Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: Z_rock01 on August 13, 2013, 07:32:16 AM
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I am pretty new to the reloading part and i am wanting to load up some 270 for the up comeing season. I have the new Nosler 7 book and acouple others. i will be loading the Nosler Accubond's in 140gr and Sierra Gameking's in 140gr. Now for the Noslers the book has the max load at 53.5 gr (IMR 4831) while others have the Max at 55.5. Thats a bit of a difference, Why is there such a big gap? :dunno: I'm useing IMR 4831 because i have it, I've looked and cant find much of powders around town. I have also heard from guys that there are loading the Accubonds with 56-58gr of powder and saying there safe...... thats 4.5 gr over max compaired to Nosler.
Any help would be awesome.
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We use Hodgdon 4831 or 4831SC in our loads. Though 1000s of rounds of trial and error, I have found that 51gr is perfect for accuracy with 130gr Berger VLD bullets.
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The pressures you will get depend on your gun. I allways start at the min load and work up from there to find a load the shoots the best out of my gun. I make 5 round groups of test loads and go shoot them and see which groups best then i use that load. You will be surprised to see what 1 grain of powder can do for accuracy.
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We had some loaded up to just under the max, and I noticed accuracy went away. That's why we dropped back to 51gr. I had the best groups with those (5 shots-.331"@100yds).
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We are using 4831 behind 140gr accubonds. I usually back off from max by 2 grains and work up in 1/2 grain increments to get the best load. Watch your OAL and try to keep it consistant, my rifle can be fussy about bullet seating depth.
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Some bullets have a harder jacket than others .
Reloading manuals are printed for the manufactures bullets.
Loads for one bullet may or may not be safe for another.
This said , I like the little $7-$8 one caliber manuals.
They have most Bullet manufactures for specific caliber.
I have loaded for the .270 for over 40 yrs. IMR 4831 is my go to powder.
H4831 #2 choice, and H4350 #3
Nosler accubonds or partitions
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Like working up any load I would suggest picking a starting point.....maybe just a touch over min...go from there. Focus on performance/accuracy and then double check your speed and what is recommended for bullet performance. IE.....my .270 shoots great with 150 gr Barnes but we have seen minimal bullet expansion at my current velocity.....I need another grain or two to bump it up but if that affects accuracy for speed gain then I need to take a step back. Watch for pressure signs and just taker 'er slow.
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Now for the Noslers the book has the max load at 53.5 gr (IMR 4831) while others have the Max at 55.5. Thats a bit of a difference, Why is there such a big gap? :dunno:
2 grains really isn't that big of a difference in published max loads. Just depends on the test barrel they were using and what pressures they were getting with the combo they had. That is why you always start low and work up. Your rifle and load combo could be one that ends up with a max load of 2 grains below Nosler's listed max.
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what year are the books you're using? the books (and powder) i use for my .270 are from the late 70's and i'm dumping in 58 grains of H4831. over the years, loading books have reduced the max powder charge due to powder changes (or so i'm told). im a fan of using published data of the same year as my powder.
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53.5gr of IMR 4831 should be a near perfect load out of a 270win using the 140 accubond. I would stick to the Nosler books recipes. I am loading 55gr of RL-19 with the 140 gr accubond in my 270win. Accurate, and dumps elk/deer in their tracks! I seat my bullets just under the books max overall length. Let us know how it goes!
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The pressures you will get depend on your gun. I allways start at the min load and work up from there to find a load the shoots the best out of my gun. I make 5 round groups of test loads and go shoot them and see which groups best then i use that load. You will be surprised to see what 1 grain of powder can do for accuracy.
Great advice right there!
Too many novice loaders assume "max load" equates to "max performance", this is not the case. Every gun is different and should be ladder tested as above to get the best results/performance out of their rounds.
Without taking the time to "work up" a load to maximize your guns ability, you may as well be saving your time and buying the hottest box of shelf ammo you can find. In the end, without the ladder test, you will likely end up with same results anyway. :twocents:
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Thanks guys, I will start putting togewther some rounds. I'll keep you all posted
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Best advice is to play with only one variable at a time. If you are working on powder charge keep everything else (primer, brass, oal, even powder lot, and bullet) same. I usually work up powder charge at my max oal while shooting groups until I see pressure signs and then play with seating depth at the best grouping powder charge. There are lots of ways to develop a load. Ladder test is very popular. Its also important to not mix and match components with a load. Differences in brass or primers can make a large impact.
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I just did the same thing for my 7mag
I loaded 3 rounds at .010 off the lands and started at minimum load. Then increased .5 grain up to max load
then .020 off the lands at minimum load and increased .5 to max load. And so on until I was at .060 off the lands. Found that my gun liked .010 at 67.5 grains of H1000 the best.
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Your a new reloader. Don't fool around yet, learn to make safe loads. Somewhere in that process you will probably find a load you like. Don't worry about the different powder charges listed. The only thing that matter's is the min charges. You can take any manual you want and use the listed data for the same weight data as another bullet. But don't start high, that will at some point get you in trouble. Early on in the process of learning, don't worry much about how far off the lands your are. More important is to get the bullet off the lands and number 1 is to learn to understand what your rifle is telling you about pressure. Learn to make good safe loads and the accuracy part will take care of itself as you go along. Read the instructions for loading in the manual. I have an old Speer, old Nosler, newer Nosler, couple Hornady's and each one has in it instructions for loading safe ammo. Read it, you cannot experiment safely if you don't know how to load safe ammo in the first place.
