Best powder for .270 Win?

USP said:
Can anybody recommend the best average powder for a .270 win. Will be used from warm temperatures to cold temps in winter.

I am thinking I want an extruded type as I think these feed better in automatic powder measuring equipment?

Not interested in maximum power. Just want easy to measure with, reproducible results, low recoil/ flash if possible.
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I'd think a ball type powder would measure better than stick. I use WC852 [ball] in my measure for 270 and it meters fine.

OTOH ... You won't be loading hundreds of 270 at a time, so concentrating on saving a bit of time by auto measuring won't make a huge time difference overall. I usually dump a light load and trickle into the pan to the exact amount. I prefer consistency over volume. YMMV.

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SuperCub said:
I'd think a ball type powder would measure better than stick. I use WC852 [ball] in my measure for 270 and it meters fine.

OTOH ... You won't be loading hundreds of 270 at a time, so concentrating on saving a bit of time by auto measuring won't make a huge time difference overall. I usually dump a light load and trickle into the pan to the exact amount. I prefer consistency over volume. YMMV.

.
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I am use to working with loss in weight feeders at work, so figured I would go with a mini one like the Hornady or RCBS.

Is there a decent primer to match with this H4831 powder? I have read some varying accounts that some say primer choice for rifle doesnt effect load much and others say that it does. If I use the H4831 powder and it fills a higher level of the case, is there a primer that suits this better?

Lastly is there any issues with having to compress the loads using this powder? Or does it fill nicely load dependent and not overfill? Thanks
 
Hey USP,

Very good caliber choice. I am having success with two different powders so far. H4831 is pretty much your standard powder that you would use for this cartridge. I basically do the same thing as SuperCub and trickle podwer into the pan on my mechanical scale. I feel better knowing exactly what I have right down to the 0.1 grain. I am currently using 58.0 grains of H4831 right now and I like where my groups are looking like for now.

I have also been experimenting with reduced loads using H4895. I want to be easy on my barrel, so I will be working up some youth loads using a 110 grain bullet with about 36.2 grains of H4895. Fun to experiment with the reduced load as I want to shoot a lot more rounds (with proper amounts of cooling down in between), but do not want to apply to much heat and speed to my barrel. Using the reduced load one would have to hold a couple inchs higher at 100 yards to get close to what my regular hunting load of H4831 behind a 130 grain bullet.

Hope that helps and gives a little food for thought.

By the way these reduced loads are coming right from the main Hodgdon website listed under data under Youth loads.

Cheers and let us all know how you make out with reloading for this cartridge.

Cheers

Snake88
 
USP said:
Is there a decent primer to match with this H4831 powder? I have read some varying accounts that some say primer choice for rifle doesnt effect load much and others say that it does. If I use the H4831 powder and it fills a higher level of the case, is there a primer that suits this better?
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The standard CCI Large Rifle Primers (#200) work well with H4831.

I have used both H4381 and H4350. H4350 uses 10% fewer powder to generate the same speed and shoots better with the 150 gn bullets.

If you are loading for 130 gn bullets, try H4831 first.
 
SuperCub said:
HUH? ... What's "loss in weight feeder at work" mean? :redface:

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Its a type of feeder that is very precise. It measures its discharge based on weight. Its hooked up a to a computer and sits on load cells. Basically it meters out product either quickly or slowly over time so you have accurate measurements. The RCBC and Hornady stuff are just cheap versions of this stuff.

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Ok on the loads, does it matter which loads you use if the accuracy is there? Or is there typically a variance between minimum and maximum load with regards to accuracy?

Or is the vary in accuracy more attributed towards different powder/bullet choices?

From a hunting point of view, obviously I dont need crazy accuracy as I dont shoot that far for stuff. Is there a power point in FPS that I should try and maintain?
 
.270

USP said:
Ok on the loads, does it matter which loads you use if the accuracy is there? Or is there typically a variance between minimum and maximum load with regards to accuracy?

Or is the vary in accuracy more attributed towards different powder/bullet choices?

From a hunting point of view, obviously I dont need crazy accuracy as I dont shoot that far for stuff. Is there a power point in FPS that I should try and maintain?
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1) If you're satisfied with the accuracy you achieve and the load still has enough power to kill cleanly - then no, it doesn't matter which load you use.

2) Each rifle can be different - a lighter load might be more accurate in one rifle and a MAX load could be the best in another. You've got to experiment.

