One perfect bullet/powder combo for .270?

Bill Costik

Alight I am a beginner reloader. I know it all depends on what works with your gun, pressures, bullet weight, etc. But, is there a combo out there that someone has found to be accurate, hard hitting, all that good stuff? This will be used for deer out to 350 yards. Savage 110, 130 or 140 grain rounds. Please let me know if I am being too broad or too vague, or just plain dumb. Thanks.

JustC

H4831 and nosler balistic tips 130gr.

why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?

temblor

H4831 and a 130 grain bullet is the classic load combination shot for generations now. It's what Jack O'Conner always reccomended and used, and now there are a much better selection of bullets to choose from. -- I shoot the combination that JustC reccomended for blacktail deer where I live and have used it on mule deer with good results. I load 59 grains of H4831 and a 130gr Nosler Ballistic Tip which is listed as a maximum load in Noslers loading manual. Their starting load is 55 grains of H4831 and goes up to 59 grains as Maximum with the 130gr bullet. -- Almost any good 130gr bullet will shoot good with this powder in an accurate gun. Just have to find the sweet spot with your charge weight. -- I've also had good luck with Sierra, Hornady and Speer bullets and H4831. -- IMR 4831, IMR 4350 or H4350 also shoots well in most 270s but usually doesn't load as fast. -- Alot of people load H4831 hotter than I listed above ( O'Conner use to write about 62-63 grs and a 130 gr bullet ), and I do too sometimes, but the 59gr load listed above is what shoots good in the 270 that I generally use when I use one. -- Hornady lists 62grs of H4831 as maximum with their 130gr bullets,etc. and if you WORK UP SLOWLY, most good 130gr bullets shoot well under about 60grs. -- Be Careful and Good Luck...........[8D]

roysclockgun

IMR7828 work up slowly to what you find is a max load that is still accurate. 130gr Sierra SPBT. Federal Magnum primers. Bullet seated .005" off lands. I was getting 3100fps at 10ft from the muzzle. Groups were consistantly inside 3/4" at 100 yards out of a 1952 Winchester Model 70. Lost count of how many whitetail deer this combo anchored with one round to the heart/lung area. 8 Mule Deer at maximum range of 359 yards. 7 Pronghorns at like ranges. The cartridge always performed in a very effective manner. The IMR7828 is slow enough to give peak MV when worked up correctly.

roysclockgun

JustC

57.9gr is what worked best in the rem700 bdl I just finished with for a friend. That rifle had a hot barrel issue (probably warping contact) with the 130gr NBT. The first 3 were tight but opened up on the 4th and 5th shots. That rifle was looooooong throated and .045" jump was all I could feel comfortable with and still could have used more bullet in the neck.

Either way, you will run into a sweet spot with 4831 and the 130gr NBT.[8D]

why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?

Bill Costik

How well will the BT stand up to a shoulder shot if I have to make one? I am still seriously considering the BT but was wondering about the Scirocco and the Core-Lokt Bonded (?) as well. How do these two compare to the BT? Thanks for the help so far.

temblor

I've seen some ugly meat damage on occasion with the Ballistic Tips on big bone, and on close shots where velocity is still very high. I don't use them intentially for anything larger than Deer. That being said, I have also seen alot of very dramatic one shot - stop'um in their tracks kills with them. And they are very accurate as well. I use them on the smaller Blacktail Deer where I live because they don't offer that much resistance when hit because of their size, and tougher bullets sometimes will pass thru without much expansion. Then the tracking begins [V]. For well placed shots they work well most of the time for what I use them for. -- If you like the Polymer Tipped Bullets I've found the Hornady SST to be a little tougher bullet that still expands well on smaller stuff and still works good on larger game ( feral hogs, etc. ), but hasn't been quite as accurate for me in my guns as the Ballistic Tips ( but still accurate ). The Remington C-L Ultra is an excellent hunting bullet that works well on game from about any angle if your gun will shoot them. They are not the most inherently accurate bullet in the world. -- The Swift Scirocco is about as good as it gets for a polymer tip bullet. They were the first Polymer Tip Bullet with a bonded core, are exceptionally accurate for a hunting bullet and are much tougher than a Ballistic Tip. Great bullet, but very pricey ( but that's a subjective thing). -- The new Nosler Accubond and the Hornady Interbond bullets are similar to the Scirocco with both having bonded cores but still being able to expand well. -- I've had good luck with both the 140gr N. Accubond and the 130gr H. Interbond in the 270 Win. -- There are of course plenty of quality bullets out there without the Polymer Tip, but you seemed interested in these. It just depends on what you like and what you're doing.......good luck...........[8D]

roysclockgun

I agree with temblor, regarding Ballistic Tips. Here in Baltimore County, where I am not likely to see a deer over 150 lbs and most are around 100 lbs, the BT is fantastic killer, simply because when the BT fragments, it causes multiply trauma and will usually knock the deer down, anchored, out. This with .270Win.
Since I began using 7mmRemMag for heavier mule deer, I like the 140gr Nosler Accubond. No reason not to go with Interbond, but in my rifle the Accubonds shot better groups. So far, I've only taken two animals with the Accubond load. One a mule deer in the 250 lb range, taken at 408 yds. and a Pronghorn at 276 yds. The Pronghorn folded with a heart shot. The muley was down, but needed a finishing round as I approached and he tried to rise. My first round hit him a little low.

