bullet wieght for caribou

[roosterslayer]

Which would be a better choice for caribou 150gr NP or a 140gr fail safe. Will be shooting a 270 win and both shoot about the same through my gun. Thanks in adv.

[elk killer wannabe]

I haven't used either one personally but I did read an analysis done by David Petzal in Field & Stream on premium bullets which included these 2. The Fail Safe sounds like an awesome bullet. It has amazing penetration, weight retention, expansion, and ballistics. The Nosler Partition is a tried and true bullet that has worked for people for years but it is not the best one on the market anymore. It has good penetration but the front end tends to blow quickly and you don't get good weight retention. Does that matter? Maybe not. The NP has certainly killed a lot of big game animals over the years. My guess is either one would do the trick but the Fail Safe might give you more shot options.

Another ecomnomical choice to consider is the Hornady Interbond. They are considerably cheaper than most other premium bullets with excellent performance. Essentially the same performance as the Fail Safe. Just a thought.

[grayling]

Premium bullets can provide better all-around performance but when dealing with Caribou it really won't matter that much. Like whitetails, they are very thin-skinned, and just about any bullet from a .270, in the boiler room, will be more than any caribou can handle.

Any of the aforementioned bullets by the previous poster will do fine. Your best bet is to purchase several (at three) different types from three different mfg's and see how they group. Placement is more important.

I would also say that premium bullets have more to do with where you are hunting than what you are hunting for in this particular case. I have hunted Caribou in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge the past two years and I picked a premium bullet, not for caribou, but because of Grizzlies. This is the case where premium bullets come to full importance. I had a tag for a grizzly but did not fill it due to smallish bears (not 8').

If you are heading out to Quebec you will have no grizzly encouters (there are black bears) so a premium bullets is not necessarily needed.

I use Federal Premium with Trophy Bear Claw bullets but that is what my rifle shoots well! Find what works and shoots accurately, you should have no problems.

If both of those bullets group well for you then go with the less expensive.

Good luck,

Grayling

[mikeh416Rigby]

I've used both bullets you asked about, and both will do the job well. If I had to choose only 1, I would select the fail safe, as long as it shot well. The reason I would choose the fail safe is you could use it if the only shot presenting itself was a hard, quartering away angle. I'd be hesitant to take that shot with the Nosler.

[houthoofd]

We went to Quebec for a caribou hunt in August. A variety of calibers were taken along but a guy with a 25-06 and 125 grain bullets had no problem making a one shot kill. I brought my 30-06 in 180 grain Sierra Game King and made 2 one shot kills.