fired from a .270 WCF at a MV of 2900 fps. Range was 200 yards. I shot and hit him three times with the second bullet passing through. He was only 40 yards from the property boundary so I wasn't taking any chances!

The first shot, which is the bullet on the left in the pictures, was intentionally put into the shoulder to anchor him. The bullet went through both humerus bones just below the ball and stopped against the hide. By the third shot he was on his side with his back to me and probably wasn't needed but as I said I wasn't taking any chances on him getting onto property where I wouldn't be allowed to retrieve him. This bullet is on the right and judging from the differences in expansion was stressed more than the shoulder shot. Aiming point was back of the neck just in front of the shoulders and I found it in the front of the neck against the hide towards the head.

Lost meat in the shoulders was comparable to what I've experienced with the TSX. That's to say not much. There were bone chunks and marrow where the bullet went through the humerus bones that I trimmed around but that was it. I probably trimmed a softball-sized piece from each shoulder.

Expansion at widest point was about 0.570". Retained weight on both was 128.4 gr. I'm assuming the only weight loss was the polycarbonate tip.

Bullets turned 180 degrees from above.

Turned 90 degrees from above.

And lastly a frontal view.

 

[corbin9191]

Congrats on the hunt! Beautiful performance with the E-Tip

 

[JD338]

Whttail_in_MT

Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for posting your field report on the 130 gr E-Tip. Gppd performance for sure.
Congratulations on your bull elk.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Fascinating pictures and great account of a successful hunt. I used the 130 grain E-Tip to drop a moose this season. Complete penetration and effective performance. I'll be using them in other cartridges.

 

[Guest]

By my calculations, that's an impact velocity of roughly 2500fps. I like the performance. I'm anxious to see some reports from lower velocity impacts on large game, and higher velocity impacts on medium game. So far, though, the E-Tip seems to be a winner.

 

[Wally]

Great job with the report, and congrats on the bull. Did you find the powder charge with the E-tip to be close to regular cup and core bullets, or did you have to run a little lower charge? I'm thinking about trying this bullet in my own 270 next elk season.

Thanks for your help,

Steve

 

[Whttail_in_MT]

Did you find the powder charge with the E-tip to be close to regular cup and core bullets, or did you have to run a little lower charge?

I followed Nosler's advice and loaded to the mid-level charge in the #6 manual. Powder was H4831SC. I did not notice any pressure problems.

Glad to be of help.

 

[6mm Remington]

Congratulations on your elk. Neat pictures and really good performance from those E-Tips!! My son used the 90gr. in his 6mm Remington this year to make one shot kills on his antelope and his mule deer buck. We never got to recover any because they exited, but by all accounts from what I could see in the wound channels, they did an excellent job. That .270 Winchester is a great cartridge.

 

[FOTIS]

Thank you for posting the pictures. Congratulations on your bull elk.

 

[Wally]

Thanks for the reply! H4831SC is my rifles favorite powder. That's definitely where I'll be starting.

Steve

 

[Greg Nolan]

I can't rightly say that that was any improvement over the TSX. Which I personally disdain but am unfortunatly forced to use at times. I'm sorry about the discention but I believe the AccuBond is the best bullert ever made and the E-tip might be pre-mature . It needed the rings the TSX and Hornady bullets provided for prssure relief. Sorry to say so, BUT??
I'm very sure I didn't make friends on this one but I'm not working for Nosler, I'm trying to insure the future of Nosler!
Greg

 

[Whttail_in_MT]

I've shot more animals with TSXs than I have with E-Tips and the TSXs have worked well. However, Barnes supports an organization I don't agree with so I will not use their products. I knew going into this season that I would likely have to anchor an elk where it stood as I was hunting a small piece of public land bordered by private property where I would not be able to retrieve a dead elk. To that end I was looking at a CNS or front running gear shot. I've hit enough animals in the shoulder with Partitions to know I didn't want to do that again because of meat loss. I assumed the AccuBond would be the same due to similar weight loss. Thus I decided to try the E-Tip. They did exactly what I wanted them to do which was anchor the animal on the spot without having to throw away half of each shoulder. Yet they also expanded plenty to do damage while going through the chest.

I realized no pressure indications and I'm only 100 fps slower than what I normally load to with this bullet weight. I doubt I'll ever notice the loss of velocity. It sounds like you've had a different experience with pressure though.

 

[SJB358]

Great story and congrats on your elk. Looks like those 130gr E-Tips are pretty tough, and I really like the mushroom on the E-Tip vs the petals on a Barnes Bullet. Although they both retain the same weight, the petals do break off fairly easily. I have a 225gr 358 cal one to show. Just a nit pick, the animal was still laying where I shot it.

Mike, you really didn't have any issues running the E-Tip full tilt in your 270WSM did you? I think they are a great answer to guys who need to use them. I think the rings might help a little, but they seem to be doing well so far. Again, congrats on your elk. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

There are no problems with the E-Tips in my 270 WSM. In fact, the closer I approximate a maximum charge, the tighter the groups. This seems to hold in general with slow powders, but it seemed fairly pronounced in the 270 WSM.

 

[Greg Nolan]

Based on all the positive reports and because I already have some .277 e-tips I'm going to start load development on some today. I may have been too hasty in my opinion. I'll post results. I planned on using the 270 WSM and 257 Wby for antelope this comming year. That should be a good test of expansion on thin skinned game.
Greg

 

[Jerry 919]

Greg,

Nosler will produce a 100 grain .25 caliber E-Tip during 2010. Just what the doctor ordered for the .257 Weatherby. Should be able to get 3450- 3500 FPS out of that jewel. Great pronghorn and sheep round.

Jerry 919

 

[Greg Nolan]

It sounds like it might be worth a try if I can get them soon enough!

 

[Jerry 919]

I'll keep you posted.

Jerry 919

 

[jmad_81]

Congrats on the bull. Looks like those bullets did the trick. Get any pics of the bull?

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Thanks for the great report.
You can always tell the real elk hunters. They don't take chances, they make sure they put them down.