Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .270 Max Loads

I’ve been running 55gr of imr 4350 under a variety of 130gr bullets since the late 60’s.
I don’t know what the actual pressure or velocity is with that load - always assumed 2900-3000.

It’s a very accurate load for me in my Rem 700 and 22” tube, especially with the Hornaday 130.
If I knew for a fact I was getting 2900+, I’d be doing my happy dance and never look back.

I always thought JO’C was pushing the envelope with his loads and chose not to try and duplicate them.
4831, in those days, came with too many variables to make me feel comfortable and imr 4350 was preferred.

I guess it’d be fun to find a load that would run with the original factory stated velocity, but I don’t think it’s worth the time or money to pursue......

I have done overload work ups on hundreds of bullet - powder - cartridge combinations.

I would have bet money I could not get as much velocity without pressures sign as a I did in 270 130 gr NBT Re17.

But after I have to reduce the load for a safety margin, with the safety margin designed with the temperature coefficients of the Re17 in mind, the velocity was quite low.

With heavy bullets RL26 gave the highest velocity in 257 Roberts, 270 Win, 30/06, 7mmMag. Did not use it much in 270WSM and 338win mag.
used Norma MRP in both of those. MRP was very good in 338 Win mag. Usually I was trying to download my 270WSM. 30/06 gave best accuracy
with RL26. In the other cal. RL23, MRP, H1000,and Retumbo gave better accuracy, for loose of about 50ftp second.

I am generally happy with 3000 fps and a 130 or 140 grain bullet or close to it. Plenty flat and fast for most hunting.

Some real good information coming in. I've already got the RL16 and Hybrid 100V on the way so will work with them first.

BTW, I am not really familiar with the Reloder series so just looked on the Alliant web site for info. Here's a summary of what they say about each one:

RL #

7 For small caliber varmint loads

10X Best choice for .222 Rem, .223 Rem, and .22-250

15 Best all around medium speed rifle powder

16 World class temperature stability. Speed similar to 4350 making it ideal choice for .270 and .30-06 class cartridges

17 Designed for short magnum size cartridges. Smooth metering.

19 Superb accuracy in most medium and heavy rifle loads. Suitable for .30-06 and .338.

22 Powder of choice for 7 mm mag and .300 mag

23 World class temperature stability. For long range magnum loads.

25 Ideal for overbore magnums

26 Produces extremely high velocities in magnum cartridges. Has high bulk density that allows for higher loads.

33 Designed for .338 Lapua

50 Designed for .50 BMG

I'm not too optimistic now about the RL16 as the thread that djb pointed to shows beretz noting that at 53.0 grains he got 3103 fps and had a primer fall out. The Alliant manual lists 55.3 grains as max!

As several have noted, RL 26 seems promising.

Winchester and Remington brass is much softer than back in the early 90sand earlier. The WW brass use to have a bluish hue around the head and a different solid head. Today's brass looks more like a polished door handle.

I believe litigation is the problem. Anyone who has dome much reloading will know when a load is at high pressure then an small increase in powder will make for a bigger jump in pressure than if the load is at lower pressure. Todays brass shows things like ejector marks at lower pressure (and velocity) than used to be the case.

postoak, not debating why you're looking for 3,160fps/mv, that's why some handload. I do not shoot the 130's in my .270, pretty much 150's and twice using NP 160's. So I've never go to 2925 mv. But, I am curious; why do YOU want 3,160? Really, just a question, no arguing from me. Thanks.

rifletom - just to see if it can be done safely. As someone said above, it is no big deal for me -- either it can be done or it can't.

I won't stay at those velocities anyway. If I wanted them, I'd just switch to my 7 mm RM. After all is done, I'll probably lower down to the new factory standard of 3060 fps. I think my current IMR4350 isn't a good powder for doing that so it's good for me to be trying new powders anyway.

Thanks postoak for clarity on that. Good luck and be safe.

I am using RL26 with the 130 grain Tipped TBBC in my 22" P64 Featherweight in WW cases, nets me an average of about 3145 the last time I checked.

Accurate MagPro shows 3234 fps with a 130g NBT @ 63,200 PSI from a 24" barrel.

An additional 70fps. is going to all things better and possibly on the edge of safety ? I'm no ballistician but I'd like to hear what the additional speed will give you in return.

Yes. In my custom-barreled FN Mauser 270 with 24" barrel 55 grains of H 4350 gives me 3,140 fps. I have owned other 270s with longer throats and which would take 56 grains with no problems. I have seen others in which 53 grains of IMR 4350 was too hot. I have used lots of IMR 4350 in my 270s because I had lots on hand. I always got a bit more velocity and the same accuracy using IMR 4831, but I used what I had on hand. I now stock up on H 4350 and will probably use it in my 270 for the same reason. For heavier bullets in the 270, you need a slower powder like H 4831 or one of the Reloder powders - RL 19, 22, or 26.