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I am pretty new to the reloading part and i am wanting to load up some 270 for the up comeing season. I have the new Nosler 7 book and acouple others. i will be loading the Nosler Accubond's in 140gr and Sierra Gameking's in 140gr. Now for the Noslers the book has the max load at 53.5 gr (IMR 4831) while others have the Max at 55.5. Thats a bit of a difference, Why is there such a big gap? :dunno: I'm useing IMR 4831 because i have it, I've looked and cant find much of powders around town. I have also heard from guys that there are loading the Accubonds with 56-58gr of powder and saying there safe...... thats 4.5 gr over max compaired to Nosler.
Any help would be awesome.
You ask a good question on nosler listd max of 53.5. That is particularly interesting. Nosler manual -1 lists a 160 PT at 54 grains max and the 150 PT at 55 max. I suspect there test equipment and a common hunting rifle could be quite different. I have been using 56 grains of IMR-4831 with 140 PT,s and AB,s with absolutely no press signs. Velocity is 2920 with a 22 inch barrel. Start low and work up. Buy a chrony and avoid the guess work and sometimes suspect load data provided by bullet makers and powder makers. They have to worry about liability.
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I always start mid range on the load. I have found that max load is always the least accurate for my rifle. Good choice with the 140s they shoot awesome.
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Ok went to the range yesterday and fired off some rounds. Now befor i start I must say what i did. i loaded up three round groups for both sierra and Nosler. I took there mid range (in the book) and loaded up by 1/2 gr. I started with Nosler at 52.0 gr and went up to 54.0 gr. My conclusion on this is I messed it up.. I didnt relize till after i had shot all my Noslers that I was shoot HORRABLE!! So i changed it up for the sierras, which I started at 53.5 gr up to 55.0 gr. I must say that 55.0 gr with 140gr Sierra HPBT was super! less then 1/2 MOA!! at 100 yards. So out of all fairness I am loading up more Noslers to give them a fighting chance. But I think i'm going to take it up to 56.0 gr?? not sure. What is your take on it, I have heard of guys going clear up to 58.0 gr. I don't think i'm going to go that high. Oh to mention there were no pressure signs that could be found so I think if i keep going in .5 groups i should be ok.
Thank you guys..
Jon
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Hodgdon shows 54.0 as max with IMR 4831. I would not go above that. While it may be safe, there's no reason to push the limit. You won't gain anything by using an extra grain or two of powder. I have reloaded the 270 Win. for many years, and I use 58 grains of H4831, which is also max according to Hodgdon.
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Very cool Z_rock, give those Noslers another try. At least you have a good sounding load with the Sierras that you know will work. :tup:
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I know rifles can be quite different regarding pressures and velocity with a given charge. I started running noslers partitions using nosler reloading manual no-1back in the early 80,s It lists 55 gr.for the 150 and 57 for the 130 using IMR-4831. With the 140 I have used 56 gr. with no issues at all. 56 gr. grains of IMR-4831 will run 140 BT,s,AB,s and Partitions over 2900 in a 22 inch barrel. My rifles will not get above 2800 with 58 gr. of H-4831sc. Obviously the IMR version is the speed king for me. :dunno: :dunno: :dunno: :dunno: why new school manuals show low charges with old school velocity. :twocents: :twocents: :twocents: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash:
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As Sharkbait stated, 55 grains of 4831, 140 grain Accubonds, CI 200 primers.
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I am using three different powders in my 270...
H4350 for the 130s
H1000 for the 150s
Retumbo for the 165s
Lots of good info here, start low, work up...and then use a ladder test to determine either COAL or Charge weight...or even both...that way you can tune in a load to get good groupings
this is what I ended up with at 200 yards with the 150gr NABLR
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Those LRAB,s are looking good for sure. MOA at 200 yards is mighty fine.
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I have decited on what round i'm going to take in the woods this year. I'm going to use the 140 gr Sierra hpbt with 55.0 gr IMR 4831. I'll post pics at a later time, (at work sshhh dont tell the boss) I had 1/2" MOA at 100 yards (which in my book is ok). I could not get the Noslers to groupl well, At least that gives me something to play with this winter. Thank you for all the great info this has been fun... untill next time
Wack-um and Stack-um
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Those LRAB,s are looking good for sure. MOA at 200 yards is mighty fine.
it's 1/2 moa...
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I have decited on what round i'm going to take in the woods this year. I'm going to use the 140 gr Sierra hpbt with 55.0 gr IMR 4831. I'll post pics at a later time, (at work sshhh dont tell the boss) I had 1/2" MOA at 100 yards (which in my book is ok). I could not get the Noslers to groupl well, At least that gives me something to play with this winter. Thank you for all the great info this has been fun... untill next time
Wack-um and Stack-um
That's just ok? I've had 1/2" rifles in the past but not now. My goal accuracy wise is close to 1" @ 100 as I can get. I've had more trouble getting Nosler's to shoot than not. I don't even try them anymore although I know a lot of people do like them.
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I get superb accuracy with AB,s. I have had excellent results with sierra bullets as well. I would take the 140 HPBT in a heart beat if thats the better accuracy round. :tup:
