270 Winchester & 90 gr Speer TNT

Edwin Boone · March 3, 2013, 12:49 PM

Greetings!

I recently purchased a box of 90 grain Speer TNTs for use on Bluegrass Coyotes and the odd whistle-pig whose burrows are in the wrong place. While diving around the forums here, I've discovered that this isn't a favored pill among a good many of you. But, I have them, and I'm going to do my best to use them unless they're just plain awful from my rifle (Sako Finnbear, 24" barrel, 1:10 twist). With that in mind, I've come up with two problems.

After I purchased them (thinking "Wow! These ought to really turn a 'yote into "pasture plaster"), I found that I didn't have any 90 grain reloading info in the manual that I have on hand (Nosler #7, btw). The powders I currently have on hand are Reloader 15 and IMR 4350, and some somewhat older IMR 4064 that I feel good about.

The second issue is that, when I attempted to find my rifle seating depth with this pill, it would not do more than barely touch the rifling when just barely poked into the end of a spent case. After my first two attempts came back wildly different, for the third try I measured the OAL both before and after. There was no change. So, I went to the fallback position of seating the bullet by one diameter (0.277") into a trimmed case (I used my caliper to scribe a line around the bullet) and measured the result - 3.120". One of the other members ("Dr. Strangelove", I believe) mentioned loading some similar (Sierra) 90 grain HPs with an OAL of 3.105", which is sufficiently different to leave me confused.

So, my two questions regarding pushing this tiny beast through my Finnbear are:

What charge would you put under it (preferably with the powders I have on-hand)?

Keeping in mind that these bullets are going to have to leap a bit between the case and the rifling: What OAL would you advise using?

Many thanks in advance!!

**Mal H** · March 3, 2013, 01:25 PM

Going to the source for that bullet - the Speer Reloading Manual (#13), they list the following loads for the 90 gr TNT. 4350 is too slow a powder to consider for that bullet.

Code:

Powder             Max     Min      Nominal velocity
Reloader 15        55.0    51.0     3501 / 3179
IMR 4064           55.0    51.0     3433 / 3107

The OAL they used is 3.170" in a Ruger Mod 77 Mk II.

You should start with that OAL, and go shorter if you wish while looking for any over pressure signs.

I wouldn't worry too much about the length of the jump from dead start to the rifling. The bullet will make the trip in good condition. You're not going to get anywhere near the ideal bullet to rifling distance with that short of a bullet, so don't try.

FrankenMauser · March 3, 2013, 03:15 PM

What he said ^^

If the 90 gr HP doesn't work out for you, but you still want to try a varmint bullet, give the Speer 100 gr HP a shot. It's a more consistent performer and exceptionally explosive, in my experience (4 rifles).

Edwin Boone · March 3, 2013, 09:12 PM

The other varmint bullet that I've picked up is a box of Nosler Accubond 110 grain, which I'll probably load in half the prepped and primed cases that I have ready, sorta right alongside the 90 grain Speers. I'm pretty sure that they'll do very well, though they might not give the same explosive performance as the HPs.

If the 90 grain TNTs are terrible, I'll pick up a box of the 100s.

March 3, 2013, 01:25 PM	#2
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 16,947	Going to the source for that bullet - the Speer Reloading Manual (#13), they list the following loads for the 90 gr TNT. 4350 is too slow a powder to consider for that bullet. Code: Powder Max Min Nominal velocity Reloader 15 55.0 51.0 3501 / 3179 IMR 4064 55.0 51.0 3433 / 3107 The OAL they used is 3.170" in a Ruger Mod 77 Mk II. You should start with that OAL, and go shorter if you wish while looking for any over pressure signs. I wouldn't worry too much about the length of the jump from dead start to the rifling. The bullet will make the trip in good condition. You're not going to get anywhere near the ideal bullet to rifling distance with that short of a bullet, so don't try.

March 3, 2013, 03:15 PM	#3
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	What he said ^^ If the 90 gr HP doesn't work out for you, but you still want to try a varmint bullet, give the Speer 100 gr HP a shot. It's a more consistent performer and exceptionally explosive, in my experience (4 rifles). __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

March 3, 2013, 12:49 PM	#1
Edwin Boone Junior Member Join Date: March 3, 2013 Posts: 2	270 Winchester & 90 gr Speer TNT Greetings! I recently purchased a box of 90 grain Speer TNTs for use on Bluegrass Coyotes and the odd whistle-pig whose burrows are in the wrong place. While diving around the forums here, I've discovered that this isn't a favored pill among a good many of you. But, I have them, and I'm going to do my best to use them unless they're just plain awful from my rifle (Sako Finnbear, 24" barrel, 1:10 twist). With that in mind, I've come up with two problems. After I purchased them (thinking "Wow! These ought to really turn a 'yote into "pasture plaster"), I found that I didn't have any 90 grain reloading info in the manual that I have on hand (Nosler #7, btw). The powders I currently have on hand are Reloader 15 and IMR 4350, and some somewhat older IMR 4064 that I feel good about. The second issue is that, when I attempted to find my rifle seating depth with this pill, it would not do more than barely touch the rifling when just barely poked into the end of a spent case. After my first two attempts came back wildly different, for the third try I measured the OAL both before and after. There was no change. So, I went to the fallback position of seating the bullet by one diameter (0.277") into a trimmed case (I used my caliper to scribe a line around the bullet) and measured the result - 3.120". One of the other members ("Dr. Strangelove", I believe) mentioned loading some similar (Sierra) 90 grain HPs with an OAL of 3.105", which is sufficiently different to leave me confused. So, my two questions regarding pushing this tiny beast through my Finnbear are: What charge would you put under it (preferably with the powders I have on-hand)? Keeping in mind that these bullets are going to have to leap a bit between the case and the rifling: What OAL would you advise using? Many thanks in advance!!

March 3, 2013, 09:12 PM	#4
Edwin Boone Junior Member Join Date: March 3, 2013 Posts: 2	The other varmint bullet that I've picked up is a box of Nosler Accubond 110 grain, which I'll probably load in half the prepped and primed cases that I have ready, sorta right alongside the 90 grain Speers. I'm pretty sure that they'll do very well, though they might not give the same explosive performance as the HPs. If the 90 grain TNTs are terrible, I'll pick up a box of the 100s.