Picking the right powder?

[mrdux]

How do you choose what powder to try out? I know that reloading for my 270 win, there are about 8+ powders that I can chose from. Is powder a big factor with accuracy? Do you try to find the best velocity and work a load from there?

 

[NuJudge]

What do you want to do with your .270? If you want to shoot a long ways, pick a bullet that is accurate at long range. If you are shooting at Deer, pick a bullet you have faith will not fail you. If the last foot per second velocity is important to you, pick a powder that will give it to you. If you want a load that is likely to have short workup and a high likelyhood of success, ask around for 'Pet Loads.'

I don't care about the last FPS. I do care about a bullet doing what I need it to. I like to pick loads that shoot well in just about any rifle in that caliber out there. I don't shoot .270, so I cannot give you specific advice on the caliber, but old Lyman loading handbooks gave data regarding a range of bullet weights, then also gave a load that duplicated factory ballistics, and an accuracy load too. PM me and I will see what I can find in their recommendations for you.

 

[NCsmitty]

The 270 is a fine cartridge, and the usual bullet loaded is the 130gr. Some people like the 140-150gr, but that will be your choice.
In the Hodgdon line, IMR4350 and H4350 are very good, as is Win 760 and H414 (same powders, same data & uses magnum primers).
In the Alliant line, Rel-19 and Rel-22 are good.

It's all about what your rifle shoots best. What shoots well in someone else's rifle may not work well in yours.


NCsmitty

 

[MCMXI]

How do you choose what powder to try out?

That's a good question, but these days it's often what's available rather than what's best. Reloading manuals such as Lyman's 49th Edition list "accuracy" loads which it defines as the "potentially most accurate load". For example, using NCsmitty's 130gr bullet, Lyman lists 58.0gr+ of H4831 as the "accuracy" load along with 13 other powders. The 4831 load listed has a MV of 2990 fps, almost 200 fps slower than the maximum load listed for Reloder 22. If your rifle is similar to their test rifle, 26" barrel, 1:10 twist and a 0.277" groove diameter, then you might be inclined to head off in search of H4831. How many people have tried all fourteen powders listed, not to mention numerous other powders not listed.

I use Reloder 15, Reloder 19 and Reloder 22 with excellent results in .308 Win, .300 WSM and .300 Win Mag . If you look through Lyman's 49th Edition, you'll find that Reloder shows up a lot in the "accuracy" loads for many different calibers. Therefore, I put a lot of weight in the "accuracy" powders listed by Lyman.

 

[Plain Old Bill]

OR....

You might want to stick with H4895 or IMR 4895, which are VERY versatile powders....
At the end of the day, it's a personal choice. Go with your research and gut!

 

[MCMXI]

You might want to stick with H4895 or IMR 4895, which are VERY versatile powders....

IMR 4895 is an excellent powder (I use it for .223 and .308), but of the seven bullets listed by Lyman for the 270 Win, IMR 4895 only shows up once and that's for the 100gr JSP. H4895 isn't listed for any of the bullets, and IMR 4895 only for one! Based on that, I wouldn't be buying any 4895 if I owned a 270 Win. If I already had the powder (which I do) then I might give it a try, but if I were starting fresh, I'd look at the "accuracy" powders listed by Lyman.

90gr - AA2700
100gr - AA2700
110gr - IMR 4064
130gr - H4831
140gr - N160
150gr - H4831
160gr - Reloder 22

If I didn't have any suitable powder, H4831 would be my first choice since it's the accuracy powder for the 130gr and 150gr bullets so you can bet it's also good for 140gr bullets too. Since I have a bunch of Reloder 15, 19 and 22, I'd probably try those first ... Lyman lists loads for those powders for all of the bullet weights shown above.

Hopefully this helps a little and gives you some idea as to the thought process involved.

1. What powders are listed in my loading manuals or on line?
Go to 2.

2. Do I have any of those powders?
Yes ... go to 3.
No ... go to 4.

3. Are any of those powders the "accuracy" powder?
Yes ... STOP.
No ... (decision time) either STOP or go to 4.

4. Is the "accuracy" powder available.
Yes ... buy it ... STOP.
No ... go to 5.

5. Are any other powders listed available?
Yes ... go to 6.
No ... you're screwed ... STOP.

6. Can I use any of the other available powders in other cartridges/calibers that I reload for?
Yes ... (decision time) choose a powder ... pat yourself on the back ... STOP.
No ... (decision time) choose a powder ... STOP.

 

[WNTFW]

I have a .270 Win. I also have IMR4895. I don't use 4895 in a .270.

I have had good luck with some Ramshot powders. Look at Ramshot load data as it is minimal for the .270 and I believe 3 powders are covered.

I look at the pressure & Velocity of the powder in the load data also. I avoid powders with lower velocity and higher pressure. I'm not sure if I'm right but it makes sense to me. A good rule of thumb is having the case %85 full or more.

Asking around is good. For example .308 will have a lot of loads using Varget & Reloader 15. So you know your in the ballpark. More so when it coincides with the accuracy load in the manual.

Availability is an issue lately. So pick a few. Bullet selection should be taken into account.

Working up a load is part of the fun of reloading.

 

[flmason]

My theory might be wrong, but I tend to go for the least hot powder.

As an example, in my Super Blackhawk I could use Bullseye, Unique or 2400.

I selected 2400 as the slowest burning.

Why? I want the barrel to last as long as possible.

From there I worked out the most accurate load for the cases, primers, and bullets selected.

FWIW I ended up with 19.5 gr. 2400, CCI magnum primers, and 250 gr. H&G Keith type mold.

Of course if your goals are different, say stretching the powder to the most rounds possible, etc. then Unique or Bullseye might've made sense.

 

[hddeluxe]

I have been very pleased with the results for accuracy in my .270 using IMR 4350. It meters well for an extruded powder and is clean burning.

 

[dakotasin]

i look for the slowest powder that will work without heavy compression. in the 270 h-4831 and rl-22 have worked very well for me.

 

[mrdux]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[bigione]

We reload several calibers. We look for as few powders as we need to stock, but we also look at the cost per load. Sone very good powders cost appreciably more than others if it takess 50 gr. versus 40 gr. as a rough example. With powder in short supply, rounds per pound can make a big difference. 4831 is a favorite.

 

[MCMXI]

My theory might be wrong, but I tend to go for the least hot powder.

As an example, in my Super Blackhawk I could use Bullseye, Unique or 2400.

I selected 2400 as the slowest burning.

Why? I want the barrel to last as long as possible.

How many "hot" rounds would it take to shoot out a Super Blackhawk barrel, assuming that it's even possible? I would think that the top strap would take more abuse than the barrel. Either way, with the cost of ammunition compared to the cost of a new barrel, I don't give barrel life any thought for any rifles or handguns that I own. Barrel life certainly doesn't figure into my decision as to which powder to use.

My .300 Win Mag has a new Krieger barrel and it should last a couple of thousand rounds at least before I need to have the chamber reamed again. 2000 rounds of 70.0gr of Reloder 22 and 208gr A-MAX bullets cost WAY more than either a new barrel or having the chamber reamed. For a revolver, I would expect the barrel to last tens of thousands of rounds, even with hot loads.

 

[rcmodel]

I could use Bullseye, Unique or 2400. I selected 2400 as the slowest burning.
Why? I want the barrel to last as long as possible.

Thats backward thinking there.
It's true 2400 is much slower then Bullseye or Unique, but you burn three to four times more of it each shot.

As a result, you would get more bore erosion / flame cutting with 2400 then with the other two.

rc