Well after a little deliberation, I have decided to retire my trusty H4831 and H4831SC. They have served me well but I got tired of the compressed loads.

I have some IMR 4350 and am going to try it with some 140 gr. TSX's. It is not as popular or been around as long as the 4831 but it has perfored very well in the .270 Winchester much like H4831 has. Some people have had better accuracy with the IMR-4350 so it should be interesting.

I called Barnes for load data on the newer TSX with the 4 grooves cut into them. This is what they told me:

.270 Winchester:

- .277 caliber
- 140 Gr. TSX Boattail
- IMR-4350
- Min.: 51 Gr.
- Max.: 54.5 Gr.
- COL.: 3.210
- TRM.: 2.530

I never asked about velocity.

Looking forward to finding an MOA result with this combination and not having to fumble with compressed loads anymore.

Well, to each his own. I'm not sure why you are worried over compressed loads, but the IMR4350 is still an excellent choice for what you are trying to do.

For the first 10 years or so that I loaded the 270, my top 2 choices were IMR4350 and IMR4831 and I killed a bunch of deer with those powders pushing btips.

I can't imagine using anything other than H-4831. What does a compressed load matter?

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:
Well, to each his own. I'm not sure why you are worried over compressed loads,

Not worried about compressed loads. they just got to be a nuisance.

quote:

For the first 10 years or so that I loaded the 270, my top 2 choices were IMR4350 and IMR4831 and I killed a bunch of deer with those powders pushing btips.

I am actually looking to develop an all around load with the main focus on moose and elk. I decided on the 140 TSX vs. 150 TSX because it isn't such a long projectile and can be pushed around 3000 fps. I like to keep my velocity around 3000 which puts me into the 400 yard range.

I would just use 140 TSX's on deer and sheep as well. I only have a 4X scope and 400 yards is about my max to see!

ar corey,
You listed my two favorite powders for the 270,
H4831 and IMR 4350.

I have a favorite go to loads:
55gr IMR 4350 with a 140gr Hornady BTSP.
60gr H4831Sc and 130gr Barnes TSX's.

They both shoot bug holes and have accounted for many a critter.

ar:

I took the 140 TSX to Africa at 2900 fps, and it works great. Should be good for Elk and Moose too.

H4350 works well in about everything I have tried.

quote:

I can't imagine using anything other than H-4831. What does a compressed load matter?

I used to load 56.8grns H4831SC under a Hornady 140 grain "Interlock" to give 2900fps in a BRNO ZKK and that was not compressed. And as an actual hunting load 55.5grns of H4831 under the same Hornady 140 grain "Interlock" to give 2850fps.

Neither were compressed. And neither are particularly slow moving either.

Compressed loads are charming. That little crushing sound when seating the bullet is just another life enriching happening.... :-)

In my experience with my .270, IMR 4350 does tend to be slightly more accurate, with a sacrifice of about 100 f.p.s. velocity over what you can get with the 4831s in max loads. This seems especially to be the case with 150 gr. bullets.

Another powder you may want to try is Alliant RL 22. It seems to me to be the optimum powder for many .270 loads -- better than the 4831s and the 4350s.

quote:

In my experience with my .270, IMR 4350 does tend to be slightly more accurate, with a sacrifice of about 100 f.p.s. velocity over what you can get with the 4831s in max loads. This seems especially to be the case with 150 gr. bullets.

Now that I am interested in! I'm looking to go to 150grns as an "all around" bullet in my 270 so that it can be used for boar where "military calibres" such as the excellent 30-06 and 308 are prohibited.

Can you give details of any of your loads please? And for RL22?

quote:

Originally posted by enfieldspares

quote:

In my experience with my .270, IMR 4350 does tend to be slightly more accurate, with a sacrifice of about 100 f.p.s. velocity over what you can get with the 4831s in max loads. This seems especially to be the case with 150 gr. bullets.

Now that I am interested in! I'm looking to go to 150grns as an "all around" bullet in my 270 so that it can be used for boar where "military calibres" such as the excellent 30-06 and 308 are prohibited.

Can you give details of any of your loads please? And for RL22?

It was some years ago, and my info in my loading notes is incomplete. But here's what I can find. (Much of this is with bullets I moly coated myself). Also, at that time I could not chronograph my 200 yard shooting -- I much prefer 200 yards for tests -- so chrony data is from 100 yards. "Crimped" means crimped with the Lee Factory Crimp Die, "oal" means overall cartridge length. All measurements given in yards or inches or feet/per/second.

I've also included some loads with IMR 7828, as that works well in the .270 also, especailly with 150 gr. bullets.

150 Nosler BT, moly coated, 60 gr. RL22, Win case, WLR primer, 3.35 in. oal, crimped, 3 shots @200 yds: 2.96 inches. Vel. - 2977 to 3000 f.p.s.

