Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What premium bullet/load to get .270 Win 140 gr. to 3,100 fps safely with 24" barrel?

Yes, two years old, but JB just completed testing on RL-26 and thought this might help the original poster.

Swift AF 140

Try Superformance, with the 140 grain Accubonds, I got
3070 Fps average. Norma MRP got 3104Fps same bullet
and case but with CCI250 Mag primes. One load of RL26 went 3153 Fps with 140gr Accubonds and WLR primers and win cases.
These were shot at 70 to 80 degrees. I,ll back the RL26 load off to about 3125Fps next time.

I get 2980 out of my 24B with a max load of Magnum and 140 grain Bergers.Groups average 1/2" 3 shot at 100 yards and snuffed two Montana Mule Deer last last week one shot a piece.

Get a 7 Rem Mag or another cartridge with similar capacity,and get your 140-3100 from a 24" barrel easily.....and then some. Avoids all this mental masturbation and redlining.

I easily got that speed with 150 grain Accubond LR`s and Reloader 26.It did not shoot for chit and so I went with the 140 Bergers a slower speed and 3 bullets in a cluster.

Best I could get with a 140 is 3050. Reloader 22 with a 24 inch barrel. H 4831 at 3000 was more accurate.

Is RL26 the answer now? If so, any loads to share?

Had good groups with ramshot hunter and using 140 sst at 3050fps.
After trying to go faster, the accuracy went away

RL26 clearly gives highest velocity, but in my rifles Norma MRP is more accurate.

Why risk it? I'm betting a deer or you could tell the difference between 3030 fps and 3100

There is no need to do this

Quickload lists RL26 at 3108fps with 58,451psi using 60.2gr of RL26. With 140gr Accubonds.
It lists Norma MRP at 3102fps at 60,440psi. using 59.3gr of MRP. Same 140gr Accubond.
Back to Superformance never go higher than the 3070fps I reported earlier, but it was
very accurate. Remember ever rifle is different. Work up your loads. I go for the powder
with the most accuracy. Most of my load testing was with a Vanguard S2, but recently I
Aquired a Model 70 in 270 Win made in the 1950,s.

Forgot to add I used 3.340 OAL with all loads, With RL26 I used WLRM primers and Federal 215M primers with MRP.
With Superformance I used WLR primers. For my own loads.

GunTruck50,

Based on actual results from the 150-grain Partition, in a number of rifles, I sincerely doubt QL's prediction of 60.2 grains of RL-26 would get anywhere near 3100 fps with a 140 AccuBond. Most rifles require right around 60 grains to get 3000 with 150 Partitions, and Partitions result in more velocity than most bullets (including AccuBonds) with the same powder charges, due to producing more pressure than most other bullets, because of their construction.

In my own .270's 22-inch barrel, 60.5 grains of RL-26 gets right around 3000 fps with the 150 Partition--which seems to be pretty typical of 22-inch barrels. Probably the same load in a 24-inch barrel would get around 3050 to 3075 fps, though Alliant lists 3022 from a 24-inch barrel with 60.8 grains of 26 and the 150 Partition.

Generally it requires a little MORE of the same powder for lighter bullets just to match the velocity of heavier bullets, and quite a bit more to exceed it. In my rifle I eventually worked up to 62.0 grains of RL-26 with 150's, which got right around 3100 fps, but even though there weren't any "pressure signs," pressures in my rifle are obviously above Alliant's pressure-tested results. This is why I use 60.5 grains.

A little calculation, using some simple formulas and actual result with 150 Partitions, indicates it would probably require at least 63 grains of RL-26 to get 3100 fps, and maybe more. I just tried various charges of 26 in a Winchester .270 case fired in my rifle. Drizzling 63 grains slowly, while tapping the case to settle the powder, resulted in the charge filling the case to just above the bottom of the neck, and 65 grains filled it more than halfway up the neck. You could seat a 140 on top of that charge, but it might get pushed forward by the compressed powder. (Filling the case to the very top resulted in a charge of about 69.5 grains.) This is in an unsized case. A FL resized case, or a heavier brand of brass, wouldn't hold as much.

I dunno what velocities RL-26 might result in with 140's in the .270. Haven't tried it, mostly because I'm happy with 3000 fps with 150's. But based on Alliant's data, and results with 150's from several rifle, I sincerely doubt 60.2 grains is going to get 3100 from a 24" barrel, despite what QL predicts.

With a 22" 270, 130 gr and 57.7 gr Re17, Chrono measures 3129 to 3228 fps
But that is not a good load, as Re17 temp variation requires huge safety margins.... so I can't use that load or anything close to it.

I killed 9 deer with that rifle 50 gr IMR4895 130 gr 2875 fps... seems to work just fine out to 400 yards.

Should have checked may own loads first. The Vanguard using RL26 with 61.6gr got 3105fps one time and another day got 3094fps same load.
never tried any thing higher. My Vanguard may have a little faster barrel than others. I,ll have to try that load in my Model 70.

59 to 60 grains of RL 23 should get you very close.

Did not read through this whole thread so forgive me if this is a repeat.
Having said that, my 24" factory barreled Win Model 70(270 Win cal) shoots Nosler 140gr Accubonds into tiny little groups using 61.5 gr of Reloader 26. Chronographed velocity is 3,185 fps. Bolt lift is not stiff, no shiny marks on the case head and primers aren't flat. What's not to like? I'm happy!

Good luck,

Leftybolt

PS: Federal 215 Mag primers tightened up my groups considerably vs standard 210 primers. Velocities with both primers was about the same.

Was at the range yesterday with half a dozen rifles. Among them was my Model 70 Classic .270, with a few old and new loads. Among the new loads was one of the 140-grain Tipped Trophy Bonded and 59.5 grains of H4831SC. Muzzle velocity averaged 3043 fps and accuracy was excellent, 4 shots in .78 inch.

That's from a 22-inch barrel and may prove a little warm in the long run, though my rifle didn't show a hint of any of the traditional "pressure signs." The only pressure-tested loading data for the TTB's uses Alliant powders. Hodgdon lists a maximum of 58.0 H4831SC with the 140-grain A-Frame, but the AF results in higher pressures than just about any other jacketed bullet. Nosler likewise lists 58.0 as maxwith 140's, but Hornady lists 59.9 grains H4831 as max with the 140 Interlock BTSP, 140 SST and 145 ELD-X.