Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 130 gr. .270 bullet accuracy question

This entire thread has apparently confirmed something I've known (or suspected) for a long time:

The .270 Winchester is apparently one of those "inherently accurate" cartridges, despite not being short, fat, or having a 30-degree shoulder, or any of those modern requirements. It may not be accurate enough for competition target shooting, but I have owned and handloaded for too many .270s that shot very well to believe it's inherently "inaccurate.

The example I've mentioned more than once was my first, a Remington 700 ADL purchased in 1974 from a local hardware store. After basic accurizing (epoxy bedding and free-floating the barrel) it would put three 150-grain Hornady Spire Points into around an inch--at 300 yards. This was with the original mil-surp H4831, using Jack O'Connor's favorite charge of 58.5 grains....

Great post JB, what epoxy were you using in 1974 or thereabouts?

Don't remember, but probably something from the local hardware store!

I gave up on the 270 for it’s lack of penetration.
I was killing a Buffalo for a friend. Shot the Buffalo in the chest, the bullet exited the chest and went into a small hill behind the Buffalo, and completely failed to penetrate the hill.

All these years I been crediting the CZ 550 for the boringly redundant groups across bullet weights in my 270.
The set trigger helps me but now thinking the cartridge does too.

If memory serves, I could not get Barnes X or XLC to shoot. Have never used any 130gr Sierra or Speer.

The 180gr Woodleighs shot OK, but not bug holes. On the plus side did not key hole either. Going to give them another try when I get my 1:8 twist rifle put together.



The CZ's I had were incredibly accurate. Kind of along the lines of the Tikka's everyone raves about now a days.

Before I went to 60 gr of H4831 and the 130 TTSX, (due to local regs in California), I shot 56.7 gr. of RL22 and the 130 Sierra GK. Not a screaming velocity rate, but dang was it accurate. LH Model 70.

What a piece of junk

Been using this load in a few of my 270's for years, has been good on paper and game. Groups equally as good with Hornady 130 gr. spire points. Got it out of one of JOC's books like in the 70's.

Same thing happened to Eileen when she got a mature cow buffalo on a ranch in Texas, using a .270 borrowed from Charlie Sisk with 130-grain Barnes TSX handloads. It took a while to get a good shot because they'd been hunted some, and the country was typical South Texas brush. But we finally got within 150 yards, and shooting off sticks Eileen put the bullet just behind the shoulder of the biggest cow. It went about 40 yards and keeled over, leaking blood from both sides of the chest.

I have had a flock of Rem 700 in 270 Win and a couple of Browning A bolts.

I always shot:

130g Speer btsp
130g Speer Hot Core flat base
130g Nosler Ballistic tips
130g Sierra BTSP
130g Hornady Flat base

58g of R#22 with a Fed 210
55-55.5g of IMR 4350, 9 1/2 primer
59-60g of H4831, WLR primer
7828 is one heck of a powder for this bullet, work up, and I used a 210 primer.

Recently tried some 140g Nosler ballistic tips, shot groups less than 3/8" with Leupold 6.5x20 with 58g of H4831, with CCI 250. Groups at 300 were 1.5"

Many do not realize how much primer choice makes in a load, and especially the seating depth. The Sierra and Speer were more jump tolerant than the ballistic tips that LOVE to shoot tiny groups seated just barely off the lands, say no more than .005.

I have killed quite a few deer with the Sierra 110g Pro hunter at 3300 fps with R#17 and H4350, along with the 110g TTSX. The 110's are extremely flat shooting, quite an eye opener to say the least! On broadside shots, the 110g Sierra shoots holes through both sides, but if you contact the off side shoulder, bullet may not completely penetrate, dead is dead. 110g TTSX shoots holes through deer from any angle, quartering coming and going.

I have had a 270 since 1978. I bought that Ruger M77 with the 200 dollar scholarship that I won from writing a patriotic paper in a contest by a local Elks lodge.

I asked my High School counselor if I could buy the rifle with the money and she agreed.

Started handloading for that 270 in 1980 in college.

Had many 270s since then and still have four model 70s as well a Steyr and a BAR. Used the aforementioned Ruger to kill my first rifle taken deer. That Ruger was a 2 moa rifle and I foolishly it traded away.

But I have had several accurate 270s and later used one of them to take my first bull elk with a couple of early 130 grain Barnes X bullets. Both hit the bull sguare in the shoulder and both exited. Also killed my first wild boar with the same bullet. the 175 pound boar was running sharply away and the bullet entered the left hip and exited the right shoulder.

The most accurate bullets have been Nosler Ballistic Tips and Hornady Spire Points. My favorite 130 grain bullet now is the hard to find Hornady Interbond,

It has been accurate and seems to hit stuff really hard as well as exit. It hits stuff about like the old Bear Claws. Bonded bullets tend to be very quick expanders and killers in my experience.

I can't tell you about rifle after rifle, I've only owned one .270. What I found most accurate was pretty dang standard though. 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, max load of H4831, WW brass, and Fed 210M primers. In my stainless 700 SPS that was good for quarter inch 100 yard groups. (I don't recall why I sold it, probably something else shiny caught my eye and I needed funds to get it.)

In the same gun I shot 150 grain partitions .. 'bout MOA with the same components. I don't recall the amount of H4831 but it was enough to shorten case life to 3-4 firings before the primer pockets got too loose. Lesser loads were also noticeably less accurate. (Would have been a good one to try with RL26 if it'd been available.)

Tom

Even into the 80s we couldn’t find any decent epoxies around here that would be thick enough for bedding rifles with.
Most of the stuff we used was polyester with the associated shrinkage problems, I was just curious as to see what you’re using

Sorry “were”

One of the tricks I used back then was to mix some sawdust--or "sanding dust"--from the stock I was working on with the epoxy, which gave the mix somebody. Probably read about that somewhere.

But one thing I have discovered in the years since is that even 5-minute epoxies can work for "skim bedding" some stocks--as long as the inletting is already pretty close. In those sorts of instances there doesn't need to be much structural strength to the epoxy itself, like in Acra-Glas Gel or Steel Bed. Instead it just fills in slight imperfections in contact between stock and action.

Always had good luck with 55gr. IMR-4350 with just about any 130gr. bullet.

Lately I've been having great luck 61gr. of RL26 with 130gr. TBTs. 3225fps and groups repeatedly under an inch.

Elk Country

Elkcountry- same IMR load here.

I still have 5 270's. They all loved Hornady sp's... of any weight. All shot very well with 55'55.5 grains of i4350. Also all shoot 150 NP's very well with R23. 56.5-57 grains. Not much of a challenge to make a 270 shine.

I had those XLC's and never got them to shoot well either. The 130 Sierra Pro Hunter shoots lights out in three M700s with RL22. VERY accurate bullet.