I bought my wife a new .270 and want to put together some reduced loads for her. It's her first centerfire rifle and I want something fairly sedate. Ken Waters had good results with a 110 gr Sierra and 21 gr IMR 4198. Got around 2,000 fps. I have those bullets but no 4198. Can I substitute IMR 3031, up the charge to about 23 grains, and still be OK?

My 13 year old daughter shoots her 270 with a 130 gr Hornady with 54 gr of H4831. This load is 2760fps. It is a light load but she killed a elk with it. Ron

Stick with 130gr bullets or heavier -- the lighter ones have thin jackets designed to fragmet on varmints. My experience with testing them in a variety of media anyway!

The load above with a 130gr bullet would be a great one. It is very similar to the 6.5 x 55 Swedish and that kills about 40,000 moose every year here in Sweden. I like larger artillery, but this load will do the job if you put it in the right place. The lower velocity will enhance penetration of course, and at that speed the simple non-premium Hornady's will hang together just fine.

I wish you and your wife good luck!

jpb

JKuczmarski,
Just a suggestion but if H-4895 is available, you might want to check it out. IMHO this powder is the best selection for reduced loads. Years ago I used it too start my kids with hunting rifles. The folks at Hodgdon are good at helping with load data. Good luck.

We picked the rifle up last night. It's a Remington Mountain Rifle w/the laminated stock and stainless barrel. I was initially a bit hesitant after hearing of all of the quality problems folks were having with Remington, but from a visual inspection the fit and finish is every bit as good as a Ruger or Winchester. It's really a nice looking gun.

We mounted a silver Vari-X III 2.5-8 on it and that really made it look sweet.

The biggest gun that my wife has shot was a .22 Hornet hence the 110 gr bullets and 3031. I'll eventually get her up to a 130 gr bullet in the area of 2,800 fps. About 4 years ago, I found a very accurate 130 gr load for a .270 #1A using IMR 4064. Velocity was a bit over 2,800 fps. I do have a brand new can of H4895 and some of the older surplus Hodgdon H4831 so will try them also.

[ 05-24-2003, 19:39: Message edited by: JKuczmarski ]

You will find exactly what you need right here:

http://www.hodgdon.com/data/youth/index.php

JK
IMR3031 and H-4895 are close enough in burning rate that you could start with the same 36gr. charge that Hodgdon recommends for H-4895. I would not go lower. If these loads recoil too much, get some SR4759 and start with your 100gr. bullet and 16 grains for a velocity of @1530fps, to a max of 20gr. for a velocity of 1908fps.
I have used SR4759 for reduced loads in a 308 and it worked good.

If you have a lot of IMR3031 on hand.
You can also use IMR3031 with your 130gr. deer loads. Start with 42gr. for 2730fps at 41,600 C.U.P. TO A MAX OF 47GR. FOR 3030FPS. AT 53,200 C.U.P.

[ 05-24-2003, 23:29: Message edited by: N E 450 No2 ]

Had the gun and some handloads at the range this morning. The Sierra 110 gr bullet and 23 grs of IMR 3031 turned out to be a real accuracy gem, not to mention next to zero recoil. Though shots were about 5" low of point of aim, the 3-shot groups all had touching or overlapping bullet holes.

I tried the light H4895 load Hodgdon recommends with the above bullet (36.2 grs) and got near inch accuracy at 100 yds.

My wife really likes this rifle and she appears to be hooked on shooting. She wanted to go back to the range this afternoon, but we had to clean the garage and get some other chores done around the house.

I'll let her shoot the light 110 gr/H4895 loads for a while, then eventually bring her up to a 130 gr bullet at around 2,800-2,900 fps.

Thanks to all for the ideas and help!

[ 05-27-2003, 05:49: Message edited by: JKuczmarski ]

jrh,

thanks for the web site info. I've made a note on it for future use.

I sold my 270 and have 17 rounds of ammo loaded with the 130 gr Remington CL bullet and 43.0 gr of H4895 powder. If your interested in these, I'll sell them for a very low price.
gdk45@yahoo.com

[ 05-30-2003, 07:31: Message edited by: Greg K ]

JK,

A good and accurate load with low recoil in my 270s and good for up to Elk in my opinion:

44 grains H380, Fed 210 or CCI primer
with 140 or 150 Nosler Ballistic Tip give a Muzzle velocity of 2600 fps. this is still a solid 250 to 300 yd load.

The lack of recoil is surprising to a lot of those I know that I loaded some up for them.