Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Magnum Primers for 270?

Many years ago I had a 270 Winchester, custom rifle by Hal Hartley of Lenoir, NC, and am in pursuit of another one. I don't have that rifle anymore but always kept reloading notes and noticed my accuracy load was 60 gr of H4831 using CCI Large Rifle Magnum primers.

However, I can't find any info in three manuals where the need for magnum primers was indicated with this powder. I don't know where I got the info from to use magnum primers but wondered if it was alright to still do so. Perhaps I got it from one of Jack O'Connor's books...can't recall. H4831 is a slow burning powder and with 59-61 gr in a case it pretty much fills it up. Can anyone shed any light on this as memory has faded why I used them but feel sure I didn't pull it out of the air.

I read the same comment in one of the Nosler manuals. I will look it up. I intend to switch to magnums in my 270 since I bought a couple thousand during the current shortage.

Tom

Having looked this up, it was Dave Petzel wiih the write up in the Nosler #3 manual. He does mention backing off the charge weight and watching pressures. He mentions accuracy being improved with the magnum primers....

Try the magnums and standards and see which works best. I think a little too much is made of using primers that the manuals call for instead of experimenting yourself to find the best. Magnums won't hurt anything in a .270, they might not help any either, but they're not going to hurt anything.

I was racking my memory bank and feel sure it was either in once of JOC's books or an article in Outdoor Life he wrote on the 270 where he recommended magnum primers. My notes from 1969 indicated that's what I used. Reason for the question, I'm getting a pre-64 Model 70 in this caliber soon and wanted to be sure I had the right primers on hand...and, I do. 3,000 Federal Magnum Primers along with a fairly large stash of CCI LR primers. Now, to find the powder!

I'm not so sure I'd be using them right off the bat without a little more research. If JOC wrote this, it was a long time ago and the formulation of the powder he was refering to (H4831) may have changed. Furthermore, your Fed 215's were specifically made for the large powder charges for Weatherby cartridges and burn the hottest. Not saying you can't, just saying we should get some more thought on it.
I'll see if I can find JOC's statement - iirc he mentions CCI250's.

With H4831, you do not need magnum primers.

CCI 200's produce excellent groups, and with Elmer's 62gr of H4831, he had to be using Winchester brass (in Hell I was there he noted he could only get 62gr in Winchester brass) and a standard primer, probably the cci200 to keep pressures to a level that was just high, and not absurd.

I bought 5K Federal 215's some months back because that's what I use in my Browning 1885 45-70 and I figured since the weather was getting too cold for these old bones I may as well use them for loading some 270's. I remember the H4831 I used was in a red can and no doubt is not the same H4831 then(1969-70) as it is today. I still think it was O'Connor's advice about the magnum primers that prompted me to use them.

I seem to recall that magnum primers are suggested when loading ball powders, snd should also be tried anytime the powder charge is more than 60 grains. FWIW, I seemed to get better accuracy in my .270WSM with Federal 210 primers than with WLRM or Fed 215 primers.

I have a 270 Win. It's like new, safe queen now. It's a Rem. 700 CDL stainless fluted with a Micky Edge stock. (nice gun)

I bought this gun to go on a hunt, worked up one load. I was all ready for the hunt. That's when the Gunsmith called and said your rifle is done. I was having a gun built, I didn't think it would be done for my hunt so I bought the Rem. 270.

I worked up a load with Nosler 140 Grain A/B I tested a few primers with the powder charge, 59 grains of H-4831 the CCI-250 worked the best.

215's and h-1000 works excellent.

Don't know if you actually need them in a .270, although some of the manuals recommend them with slow burning ball powders. They won't hurt anything, as long as you work up your loads with them.

My load notes from a number or years working with a variety of 270's show nothing that indicate magnums perform better in the 270 than standard primers.

JOC used to use CCI-250's with his load of surplus H4831, which is not the same H4831 we have today.

I use 60 gr H4831 myself and usually use a Standard WW large rifle primer and this works fine.

