Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr – Great Deep Penetration Ammo

Description

The old complaint about the 270 Winchester was that it lacked bullet weight for elk. The Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr answers that directly. Swift builds the A-Frame with two lead cores split by a solid copper wall, so the front expands and the rear cannot, and at 150 grains and 2986 feet per second it turns a deer rifle into something you can take after bigger animals without apology.

• The heavy end of the 270
• Full specifications
• Elk in the timber and big deer
• Honest notes before you buy
• Twist rate and point of impact
• The bottom line

The heavy end of the 270

Most 270 Winchester ammunition is built around 130 grain bullets, and for deer that is the right answer. Step up to 150 grains and you trade a little trajectory for sectional density, which is what drives penetration. The Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr gives up only a modest amount of speed for that weight and gains a great deal in how deep the bullet reaches.

The A-Frame construction multiplies the effect. Weight retention above ninety five percent and expansion held to roughly twice caliber means the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr arrives at the far side of an animal with most of its mass intact. A conventional 150 grain soft point at these speeds can lose half its weight on a shoulder and stop short.

Full specifications

• Caliber: 270 Winchester
• Bullet weight: 150 grain
• Bullet: A-Frame bonded dual core soft point
• Muzzle velocity: 2986 fps
• Muzzle energy: 2971 ft-lbs
• Ballistic coefficient (G1): 0.440
• Case: reloadable boxer primed brass
• Quantity: 20 rounds per box
• Part number: SB10037

The 0.440 ballistic coefficient is decent rather than exceptional, which is the honest cost of a partitioned round nose profile. The Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr will not shoot as flat as a sleek polymer tip of the same weight, but inside 300 yards the difference is a couple of inches and the construction advantage is worth far more than that.

Elk in the timber and big deer

This is the load that makes a 270 Winchester genuinely adequate for elk. A quartering shot through the shoulder is where lighter bullets fail, and the solid rear core in the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr is specifically designed for that situation. Black bear, big northern whitetails and hogs with a shield are all well within what it handles.

Zero two inches high at 100 yards and the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr shoots close to point of aim out to about 250. That covers nearly every elk shot taken in timber and a great many taken in the open. If your hunting regularly goes past 350 yards, a tipped bullet is the better tool and Swift makes one of those too.

Honest notes before you buy

This is expensive ammunition because the A-Frame is expensive to manufacture. Two bonded cores and a machined partition is genuinely more work than a cup and core bullet. Practice with a cheap 130 grain load, confirm zero with a few rounds of the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr, and hunt with the rest of the box.

It is more bullet than a whitetail needs. On a hundred and fifty pound deer at close range the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr will kill cleanly but will often pass straight through with modest expansion, because the construction is designed to resist coming apart. If deer are all you hunt, a 130 grain tipped load will do more damage and cost less.

Twist rate and point of impact

Every factory 270 Winchester barrel uses a 1 in 10 inch twist and it stabilizes a 150 grain bullet without any question, so there is nothing to verify before ordering the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr. The cartridge has been standardized for a century and rifle makers have not deviated.

Point of impact is the thing to check. A 150 grain A-Frame will almost certainly not land where your 130 grain load lands, and the difference can be several inches at 200 yards. Shoot a group with the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr and set your zero with it specifically. Hunters who assume the loads interchange find out the hard way.

The bottom line

For a 270 Winchester owner who wants to hunt elk with it honestly rather than hopefully, the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr is the load that closes the gap. You can read more about the bullet design at swiftbullets.com, or browse the rest of our stock on the MAG5 Firearms ammunition page.

MAG5 Firearms keeps the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr in stock and moving, and we are glad to talk through bullet choice before you order. If you are working up a load for a new rifle, a single box of the Swift A-Frame 270 Win 150gr is a sensible place to start.