Good Loads for 270 WInchester

DAVID NANCARROW · November 21, 2000, 11:45 AM

I have recently been thinking about working up some handloads for my Remington M700 BDL in 270. Have tried some 130 grain ballistic tips which work well in my 308 in heavier weights, but the 270 doesn't seem to group well with them. Tried a few different powders and varying the overall length but no joy. 140 grain Hornady's do very well over H4831-SC, and like the typical man, I did not read the directions Remington provided, and they state the barrel twist is not conducive to 130 grain projectiles. Anybody out here having success with the lighter stuff? This is for Texas white tails, so I really don't need the heavy weight stuff, and I limit my shots to about 300 yards

Art Eatman · November 21, 2000, 08:40 PM

Reading some of your other posts, it sounds like you're persnickety about your group sizes.

From what you say, I'd guess you have a faster twist in your .270 than is common? I had a Sears&Sawbuck .270, years ago, that digested the 130-grain weight of bullet quite happily.

Sounds like your choices are to live with a wider group with the 130s, or maybe drop back a couple of hundred ft/sec with the 140s. Unless your bullets tend to "blow up" at full power, I don't really see where it's worth worrying about. I lugged my '06 with 150-grainers all over the Uvalde area, mostly up on Indian Creek...

One thing about it, the deer won't care. I can't hold better than 1-1/2 minutes of angle, offhand, anyway...

, Art

DAVID NANCARROW · November 22, 2000, 11:14 AM

I plead guilty as charged as to the anal retentiveness of my reloading methods, but I find reloading as interesting as shooting-something which drives my non-reloading buddies crazy, at least until we go to the range and shoot for lunch. I suppose the main reason for wanting the 130's is the deer in the Texas hill country are not huge beasts, and of course, growing up on Jack"Mr 270"O'Connor, the 130 is king for the caliber until you are looking at Elk or somesuch. This is my first excursion into sub 30 caliber. I have been loading for the 308 Winchester and 30-06 for many years and have burned nearly 4 pounds of powder per year for a dozen years, according to my records. I have had some great groups in the 140 grain Hornady and am going to try the ballistic tip in the heavier weights to see if I can improve upon what I've found so far. I don't think 10 grains is going to make so much of a difference but I'm up to the challenge if I can make it work. I really miss the walking hunt, but lost my leg in the military 20 years ago and its getting a bit much to walk for long distances anymore, so I'm sniping out of a deer stand. I hunt in Mason County, Texas, and this year, they allow taking 6 of them. My wife is a diabetic, so the store bought meat affects her medications, but the doctor(who is a hunter)advised she could eat all the venison she wanted as there is no steroids. One of the few doctors I ever liked!!!

bergie · November 22, 2000, 11:36 AM

I found the Nosler 140 gr. BT over 56.5 gr. of H 4831 SC to be very accurate out of my Savage. I tried several different bullets, powders, charges, and lengths and this worked for me. I did have some good groups with Hornady 130's and Reloader 15, but got my best results using the 140 BT / 4831 load. I walked over 20 miles checking groups during my experimenting with loads for this rifle over the summer.
good luck,
bergie

PJR · November 23, 2000, 09:35 AM

Second the motion on the 140 grain BTs. Reloader 22 and 19 are favorite powders for the .270 Winchester. I've also had some luck with the 110 grain Hornady V-Max with Reloader 19. It makes for a devastating coyote load.

DAVID NANCARROW · December 5, 2000, 10:25 AM

Took the advice of the two verrrry wise men here on the 140 grain vs beating my last brain cell against the wall on the 130's, and glad I did. Loaded the 140 grain boat tail Hornady with 56 grains of SC and it one holed the paper @ 100 yards. Interestingly, it 3 holed a buck at 150 yards and he fell over backwards within his own length. Only bad part is that the bullet apparently split and caught a couple of inches of backstrap. I normally make headshots as it makes cleanup easier and no wasted meat, but I had a good chest cavity view and wanted to see what the load would do in the breadbasket. It will be headshots forever on this load! I will be eating well this year once again-thank you very much for the advice and info!

MADISON · December 5, 2000, 11:12 PM

My 30 year old load for the 270 using either the 130 or 150 graing bullets was 57.0 grains of H-4831.

Consult your loading manual[S]for a powder update.

December 5, 2000, 11:12 PM	#7
MADISON Senior Member Join Date: January 1, 2000 Location: Roanoke, Virginia Posts: 2,678	Old Loading Data For 270 My 30 year old load for the 270 using either the 130 or 150 graing bullets was 57.0 grains of H-4831. Consult your loading manual[S]for a powder update.

