Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles New 270 Win Loads

For as long as I've been reloading (1974), H4831 has been THE powder for the 270 Winchester. The caliber is, by far, my favorite for deer and antelope. My standard load that I have used in three different rifles is 60g in a Winchester case. I've used Nosler Partitions, Accubonds, and the 130g Barnes TTSX. However, after looking over recent loading manuals, it appears as though my old standard is giving up a good deal of performance in the interest of habit and nostalgia. SO.....are there other 270 fans active in the Forum and have you found any loads with the newer powders that you are using?

I use rl 26 with 145 eld-x.

I'm like you, I stick with what has always worked well in my rifles.

For me it's IMR 4350.

I'm also like you or was. In the last couple years I've switched to RL26. The velocities are substantially higher than H483. Roughly 175fps. . Accuracy is spot on s well. If you're interested I can post the recipe.

RL23 is the best powder for 270 Win with 140 gr bullets.

I've used H4831 for years. I've now got RL 23 and 26 that I'm going to play with (145eldx and some old Speer 150btsp), when time permits. I'd be interested in the success of others as well.

Not to hijack the thread but GT50 how does the RL23 work with 140gr bullets? I'm curious as that's all I use with the 270. I'm having great success with RL26 and 140gr bullets.

I just got done with an article on new powders and bullets for the .270. Reloder 26 works very well with 145-150 grain bullets, but with lighter bulles Alliant lists higher velocities with RL-16 than either 23 or 26. Got superb accuracy and high velocities using RL-16 with 130-140 grain bullets. But there are several other good new powders as well.

Should also note, for traditionalists, that there have been four versions of H4831 since the mil-surp stuff ran out in the mid-1970's. If you're continuing to use H4831, it is NOT the same powder you started with way back when.

Dang, 58.5 grains of H4831SC has been my huckleberry forever with 140 grain bullets. Guess I need to at least try some RL-16 and see what happens.

Absolutely, Lagerboy, hearing your experience with RL26 and your recipe would be great.

[quote=Mule Deer]I just got done with an article on new powders and bullets for the .270. Reloder 26 works very well with 145-150 grain bullets, but with lighter bulles Alliant lists higher velocities with RL-16 than either 23 or 26. Got superb accuracy and high velocities using RL-16 with 130-140 grain bullets. But there are several other good new powders as well/quote]

Sounds like there's a few I need to try with my 270. I prefer the 130g bullets over the 150's so RL16 and 23 could be possibilities. Is anyone using the Ramshot powders? I've had really good luck with Big Game in 7-08 and Magnum in my 300WM. I tried RL26 in the 300 and was pretty disappointed. Best group was maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches and it smoked badly.

I'm able to get over 3200 fps with RL26 and 140 gr berger classic hunters in a 26" barrel. Thats pretty close to my 7mm Rem. Mag!
My best accuracy is around 3150 fps. This is with data sent to me by berger.

Look forward to seeing that article JB. Where will it be published?

I've been playing with R26/160PT, N560/150PT; R23/150NBT; Hunter/110TTSX and since my rifle has a long throat, I can seat out the 130 Hornady really long so use 62gr/H4831SC. I also got great results with the 130 Hornady/IMR 4350 55gr favorite. I like how these newer powders obtain faster speeds with the heavier bullets the best. I get 2930/160 and 2950/150. I'm only guessing on the 110TTSX but interpolating published speeds/loads, I'm calling it over 3300fps. I don't really care, I just know its accurate and have a case full of powder!

Following the

Following, any load data.

Empty Hopper, please share the Berger data with us! I'm sure several of us would like to see their guidance.

BB here is the recipe I developed using RL26. 61.5gr RL26
CCI 250 Primers
3.295 COL
Hornady 140gr BTSP
3115 fps
I started at 57.0gr and worked up to this point. It shoots the above load into less than 1 inch groups with no pressure signs. Good luck.

Never had luck with the old standbys (4831), however I love the RL26 results I’ve gotten with 130’s and 150’s. I haven’t tried RL 16 or 23, but will be looking for JB’s article.

My go to has been 59.5gr of H4831 with 130TTSX for about 3050fps. Could go higher but that load is very accurate in my M70FWT. With RL26 I get 3136fps with 143ELD-X at 60gr also very accurate.

The image they sent me is to large to post here and I can't figure out how to make the file size smaller on my phone.

This is the data they gave for reloder 26 and 140 gr. Berger Classic Hunter
Min. 55.5 gr. 2861 fps. Max 61.5 gr. 3195 fps. 103% fill ratio

There are other powders getting impressive velocity numbers with this bullet, but this is the fastest according to their data. I killed a Wyoming antelope with this combo last year at just over 200 yards. Of course it worked wonderfully.