im fairly new to reloading i just started at the begining of this year. i need to work up a load for my rifle for hunting season which is fast approaching. i loaded up a ladder starting at min and stepping up .5 grains each time. i thought i had a place lined up to shoot at 200yds and that fell through so all i have available is 100yd range so from what ive been told that is not a long enough distance to see any results from a ladder so what do i do next? should i load up 3 rounds of each .5 charge and shot 3 shot groups at each weight. or can i do it in 1 grain increments until i get close to max maybe? i need some advice so i can get a load ready soon. ive pretty much shot up all my factory bullets and don't plan to buy anymore ever again.

also forgot its a model 70 270wsm im loading 150g nosler bt's the ladder i loaded up i used re22 but i also have re19 available

What are you loading for?

deer hunting. i know the 150 may be a bit overkill but i liked the peformance i got from the factory loaded 150s that i killed with last year so i figured i would stick with it. i have the possibility to shoot 500yds when hunting the pipeline but ive never shot at those distances so all my shots will be within 300 and actually to date my longest kill has been 225yds.

If 100 yards is all you have then 1 grain steps and 3 shot group testing works for me. I read pressure and check for best groups all in the same day.

I settled on 61 grains of H4831SC and 140 Accubonds for my .270 WSM at 2900 fps.

I, too, believe 1 gr steps and 3 shot groups are sufficient to get you in the general area in the ballpark where you want to be. You can then load some test loads with smaller charge increments, on both sides of your best 1 grain increment loads, and 5 shot groups after that.

This is my approach with all ammo that has higher capacity cases. If your using cases with low capacity, then .5 grain charge increments are better to start with.

Good luck!

When I'm working up a load for a new rifle, I usually start with a bullet/load combination from a company with a reputation for accuracy. In otherwords, usually bullets & data from Sierra or, if they don't have the bullet weight I want, then it's usually Hornady.
I go in 1 grain increments and shoot 3 shot groups. The loading includes the "most accurate" powder charge. I also seat the bullets to thje depth recommended in the book.
You should find a powder charge that will give acceptable accuracy. Once this is done, I then go to my hunting bullet and tweak the charges and also the seating depth. Briefly, this is what I do.
Bear in Fairbanks

SKS, the 150gr NBT is not overkill for a deer. It will kill them just fine.

Personally I go in 1/2 grain increments on midsize cases such as the 270 WSM. 3 or 4 shots per group depending on what I feel like.

thanks guys. thought i had another place to shoot some distance and wouldn't you know it that isn't gonna work out either. its so hard to find a safe place to shoot around here without having to drive an hour or more.

antelope i agree i think nbt 150's work well but it seems that the majority of people think that is a little overkill. i don't care though thats what im gonna stick with.

as for the load info im using the latest nosler book. wlrm primer, iirc the non nickel brass that i have is federal but it could also be winchester the same as my nickel stuff, and the regular nosler ballistic tips (not the ct)

SKS, the key to the NBT is to hold your muzzle velocity around 3k. Get too much above that, and they can really blow up. With a good load you should hit 3k with the 150's, and the extra with will give you more flexability if you ever plan to shoot anything bigger with it.

In reality, the 150's are not overkill. They will not blow up as bad as the 130's, and probably save you some meet.

The Nosler load data was developed with winchester brass. Federal Brass is thicker, and will develope pressure quicker. I would not expect to shoot nosler max book loads with the Federal Brass. You might load up to the listed 61gr max, but if you use the fed brass, be prepared to pull some bullets.

thanks for that info antelope

i actually have plenty of nickel cases to work with 50 or 60 pieces i believe actually i still have 10rds of unfired factory ammo so i will have a total of 70 pieces so that should last me for quite some time. i have 100 pieces of regular brass though so i thought i would start with those. i had also heard some people say that fl sizing was a bit hard on the nickel and that i may experience some flakeing.

i think i may just pull the bullets i loaded for the ladder and start all over and use the wlrm primers, the winchester brass, rel 22 and the nbts and it will be exactly what the book has. if i can't get something with that i also have a lb of rel19, and some others but i don't know that any of the others are even good candidates for the 270wsm.

Sounds like a good plan. Please let us know how it works out!.

will do i plan to get some shooting in this weekend.

I'm using MAG PRO at 74.2 gr with Accubond 140 gr
with win mag primers out of a Tikka that gives me 3280 fps.

forgot to report back. i got out to the hunting club to do a little shooting. go to load the first round and it wont chamber. i think to myself well i know i checked the cases for fit and they were fine. didn't have a cleaning rod to try to knock it back out with and for some reason the bolt wouldn't grab the case to pull it out. come to find out evidently the last time i fired the gun the extractor broke and i geuss the piece that broke off somhow got in the chamber and when i shoved the round in it jammed it in place. so hopefully i will have the new extractor soon and get to shoot these loads. will update if that ever happens. may be hunting all year with the 444 at this rate.

It would seem that you also need training on how to clean a rifle after use !!!

you could be right but i think your wrong. ive read multiple times on this very board of people shooting hundreds of rounds before cleaning. the last time i fired this gun it was shot exactly 6 times and when i brought it out that time it had been freshly cleaned. why would i take a rifle and clean it after only 6 shots. from what ive read it is counter productive to clean a gun after every firing.

as for the piece being in the action/chamber maybe you don't know how big the extractor lip is but when i checked the bore for obstruction and then loaded a round into the magazine the tiny little piece of metal did not catch my eye. but please feel free to critisize instead of add something constructive to this thread.