Life has changed a lot in the past 5 years. Before that i was always working but some of the guys in my family get together in WV the week before thanksgiving to hunt. I am going to try my best to go this year. I just picked up a used Ruger American 270 with bushnell banner 3-9 scope, sling and 34 rounds of winchester ballistic silvertip ammo. It was a good deal i could not pass up but have been wanting a 308 for some time. I am more into tactical guns and this is the reason, but dont go shooting all to often. Is this a decent set up? Talk some sence into me before i go trying to upgrade something wasting money.

Excellent setup.  270 is easy to find and hunting ammo is the same price as 308 hunting ammo.  Have a buddy who has taken 2 elk with a 270 Remington and 150 Nosler partitions.  Those Bushnell scopes can be hit or miss some have decent glass others are bad, if you decide to upgrade that's where I would look.  270 and 308 are nearly identical in on game performance they are both 95 percent of the 30-06 with 80 percent of the recoil just go about it different ways

270 is a perfect round for deer. Hope you have success !

Rifle bucks only season traditionally opens the week OF thanksgiving in WV.
NOT the week before.

That's probably what you meant, but just in case.

Your rig is a good one for deer. Make sure you shoot it and that your scope holds zero. Keep it on 3X while hunting for the bigger field of view it offers.  Good luck and happy hunting!

Your good to go,

Yep, if you want to dink with it the scope would be the only thing I would consider upgrading.

This.  Ruger American should be a very accurate rifle and .270 Win is plenty of cartridge for whitetail.  Bushnell Banner will be perfectly serviceable for hunting.  

I used a cheap Simmons scope (a step down from a Bushnell Banner IMHO) for two years on a 12 gauge slug gun, and killed deer with it.  

But, if you want to spend some money I'd upgrade the scope like dbd870 says.  For less than $200 a Vortex Diamondback would be a noticeable step up in glass quality.

Make sure you go out and practice with the rifle.  I'd buy a few other brands of .270 and try out a box through the rifle.  Find out what your rifle likes.  

You don't need the latest super technology, polymer tipped, ultra expansion bullet to kill a whitetail with a .270.  Decent soft point bullets will do the trick.

I'd recommend trying some Prvi Partisan PPU in your rifle.  I've seen their soft point ammo shoot very well, and the soft point bullet they load is of good quality.  I used PPU 6.5x55 to kill three deer last year without issue.

Good luck!

ETA: Once you've gone hunting and if you decide it's your "thing" I'd still hold on the rifle.  I started hunting later in life myself, found I loved it, and then (much like BRD) found I had a case of DRD (deer rifle disease).  

If I'm travelling any distance of a trip to go hunting I always bring a backup rifle/bow/muzzleloader in the truck.  Nothing worse than some problem with you weapon cutting your hunt short.  

Right now you've got a solid entry rifle for hunting, and in the future it will make a great backup rifle.

A great setup.  I have touted the 150 and 168 Grain Ballistic Silvertips out of my 30-06 for years.  Post holes most deer DRT.
Be careful though - too close, fast and/or hit bone and they expand violently.  Took a "quartering to" shot at 65 yards and hit him in the
front left shoulder.  Blew up EVERYTHING inside him including his guts.  Oh he fell over dead in 1 step but that was a nasty gut job....

His lungs, heart and liver was like a big bowl of cherry jello mixed up with Alpo out of a can.....

As others have said you have a good set up. I have lots of friends that hunt swear by 270, I like the round also but stuck to 308 for ammo commonality with my battle rifles. The ruger Americans are getting great reviews on accuracy also. The only place to consider an upgrade would be the glass. That being said I would zero it and hunt with it for a season before I messed with the glass. If you don't have a sling on it yet be sure to add one before you head out to the field. Good luck and happy hunting

The Ruger American is a perfectly fine deer gun.  Its reasonably priced, works well, and there is little to complain about.  Its effective.  I'm not a big 270 fan, but I have to admit that its likely one of the best all around, do near everything, versatile cartridges in existence.  You did fine.

Do your self a favor. Wait until near dusk, when the light is fading, say 30 minutes after sunset.  Use your scope to attempt to find and identify objects in shadows (NOT PEOPLE!).  If you cannot easily see much, its pretty much definitive proof you've got a low dollar scope.  The biggest difference between a good scope and a cheapo is its low light transmission.  Deer are often most active at first and last light.  A cheap scope can be a handicap.  If yours works ok, its okay.  If its "dark", you might want to budget $400 or so for good glass at some point.


As for ammo, there is nothing wrong with good old Win silver tip, Rem corelokts, etc.  The 270 is big enough that you don't need a bonded or premium bullet for it to work well.  and its not so fast that bullets will come apart easily.  Any old value priced soft point in the 270 will reliably kill deer stone dead.  Those basic loads and the old 270 have likely killed a couple or three million deer.

Ruger American in .270 is a rock solid choice for deer hunting.  I personally am a firm believer in the axiom that you should spend as much on the glass as the rifle it sits on.  I have in the past used cheap Simmons, Weaver and Bushnell scopes and almost all have failed me at some point (other than an older Simmons Aetec I can't seem to kill).  Take a look at the Nikon Buckmaster line or the Leupold made Redfields for a good bargain priced scope.

As far as glass upgrades go, if you aren't picky about the exact brand/model of scope, you can find some excellent deals in the EE for Used Optics.

I'm going to echo the rest of them...great gun for Whitetail.  scope could use an upgrade, but other than that...shoot it.  

I have had rifles that loved that Ballistic Silver Tip ammo, and some that couldn't hit crap with it.  Always been a love it or hate it type of ammo.  So just make sure it shoots well for you.

You have a good rifle and 270 is a great hunting round.  As others have mentioned the Banner scope can be hit or miss at times.  Make sure you shoot it and are comfortable with it before you go hunting.  The only thing I would consider is upgrading the scope if you have some extra cash.  Nikon, Leupold, Redfield, and Burris all make excellent scopes.  I can't speak for Vortex as I've never used one.  Any of the above mentioned scopes you should be able to find in the $150-250 range.  If you want better light to hunt at dusk and dawn times get a scope with a 50mm lens it will make a difference.  If you're not concerned with the light issue a 3-9x40 scope should be fine for any hunting you do.  I'm guessing most of your shots will be inside of 100 yards?

The rifle is just fine and the .270 will get the job done with ease.  I'd be inclined to upgrade the scope to a Leupold VX3 or similar.  At a minimum I would loc-tite the base and ring screws and make sure they are snug and won't loosen from shooting and make sure the action screws are snug as well.  Then practice, practice, and practice some more.

An excellent choice for a deer rifle.  I actually picked up the Ruger American Combo in 270, and it came with Redfield Revolution glass (the Oregon glass, not the Phillipines glass).  It's 3-9x40, which is plenty for most deer shots.  One thing to keep in mind...thin barreled rifles like the American have noticeable POI shift when the barrel heats up, so your first, cold bore shot placement will be different from follow on shots.  Unless you hand load, the only way to see what that shift is to use different (quality) ammo, and pick the ammo that has the best looking cold bore shot.


Took this buck last season with it:









 

.270 will kill the hell out of deer.