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Sierra .277 90 Grain Varminter

MikeT49

Gold $$ Contributor
Anybody shoot these in your .277/6.8mm calibers? Tied to find some, appears Sierra has discontinued making this bullet? If so, crap! Very accurate in any 270W that I've loaded for. A bit overkill for rodents and not fur friendly for coyotes but a hoot to shoot. BC sucks at .195 but, if your target was within 277.5 yards, no problem:rolleyes:. Never shot a deer with one but would probably work.
 
Greetings,
I've shot several coyotes with this bullet out of my 22" .270win. Hides are not very nice afterwards.
John
 
I shoot those 90gr in my 270 win and with 64gr of RL17 produces a 4000 fps round. If sierra has stopped making them that is a great loss to me anyways. Speer still makes a 90gr HP and they seem to work just as good they use to be available in 650pcs value pack, but now are only in boxes of 100. I also shoot them in my 270 WSM, 270 mag, and 270 RUM, all with great success.
Dean
 
I sent an email to Sierra inquiring on this bullet and the 110 pro hunter two days ago. No reply yet. Sierra did provide load data for both in their new load manual version VI.
 
I use them in 270 Tikka, 54 grains h4895 = 3600 fps + and .5" Five shot groups. I shot a 250lb hog at 160 yds quartering away , aimed at farthest rear rib / edge of guts. I hit exactly there and to my surprise the bullet went through the hair, hide, fat, two ribs , diafram, heart , lungs, one rib exit, hair/ hide again and lodged in the leg bone on the far side.
 
I have shot out many sporter barrels in the Rem 700, 270 Win shooting Jack Rabbits, coyotes,crows, and rock chucks. IMR 3031 with the Sierra 90g hp shoots tiny groups in those Rem 700 sporters. Accuracy node was around 3500-3550.

Among the rifles that I shot, this 90g sierra 3031 load blew up coyotes better than anything that I shot, and rock chucks spouted a combo of wings with rocket pods attached to the body!

I won a few one dollar bets shooting penny's at 100 yards.

Cheap, beat up pawn shop Rem 700's in walnut stocks can be made into very accurate varmint rifles.

Everyone got on the plastic tip band wagon, many great bullets will be discontinued.
 
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FYI. I called Sierra. Both the 90gr HP Varminter #1800 and 110gr Pro Hunter #1810 have been discontinued due to low sales volume. There might be some left in the warehouse. Told me to call back Monday and ask for DeWayne. He has the skinny on old stock availability.
 
Talked with Sierra tech DeWayne. There are no 90 gr Varminters left (#1800). They do have some 110 gr Pro Hunters (#1810) left.
 
+1

I have not tried the 110g v max yet. I shoot the 110g Sierra Pro Hunter at 3300 with amazing small groups, deer and hogs. 110g Barnes ttsx jumping .050 gives excellent accuracy with the same point of impact as the 110g Sierra.
 
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+1

I have not tried the 110g v max yet. I shoot the 110g Sierra Pro Hunter at 3300 with amazing small groups, deer and hogs. 110g Barnes ttsx jumping .050 gives excellent accuracy with the same point of impact as the 110g Sierra.

110 Barnes TTSX shoots very nice in my 6.8 SPC. Want to try some of their 80 grainers or there abouts.
 
Let me say from the start, I have no personal experience with this bullet but someone who I highly respect uses this bullet in his 270 for deer hunting and has been very successful for many years using it.

I was always a believer in heavies for big game. When I first started hunting deer in the late 60's I used a 243 with 100 grain bullets because that's the bullet all the gun writers said to use in the 243 for deer. While I never lost a deer to this bullet, if I hit the deer, I nevertheless often had to do some tracking, sometimes considerable tracking to find the animal.

I began using a variety of other more powerful cartridges for deer, namely the 30 06 and 308, because gun writers, not field results, convinced me that the 243 was inadequate for deer. Like a lot of young inexperienced shooters I was impressionable and often heeded the advice of "experts".

It wasn't until I met the fellow I mentioned above that I began to rethink the use of lighter bullets for deer. At first I thought he was nuts but seeing his results decided to try his theory out of does. I went back to my beloved 243 and tried the 85 Sierra BTHP, my favorite bullet for the 243. I was shocked by the results, most does dropped where they stood or only ran a few yards. The key was to avoid shoulder shots and take broadside shots just behind the shoulder. I started using this bullet for bucks and got the same results. I'm now a believer.

Much older now with a body in decline, I appreciate the effectiveness of the 243 and the light recoil. Another positive result is that I can used the same bullet for all my hunting applications, deer, varmints, and predators although I don't hunt the latter two much anymore with the 243, the 223 is my cartridge of choice for those species. However for the one rifle hunter, the 243 with Sierra 85 BTHP's makes a lot of sense. This same principle might also apply to the 90's in the 270.
 

Thanks for the info. I must fess up. After I started this thread I found 6 boxes I forgot I had. I probably have enough.

Too bad they have been discontinued. Very, very accurate and the powder choice didn't seem to matter. I've shot them with H4350, I4064, Varget and H4895. As long as I ran them at about 3450 fps out of a 22" sporter, scary accurate. As has been stated, a bet winner.

If I do run out, I might try the 90 TNT. I know in my 20P the 39 TNT will run right with the 39 BK with a slight edge to the BK, probably because I have more confidence in the BK.

I also asked the tech why no 243 Winchester load data in their new manual for the 85 HPBT? Per the tech, it was in there when they sent to the publisher, got lost in the shuffle. He was somewhat chagrined. "Probably the most popular 243 bullet ever and it gets left out, aaarrgh!"
 
The tnt is very fragile, quite the opposite of the( Sierra varminter) sierra 90 grain is very durable and sturdy because of a thick jacket. The sierra is adequate for deer/hogs but the tnt really is not.
 
I've never shot the Speer 90. I really like the accuracy of the Sierra 90. Therein lies the question. For those that have shot both, are the Speers as accurate as the Sierra's? For those who shoot the Speers can they be relied upon to hit a golf ball at 200 using a bipod/bag setup?
 
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