Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 270 Pre 64 model 70 loads

I have a 270 pre 64 model 70 featherweight, I am having trouble getting any loads to shoot better than 1.5 inches at 100 yards. I have tried several different bullets and powders. So far the best I got was 130 grain Sierra Prohunter with RL19.

Does anyone have a good pet load for a pre 64 they would share?

What type of groups should be expected for the pre 64's?

R-22 and H4831SC are by far the best 2 powders in ANY 270 IMO. Try them with a 130gr Accubond......

How is the crown on the barrel? Bedding?

As much as I hated to, I had the bedding worked on, I did not want it bedded, but the gunsmith sanded the stock in the barrel channel and it is not touching anywhere now. The crown is in great shape, it was my grandfathers gun (1957 new) and I would guess there is no more than 500 rounds through it. I tried 58 grains of RL22 with a 130 grain ballistic tip and they were all over the place. I got about a 1" group with Sierra prohunters and 55 grains of RL19. I have some 130 grain prohunters loaded with 4831sc I am going to try this weekend.

And is 1 1/2" an unreasonable group size for a rifle of that era? That just may be as good as that rifle will shoot.

Have you cleaned out the barrel really really well. My brother had a similar problem with a M70 almost exactly like yours and was able to tighten the groups significantly by cleaning out the copper. It took him about a week with brush and solvents but finally got her clean.

You might try 55 gr. IMR4350 or 55-56 gr. H4350 with a 130.

My 1953 M70 30-06 shoots most of the loads I've tried into 1.25-1.5" groups. No better, no worse. Perfectly fine for most all hunting applications......

I have a 1960 .30-06 Fwt. whose bedding was tweaked by an old gunsmith in Austin shortly after I purchased it in 1961. It consistently shot 150 and 165 grain Partitions into less than an inch. It has since been worked over and bedded in a really nice piece of walnut and still shoots about the same. I have a .270 Fwt. with the factory stock that was refinished and rebedded by Larry Caudill in Albuquerque (who also restocked the '06). It is now a genuine 3/4" rifle with 130 Partitions or Ballistic Tips over 59.0 grains of H4831sc.

I picked up a pre 64 .270 featherweight a few years ago that didn't shoot (3-4" groups). On a suggestion from a friend (BobinNH) I swabbed the bore with Sweets 7.62 and got patch after patch out with the blue color of dissolved copper. First group after the cleaning measured about 7/8". The load was 60gr of the now discontinued H450 under a 130 Nosler Part. Maybe its worth a try?

I have a pre 64 featherweight 270, which I havent shot for 20 years but I had trouble initially getting groups. I found that it favoured 150 gr bullets loaded hot. I settled on the old surplus H4831 for 150s and imr 4831 for 130s. It seems like your barrel is free floated. Some featherweihts like a pressure point on the forend. Just put a business card to try. Hope one of these works.

I'd look at what the other guys suggested - especially the bore. Make sure it's very clean with no copper fouling. Make sure the action screws are snug & tight. I removed the forearm pressure screw (that's what I call it anyway). Maybe glass bedding the action would help. For loads, I usually start with an inexpensive but quality bullet - ie, Sierra or Hornady in the bullet weight I want to use for hunting. My "go-to" load now for my pre-64, .270 Win. is 57 grs. of Rldr-22 and a 150 gr. Partition. It's 1 grain under book max., gives me 2930 fps and prints 3/4", 3 shot groups all day. I'm more than willing to bet that with a bit of work, that old rifle will easily become a consistant MOA rifle.
BTW, I seat my bullets to 0.010" off the lands as measured to the ogive. I just can't believe that rifle won't shoot. Keep us posted on your progress. Bear in Fairbanks

270: I remember that! Ya, worth a try for sure!Those pre 64's were frequently neglected as far as cleaning was concerned cause guys back then did not know what "clean" was;nor did they have the solvents we do today...

