First off I would like to say hello. I live in Washington state and mostly hunt black bear and blacktail deer with some elk and predators thrown in.

I am getting into reloading and was hoping to learn a few things from you guys. I have read the reloading info in the new Barnes book and am currently reading the new Lee book.

Right now I will only be loading for my Win. M70 .270 Featherweight XTR. These will be hunting loads.

I am currently shooting fair groups at 100 yards with Winchester Super X 130 gr. Power-Points.

We have been looking at the Barnes and Nosler in 130 or 140 grains, but I am not against using the Win. Super X Power Point.

I am looking for anyone's experiences with the above bullets in .270, and possible load info.

Thanks.

Welcome to AR, and good luck to you, reloading is a fun rewarding hobby.

Both of the bullets you are considering in lieu of your Win Power Points are known for great accuracy. I say both, but with Nosler, there are actually several options in 130 and 140 gr .277 caliber bullets, the Ballistic Tip (BT) the Accubond (AB) the Partition (several abbreviations PT, Part etc.) and even the new E-tip. The great news about these bullets by Nosler is that they all shoot well. The partitions are the least accurate of the gang typically, but BT's AB's, and in my very recent experience, the E-Tips (ET's ?? maybe we'll call them 'Aliens') are VERY accurate, rivaling or matching the accuracy of match bullets.

BT's have a rap of being explosive at times, I have had nothing but great success with them personally, but they do blow up on occasion, and for black bear which can be tough, I would opt for the Nosler AB, in either weight.

The Barnes bullets, particularly the TSX, or the new Tipped TSX--TTSX, are also known for being very accurate, and they are known as very tough bullets, even on occasion known for not 'opening up' and penciling through. You will learn that many people are very zealous about their favorite bullets, and will throw flames at you for anything not totally positive about their favorites, I'm not that big of a fan, I'm just objective as much as I can be, and relay what I think is the real and or general scoop on bullets and such, plus of course my experience with them.

I don't know if the Win Super X power point is available to handloaders, but if so, trust me it would be fine in terms of terminal performance, I'm not real familiar with folks reloading with it, so it doesn' have a real known, or at least discussed reputation for accuracy or not, or even terminal performance for that matter, but as a factory load, I have seen what it does for terminal performance and based my comment on that.

If I picked one of the bullets above for you just based on what your hunting, with Elk being in the mix, it would be the 140 Accubond or the 130 TTSX. I think those bullets will do fine on Elk, and certainly handle everything else on your menu.

Good luck to you, you will find AR to be a great resource for things reloading, shooting, hunting etc.!

btkr,

Welcome to AR!

An additional welcome to the ranks of reloaders.

Great start by reading some reloading manuals - they're a wealth of information. I'd also recommend "Metallic Cartridge Relaoding", I've got the 3rd Edition but couldn't rightfully claim which edition is current. It is an excellent information source, too.

You mention "we" in your post, so I trust you've got a Reloading Mentor - there's no better way to get started than to have an expereince hand help guide your way to success.

Fish in his thread above has offered some solid advice but I have to take exception with one of his points. That is the accuracy potential of Bosler Partitions. My experience has been otherwise; some of the most accurate loads I have developed for several cartridges use Nosler Partitions and they are literally capable of one ragged hole three shot accuracy. They are also pretty much the classic standard when it comes to "Premium" bullets and IMO the really deliver the Goods. That was forty years ago when they were pretty much the only commonly available Premium bullet - today there are many more Premium Hunting & Target bullets available than when I started reloading. Don't want to give the Barnes offerings short-change either, they are as good as bullets get. In the one cartridge I use them they are extremely accurate as well as offering excellent terminal performance.

Starting with a .270 Winchester or .30/06 Sprg. is about as uncomplicated as it gets for reloading rifle cartridges; there's myriads of components available and should help assist in creating a solid confidence level from which to springboard into the realms of reloading enjoyment.

I'd suggest starting with one powder and a good brand name hunting bullet (like Fish suggests) that will cover the spectrum of game excected to be encountered. For the .270 Winchester H4831 is pretty much the "classic" powder although there are many other good choices. Sorta depends on what your load concept encompasses and your what your rifle prefers. Since you're asking though - that's the powder I'd start with.

I too, consider the .277" 140 gr. Nosler AccuBond an excellent start for your intended purpose. You ought to be able to come up with a fine load in short time with that bullet, for sure; especially if you're already getting solid accuracy from factory ammo. This tends to indicate that all's Hoyle with your rifle set-up so there's no head scratching and subsequent Gremlin search when the first reloaded bullets go downrange.