I have however seen a rifle or two that did better with RL22 after switching from standard primers to Fed215's in the 270 Winchester....results were so good that if I plan on using RL22 in a 270 or 280, I automatically reach for the 215's.

I have also used the 215's when loading 7828 and H1000 in the 270 Winchester.

I found in a couple readings that JOC mentions a generic 4831 and does mention CCI250's. Leads me to believe and I see Bobinnh said that today's two 4831 versions are not the same. However no mention of Fed 215's in JOC's articles so far. I wonder what year the Fed 215 came out to support the Weatherby cartridge?

Another fly in the ointment is H4831 and H4831SC. None of my manuals show data for H4831SC but, I'm assuming(again) it's the same thing only a cut version.

I have chronograph both Winchester Mag. primers and Fed. 210 primers in a 270w using H4831 and the Mag primers were 3084fps with 60grs H4831 and 3031fps with Fed 210's out of a 24in barrel gun and 130gr Sierra.

I feel sure the 4831 he used way back in the 30's or even 50's was different but, the H4831 I used with CCI magnum primers was around 1969-71 and with the Speer 130 gr Spitzer and 60 gr of that powder did a superb job-3/4-1" at 100 yards with no signs of pressure. I'm just wondering how the burning characteristics of the powder may have changed since then. I'll probably never know for sure. As many have posted either the CCI 200 or 250 primer will both work. I just couldn't recall why I had written down that data about the magnum primer when no manuals indicate it. I can only surmise it was indeed JOC's recommendation. 60 gr of H4831 is a case full of powder in a Winchester case and probably more so in a Remington.

The best thing to do in this case is just start out slow and work up since todays powder has no doubt changed...regardless the primer used.

Kitch I am thinking the 4831 from 1969-71 might have been the Scottish stuff. These various H4831 powders have not varied a whole lot.They seem to be a grain or two quicker than the WW II 4831's. I have been shooting them in various 270's about since the late 60's myself and they don't seem to vary much at all.

Of course none of this applies to IMR4831 which is a different animal and quicker than any of the Hodgdon 4831's IME.

I just loaded 30 rounds with 60.5 gr H4831(the regular cut,I don't use the short cut),WW brass, WW large rifle primer's and the old screw machine 130 Partition. Worked like a charm in a new 9 twist Brux barrel, but have not chronographed it yet and may not get to it soon....seems these various 4831 loads come out very near the same,velocity wise.

Generally speaking I don't see a downside in using mag primers in a 270, and view it as advisable if real cold temps are on the docket.
As has been mentioned, IMR7828 is very likely the reincarnation of the 4831 of O'Connors day.
I like 7828 but 4831, in all its various forms, has always produced great performance in every 270 I have owned, accurate and consistent. 60 grains of Hogdgens version, under a 130 gr bullet, continues to be a great, even classic, load.
This is a little out of context, but J Barsness once quoted an acquaintance as saying that the round is so friendly that a case full of nitrated manure would likely shoot well.

I found the CCI 250's gave better groups than CCI 200's in two 30-06 rifles when using 60 gr or more of H4831. I have maintained the habit of using CCI 250's with H4831 since 1980 in the '06, 25-06, 260, 264, 7 Rem Mag, and the 7 STW.

When my buddy purchased a new Ruger Hawkeye in 270, I just automatically reached for the H4831 and CCI 250's. It took four shots to hit 3100 fps with a 130 gr Ballistic Tip and 59 gr of powder. It took five more shots to put five into a 3/4 MOA group from a brand new factory rifle.

I doubt that I will be switching primers anytime soon.

Now haven't you heard hear on the great armchair warrior Fire! If you so much as even deviate from an exact load recipe you will more than likely blow your entire house off it's foundation killing your entire family and quite possibly some of your neighbors. Seriously.....reloading is just like playing with nitro glycerine. I once sneazed while trying to seat a bullet and blew my whole damned arm clean off!!

Shod