Dan -

Know how you're always raving about W-W's standard 130 PowerPoint load, about $12/box at Wal-Mart? Yesterday, I tried them in my box-stock M70 ($390.00 at Wal-Mart), and got three, three shot groups of well under 1" at 100 yards. Two groups were around 3/4" and one was just over 1/2" (got nervous looking at the two holes touching and yanked the third one ). Velocity averaged 2,980 FPS (Chrony @ 10'; 22" barrel; 45 degrees F).

Gonna have to go some to equal/beat that with handloads.

I have YET to see a 270 that didn't shoot that load well (or 54.5 4350 and any decent 130 grainer, for that matter), and I've tried it in 2 different Rem 700's, a Win Model 70 and Rem. 760 pump. I know there are those who say there is no such thing as a "universally good" load, but, that one sure seems to work.

R-WEST

Thanks for the info, R West. Yes, Winchester has a real winner there. I took one of them apart and they're using 59.4 grains of some kind of ball powder, but they tell me that Winchester doesn't market that powder.

I'm not so sure, though. It may be one of the magnum powders that Winchester markets, I haven't given it a lot of thought.

Universally good load... Hotcore is rolling over in his Donald Duck pajamas!

If you own a 270 that won't shoot this load MOA or better, you have a problem with your rifle. Period.

And you're right, it's hell to beat with a handload, which says a helluva lot about what case prep and fire forming are actually worth ...

Take care and be well,

Dan Newberry
green 788

OK I'm about to burst your bubble. I bought a brand new Remington 700 in .270 and shot a five shot group that measured 2.255 using W-W stanard 130 gr. power point. That same day a shot a group that measured .460 using Remington 150 gr. core-lokt sp. What really ticks me off is that this is the second Remington 700 in .270 that I own and neither one will shoot 130 gr. bullets worth a darn. I've tried both factory and handloads in 130 to no avail.

With all due respect, my bubble remains intact!

The Winchester factory load is incredibly consistent, and as I said, if you have a rifle that won't shoot it well, you may need to look at bedding issues, or bolt lug bearing, etc.

It is always possible to look around and find recipes (or develop handloads) that will accomodate the rifle's shortcomings, but I prefer to solve the problems with the rifle, which in the end is the best way to go.

My Remington 30-06 ADL had one bolt lug that wasn't even touching when I first began working with it. Before I noticed this, I was able to find one factory load (Winchester Supreme Failsafe 165 grain) that shot MOA, and I developed a handload of 55 grains of IMR 4350 behind a 180 grain Sierra Gameking that also shot under an inch.

But that rifle wasn't crazy about 57.5 grains of H4350 and the 165 grain bullet, which indicated to me that there was an issue with the rifle itself. (This recipe should work well in any properly functioning 30-06 bolt action rifle. So I decided to check the rifle out closer, and that's when I discovered the bolt lug bearing problem. After correcting this, the 57.5 grain H4350/165 grain load shoots 1/2 MOA easily in this rifle. (I should also mention that this rifle is glass bedded and free floated).

So again, respectfully, I would suggest checking bedding issues, and more particularly bolt lug bearing evenness in the .270 you mention.

Take care,

Dan Newberry
green 788