1 1/2" groups ain't too bad, really....but I have owned and shot so many pre 64 M70 270 FW's that I can't recall them all,and cannot remember a problem. I can say that each of the 4 I presently own will cut an inch, with ease, if I do my part.Sometimes they need some tweaking with the bedding or floating the barrel, but everyone that I have floated has shot very well,and groups, 3 shots,generally go under an inch.

RL22 and H4831 (both versions are good, I cannot tell the difference)are both great powders.

Usually if there is a problem, it is with the bedding or stock contact, but it seems the poster has taken care of those issues.I also assume the bases fit correctly and the scope is properly mounted,etc.

IME a pre 64 is easily as likely to shoot accurately as anything made today in a comparable price range, and they generally need about as much tweaking as anything else to get to shoot as well,sometimes a whole lot less.They will blow the socks off most New Haven Classics in the accuracy department,as they come IME, so their vintage has nothing to do with how your rifle shoots.

I would try checking runnout of the ammo because based on what we know from the poster,everyting else seems in order. I have "fixed" more than one 30/06 FW with a glass bed job,and by feeding it ammo with runnout of under .005.

Get a can of the foaming bore cleaner and clean the bbl. It will cut all the old copper(usually leaves a puddle of blue stuff as it runs out the bbl) Then clean as you normally would until you get a clean patch.
Most of the pre 64 win. guns were fitted to the stock inletting well from the factory and don't need much work there to shoot pretty well (unless someone altered it).
59 - 60 grs of H4831 under a 130gr bullet is a classic load for 270 Win. & has shot great in numerous 270s over the years for me.
Win. primers have always given me the best accuracy (even better than fed match primers)in plain old Winchester or Remington brass.
Sometimes a rifle will show a preference for a heavier weight 150gr bullet over the 130gr. Just drop the powder charge accordingly for the 150gr and stay with the H4831 to see what happens.
My next try for powder would be one one the 4350s, RL22 or IMR4831.
Good Luck,
Ted

Thanks to all for your help, I spent hours last night working on cleaning the barrel, I started with the foaming bore cleaner, then used Sweets 7.62 with a nylon brush, and followed up with Tiptons "Truely remarkable". The is not a lick of copper in the barrel. I am heading to the range this Saturday to see how she shoots. As mentioned, I just wasnt sure what types of groups to expect with this gun and wanted some feedback. I have a number of loads to try this weekend and will post the results. I am not at all disappointed with the accuracy, I just am trying to get the best load and accuracy for this gun.

I have heard many different opinions on cleaning, I clean my barrels after every 30 or 40 rounds, is this adequate or should it be cleaned more frequently?

Once you determine the accuracy that the rifle/ammo combo is capable of producing, clean the rifle when the accuracy decreases from that known level. Most people over-clean the barrels.

I have owned 3 pre-64's.

One was a pre-war .270. After a GOOD cleaning it shot consistent 3/4" groups.

The other two were almost as good.

Modern bullets usually shoot very good in vintage M-70's.

49 gr. of 4064 and a 130 gr. bullet is another good combination.

Bob

centralpahunter:
Not to hijack this thread but I would seriously suggest that you start with the "Accurate" load listed in the Sierra reloading manual. I would use Sierra bullets and the powder charge recommended. Also, I would load 3 cartridges each in increments of about 1 grain at a time. This is just to try & determine how accurate your rifle can shoot. I wouldn't start out with several loads using different powders. Just my thoughts. Bear in Fairbanks

Mine likes that same bullet over 55 grains of IMR 4350, touched off by a Remington 9 1/2 primer in R-P brass. Three shot groups average around 1.25 inches, but your results may vary.

In reality, expecting MOA accuracy from a rifle that light is a little like expecting "road-hugging" stability from a Jeep, and under conditions where the Featherweight makes sense, that extra 1/4 MOA is generally the least of my worries. If I do my part, the rifle is still plenty accurate for putting the bullet into the vitals of deer-sized game within the range I have any business shooting at.