Other than low recoil, what are reduced .270 loads good for?

stay with the 243 much less kick and shoots just as flat as the 270 will.

I shoot .270 out of a Ruger No. 1 rifle. The OP is correct. Factory loads can be unpleasant. However I've been using recipes that yield a lower pressure and milder recoil; I've even searched for these reduced loads here on our forums. Here is one that I've used to good effect: 15 grains of Trail Boss, propelling a 130 round jacketed bullet. At one hundred yards this is an accurate load which is actually quite felicitous to shoot. Go to Hodgdon's online reloading data page, and look it up. It will give you hours of plinking enjoyment without a bruised cheek or the risk of a retinal detachment. And you won't have to buy a different rifle.

I don't know about you, but when I shoot at game, I don't notice recoil at all. So in theory, you can practice with low recoil loads to become proficient with your rifle, then switch over to full power loads when the seasons open.

When my kids started hunting I purposefully downloaded their ammo a bit for the first couple of years. Cartridges were 30-06 (300 Savage levels) and .280 (7mm Mauser levels, maybe a little less). Both killed deer without missing a beat.

So when you say other than low recoil in guessing you mean the H4895 data.

Before it was discontinued IMR SR 4759 was the go-to powder for reduced rifle loads. I'm still very upset Hodgdon bumped 2 of the 3 SR powders.

Many years ago there was only Unique and then 2400 and that's what powered Cast rifle loads. There were no jacketed loads back then. Unfortunately the data for these loads is all but impossible to find. There is one alternative I have found other than Trail Boss.

You might like the results you get with AA5744. Lyman has data for AA5744 for a 100gr and 130gr bullet that should work well. I have not tried it in the 270 Win but have for the 30-06.

Good luck.

Laphroaig said:

I don't know about you, but when I shoot at game, I don't notice recoil at all. So in theory, you can practice with low recoil loads to become proficient with your rifle, then switch over to full power loads when the seasons open.

When my kids started hunting I purposefully downloaded their ammo a bit for the first couple of years. Cartridges were 30-06 (300 Savage levels) and .280 (7mm Mauser levels, maybe a little less). Both killed deer without missing a beat.

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As the finest rifle shooters in the world say, "Janee. Stem heelhartlike saam".

I shoot a 3006 for elk and find full house loads unpleasant. That said, if I am going to kill an elk at 300 yards, that is what I need. Cast loads are not punishing and let me practice to my hearts content with the same rifle, so that is what I do.

I've never heard anyone describe 270 recoil as like an "angry mule". It is usually considered one of the more moderate recoiling rifle cartridges. Before I'd want to go with reduced loads you might want to consider one of the new hi-tech recoil pads. They really work and 30-06 rifles feel much more like 243 recoil when used. Or perhaps the rifle simply fits your body poorly.

On the other hand 243 will kill deer just as dead as 270. If you never plan to hunt anything bigger than deer a 243 would be an option.

Laphroaig said:

I don't know about you, but when I shoot at game, I don't notice recoil at all.

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I've found the above statement to be the case. However, you have to practice to get good enough to go hunting and that is a potential problem.

As mentioned, a good recoil pad can help as can a heavy rifle but a rifle with a straight stock like a Remington 700 Classic can direct the recoil so it doesn't "slap" you. Monte Carlo type stocks can smash your face and do hurt. Roy Weatherby designed some good cartridges but the pretty Mark V rifles can/will hurt you with a stout load.

Another boon at the range is a PAST shoulder pad. I use one all the time when shooting from a bench. It makes a difference.

If you are sitting at bench and leaning forward, and absorbing 100% of the recoil, I could see that you may say a 270 is hurting you. I use to shoot 30 rounds of 30-36 off a bench at one time and if I got the bullet too close to the lands in the barrel it did hurt me. If I loaded it back a little it was a whole different animal. After I figured out what distance from the lands the rifle liked and I figured out that sitting more upright didn't hurt me at all, my shooting became enjoyable.
If I shot it standing up, off hand, it was mild to me.
That's the difference between leaning forward and eating 100% of the recoil vs sitting or standing upright and your shoulder being able to move with the recoil.

Other than low recoil, what are reduced .270 loads good for?

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For me shooting ground piggies from a Gosh darn long ways off. Or anything else for that matter.
You need to learn recoil management.

When I shot 30-06 high pressure loads sitting down at a bench and I was leaning into the shot and my shoulder was pretty much immobilized, it hurt big time.
I started using something that left me sit more upright so my shoulder could move with the rifle and it became pleasant with the same load.

Been there, done that. My thread from last fall; two deer with reduced .270 loads:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/downloaded-270-hunting-story.843610/

I've never shot a reduced load in anything and I'm 70 years old. For heavy stuff I may wear a PAST recoil shield but I never download rifle cartridges. When that time comes I'll sell the rifles and use a .22 rf.

No disrespect to any of you but that's how I feel.

joed said:

I've never shot a reduced load in anything and I'm 70 years old. For heavy stuff I may wear a PAST recoil shield but I never download rifle cartridges. When that time comes I'll sell the rifles and use a .22 rf.

No disrespect to any of you but that's how I feel.

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Here’s hoping your good health continues! I didn’t start downloading until I was nearly 75.

Sniper66 said:

T I may have an opportunity for a .257 Wby Mag, so lots of options are remerging. Thank you guys for the help. Tom

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My first rifle was a 700 VS in .25-06 which I never felt had a lot of recoil. It is very close in recoil to a .270.

That Wby Mag will most likely have more kick than a .270, I would rethink that.

