I stumbled across this snippet of a letter that Mr. O'Connor wrote and I wanted to share it with those who may not have seen it.
I do own a 270 and for the most part I'm happy with it, but it is my back up rifle (along with number of others) on deer and Elk hunts.
With that out of the way, WOW 180-grain Barnes bullet? I just checked Midway USA and although there was no 180-grain Barnes, Woodleigh does make one. I also saw a few 170-grainers.
Second, when I got into reloading years ago, I was told that each caliber have a certain weight bullet (or range of bullets) that work best for that specific caliber. For the 30-06 it was 150 - 180 grain bullet; for the 284/7mm that was the 140 grain, and for the 270 that was the 130 grain. Folks on the fire have convinced me over the years that with newer technologies (bullets/powders), that logic is flawed. Not wrong just not accurate. I like Mr. O'Connors comment about the 130 and wish I could ask him today if he still felt the same. I sure he would still be shooting a 270 :-)
Finally, the loads he posted I'm going to assume, were for IMR4831 from back in the day... because Hodgdon's online reloading site lists a range of 52.0 - 57C for IMR and 54.0 - 60C for the Hodgdon's version. Each starting load gave vel/lbs of 2,822/46,600 PSI and 2,747/45,500 PSI respectively. Here again I am going to assume Mr. O'Connor was using PSI and not CUP. Please correct me if I got this wrong.
Like I said, I found the article really fascinating and wanted to share it. I have the utmost respect for folks like Jack O'Connor (and many here on the Fire).
Please enjoy and tell me what you think.
-HaYen
Dear Dave
... if you are printing some of my .270 loads, one I use a lot is sixty-two (62.0) grains of No. 4831 in Winchester-Western cases with the CCI Magnum primer. I have just checked my figures with that load with the 130-grain Nolser bullet in three .270 rifles. In two Model 70's with 22-inch barrels, one gave 3,130 and the other 3,210 fps. In a custom-made .270 with a 24-inch barrel, the velocity was 3,225.
I have never had pressure taken with the Nosler bullet, but with the Winchester Silvertip 130-grain bullet, the pressure was only 44,000 lbs. A Remington test with the same load but with the 130-grain Bronze Point bullet gave a mean pressure 51,200. With the 150-grain bullet, 59 grains of 4831 with W-W cases gave velocities varying in different rifles from about 2,900 to 2,975. An interesting load for very heavy game is the 180-grain Barnes round-nose bullet with 56-grains of No. 4831. Velocity is just under 2,700 in a 22-inch barrel.
As you undoubtedly know, velocities vary quite a bit from rifle to rifle and pressure figures vary accordingly to who takes the pressure.
I have used the .270 for 40 years, shooting everything from Javelina to Alaska-Yukon moose. I have also used it in Africa, India, and Iran. This may shake quite a few people up, but I am inclined to believe that the 130-grain bullet is probably the one best bullet weight yet, if the bullet construction is adapted to the animal
My best wishes
Jack O'Connor
