.270W for Long Range Shooting?

[schmeky]

I have a Remington 700 in .270 Winchester. I have not shot this rifle in many years, but I used to reload for it and still have all my reloading components. The rifle is in like new condition and hasn't been shot much.

There is 750 yard range about an hours drive from my house and I want to punch paper at 200-300 yards. I'm thinking of using a 100-110 gr bullet to reduce recoil a bit for longer shooting sessions (20-30 rounds) and maybe installing a good recoil pad.

What powders would work best in the 270? All I have is some 4831 left over from many years ago.

 

[gvnwst]

hornady and berger make match bullets for the .277" caliber. the powder question might be best to ask in the reloading section. the .270 win will make a great LR caliber if you do a good job.

 

[AlabamaEd]

Use H4831 and starting loads with 130 gr bullets. This should work great to 200-300 yds. Recoil should be mild as well. Good Luck, Blessings.

PEF

 

[rcmodel]

+1 on the 130 grain bullets.

The 100-110 gr varmint bullets are going to blown around by the wind at 300 yards much more then heavier bullet weights.

However, if reduced recoil at moderate velocity are more importent, here are youth loads from Hodgdon that will just fit the bill!

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Youth Loads.pdf

rcmodel

 

[win71]

Worked best for me

Use H4831 and starting loads with 130 gr bullets

Different rifles like different things. My pre-64 .270 worked best, i.e., both speed and group size, with this combo. The only others I tried were 4350 and 760. For paper punching at ranges to 300 yards you should be able to find a match bullet of some kind. I hunted with mine and pretty much stayed with Nosler and core lokts and killed everything from diggers to elk

 

[Harley Quinn]

Looks like the link is in favor of the H 4895 powder for the reduced load.

The reduced load and the lighter weight bullet should be good for what you are after. If it is a nice day and the wind is not bad, you should be able to see some good shooting. Even if the wind is moving the bullet, you can still see the grouping you will be getting.

Nothing like shooting to get you back in the swing of things.

The recoil pad is a good idea, if you need it cut down that is another issue, I'd go for the temp. recoil pad (slip on) for now...

Have fun.

 

[Horsemany]

As already stated, use the 130's at least for long range shooting. The longer bullets with better ballistic coefficient will pay dividends. One of the best target bullets for .277 is 135 grain Sierra Matchkings. You'll like em. If you want to decrease recoil do it with your powder not your bullet weight. A minimum charge weight of powder will still be plenty out to 300 yds.

 

[Shawnee]

+1 for 130-grainers and #4831

IMR #4350 is worth a try too. I've had very good accuracy in Remington 700 rifles with 56.0 grains of IMR #4350 and they have plenty of muscle for hunting too.

Good luck !

 

[schmeky]

I really appreciate the responses. Thanks guys.

Last question; what is the shelf life on extruded rifle powder? I have a canister of 4831 that is over 20 years old, but has been sealed and kept in a consistent environment. Still OK to use it?

 

[NCsmitty]

schmeky, If it's sealed it's probably ok to use. It's most likely a metal can, and my only concern is if any rust has developed inside, even sealed. One way to find out. If it has, then it's lawn fertilizer.

NCsmitty

 

[adam_oz]

I use win 760 with a 130 hornaday. Works best for me.

 

[35 Whelen]

I'll be dating myself her, but the late Jack O'Connor, who made the .270 what it is today, used H4831 almost exclusively. It is by most accounts, perfect for the .270. Since it is a relatively slow burning powder, it might not be ideal for 90-110 gr. bullets, but for anything above that, it's great. I also loaded my old .270 with IMR4831 and it too was just peachy.
Regarding the old powder, I followed in my fathers footsteps when it came to reloading. As such, I have used powder that he bought in the 60's and 70's with no problem. A few months ago he picked several pounds of Hodgdon and DuPont powder at a garage sale. Most of these were the old metal cans with some of the Hodgdon being in the old cardboard containers. As NCsmitty said, as long as it doesn't have the orange-ish rust colored powder mixed in or have an acrid smell, it'll be OK.
35W

 

[Picher]

I now load only two rounds in my .270 Win, Rem 700.

The first is my hunting load consisting of a 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip at with 61 grains of Reloder 22, chronographing at 3,260 and devastating on whitetails out to 500 yards. The bullet is seated 1/10" short of the lands and may be too hot for shorter-leade rifles. Work up slowly!!! This load has grouped 3 1/2" at 450 yards on a day with considerable mirage. That's the only day I've shot that far, but it's exceedingly flat-shooting and accurate.

The second is my target load, using a very mild dose of IMR 4895 behind the wonderfully accurate 90 grain Sierra HP. That round shoots under 1/2 min at 100 yards and is a great offhand and turkey shoot load.

I've tried the match bullets and haven't found a load that compares with either of the above.

Picher

 

[Geno]

I'd suggest Sierra 135 grain HPBTs, with a Fed 210 benchrest primer over 59 grains to 60 grains of H4831.