I own 3 270s at this time.
One is an iron sighted M95 Winchester lever action, one is the 1st rifle I ever made (when I was 12) which is on it's 3rd barrel and one is a classic Mauser. Every one of them is zeroed with the load it likes and only the old rifle with the 3rd barrel likes to run hot. It is zeroed for 130 grain bullets and a load of 59 grains of H4831. This is quite hot in this rifle because for one thing, it's chambered to a tight tolerance. It has a 25 inch barrel and chronographs that load at nearly 3200 FPS. That's the load it shoot best. I prefer the 150 and 160 grain weights, but this barrel just don't seem to like them as well as 130s. It is well under MOA with the 130s and only about 2.25 MOA with 150s

My M95 is zeroed for 150 grain round nose Remington Core-Lokts. I load 55.7 of H4831, I am down to only a few boxes of these left. I got a hung numebr of them back in the 70s and shot most of them up. It has proven to be an outstanding bullet. With the bead and buck horn sights I zero it 3" high at 100 yards and with my eyes now being older, I can't shoot ethically past 300 yards so I have no holdovers at all for deer, antelope of elk.
I can't see well enough to know how well this load shoots and having no scope, I don't think it matter mulch. It will hit a chicken egg at 100 yards every time and I have shot 8" gongs at 300 yards with it shooting 5 shots and getting 5 hits, so I call it "good enough". This load is not "hot" but it kills like lightning and in all the years I have used those old 150 gr RN bullets I have yet to recover one. Full penetration and good size wound channels.

My Classic Mauser is zeroed with 160 grain Nosler partitions (now) and it shoots them into about 3/4" to 7/8" at 100 yards. I have only recovered one 160 grain Nosler in my life, and that one went through an elk from about 10" in front of the hip and I found it under the skin on the off-side in the middle of the neck. That elk was also the longest shot I personally ever made on an elk, at about 400 yards. I use AC3100 powder in this rifle and it's close to the top listed load from the manual, but off the top of my head I can't remember the exact charge weight. I have run the load up a but and the groups opened up, so I put it back where it was.

But "performance" in this country seems to mean "speed" to most shooters, and that is a mistake. If load A shoots a bullet at 3300 FPS and load B shoots the same weight at 3200, we are told the 3300 FPS load "out-preformed" the 3200 FPS load.
Not necessary.
Speed for speed's sake is a mistake.

I judge target rifles only on one basis. Accuracy. Nothing else matters. Not speed, Not expansion. Not retained weight. not anything but accuracy.

Hunting rifles need other things to be considered when ammo is chosen. The least important thing to focus on for a hunting round is velocity. Sure, if you can have it with goods expansion without overly high weight loss on impact, then take it. But sacrificial bullet performance (meaning good expansion without loosing over 50% of the bullets weight) for speed is a poor trade. Very poor in fact!

I am 100% willing to give up target accuracy too when I am hunting, and the larger the game or the thicker the cover where I am hunting that game, the less accuracy I demand . I have hunted moose with a 62 cal smooth bore flintlock with total confidence. (no I didn't kill one that hunt, but it was not because of my weapon. I saw none, so nothing I had would have mattered) If I had seen the moose I was in an area where typical shots were under 50 yards and average shots were at 25 yards. I have also killed a LOT of deer, antelope elk bears and one buffalo all with iron sighted handguns and I have never lost one, and so far I have never needed 2 shots on any of them except one deer which I did shoot 2 times with a 45

So "performance" is a misused and misunderstood term in many if not most cases. I snicker at those that demand 1/4 MOA for moose hunting or for hunting deer for that matter. Any deer so small that I need to be able to hit a garden pea to kill it is not worth the cost of my bullet.

Shooting at ranges that such accuracy comes into an area of importance is not hunting in my opinion. Those that do it are going to continue to do it until they get tired of it, so for them I have no advice. I did it when I was a younger man, so I can't condemn them, but I grew up you might say.

But even at such long ranges, speed is still less important then many other factors. Speed is fine and it has a benefit of flattening out the trajectory a bit but at the rangers you need not hold over, the advantage of an extra 100 FPS only gains you about 40-60 yards as a rule. And once you need to start holding elevation, (either by dialing or holding) you have to start holding for elevation which means a few more clicks on your scope, or the amount of "air you hold" is not relevant at all. YOU STILL HAVE TO HOLD IT! That comes down 100% to the ability of the shooter, not the flatness of the trajectory once you start to hole over. If you had to hold 3" high or 10 inches high, YOU STILL HAVE TO HOLD IT!
If you can hold well enough to make a shot at that range the place you hold is not important. If you can't hold a killing shot at that range you are too far away, and if you have one once of ethics you'd hold your fire and get closer

So "performance" = speed is false.

My best advice for you is to get a bullet that holds together at least 50% and shoot it at what ever speed your guns seems to like. Then learn the trajectory and practice a lot until placing that bullet is easy for you. As I said at the top, I own three 270s now, and over my life I have owned 6 others. It's a very very good killer.
Don't worry about a few FPS and look for a load that will out-shoot you and then practice enough to be able to use it at any ethical range and you'll never have a problem.

Well I accomplished my goal with Hodgdon Hybrid 100. Hybrid 100 is a fine grained powder that measures well and is compact.

With 130 grain Sierra Game Kings, W-W cases, and Tula large rifle primers, and OAL of 3.255" I got these results.

51.0/2877

51.5/2911

52.0/2965

52.5/2977

53.0/2999

53.5/3021

54.0/3045

54.5/3088

55.0/3099

55.5/3129

56.0/3167

Pressure seemed okay until the 56.0 load when one of the three cases produced a little difficult bolt lift. accuracy was good with all the loads.d

Next I'll do the same workup with the RL16 I bought.

Have you considered a 270 WSM or a 270 Weatherby if you want to go that fast?

Today I tested the RL16, which is the powder Alliant, itself, recommended.

With 130 grain Sierra Game Kings, R-P cases, and Tula large rifle primers, and OAL of 3.255" I got these results.

50.0/2856

50.5/2903

51.0/2924

51.5/2977

52.0/3003

52.5/3025

53.0/3057

53.5/3090

54.0/3103

54.5/3146

55.0/3196

55.5/3223

Thanks for the RL-16 info.

So how was accuracy on these RL-16 loads?