3)Accuracy can be dependent on many things, type of rifle, bedding, sights etc. These things can be more important than powder/bullet choices.

4)If you keep the velocity around 3000 fps with a 130 gr. bullet then you are getting what the .270 was designed for - flat shooting, high velocity "shock" value with a relatively light bullet.

I've found that 58 grs. H4831 gives the best accuracy in my .270 Ruger No. 1
(3/4" groups at 100 yds), followed by 64 grs H1000.
 
I have a combination of the following bullets so far.

Hornady Interbond 150s
Nosler Accubond 140s
Barnes TTSX 130s

Will get maybe 110 for Coyote hunting.

Is 2900-3000 fps a critical number to maintain? I have a chrony. I highly doubt I will shoot past 200 ish yards as I dont have a range finder to fine tune stuff.

I take it just start off at the minimums with each bullet and see how it goes? If the minimum is accurate, is there any need to go higher?

I guess I am having a hard time trying to determine what I "really" need to get here.
 
Maybe you should look at what Warren Page, probably the most famous of all the bench rest shooters and long range prescission shooters, states in his book, "The Accurate Rifle," about loading. I imagine the 270 Winchester would fit in there with the other larger calibres he mentions.
I mean afterall, if it is what the world class long range shooters do, don't you think it might work for your hunting, also?
Like, load up full tilt and sight it in?
load001.jpg
 
H4831 said:
Maybe you should look at what Warren Page, probably the most famous of all the bench rest shooters and long range prescission shooters, states in his book, "The Accurate Rifle," about loading. I imagine the 270 Winchester would fit in there with the other larger calibres he mentions.
I mean afterall, if it is what the world class long range shooters do, don't you think it might work for your hunting, also?
Like, load up full tilt and sight it in?
load001.jpg
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Do I need all that powder if I dont shoot long distance, also isnt it harder on the throat in the barrel for erosion?

I am asking because I dont really know here and dont want to re-invent the wheel :p
 
USP said:
I was looking at that today, does the short cut make a huge difference? Or does it just speed up burn rate?
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meters better...shorter sticks...same burn rate

Im also a confired 4831 user for 130 gr. bullets. It get 3kfps with 58 grains and the accuracy is great so I havent' experimented any further.
 
Do you have to have seperate reloading data for the SC or is it interchangeable with the regular H4831?

How big a price difference is it? Easily available?
 
USP said:
Do you have to have seperate reloading data for the SC or is it interchangeable with the regular H4831?

How big a price difference is it? Easily available?
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Interchangeable.

I don't think there is much if any price difference but have only bought sc in the past while. Yup, should be able to get it anywhere Hogdon powder is sold. It is fairly popular ;)
 
USP said:
Do I need all that powder if I dont shoot long distance, also isnt it harder on the throat in the barrel for erosion?

I am asking because I dont really know here and dont want to re-invent the wheel :p
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You wanted, and got a flat shooting rifle with plenty of whallup for the largest animals in Canada. Why would you want to load it light and lose these qualities?
Oh, I forgot, you don't want to wear it out. Well lets see, if you load it right up, in a worst case scenario, you may wear it out in 3 to 4 thousand rounds. Depending on what you were shooting, you may have spent $2,000 to 5,000 to wear out a $300 barrel.
Life is too short to worry about such things.
 
H4831 said:
You wanted, and got a flat shooting rifle with plenty of whallup for the largest animals in Canada. Why would you want to load it light and lose these qualities?
Oh, I forgot, you don't want to wear it out. Well lets see, if you load it right up, in a worst case scenario, you may wear it out in 3 to 4 thousand rounds. Depending on what you were shooting, you may have spent $2,000 to 5,000 to wear out a $300 barrel.
Life is too short to worry about such things.
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My only concern was if I load it to a maximum load does this really speed up the wear process compared to medium load? Or is it not that linear? Or is the .270 not hot enough that this isnt a huge concern?

I am asking only because I am not sure about this. I have been doing alot of reading on this but some questions still remain. That is all. THanks :D
 
USP, dont worry about wearing out the barrel. I have found the main thing is to let it cool down between shooting strings... Just my two cents..

338wm
 
They are right USP, don't worry about it.

I have had rifles in .270 with factory barrels that are 60 years and older and they have all shot great. One of the pre 64 Winchesters(1954) I have right now has been used very hard over the years and was never, ever cleaned by the previous owner and it still shoots great! I have a rough idea of the number of rounds through that barrel, trust me, nothing to worry yourself over ;)
 
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