Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting New Powder, New Bullets - helping a 270

I am helping a friend get into mid-lr shooting (lets call it out to 600 yards). This is more of him wanting to learn, practice, on steel, and just have a chance to shoot more with the idea that 600/700 yard practice will allow him to be comfortable on those 3-400 yard shots while hunting.

Anyways, he is shooting a 10twist 24" barrel 270 Winchester. I love the cartridge, but have never tried to wring it out much as a LR round. However, with the great selections of new bullets and powder, I have pretty good guess we can help transform this round a bit.

Re26,

145 ELD-X.
150 Nos LRAB
140 Berger Classic Hunter

The 150's pushed at 3k with .591 BC are intriguing, as is a 145 at that speed. I want to work up a load with a "killing bullet" so he can practice all summer and not change anything up going into the fall. Thoughts? Any other bullets to consider?

(Side Note, scope is a 6x ss - so we will be working on dialing/using reticle for wind)

I think your on your way already. Don’t complicate it more than needed.ed k

Don’t overlook the 150gr Berger either. Great bullet. Any of those bullets listed would work fine also. I’d let the rifle tell you what it likes and start practicing.

You may like to try IMR's Enduron 7977. Clean burning, consistent velocities, not temp sensitive (which could serve well for a hot bear hunt or cold Elk hunt), pushes those 150's along quite well at 3000 in my 270 Winchester.

Sent you a PM
Jim

Sounds like you have good options so far. You may wish to add the 140 gr Sierra TGK to the mix, I have only shot them for accuracy so far but there are lots of good reports about how it performs. I use H 4831 sc for the Sierra but like mentioned earlier IMR 7977 does well with the 150's.

I think you are on the right track, I use 140 Accubonds in my 270’s, WCF, WSM, or Weatherby.

Those are all good choices. If you end up using the LRAB, make sure and verify drops, I doubt you'll get that high of a bc with the 10 twist.

Set Daughter #1 up with a 150g ABLR over 52g H100V for her .270. MV is 2912fps. Very accurate. M700, under 18 ft-lbs recoil.

Like that load so much I'm thinking of building my Savage 111 action into a .270 to use it instead of a 6.5 PRC, even though that would mean changing the bolt head.

I think you are on to something.

Maybe add the new 150 Accubond to the list if it’s on the streets. I’ve tried a few times with the 150 ABLRs and haven’t hit magic yet but really about any of the 140-150’s should work well. At elevation you may get the 170 Berger to work as well. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

BC will be more like .525 out of a 1-10” twist..... but that still ain’t too shabby for the .270 Transchester.

I have played with all of the following in a 10 twist 270.
Hornady 145 ELD-X
Berger 150gr
Nosler 150gr BT
Nosler 150gr LRAB

I settled on the 145gr ELD-X with Reloder 26.

Next 270 rebarrel will get a minimum of 1:9 if not a 1:8. Specifically to try the 170gr Berger.

Has anyone tried the 165 Matrix, or 170 Berger ina 1:10?

Reloder 26 then Reloder 23. The 26 will give top velocities the 23 will give you the tightest groups.

Run the Federal 210 Match primers, start with new brass I went with Nosler. And enjoy your summer project.

41

I had a Kimber MT rebarreled w/Lilja factory duplicated in 1:8" 270Win @ 22". 150ABLR's shoot well for me @ 3050fps via '26. I shot 2 deer and 1 bull elk with the rifle in the fall of 2017. I took the elk @ 125ish yds, the 1st deer @ 75yds, and the last deer @ 530yds.

None of the 3 even took a step.

1. The elk was steeply downhill and quartering hard towards me. I was aiming just inside the on-side shoulder, As I squeezed the trigger my heartbeat raised the crosshairs a bit and the elk dropped his head to take a step forward. I caught him in the neck about 6" behind the head/neck junction. I got 3 vertebrae on the way through and found the bullet just ahead of the off-side front quarter. The slug was intact, no core/jacket separation. It weighs 55gn and expanded all the way down to the beginning of the boat-tail. Given the high impact velocity and amount of bone the bullet destroyed, I'm not displeased with that outcome.

2. The 1st deer was trotting broadside behind a doe @ +/- 75yds and must've turned a bit just as I shot. I was swinging to put the bullet square through the on-side shoulder but ended up shooting him at the base of the skull and it came out under the off-side eye. I really can't explain how that happened based upon what I remember seeing in the scope as the rifle fired. The end result was a deer that landed chin-first and slid to a stop in the snow.

3. Neighbor wanted a deer for jerky so after 7 days of looking for antlers, I've got 1 day left to punch a tag. 30-40min after sunup I found a calm deer quartering away in a good spot for a longer shot so I took a good rest, got both lungs and the off-side shoulder on the way out. 530+ yds, the deer dropped @ the shot and never wiggled.

150g LRAB would be awesome with R#26, if your barrel likes it.

I’m testing the 145s now in a Tikka. Stacks them with a max charge of H4831.

All of the bullets you listed are good choices. I went with the 150 ABLR since shooters pro shop had a good deal on them. Previously I was using the Hornaday 140 SPBT with good results. Unless you find a good deal on the primary bullet of choice I would try to find a cheaper bullet that was similar to your final choice. Some times Sierras have matched the Barnes bullets for me. It will allow for more practice and the 270 is another hunting round that seems to place multiple bullets in the same group fairly easily. This is an advantage that is negated if you have to re-set the scope.

