Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles modern powders in the .270 Win

And I'm talking about H4831sc with the 150's. Reloder 26 with 150's gives the good velocity, but it's no good in very hot temperatures.

Man, it doesn’t take all this thinking to kill an elk or deer. I haven’t heard a bad combo yet and I’d take those old RN 150’s BSA is shooting before I stayed home.

Yes, but if you have various options, you would probably choose the most viable.

For sure. I just meant there are a lot more that work than don’t.

+1 on that but also I have found that I consider powder availability now and in to the future in developing loads. I don't blame anyone for taking that into consideration.

Hell yes buddy. I would too!! The friend I got them from said that's all he ever used when he only had a 270 to hunt with. He has a stock pile of those factory loads. The Federal blue box generally perform very well for their price point. You already know that though..

Hunter shot great for me with 140 Berger classsic hunters. 54-54.5-55 all shot great at 2900-3000 fps. Went up to 56.5 at 3130 but groups fell off a bit. Magnum primers were pretty flat, even at 55 gr. Glad this powder shot so well as I have plenty.

IF - the shots will be longer?

The NP/150 gr. has a BC of 0.465.

That equates to a wappin' Six yards of MPBR over the unassuming Speer GS of the same weight.

The TSX/140 gr., BC of 0.473 at 2925 fps, stretches that to 284, Thirteen yards.

The deer and hogs just don't seem to appreciate the difference.




GR

A b.c. of .465 for a 150 .277 is crap. The 150 SuperBulldozer has a b.c. of .710. Even their 140 has a b.c. of .650.

The NP is a good bullet with reasonable BC.

The GS is a good Cup-n-Core with a modest BC.

... and the venison and pork taste the same.


For 600 yards, the fast-twist 150 and 165 ABLR looks promising, but then, getting closer is the challenge, not the shot.




GR

A big reason went to H4831 the last go-round, and it has worked out very well.

Don't seem to need the extra velocity for the hunting, and the H4831 will be a lot easier on the bore of the rifles.




GR

RL-26 also isn't as good as H4831 in cold temperatures. At zero Fahrenheit, with 150s the most accurate Reloder 26 handload in my .270 shifted point of impact about 1.5 inches at 100 yards--which would of course be 6" at 400. Zero is pretty common during rifle seasons here in Montana, and below zero not usual--the reason I stick with H4831....

You don't prefer Reloder 23 in the .270 as more stable than Reloder 26, but giving higher velocities than H4831sc (though not as high velocities as Reloder 26)?

I am unclear how much hunting you actually do, but it's often the case that you can not get closer to the game without significantly increasing the risk of being seen or simply that getting closer will result in a worse angle or an unclear shot at the game. With the hogs, because of their poor eyesight you can often get closer if the wind is right, but deer, antelope and sheep are a different proposition.

The best way to compare velocities with certain powders is using the same method of pressure-testing in the same barrel. Hodgdon's listed H4831 data is one that they haven't updated by using piezo-electronic (PSI) method. Instead it's from copper-crusher data, listed as CUP. And their maximum load is only listed at 51,200 CUP, while 54,000 CUP is equivalent to the SAAMI maximum average piezo pressure pf 65,000 PSI.

Speer's latest Number 15 manual uses piezo testing, and in the same barrel the maximum charge of H4831SC they list for 150-grain bullets 57.5 grains is 2860 fps from their 24" test barrel. Their maximum load for RL-23 is 54.7 grains for 2874 fps, for an "extra" 14 fps over H4831. I doubt that would make any difference in the field.

Plus, I have found H4831SC far more available than RL-23 over the years--and even now. Our main local sporting goods store even had H4831SC in stock the other day.

I have had at least twelve 270’s built with best quality barrels and fitted by really great rifle builders. In a 22” barrel I have never gotten to 2900 in any 22” barrel with any of the 4831’s made since 1985. I was one of the first to work with R26 and with that powder could reach 3000.

With 130’s I have had the best luck with IMR4831 over H4350, R17, R22, IMR7828ssc. I haven’t tried R16 or HUNTER yet.

I have had a 25” and a 26” built but both were cut to 23” then 22.5” then 22”. Those long barrels were quite clumsy.

Hut a lot - just not from a portable bench, or on my belly from a mat with a bipod.

Making excuses for poor fieldcraft does not mean someone else couldn't get closer.

And, on a very rare occasion, a shot is passed up.

Hunting is like that.




GR

Rick,

As I pointed out in my post, RL-26 is not all that temperature resistant, either in heat or cold. I will gladly give up 100 fps (or even more) for consistent POI at various temperatures--and H4831 provides that. In my Jack O'Connor Tribute, which of course is a featherweight model on the post-1990 "classic action," 58.5 grains of H4831SC averages 2916 fps from the 22" barrel--without the slightest sign of high pressure. (Can open the bolt with my little finger even at 90 degrees.)

With RL-26 the muzzle velocity is higher--but varies more with temperature. In the same rifle point-of-impact changes 1.5 inches at 100 yards when shot at 70 and zero. This change in POI may not happen in other .270s, especially those with heavier barrels, such as the typical Remington 700. But I will gladly give up 100+ fps in muzzle velocity to obtain the same POI at typical Montana hunting temperatures. This partly because I've seen too many big game animals killed very quickly with the 150 Partition at even a lowly 2800 fps--including bull elk and moose.

The O'Connor Tribute is also one of the most accurate .270s I've ever owned, out of at least a dozen. But the most accurate was my first .270, a Remington 700 ADL, which regularly shot 3-shot groups around 1/2" at 100 yards with the 150 Hornady Spire Point--and the one time I shot it at 300 yards put three in 1-1/4". It weighed 8 pounds with scope, after I slimmed the stock down a little.

For the OP:

56.7 grains of RL22 with a 130gr Sierra GameKing. Accurate with mild recoil. (58 grains of RL22 is listed as max).

This was the accuracy load in a past Sierra Loading manual from a few years ago. I shot several whitetails under 100 yds with this load and every deer went straight down.

John,
I need to revisit H4831sc with the 150 Partition. Perhaps I am using charges on the conservative side in my loading. My first requirement is that my rifle go BOOM. I am no longer a member of the red-line club.

Incidentally I am also thinking that I prefer monos because of concerns over lead residue. I have had really great results with 130/129’s loaded to 3100. Want to try the CX 130’s next.

Thanks for you thoughtful input.
R