Reloaders as a group tend to shoot more than their factory ammo counterparts (opinions vary) simply because you can afford to shoot more once set-up & running, adding a box of bullets or another can of powder or a few primers won't break the bank in comparsion to the price of 5 20-round Boxes of hunting ammuniton. Just make sure those valuable cartridge cases are from a known source, preferably new, or once fired factory ammo from your rifle. I'd also suggest the Lee Catridge Case Gauge (actually not a gauge; a case trimmer) since from my experience most Beginners tend to do everything right except this one extremely important step therefore having case length issues & difficulties after their first few initial reloads; not quite sure of the cartridge case measuring, trimming and case-lengthening quirks that suddenly arise.

Once you get that perfect hunting load blue-printed then there's the dilema of shooting those premium bullets for practice. Some folks have deep pockets and it's a non-issue. For my way of thinking popping off 30-40 rounds of Nosler Partitions or Barnes TSX's in an afternoon at the range gets expensive so I'd suggest to later add a common, vanilla-flavored (read: less expensive) bullet to your bullet selection and use them for target practice. Then shoot bunches more - at a reduced price. It'll make you a better rifleman when Showtime comes.

Have Fun! If there's anything additional you'd like to share or ask in your reloading undertaking this is the place to look for information. Part of the deal is we also excpect to hear from you in the near future with your reloading success stories, too.

The Nosler in ballistic tip or solid base or accubond or even partition are a fine starting place.

I've owned and hunted with three .270 rifles and am currently building a fourth. Excellent cartridge!! Try H-4831 powder as a starting powder....it just might also be your ending powder too!

If you decide to branch out later in bullets you might look to Hornady for interlocks and interbonds and SST bullets.....again some pretty good stuff.

Thanks for the responses guys.
Yes, I have an older friend who is getting back into reloading. He made up some 110 grn rounds for me that shot fine, but the 140 Nosler Spitzters were all over the place beyond 100 yards.

My interest in reloading was resparked by a black bear hunt over the 3 day weekend. I shot at and missed a bear at just under 200 yards with the 140 gr handloads. That distance is normally a slam dunk for me.

Back at camp I shot a couple more then switched to the above mentioned factory ammo. The following day I ranged a sleeping bear at 219 yards and put two rounds within two inches of each other.

The factory rounds had a flat bottom and I am wondering how much of a difference that could make versus a boattail?
Maybe my issues with the 140 Spitzers is the powder or charge?

quote:

Originally posted by billythekidrock:
Thanks for the responses guys.
Yes, I have an older friend who is getting back into reloading. He made up some 110 grn rounds for me that shot fine, but the 140 Nosler Spitzters were all over the place beyond 100 yards.

My interest in reloading was resparked by a black bear hunt over the 3 day weekend. I shot at and missed a bear at just under 200 yards with the 140 gr handloads. That distance is normally a slam dunk for me.

Back at camp I shot a couple more then switched to the above mentioned factory ammo. The following day I ranged a sleeping bear at 219 yards and put two rounds within two inches of each other.

The factory rounds had a flat bottom and I am wondering how much of a difference that could make versus a boattail?
Maybe my issues with the 140 Spitzers is the powder or charge?

Billy, did you group the 140 grain Spitzer loads before the hunt? The problem could be powder, charge weight, or bullet not optimum. If you really want to shoot the 140's you will need to do some more load testing, maybe with three or four different powders. Then if the rifle will not shoot as good as you want change bullets. If it shoots the 130 grain Power Points and 110 grain bullets well but you can not get it to shoot 140 grain Noslers I would scrap the 140 grain bullets all together and start over with a 130 grain bullet of your choice.

But you did say you completely missed a bear at just under 200 yards. Things happen, are you sure the reloaded shells were completly to blame

LOL..I guess it might not have been only the handloads contributing to the miss, but I have to say that that shot should have been a slam dunk. I am thinking that I was a bit high and shot over it's back.

quote:

Originally posted by billythekidrock:
LOL..I guess it might not have been only the handloads contributing to the miss, but I have to say that that shot should have been a slam dunk. I am thinking that I was a bit high and shot over it's back.

Well, at least it was a complete miss not wounding the animal, then you did get a bear the following day

I spent Labor Day weekend cutting and busting firewood so you did better than me

Yes, complete misses. Went back to camp and found those rounds were shooting alot higher then we thought. Went to factory ammo and it was all good.

Yes, I did kill a bear the following day.

The whole story and more pics are here.
Labor Day Bear

quote:

Originally posted by billythekidrock:
Went back to camp and found those rounds were shooting a lot higher then we thought.

So what kind of problem is that?
.

quote:

Originally posted by Winchester 69:

quote:

Originally posted by billythekidrock:
Went back to camp and found those rounds were shooting a lot higher then we thought.

So what kind of problem is that?
.

I normally have it sighted in at two inches high at 100 but these were 5-6 inches high and the groups were about 3 inches.

If I understand what's been stated, the 140 gr. shot a lot higher than the 130 gr. Would that indicate that the a lesser powder charge might work better? Just guessing.
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