Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles New to reloading 270, what 2 bullets to try first???

+1 on that combo. That's pretty close to Jack O'Connor's favorite .270 load. He liked 4831 and I think 60 gr. or so, IIRC, which is pretty hot and should be worked up from below.

I've never tried Barnes bullets in the .270, but would think the high vel. .270 and those bullets may be interesting on larger animals.

i'd stay away from ballistic tip bullets. we tryed them,its no fun having them blowup on entrance and losing a 3 legged deer.especially when its a monster buck.

NBT's do have a reputation for blowing up. They are, however, some of the most accurate hunting bullets, in my experience, and have great B.C.'s. In my .300 Win Mag, I shoot 180 NBT's at 3,050 fps, thinking that a heavier bullet, not quite so fast, would be more stable. They're still pretty explosive, especially on hog heads. They do OK on Whitetails. I've seen people using them in .257 Wby, etc. For big game, I'd pick a tougher bullet for a high velocity, smaller caliber.

IMHO, of course.

DF

DF:Friends tell me so.....but I have never used an X on an animal.......I got Bitterroots for the 270....I use those.

The X do shoot well though....

One of my pals on here sends 130 gr 270 bullets to his PH in Africa...they like to "test" different bullets.I see the emails now and then......they always say send more Aframes and TTSX 130's,because they don't disintegrate,penetrate,and kill well.

I can only gather from this, that these guys have not adopted the fragmenting approach to bullet behaviour that is obvious here.....what anyone else over there thinks, I dunno....

Bob,

What we get by with over here is probably a lot different than what the PH's over there see day after day. My understanding is that most of their game, including plains animals, are tougher than our antelope and whitetails. The Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets in smaller caliber, high velocity rifles make a lot of sense. Probably makes a lot of sense over here, too.

The long range crowd likes Bergers and Amax's. I've been able to get tighter groups with Bergers than with the Barnes X series. Haven't used Amax, yet, but understand they're super accurate. I guess it all depends on application.

DF

For your small deer, start with a box of plain old Remington green box 130 softpoints. they will work fine, are cheap and will give you cases for reloading.

Once you reload, any plain old cup and core 130 gr softpoint will work fine.

If you decide to "go west" for bigger stuff, (Moose, Elk), then the TSX and A Frame 150s are the bullet of choice.

Shot a big Mule Deer at 275 yards last fall with 140 Accubonds (as that's all the POS 270 WSM I HAD would shoot). Worked fine, broke 2 ribs, destroyed lungs, 2" exit hole, bang, flop, dead.

DON"T use match bullets unless there is no cover and blood trails are not necessary and you think 1/2 MOA is the difference between success and failure, (It's not)

Tell us more about your .270 WSM and why you refer to it as a POS.

DF

Long story. Have owned many real 270 WCFs over the years and always been happy.
Got on a Benelli R 1 kick a while back, bought an 06, 300 win mag and 9.3x62 (not imported) They all worked fine and would shoot 1.5 MOA which is all I expect from a light semi-auto in real world hunting conditions.

