I was here a couple weeks ago asking about reduced loads using H4895 for my .270 WSM. I finally got out shooting and thought I'd post my results.
60% of book max for the 100 Hornady soft points was 32.7, so I standardized on even numbers and loaded up 20 at 33, 15 at 34 and 15 at 35. I just seated to book COL.
Here's the 100 yard groups:
33 Grains:
34 Grains centre group, 35 grains in the upper right:
So, nothing too stellar, but not too bad either, considering consistency might be tricky with a case that's only half-full. I'm guessing the fliers are just a matter of inconsistent ignition resulting from the fairly empty case. That kind of accuracy is fine for me for 100 yard plinking.
Average Velocity is as follows:
33Gr: 2380
34gr: 2450
35gr: 2520
Just for kicks, I fired a couple at the 200 yard target. Bullets hit within an inch of each other, dead centre and 3 inches low. So it's a legitimate 200 yard plinking round, and I might just have to try it as a coyote round to see if it's hard on pelts.
Recoil was about what you'd expect from a 2500 FPS 100 grain bullet: maybe like an enthusiastic 22-250. Just a mild little push.
So I spent the rest of the day using my extra rounds beating up on the 100 and 200 yard gongs. You can really let the lead fly, as there's little recovery time needed after recoil. One further advantage, I found, was that my barrel, which normally can only be fired maybe three times before it needs to cool down, heated up a little slower. I could take like 5 shots before it got too hot.
The one downside to these loads is that there isn't enough pressure for the case to seal the bore -- so your cases end up sooty, and the chamber needs some scrubbing afterwards.
60% of book max for the 100 Hornady soft points was 32.7, so I standardized on even numbers and loaded up 20 at 33, 15 at 34 and 15 at 35. I just seated to book COL.
Here's the 100 yard groups:
33 Grains:
34 Grains centre group, 35 grains in the upper right:
So, nothing too stellar, but not too bad either, considering consistency might be tricky with a case that's only half-full. I'm guessing the fliers are just a matter of inconsistent ignition resulting from the fairly empty case. That kind of accuracy is fine for me for 100 yard plinking.
Average Velocity is as follows:
33Gr: 2380
34gr: 2450
35gr: 2520
Just for kicks, I fired a couple at the 200 yard target. Bullets hit within an inch of each other, dead centre and 3 inches low. So it's a legitimate 200 yard plinking round, and I might just have to try it as a coyote round to see if it's hard on pelts.
Recoil was about what you'd expect from a 2500 FPS 100 grain bullet: maybe like an enthusiastic 22-250. Just a mild little push.
So I spent the rest of the day using my extra rounds beating up on the 100 and 200 yard gongs. You can really let the lead fly, as there's little recovery time needed after recoil. One further advantage, I found, was that my barrel, which normally can only be fired maybe three times before it needs to cool down, heated up a little slower. I could take like 5 shots before it got too hot.
The one downside to these loads is that there isn't enough pressure for the case to seal the bore -- so your cases end up sooty, and the chamber needs some scrubbing afterwards.
