Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles RL 17 AND 270 WSM

I am trying to work up a load with my 270 wsm that will reach 3300 fps with 130 gr xlc bullets. Two years ago I used an old batch of IMR 4831 that got me to around 3350 but I ran out of that lot, since then I have worked up a load that got me to about 3230, it is accurate but I would like to get back if I can to the old lots performance. Bought some RL 19 yesterday and went out this morning and took a box of 150 gr winchester factory rounds with me,I had pulled the powder and bullets from the factory rounds and worked up to 65.5 gr, getting 3144 with this load, case expanded to .0500 ,factory cases expanded to .0511, bolt lift was stiff on factory loads,they were running over 3100 fps!!, bolt lift on the 65.5 gr load is very light. Will try to go higher with the RL 19, if not satisfied I will try RL 17 but I have no idea on what my starting load should be, I was thinking of using IMR 4350 data but would rather get some advice from someone who has some experience with this powder /bullet combination.

A friend of mine is shooting 67 grains of RL19 and getting 3360 fps out of his Kimber 270 WSM with a 130 grain IB.

Searching for that last 100fps in a cartridge that is already running 65k psi is just asking for trouble. 66-67grs of RL-19 will usually reach or exceed 3300fps with 130grn bullets. I found that the 140 grain bullets will run just as fast or faster than most 130's in the 270WSM, so I shoot the 140 Accubond over 72.5grn of Magpro for 3260fps. This is the best of both worlds with a higher B.C. and impact energy down range. The 140grn TSX maxed out around 70.0gr and 3200fps. RL-17 is getting mixed reviews in a lot of cartridges, not unlike any other powder, but it has shown some imprvement in most cases.

Went out this morning and finished up on the RL 19 load, got up to 3167 with 67.5 gr, cases expanded less than the factory rounds did, bolt lift was less than factory loads. Decided to try RL 17, it left RL 19 in the dust. worked up to 63 grains, this got me to 3292 fps, case expansion was less than factory rounds and bolt lift was about 3/4 of factory bolt lift. Only issue is that I don't have any more factory loaded rounds to use and I don't want to go out and spend 35 bucks for more factory loaded rounds,all I have left is once and twice fired brass and I have a minor concern that velocity may change or pressures may rise. Called Barnes and their tech advised me to stop or back off a half grain because brass that has been fired will usually increase pressures. Any advice on this subject is appreciated.

Went out and shot some groups with Rl 17, had to play with the seating depth a little, got down to one inch groups which is what I was looking for. One issue did come up however, I shot the groups with once fired brass, no pressure signs, less than factory bolt lift, I ran out of once fired brass so I fired three rounds through the chronograph using brass that was fired five times, I got these numbers 3300,3325 and 3341, bolt lift was stiffer than the loads that were fired with once fired brass, there were no ejector marks and the primers looked the same. I called barnes and the guy I talked to said it is normal for brass to make a difference, he also said that the load is probably safe if there are no pressure signs, I am thinking of dropping the charge down at least a half a grain and shooting it through the chrony again.

i use aa magpro with all bullet weights and get good velocity in my browning abolt 270 wsm

Try Winchester 780 Supreme, have been told it is very near the same powder Winchester uses in the black box factory loads.

Has anyone tried RL 17 and the 150 gr nosler partition? After trying five differnt powders and shooting at least 400 rounds I have found a good load using 130 gr xlc and RL 17. I have a good load worked up with Ramshot magnum using the partitions, shoots 3/4 inch groups but it is a little slow, getting 2930 with 68 gr, want to try to get a little more speed with the same accuracy. Any information would be appreciated.

You're getting down to the wire here, but I'd say stick with that RL17 charge. No need to back it down with the 130s. But if you were to try something else, as corjack suggested, 780 kicks butt. I love it in my .264 Win Mag

I loaded up 62.5 grs. of IMR-4350 and a 130 gr. Sierra. OAL was 2.775" and ogive length was 2.268". I always measure to the ogive, BTW. Velocity was 3286 with the chrono set 5 yds. from the muzzle and this load gave me a 3/4" group. According to my calculation, muzzle vel. should be just a tad under 3300 fps. Hope this helps. Bear in Fairbanks

Looks like I finally found a good 150 gr load for my 270 wsm, however my quest for 3000 fps is over. I worked up a load using the nosler partition and the barnes X bullet. These are the results, I used new winchester cases and Cci mag primers.

150 gr Barnes X bullet
57 gr 2911
58 gr 2996
58.5 gr 2989
59 gr 3016




150 gr partition
57 gr 2836
58 gr 2892
58.5 gr 2913
59 gr 2943
59.5 gr 2969
60 gr 2982

I did not shoot the 59.5 and 60 gr rounds with the X bullet,the numbers were telling me that I may have been over the line, however none of the rounds showed heavy bolt lift. I went home and checked the cases for expansion, the 60 gr nosler load only expanded .0005, the 59 gr barnes load expanded .0011 and all the primers were as flat as a pancake except the starting load, the primers on all the nosler loads were hardly flat at all. I loaded five rounds with the noslers, backed off to 59 gr and fired the rounds through the chrony, average velocity was 2970, standared deviation was 17. I fired two groups and the smallest was .559, that is the tightest group my 270 wsm has ever shot. I was shocked at the difference in velocity between the noslers and X bullets with the same powder charge.

I was at the range today working on some 270 wsm loads. The barrels broke in now so I took the chronograph.

My first load Win brass, WLRM primer, 63 grains of RL-22, 150 grain Hornady SST, 2.86 OAL...........2950 FPS

My Second load Win Brass, WLRM primer, 140 grain Barnes TSXBT, 2.78 OAL, .030 off the lands
MAGPRO powder
70 gr.........3050, 3072
71 gr.........3195, 3250
72 gr.........3275, 3266
73 gr.........3288, 3355

I don't understand the extreme spreads in velocity. They were all hand loaded straight off the scale. It was an interesting sessions because after 70 grains the cartridge woke up, my shoulder will tell you. All brass looked the same condition, although, the 73 grain shown a little more working on the base and primer. I'm going to go back with some more 72 grain and seat the TSX off the lands some more and see what I come up with.

That 72 gr load looks good.

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