The 150 ABLR can be a little finicky to tune. Start at maximum mag or chamber length and back them off to way off the lands. Then see which powder the rifle likes.
I would start with R26 to go for velocity and seating depth and only try the others if this didn't settle down. Lots of other powders will work but next I would try R23 or 7977 or VV560-565. Probably whichever was on the shelves locally. If none panned out I would go back to the basics or the almost universal load of around 55.7 gr. H4831 with a 150 gr. bullet. I have loaded higher but that is what Hodgedon currently lists as max. It lags about 120 fps behind R26 and 7977 but this is not that significant.

The 270 is one of those cartridges that it seems harder to find a bad combo than a good one for it.

[quote=Tejano...
The 150 ABLR can be a little finicky to tune. Start at maximum mag or chamber length and back them off to way off the lands. ...[/quote]

Just as a point of reference, the load for Daughter's Rem M700 was 0.050 under mag length,Gave ery good accuracy with 60.0g IMR 7977 and 52.0g Hodgdon H100V. Hodgdon suggests 2940fps with 60.8g 7977 but I got only 2775. For H100V Hodgdon says 2811fps for 52.0g, I got 2912.

Accuracy was .7" for 4 shots with 59.0, 59.5, 60.0 and 60.5g 7077. H100V gave .3" for 3 shots using 51.5, 52.0 and 52.5g.

Yeah, but it's still not bad. Bryan Litz tested them and came up with .543 G1 and .278 G7 BC for the 1:10 twist for the bullet. You can see the other results HERE.

Hiaring
You never mentioned what will be hunted.
I would pick a hunting bullet based on its terminal performance then on accuracy then on velocity then on bc.
Also, I am a very strong supporter of picking a bullet and practicing with it...no substitute “practice” bullet for me. I want to learn from each and every shot. Practice with a 223 or a rimfire.
Cheers.

I would use R23 for the powder. Lose about 50fps versus R26, but more temp stable, usually more accurate, and less finicky finding a good load. It's an easy powder to live with.

I have had a 270 laying around for a long time and never really used it much, I have taken it several times as a back up gun but only used it to shoot an occasional badger, rabbit or coyote.
My quest this summer was to make this rifle a legit hunting rifle, I had it pillar bedded and fixed the trigger and put on a massive upgrade in scopes. I have been out several times doing load development with several bullets and powders, not quite finished yet but so far 140gr AB's and good old H4831sc look tough to beat in this rifle.

Buddy uses that same 140AB/4831SC combo to very good effect. It opens fast enough to be very effective on deer and holds together well enough that it's no slouch for bigger game as well.

RL23 is best powder.

For cheap longer range (400-600 yard) trigger time I use 140 SST and Hunter gun powder around 3050. It’s been couple years but I think I had them little faster, but settled for this combo.
I tried 150 ballistic tips but couldn’t get good accuracy when trying to push them fast.
I really like the game changers in 6.5.
Soon as I shot all my 270 SSTs I will be trying those out next.

Try the Accubond along with the LRAB.. I've tried both in a couple rifles and for some reason the Accubonds shoot great and the LRAB not so great.... my 26 Nosler especially loves the Accubonds but really doesn't like the LRAB bullets. It also shoots the Partitions very well....

Re26 is a good powder for the 270, but if you have a chance, try some H4831 also. It seems these two were made for each other IMO.... but then, I use H4831 for an awful lot of cartridges with excellent results...

Bob

We worked up a load with 140 grain accubonds and a stiff charge of H4831....He ended up not really doing too much "Longer Range Shooting" but this combo did the trick for him on a cow elk and a nice muley at 295 and 340 yards respectively.

I am hoping to get him out shooting more this coming spring and see if we can get him ringing the 500/600 yard gongs with his setup.

You aren't the only one that struggles with them.. I have pretty much given up on them..

Hiaring, if you have a good 140 AB load I'd be fine taking that to 500-600. Little brother uses the 140 Tipped Bear Claw and he does just fine out to 500 with it using H4831SC as well.

The 150 and H4831 is a classic. At most the newer powders will add 100 fps but not a big deal. Currently I have more R than H powders is the only reason I am working up loads with them.

I tried the 170 Berger in a pre 64 standard 24”, loaded with Re 26 on a cool day to see if it would work. I was getting as much as 2800 fps while still not reaching pressure signs however it was not stable enough to group.

I am awaiting the return of another rifle rebored and throated for the 170, and twisted 1:8.

The density altitude where I live when I initially tested this was some 400 ish feet which is why I tried it when I did (worst case scenario).

For 150gr bullets Norma MRP works best for me when it comes to accuracy. RL26 gives more speed. MRP is about 50 FPS slower than RL26.

I have up trying to find Re26 and went with Re22 under the 145 eldx. I found it ridiculously easy to get great groups with obvious nodes at 2875fps and 3050fps. I also found the eldx to very tolerant of jumps and fine tuning the oal did not do anything to improve the groups. Currently sitting at 1/2moa from the Tikka.

Might just have to play with my 270's since I have three and they are all pretty accurate.

Rug3 - Jim,

Can you please explain about that load? I have two unopened lbs of 7977 and two boxes of 145 ELD-X that are maybe a good match. I had considered 7977 to be too slow and thought I could not get enough in the 270 case... so please ilustrate me.

Thak You,

Alvaro

Haven't seen anyone recommend IMR 7828. It shoots 150 grain bullets very well for accuracy in my daughter's .270 Ruger 77 with 57 grains. Velocity probably not real fast. We were getting some real good velocity with IMR 4350 but recoil was significantly more noticeable.

Agreed RL23 is the best powder in my 270,s but if I use 150gr Partitions MRP is very hard to beat, I get over 3000 FPS. I use Magnum primers with almost everthing

If I do not it is Win WLR . Recently I have had good luck with Federal Trophy Bonded Tipped , In the 270,s I use 140gr. 160gr in my 7mm Mag

Reloder 26 and a 140gn Accubond worked just fine in my .270 Win.