Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 270 wcf/ Reloder 16

Thought I would put this out there-
Just doing a little handloading for this upcoming season, the load is decided on but I did see an unopened box of Barnes 129 gr Lrx and have a pound of Reloder 16 on hand....I might put a few together and see what happens.
I have used the lrx's and 4350 with success.
So, I am wondering what you good folks have experienced with this combo. I have Alliant data on hand .Cheers

I tried it with 130 Tipped Bear Claws. Couldn’t come close to their speeds but 3050-3100 is entirely doable. It’s a good one in my opinion. Meters great and seems just as accurate as H4350 in the few cartridges I’ve used it in.

I have not loaded the LRX but will be doing the 110 TTSX with R16 hoping to get at least 3400 fps. Speer lists 53.5 gr. for 3088 fps for a 130 bullet and Barnes shows 54.1 and 3187fps for R17 and the LRX. R17 loads very close to R16 in the cases I have used it in. The only time I see a major difference is with compressed loads as R16 is slightly less dense than R17.

R26 is another good choice for a little more velocity at the expense of hot weather pressure. If you don't hunt in temperatures above 80 degrees then not a concern. If there is a difference then it seems R16 is a little easier to find an accuracy load with. The sweet spots were big enough for an elk to walk through. It is a good substitute for H4350 when that is hard to find.

I am saving my RL 26 for the heavier bullets. I do know RL 16 meters better than 4350 and is just as stable.
Alliant data always seems conservative to me, I often get their speeds from a 22" barrel. The LRX likes extra velocity. The Light mono's and speed are good for one another on game.

As noted in my recent article on new bullets and powders for the .270, Alliant lists Reloder 16 as producing higher velocities than RL-23 with 130-grain bullets.

Should be doable. IIRC we got pretty close to that FPS w/Ramshot hunter in a friend's 22" bbl'd Ruger 270Win.

I got exceptional accuracy with R-16 and 130gr E-tips in a 22" barreled Savage, but I got nowhere near the speeds Alliant listed, nor could I get within a couple grains of the max charge they listed before I reached the end of my comfort level for pressure. I stopped at 52 grains for just below 2900. Had some 130gr SST's that I got to 53 grains with, and they shot about 50 fps faster, but weren't nearly as accurate.

Ended up hunting with 150gr SST's instead, because I had limited time to work up loads, and the 150's over R-26 were shooting nearly as well, but giving me 2980fps, and an extreme spread about 30 fps. Killed an elk with that at 434 yds.

I've yet to revisit the R-16. The accuracy potential was surely there for me, but I couldn't get the speeds before I saw pressure.

HintnShoot,

I don't see the E-Tip listed in Alliiant's data for RL-16--and Nosler advises using the MIDDLE load in their data as maximum, because the E-Tip produces more pressure than their other 130-grain bullets. In fact, E-Tips tend to result in more pressure than almost any other bullet of the same weight and diameter, except maybe Swift A-Frames. Alliant also chronographs their data from a 24" barrel, not a 22". So I am not exactly astonished that you didn't get exactly the same results.

John, as I noted, I was only able to get another grain in the case behind 130gr SST's, and the velocity was still not on par with the pressure I saw And while there were no E-Tips in Alliant's data, there were 130 gr GMX listed in their data, which is the data I used. I didn't expect 300fps less than the 130gr GMX data using E-Tips. I know that the GMX have one more groove cut in the shank, but didn't think that I'd see so much less speed. I used Win brass, which is a bit lighter than the Federal brass I have in 270, and CCI 200's, rather than the 210's Alliant used in their data.

I'm still not sure why my velocity was so much less than expected, but the accuracy was so good that I can't complain. The E-Tips at just under 2900 were putting 4 shots into well under half an inch at 100, and did it three times over two outings. I'll certainly hunt with it at some point, because I loaded up a couple boxes.

What publication is ir in, John?

Handloader

I always run a control load when I see that much difference in velocity, it has saved me wasting a lot of time and components by eliminating this variable.

I do it too but am always amused when even knowledgeable reloaders ask why they don't get book velocity. I only changed the rifle, bullet, case, barrel length, primer, and powder lot, but same charge so should be the same right?

Comerade:

It's in the latest issue of Handloader Magazine. Mine came last night and I looked at the article briefly. I'll read it more thoroughly later this week.

Rem