roysclockgun

JustC

I hit the doe in the chest as she looked at me head on, at about 100yds. The 130gr NBT went all the way to the rear quarter before stopping. That pill had to pass through the sternum and it still made a fast harvest. I have seen some very devastating impacts with the NBT as I have hunted with it primarily for quite a while in many rifles. I have taken many shoulder shots and have not had an issue at all. I have also taken one animal at 7yds with a 125gr NBT fired from a 30-06, and if that one didn't fail with it's low sectional density, I would say you are plenty safe.

But then again,..I also have had great luck with sierra match king bullets[}:)][:D] Let's see what kinda flames that gets[^]

why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?

roysclockgun

I am not saying that BT won't kill every time in the hands of a skilled marksman who knows his cartridge and his rifle. Heck, more meat has been gathered using fmj then we can ever imagine, but I would not recommend fmj for hunting. In Maryland, fmj is illegal on deer and although I haven't recently read the regs, it says something about having to use and expanding bullet. On whitetails and pronghorns, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference, as they are easy to penetrate, being relatively light. Over 200 lbs. I want something that holds together better then Ballistic Tips are designed to do.

roysclockgun

mrbruce

If you use a 150 grain anything and H4831 you could very well be in for a big suprise as far as accuracy is concerned, especially with the old 150 Hornady Interlock.


Gun control is hitting what your aiming at.

temblor

JustC : Wouldn't care to bite on that hook. We've all had that debate many times. I guess when we got done with that we could debate which is better: 30.06 or 270. That argument has only been going on since around 1925.......... --- I am however glad to see that you finally admitted that your success with those matchkings on game was luck....[:D][:D] --- FYI = If you get a chance go to WWW.24hourcampfire.com and read the article on Winchesters new XP3 big game bullet that's supposed to replace the Failsafe. Looks like something you might like. Has a mainly copper construction body with a polymer tip and a lead rear core in the base...............best.........[8D]

JustC

Temblor, The thing about matchkings is that one time they will be violent, and the next time they aren't. I have yet to figure that out[?] I have seen them punch out the other side like a softpoint would, then the same distance next time and they look like the deer stepped on a land mine[:0]

I like the polymer tips for their accuracy potential, but also their ability to initiate expansion. I'll have to check out that new bullet, that will give me a reason to place another order[:D][:D][8D][:p]

why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?

RCrosby

This may not need saying; but if you reload with either of the 4831's (H or IMR) remember that they are not the same, and loads for one can't be switched grain for grain with the other. I'm working on a load for my .257 Robt. at the moment, and if the several manuals I've consulted are correct, with a 100 bullet, it should take about 50 grains of the H to equal the velocity (approx. 3,000fps) that I get from the IMR. I'll be chronographing soon and will let you know the results,
Rob

Rob

Bill Costik

Okay now heres another question. I am going to try the 130 grain BT, but this morning I found a box of bullets at a yardsale. They are Nosler boat-tail, lead tip, not a plastic tip. On the box it says "100 solid base bullets" Also has " Nosler, and 150 grain" on the box. Anyone have any idea of what these are? Partitions, some kind of older softpoint, pre BT bullet? Any ideas?

temblor

Bill : Those are the older type "solid base" bullets that Nosler made before they had the Ballistic tips (pre-polymer tip). The jackets were made different then(on a screw type machine)and if my memory serves me right they had a little thicker jacket than the newer ballistic tips. They are good hunting bullets but on average were probably not quite as accurate in most guns as the B.T. bullet.............[8D]

Ray B

I prefer the discontinued solid base to the presently available ballistic tip, and I'm very frugal in the shooting of the SBs I have on hand. Fot the 270 my favorit bullet is the also discontinued Winchester Open Point 130 grain. Pushed to 3100fps by 4350, 4831 or Rl19, it has had several one-shot kills, and if the deer wasnt running, as I recovered from the blast/recoil I gennerally saw the deersfeet in the air. For heavier game my favorite is Bitterrot 130 grain, but these are basically unavailable at present.

So of bullets presently available I'd look closely at the Swift A-frame and Scirocco, Blue Mountain Dual Core Bonded, and the Norma bonded bullet. Now if they'd quit discontinuing the bullets just when I get them figured out.

buddyb

When I first started using a 270,I loaded 130 grain BTs at 3100 fps and got sub MOA groups.When I would shoot deer I would have to blood trail a good many of them and found they were hit solid and had no explanation how the critter had traveled that far with that type of wound.I came to the conclusion that a 270 was a POS and went back to using the 308.The Ruger 270 sat in the safe unused for about 5 years before I decided to give it one more try.This time I used Sierra 130 grain Pro-Hunters loaded at 2800fps.It will still shoot MOA groups,but I have not had to trail a deer since the change.Now the 270 one of my favorite hunting rounds.