270 load suggestions

[broham]

I have been loading for several years now. My buddy from work is getting into the game with a 270. I have to admit I know nothing about this round other than it's an excellent round for hunting. Can you steer me in the right direction of powder choices for a 130 to 140gr bullet. Here we are limited to solid copper but he may shoot out of state also. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks much.

 

[Grumulkin]

Here is my load. Cheap, accurate and deadly.

 

[broham]

That's great shooting, being able to pick which ventrical of the heart at that range is way more than good enough for pigs and deer. Good job and thanks for the quick response

 

[Hillibillyc]

thank broham for your help

 

[horsemen61]

Tag for future use

 

[broham]

My other friend bought some Barnes factory loads and complained about the terrible accuracy. He contacted Barnes and was told the solid copper slugs like to be seated close to the lands. This is why I love handloading, being able to customize ammo for my rifle. If this is the case store bought ammo is a crap shoot in your rifle. Can anybody confirm this info from Barnes? Once again thanks so much for any help

 

[savanahsdad]

My other friend bought some Barnes factory loads and complained about the terrible accuracy. He contacted Barnes and was told the solid copper slugs like to be seated close to the lands. This is why I love handloading, being able to customize ammo for my rifle. If this is the case store bought ammo is a crap shoot in your rifle. Can anybody confirm this info from Barnes? Once again thanks so much for any help

I just read a article in HandLoader (I think) and the writer said that the solid copper bullets worked best at .030 to .040 off the lands. I know when I tried some a few years back ,I loaded them close to the lands (.015) and I was not happy with them , I have not tried seating them deeper yet , but next time I load some I will be trying .025 then .030 and so on .

I don't have to use lead free , so I have not worked much with them , and I'm a big 270win fan , but the only solid copper bullets I have used have been Barrns 308win

hope this helps ,

 

[WestKentucky]

My rem 700 has liked every 130 grain bullet it has seen. I really liked hornady bullets I found once but can't find again. Now I shoot a 130gr with imr4350 that is gentle on the shoulder, tight on the target, and hell on a whitetails chest. At 100 yards a nickel is an easy target. At 200 a half dollar. Soda can to 400. Gun likes them all the same. It hates 150gr, 170gr, and worst of all it despises a 90gr bthp.

 

[TenDriver]

My XL-7 likes a 130 gr Hornady SST over 52.2 gr of Ramshot Hunter with a Tula standard primer.

Recoil is a firm push rather than a slap, possibly courtesy of the slower powder.

As always, what works for my rifle might not work in yours.

 

[gamestalker]

The first powder I ever used for .270 win more than 30 yrs. ago was IMR-4350. Having only used factory up to that point, I was absolutely amazed at how much more accurate reloads were. I ran mostly 130 gr. Speer Hot Cores for hunting for the longest time before trying others, Nosler ballistic tips were great too, and eventually Barnes solids a few years later.

Over the years I eventually settled on RL22, but that has been unavailable for some time now. So I'm back to IMR-4350, H4831, IMR-4831. All have performed very well, but IMR-4350 and H4831 perform best when worked up to the upper end of the table. Online published data is plentiful for solid copper bullets.

GS

 

[Grumulkin]

My other friend bought some Barnes factory loads and complained about the terrible accuracy. He contacted Barnes and was told the solid copper slugs like to be seated close to the lands. This is why I love handloading, being able to customize ammo for my rifle. If this is the case store bought ammo is a crap shoot in your rifle. Can anybody confirm this info from Barnes? Once again thanks so much for any help

Right out of the Barnes Reloading Manual Number 3:

"When loading X-Bullets, set the bulledt seater to seat the bullet 0.05" from the lands."

So, I'm pretty suprised they told you that.

Barnes, of course, would like you to believe their bullet is God's gift to accuracy. I have tried their bullets in quite a number of different cartridges and thus far found only 3 in which Barnes bullets gave stellar accuracy. In all of those, I crimped the bullet in the distal groove with a Lee Factory Crimp Die and the bullets were seated well off the lands.

You also have to understand the reason you're told to seat the bullet close to the lands. Chambers, throats, etc. aren't as precise as they should be. Seating the bullet very close to the lands gives it a better chance of getting started straight down the bore rather than starting of slightly crooked and having to align with the bore after a jump thereto.

 

[scottishkat]

I had really good luck with N560 at 100 don't ask me to explain the flier

 

[Tony k]

I'm pretty new to reloading, and this past hunting season was the first time I used hand loads. Powder availability was poor (it still is), and that was the biggest limiting factor for me when I was working up loads. If you and your friend are just starting out, you may be in the same boat. There seem to be many powders that work in a 270, and a handful that excel in the 270.

I was able to get my hands on some Hodgdon Hybrid 100v, and IMR 4064, both of which work, but neither are "go-to" powders for the 270.

I tested the 100v with some hornday 130 grain interlock bullets. Best 5-shot group I could get was 1 5/16 inch.

The IMR4064 with 140 grain hornady sst shot really softly, and grouped better (1.25" groups), but the velocities were only about 2750fps.

I was able to get consistent 1.25 inch groups with occasional 1 inch groups using the 140 grainers with 100v, and velocities were right at 2900 fps. I used this load (53 grains) for hunting this year. I shot a bear, 2 deer, and an elk with this load and had excellent results (all dropped in their tracks except the bear, who ran about 25 yards).

I'd give the Hornady GMX a try if I ever needed to go lead free. It's overall profile is about the same as the SSTs. I've heard they don't expand as reliably as the Barnes.

If I can get my hands on some, I'd like to test IMR4831 and H4350 with 130 grain bullets. I've got some IMR7828 that I plan to try with some 150 grain bullets.

 

[Apex Predator]

I started loading for a friends 270 recently. Load development was very easy 1st load shot 3/4 MOA. Second and 4th load shot just as good. I am now a firm beleiver in H4831 it worked well with both 130 and 150gr SSTs SGKs and the new Deep Curl. I opted for 58gr for 130gr and 54gr for the 150gr.
Very impressed with that old 9 lug Browning.