My experience with .270s has been pretty much non-eventful in terms of surprises in loading, shooting or hunting experiences, except for the frequent sub-inch groups; however, I've been working with a M70, .270 Carbine w/19" bbl. that has me scratching my head.

Rifle is glass bedded, good and solid, and barrel is free floated. Results are varied.

I have made the obvious bad assumption that the lighter 130g bullets should shoot better in the shorter barrel and, I'd like some opinions on that point.

Results:

130g Nosler Part., 59g R19 - 3" groups

130g Ballistic ST, 59g R19 - 3" "

140g Win. FailSafe, 55.5g IMR4831 3+" gps.

140g Hornady BT, 55.5 IMR4831 - 2 1/2" gps.

150g Speer BT, 54g IMR4831 - 1" gps.

Would a somewhat faster burning powder (IMR4350 or R15, for example) tend to give better results in the 19" bbl.

I'd like to get some of your opinions before I try tweaking current loads up or down a bit.

Since I have a good supply of 130g Nosler Partitions I'd like to work on that one, but I'm not stuck on it, although I'm still a bit hung up on the notion that the 130s should give better reslts in that barrel. And, if push comes to shove, the 150g Speer BTs aren't a bad deal.

And, I ain't lookin' for an elk load here.

Appreciate it...

It sounds like your rifle just is a bit picky with th bullet wgt it wants. I`ve a MRI MT rifle in 30-06 that won`t shoot a 180gr bullet no matter what I put under it. The rifle does just fine with 150-165gr though. You might find a bit of improvement in accuracy with a different powder, My 270 likes R22, but you likely won`t gain any velocity from a change.

Have you tried changing the OAL? This can make a big difference in some rifles.

surprisingly you can get good velocity from IMR-4064 at 48.6 grains with the 130 grain bullet.....if you want to try something try a very different burn rate....not just a little different.

As stated on another thread , I have 2ea. 7X57s also 19" barrels that will not repeatably shoot bullets less than 140gr. When they get heavier bullets seated out as much as possible then they start to group nicely. Accurate 4350 and 2520 have given me good results in these short barrels. roger

Well...I've got some 4320 and 4064, which are close on the burn rate list on hand, and as vapodog suggested "something...very different" - some 3031.

Will work on the 130g bullets first.

And, my burn rate chart shows only the relative position of one powder to the other, not how much faster or slower the burn rate. Is that information available?

And, I've been wondering if there has been work done that shows how much to back off on a given powder charge as barrel is shortened to maintian maximum burn rate? Just curious.

Have been backing Redding seating die off 1/4 turn from lands on all loads so far, which is SOP on old M70.

Thanks for the input.

I cured a finicky 270 carbine that was free floated by putting a quarter sized dab of clear silicon at the forend tip, puting the rifle together, wiping the excess and letting the silicon set. This bonds the forearm to the barrel and does wonders for finicky barrels. Worked for my 7x57 and my 270. If you have to take the barreled action apart just saw thru the silicon with a piece of fishing line. This is especially good with synthetic stocked rifles but works fine with wood stocks too. I think the silicon works to settle vibration down and so far I have been pleased with the results. Sometimes light barrels need a bit of dampening to shoot best.

Have you chronographed any of those loads? Knowing the speeds, especially since your heavier (and probably slower) bullets are doing better, might give you some insight into whether it could be a harmonics issue. I'd try to get a hold of a chrony to do any more testing with, but just make sure you're only changing one thing at a time, probably starting with a different powder but the 130s, since you have a surplus.

Also, consider trying LR Mag vs. LR primers. It can be amazing how much difference those little buggers make!

rick/tmoore, thanks.

I'm in the middle of moving which means changing shooting clubs, so it will be a couple of weeks (I hate it!) before I'll be able to do more work with the little gun.

But I will, and will report back.

Thanks again.

Try 58.0grs H-4831 with either a Hornady or Sierra 130 Boattail. You can't go wrong with this load it shoots well in every 270 I have owned. A friend told me about this load he has shot it in all his 270 also.

I would surely try some IMR 4350, about 51-52 grains or so with a 140 ballistic tip or Sierra. If I only had one powder for a .270, it would be some form of 4350 !!

I have the same rifle. Bought it for my son, thought it would make a dandy all-around rifle. I couldn't get it to shoot better than 2.5" groups no matter what I loaded. MatchKings, Northforks, Partitions, SST's, Ballistic Tips, you name it, I tried it. Had it bedded, trigger job, re-crowned the muzzle, nothing worked. As a last resort, when the Barnes Triple Shock came out I thought I'd try them also. Presto, the 140gr TSX over 57gr of H-4831SC shoots right at 1 MOA with good velocity. I almost sold that gun, now I'm glad I didn't. Hope this helps. I couldn't believe it when I saw this thread, I knew it had to be about the same type of rifle. That's why I read these so often, you never know what you might pick up.

Super 88, thanks, ordered a box of 140g TSX this AM.

Curious - what is the velocity of your load?

best...gamecock'05

If I remember correctly, I was getting somewhere in the 2900-2950fps range. About 1.5 to 2 inches high at 100 yards put it right on at 200.

Gamecock'05, go to "My Favorite Loads" on this forum and look at the thread labeled "270 loads". Great results with the Triple Shock.