November 21, 2000, 11:45 AM	#1
DAVID NANCARROW Senior Member Join Date: November 5, 2000 Location: Wyoming Posts: 1,761	I have recently been thinking about working up some handloads for my Remington M700 BDL in 270. Have tried some 130 grain ballistic tips which work well in my 308 in heavier weights, but the 270 doesn't seem to group well with them. Tried a few different powders and varying the overall length but no joy. 140 grain Hornady's do very well over H4831-SC, and like the typical man, I did not read the directions Remington provided, and they state the barrel twist is not conducive to 130 grain projectiles. Anybody out here having success with the lighter stuff? This is for Texas white tails, so I really don't need the heavy weight stuff, and I limit my shots to about 300 yards

November 21, 2000, 08:40 PM	#2
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Reading some of your other posts, it sounds like you're persnickety about your group sizes. From what you say, I'd guess you have a faster twist in your .270 than is common? I had a Sears&Sawbuck .270, years ago, that digested the 130-grain weight of bullet quite happily. Sounds like your choices are to live with a wider group with the 130s, or maybe drop back a couple of hundred ft/sec with the 140s. Unless your bullets tend to "blow up" at full power, I don't really see where it's worth worrying about. I lugged my '06 with 150-grainers all over the Uvalde area, mostly up on Indian Creek... One thing about it, the deer won't care. I can't hold better than 1-1/2 minutes of angle, offhand, anyway... , Art

November 22, 2000, 11:14 AM	#3
DAVID NANCARROW Senior Member Join Date: November 5, 2000 Location: Wyoming Posts: 1,761	I plead guilty as charged as to the anal retentiveness of my reloading methods, but I find reloading as interesting as shooting-something which drives my non-reloading buddies crazy, at least until we go to the range and shoot for lunch. I suppose the main reason for wanting the 130's is the deer in the Texas hill country are not huge beasts, and of course, growing up on Jack"Mr 270"O'Connor, the 130 is king for the caliber until you are looking at Elk or somesuch. This is my first excursion into sub 30 caliber. I have been loading for the 308 Winchester and 30-06 for many years and have burned nearly 4 pounds of powder per year for a dozen years, according to my records. I have had some great groups in the 140 grain Hornady and am going to try the ballistic tip in the heavier weights to see if I can improve upon what I've found so far. I don't think 10 grains is going to make so much of a difference but I'm up to the challenge if I can make it work. I really miss the walking hunt, but lost my leg in the military 20 years ago and its getting a bit much to walk for long distances anymore, so I'm sniping out of a deer stand. I hunt in Mason County, Texas, and this year, they allow taking 6 of them. My wife is a diabetic, so the store bought meat affects her medications, but the doctor(who is a hunter)advised she could eat all the venison she wanted as there is no steroids. One of the few doctors I ever liked!!!

November 22, 2000, 11:36 AM	#4
bergie Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 1999 Posts: 567	I found the Nosler 140 gr. BT over 56.5 gr. of H 4831 SC to be very accurate out of my Savage. I tried several different bullets, powders, charges, and lengths and this worked for me. I did have some good groups with Hornady 130's and Reloader 15, but got my best results using the 140 BT / 4831 load. I walked over 20 miles checking groups during my experimenting with loads for this rifle over the summer. good luck, bergie

November 23, 2000, 09:35 AM	#5
PJR Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2000 Posts: 1,127	Second the motion on the 140 grain BTs. Reloader 22 and 19 are favorite powders for the .270 Winchester. I've also had some luck with the 110 grain Hornady V-Max with Reloader 19. It makes for a devastating coyote load.

December 5, 2000, 10:25 AM	#6
DAVID NANCARROW Senior Member Join Date: November 5, 2000 Location: Wyoming Posts: 1,761	Took the advice of the two verrrry wise men here on the 140 grain vs beating my last brain cell against the wall on the 130's, and glad I did. Loaded the 140 grain boat tail Hornady with 56 grains of SC and it one holed the paper @ 100 yards. Interestingly, it 3 holed a buck at 150 yards and he fell over backwards within his own length. Only bad part is that the bullet apparently split and caught a couple of inches of backstrap. I normally make headshots as it makes cleanup easier and no wasted meat, but I had a good chest cavity view and wanted to see what the load would do in the breadbasket. It will be headshots forever on this load! I will be eating well this year once again-thank you very much for the advice and info!