Then I ran across this one. Being a complete wood freak, I had to have it, even though I had no idea (other than the fad) why Benelli would chamber a long action semi-auto in a short magnum cartridge. Anyway I bought it along with several boxes of premium factory ammo, slapped a NIB Nighforce on it and off to the range. It was a reliable three inch grouper with any ammo and the cases showed this cartridge was running pretty hot (compared to the 06 and 300 winmag). After a lot of messing around with various bullets from 130-150 gr and at least 15 powders, I finally found a load w/the accubond and AA 4350 that would shoot the 1.5 MOA and at least equal the velocity of my 270 WCFs (FN, M70 and 721). Killed the deer at first light, one shot.
Ended up swapping the incredible wood off the 270 WSM onto the 300 Winmag (that had solid but plain wood), and selling the 270 WSM, Foster Dies, lotsa brass at about a $200 loss. Well worth it, IMHO to keep the 4X wood and move the 270 WSM along to someone who would enjoy being "up to date". (Wood is 100% interchangable and not serialized)
Wish Benelli would bring out a 270 WCF model/barrel as all you really need is one action, bolt face to fit rim, correct magazine and barrel assembly. Not as fast as an AR caliber swap but 30 minutes at most.
As the 300 WinMag will do anything I need to do, it will no doubt get the most "saddle scabbard" time.
Have to admit, I think all the short mags are just a marketing ploy as they offer nothing the old timers cannot match or come so close to in real world big game hunting, the difference, if any, is not meaningful. But anything to sell more guns is better than the alternative.
While many don't like Euro design, you gotta admit that Euro walnut is rather nice, especially how the fore end and butt are matched. With the 2.5-10x32 ill NF and the S&K mounts, the whole rig handles like a 20 bore skeet gun.





Tried bigger scopes (Kahles and S&B) but groups remained the same.



Won some money off a fellow with a 22" 300 WSM in a Chronograph contest against my c. 1952 721 AC 300 H&H w/26" barrel. (Well, I won on velocity but lost on muzzle flash) but that's another story.

Taking note of your location, my comments may not really apply to your requirements, but...
My load for my .270 Win. is 57 grs. of Rldr-22 and a 150 Partition. The load is 1 gr. below book max. and gives me 2930 fps and consistant 1" or less groups. In working up a load for a new rifle, I generally start with an inexpensive bullet generally known for accuracy. Read Sierra or Hornady here. Being in Ak., our game animals are generally larger than the deer you plan to hunt. As to 130 gr. bullets, I shot my 1st caribou at an ungodly range in 1968 with a 130 gr. Partition and a 60 gr. charge of H-4831.
I would start with either a Sierra or Hornady bullet in the weight of my choice then go from there. As I noted above tho, I prefer 150's in my .270. Good luck, that puppy should perform great for you.
Bear in Fairbanks

You aren't alone in thinking this and I now agree!
I have loaded for my CZ 550 for years. Started with Hornady 130's, went to 140's - both with Imr 4350 and they shot very well. I just got some 150's and these shot even better with a variety of H4831sc charges. My new go-to is 55.5grains of H4831sc. Best load out of any combo to date. Have not used on deer yet but know I will like it. I had a definite preference for the 140's over the 130's in performance.

My wife bought me a browning bar in 270 that was a picky sob. I sent it back to browning and they recrowned it and i finally found a load. I used h4831 and a hornaday 140btsp. This load would shoot about 1&1/4" at 100yds. I tried almost every bullet made for a .277. After that i have used that bullet and powder in 4 different 270's and 2 270wsm's. I shoot h4831 in almost all my rifles after aquiring several pounds of ww2 surplus powder. We have killed quite a few deer and several elk and have no complaints with this bullet.

Fred

My CZ 550 has shot two loads VERY well. Those being 130 gr. Speer Grand Slam over 60.0 gr. IMR-7828ssc(Win case, CCI 250 primer) & 130 gr. Hornady Interlok over 60.2 gr. IMR-7828ssc(Fed case, CCI 250 primer). Both loads have been very accurate and hit deer like Mj�lnir.

I've been meaning to get a chronograph and check the velocities on my reloads, but haven't got around to it yet.(also been meaning to do some accuracy tests in my rifle with Hornady's SST 130s)

azrancher. Everyone told me 4831 was IT for the 270. I actually got better results using IMR430 with 130 and 140 Hornady's. The 140s seeemd to give me more of what I wanted. Perfect exits.

Cowboy Tim- if you ever try the 150's let me know how they do for you. I made up a batch of different charges to test and all of them shot well with this bullet- less variance than the lighter bullets. Am curious too - does your CZ like a cleaner barrel. I noticed mine shoots better very clean. Don't you love having that set trigger?

Always had good luck with H4831sc and 130's or 140's.