270 Starting Recipe

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scaleguy

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Hi all,
Im going to be working up a hand load for black bear and i have a few things settled out so far.

Im going to use a Nosler Partition in 150grain. I have a 22" barrel with (i think ) a 1:10 twist. So ill be using IMR4350 (the fact that i have 2lbs of it doesnt hurt).

I havent found any charts specific to that bullet, but for that weight of bullet im seeing recommended powder charges of between 48 and 52 grains.

Should those numbers apply to that specific bullet with no problems?

Does anyone have a better starting point for powder charge? If i was just starting with that info, id probably shoot for 49 or 50 grains as a starting point and go from there.

If my starting point isnt grouping the way i want, do you pretty much always assume you're pushing the bullet too hard and reduce your charge, or is it possible that it wants more speed to better your groups?

I do have experience handloading but it was always for hand gun, or downloading the .270, so ive never tried pushing it hard with a big bullet like this before. Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
get a reloading manual. read it.

Your best source of info is from the powder manufacturer themselves.

ht tp://www.imrpowder.com/data/rifle/270win-2005apr03.php
150 GR. HDY SP IMR 4350 .277" 3.285" 48.0 2642 44,600 CUP 51.6 2809 50,900 CUP

IMR does not list a 150 partition for the 270, they do have 160 listed and 150 gr Hornady. Bullet weight is more important than bullet manufacturer.


Look at the published starting load and cartridge OAL. In this case it is 48 grains. I would load 5 at 48, then 5 at 49, 5 at 50, 5 at 51. Take your 20 new loads to the range and shoot for groups. Take your time with this, allow the barrel time to cool between shots. Accuracy is not important at this stage, all you are looking for is the smallest group size without any stringing.

Take note of the charge weight that provided the best grouping. Your ideal charge for this bullet powder combination with be within a few tenths of a grain of this load. IE, if 51 grains gave the best group, I would load 5 more at 50.5, 5 at 50.7, 5 at 50.9, 5 at 51.1, 5 at 51.3 and 5 at 51.5. Take these 30 to the range and once again shoot for tight groups, they should all pretty close, this is getting a little OCD at this point. Once you find the load that you cannot improve upon by changing charge weight, you can start messing with OAL, neck tension, crimp, etc... Then if you change brass, primers, bullet, powder or anything at all, you get to start all over. :)
 
scaleguy, I no longer have my Remington.270 Mtn. rifle, but I did toy with some reloading for it.

It hated Speer130 Grn Grand Slams, but liked the sierra brand of bullets in the 140 grn offerings.

This is something I pulled up ''160 GR. NOS. PART.-IMR 4350-.277"-3.340"seating depth-46.5grns 2483fps to 51 grns .2706 fps.''

Nosler does not list a load for IMR 4350, but does have one for H4350....what are your thoughts on that given that some claim the two are interchangeable? (not I though)

Tight Groups,
Rob
 
h4350 is a little slower than imr. you could use the h4350 starting load with imr 4350 and work up. they are very close.
 
I've been reloading for the .270 with 130's and 150's, using IMR 4350 for over twenty years.

Starting at 48.0 grains of powder is not a bad idea, but I would expect your top end loads to be more in the 54 - 55 grain range (maybe more in your rifle), unless you are holding back just because some heavily lawyerized reloading manual is telling you to.

Older, non lawyerized, reloading data out there will show the .270 pushing 150 grain bullets to right around 3000 fps. I'm pretty sure "H4831" has posted pics of older reloading manuals showing at least this velocity on this site, on other threads.

I've loaded for two .270's ( a Rem 700 and a Brno 600) and I've personally loaded 150's to 2950 and 3000 fps respectively, for many years.

Don't forget that the .270 win is a 65,000 PSI SAAMI cartridge, not a 54,000 psi cartridge like it is often loaded to....:)
 
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If my starting point isnt grouping the way i want, do you pretty much always assume you're pushing the bullet too hard and reduce your charge, or is it possible that it wants more speed to better your groups?

I use H4831 and RL22 in my 270 and my experience is the opposite, The groups tighten up as you increase the charge.
 
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