Sniper66 said:

That's why I read and post on this site. You guys willingly provide lots of useful information and help me make decisions. Managing recoil has become a critical issue and accounts for my experience of my .270 as an angry mule. Having had shoulder issues for the last 2 years, reducing recoil has become increasingly important. Had rotator cuff repair surgery May 17th last year and am reluctant to tackle the .270. Still, I like the gun and like to reload so I'll give some reduced loads a shot. Certainly, I'll try a new recoil pad first and may put the .270 up for sale on my table at a local gun show on the 23rd. If a good offer comes my way, it will be a good excuse to opt for another rifle. I may have an opportunity for a .257 Wby Mag, so lots of options are remerging. Thank you guys for the help. Tom

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You might find the recoil table on this page useful. https://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm You can download the .270 Win to 7x57 or 7mm-08 and still have a heck of a hunting round at about 75% of the recoil energy or less.

joed said:

I've never shot a reduced load in anything and I'm 70 years old. For heavy stuff I may wear a PAST recoil shield but I never download rifle cartridges. When that time comes I'll sell the rifles and use a .22 rf.

No disrespect to any of you but that's how I feel.

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This right here. The PAST pad works wonders to manage recoil when shooting off the bench. I can shoot my larger caliber rifles all day long off the bench with the pad where before the pad all I wanted to shoot out of rifles like my 7mm RM was 10 rounds or so.

Great gun and shooting off sand bags I can hit a dime at 100 yards every time. Last deer I shot with it was right thru the heart, but holy moly that thing kicks; so bad that it's unpleasant to shoot.

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If you can hit a dime every time quit shooting it and just use it to kill things. That will drastically reduce the punishment your body receives.

I have some hunting rigs that are pretty brutal but they are not range toys for me, rather tools for a job.

I shoot with a PAST recoil pad also. Can't/Won't shoot without one. Not even a .223 shoulder surgery will do that to you.

As far as reduced recoil load for the .270 I am gonna do the same thing this spring. Using H4895 and a 110 Accubond I'm planning on shooting something in the range of 6.8SPC +p for velocity. If it's accurate it should do very well on game and easy on the shoulder.

Sniper66 said:

I've wondered what good are reduced loads. The Hodgdon page says they are for "youth, plinking, and low recoil". Doubt I would do much "plinking" with a .270. My Rem 700 .270 kicks like an angry mule. Great gun and shooting off sand bags I can hit a dime at 100 yards every time. Last deer I shot with it was right thru the heart, but holy moly that thing kicks; so bad that it's unpleasant to shoot. That's the only gun I can say that about. Are reduced loads really gonna do me any good? Or would I be better off selling the mule and keep shooting deer with my .243 like I did last season?

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A couple of questions. First, what is the weight of your gun? Second, are you using factory ammunition, and if so, what bullet mass and what velocity?

I spent 35 years as a range master and match director. During that time I met and helped many shooters that were very recoil conscious, for various reasons. Usually it is a youngster or a female with a slight build. However we as a nation have a pretty heavy population percentage of parapalegics, tripalegics and quadpalegics due to the length of time we have been at war, all over the world, where so many mines and IEDs have been deployed. I have several friends that dearly love the outdoors and get out every chance they can in their all terrain chairs. Some just shoot and others hunt.

A low recoiling rifle is a must for someone that has limited use of their hands or arms. The 6mm guns are perfect for those that have limited strength. Now several companies are making low recoil ammo so more people can get out and enjoy our sport. More and more people engaged in what we love is better for us.

By the way, if you have a standard rifle or shotgun that stomps you ever time you pull the trigger, look at the butt of the stock. If that butt angle is cut in reverse, so the barrel’s recoil is straight back rather than moving the barrel up, that gun will stomp you. There should be about a 10 degree angle created by the toe and heel with the distance from center of the action to toe being slightly longer than the the distance to the heel. Recut and with a good recoil pad you can fix just about every stomper, within reason. There is no recoil fix for such as a 458 Lott, it will just stomp you, but in a situation where it is required, you will not notice at all.
Ed

Sniper66 said:

I've wondered what good are reduced loads. The Hodgdon page says they are for "youth, plinking, and low recoil". Doubt I would do much "plinking" with a .270. My Rem 700 .270 kicks like an angry mule. Great gun and shooting off sand bags I can hit a dime at 100 yards every time. Last deer I shot with it was right thru the heart, but holy moly that thing kicks; so bad that it's unpleasant to shoot. That's the only gun I can say that about. Are reduced loads really gonna do me any good? Or would I be better off selling the mule and keep shooting deer with my .243 like I did last season?

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Reduced loads, in my experience still have plenty to of oomph.

I was shooting 40 gr. Of Varget under a 130 grain pill, which is about 2 gr. Below minimum charge I believe accord to hodgdon. Trying to get rid of the varget since I didn't like it for .223. Anyway, I was shooting 100 yards at a paper target right in front of an 8" diameter tree and every shot went through that tree front to back. I was amazed. That's with Hornady soft point flat base bullets.

I have no doubt that load would take out a deer. That tree saw some serious carnage.

Edit: that load did have significantly less recoil than 130 gr. Winchester super x, though I didn't think that those were awful either. My gun might be a bit heavier though. It's a Winchester M70 classic sporter with a walnut stock. If you have a lighter 700 with a synthetic stock I can see how the recoil might be more uncomfortable.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned muzzle brakes. If the barrel is not threaded, Witt Machine makes clamp-on brakes. Just send them the measurements of your barrel.

https://www.wittmachine.net/clamp-on-brakes/

I have a friend that swears by his. It moved the point-of-impact, but groups actually got smaller.