150 Nosler BT moly coated, 59.5 gr RL 22, Win case, WLR, 3.35 oal, crimped, 3 shots @200 yds, 0.90 in.

150 Nosler BT, 61 gr. IMR 7828, Win case, WLR, 3 shots @200 yds, 1.77 in. Vel.- 2936-2948 f.p.s.

150 Speer SP, moly coated, 61 gr. IMR 7828, win case, WLR, 3.31 oal., crimped, 2957 to 2979 f.p.s. (accuracy not listed)

150 Speer SP, moly coated, 59.5 gr. RL22, Win case, CCI 200 primers, 3.35 oal, crimped, vel. - 2983 to 2998 fps. Accuracy not listed.

150 Nosler BT, moly coated, 60 gr. RL 22, Win case, WLR, 3.35 oal, crimped, 3 shots @ 100 yds = 1.10 in., vel - 2946 to 2969 fps.

150 Speer SP, moly, 59.5 gr. RL22, Win case, CCI 200, 3.35 oal, crimped, vel. - 2982 to 3010 fps.

For 130 gr Sierra BT bullets, not moly coated, 55 gr. of IMR 4350 gave me 2740 to 2796 f.p.s. Accuracy not listed.

For 140 gr. Sierra BT bullets, not moly coated, 53.5 gr. of IMR 4350 gave me 2671 to 2715 fps. Accuracy not listed.

As far as I can tell from looking at my loading and shooting data, my use of IMR 4350 with 150 grain bullets occurred before 1989, (I lived near Kingston, NY at that time) but I did not begin keeping loading and accuracy data until about November 1998, (by then I had moved to Maryland) when I got a chrony, so I am going on memory.

I do remember that IMR 4350 gave me slightly better accuracy than IMR 4831. I think the max load of IMR 4350 for 150 gr. bullets in my .270 was about 53 grains. This was with Winchester brass and WLR primers. Since I did not chronograph those loads, I don't know the velocity.

My .270 is a Remington 700 Mountain Rifle -- the lightweight one with a slim 22 inch barrel. I have a Leupold VXII, 3-9 X scope on it, in Leupold QR mounts.

I think that with any good 150 grain bullet and a near-max load of IMR 4350 in a .270, you will have a load that will quickly kill any boar in the world, assuming good shot placement. Moreover, it would not be my first choice, but I would not hesitate to use that load for moose and elk, assuming a distance not greater than about 250 yards.

IMR gives a max load of 54 gr. of IMR 4350 for 150 gr. bullets in the .270, but I think that may be too hot for some 150 gr. bullets in my rifle. I also think that if you use RL 22 you will be able to achieve higher velocity, and your accuracy should be at least as good as what you can get with IMR 4350.

Thank you.

As I was hoping to achieve about 2800fps through a 23.50" barrel on my ZKK they will form a good reference with the bonus that I can start a good 5% below your listed loads.

It was kind of you to take the trouble to post your findings.

Rifle: Rem M700
Cartridge: 270 Win
Bullet: 150 Sierra GameKing
Primer: CCI-200LR
Powder: IMR-4350


100 Yards:




400 Yards:

These are always fun to read:

".270 for Moose?"

http://www.biggamehunt.net/forums/archive/o_t__t_2843__start_0__index.html


Cor

Reading through those 6 pages makes me glad that I never sold my .270 and bought a .300 magnum.


Here is a very good post from that link:

"Many hunters after buying their so called Magnum Caliber Rifle, find out they can't really benefit from the added yardage it gives because they simply can't handle the recoil and their accuracy goes to pot. I hope you and others are getting my point made on this magnum caliber issue!"

More quotes from that link:


"Maybe I'm old school but I still believe the old adage, "beware the man (i.e. hunter) with one gun!"


"It takes a heck of a lot of practice before one can learn to handle a 300 Win magnum caliber effectively with excellent accuracy at 400 yard ranges."


"If it can be done with a bow you can do it with a 270!"

Been doing some reading about using the .270 for everything and am amazed how many guys post this comment:

"I would use the .270 for deer and elk but not for moose, want something a bit bigger for moose"

"The .270 is perfect for deer, okay for elk but very limited in range for moose"



Comments like these really show just how inexperienced many posters are. These guys look at a moose's size and assume it is this monster animal and requires a cannon to bring down. On the contrary, moose are very easy to bring down.

I don't have as much moose experience as my dad but of the 21 moose he has shot, only a couple were with a 303 and the rest were with a plain jane 7600 pump .270. Many of them having 2 holes in the boiler room just because the first one didn't drop it and it just stood there.

I would say a bull elk, on average will exhibit over 3 times the mortally wounded fight and ruggedness than a moose, especially during the rut. Popping a moose is like shooting a deer compared to a rut elk.

i've taken several moose in alaska, all with a ruger 270 win, using either 130gr corelokts, 150gr corelokts, or 150 gr partitions. all were shot when broadside and all fell within 50 yards. the 270 will kill any moose walking if you can make an accurate shot. bigger calibers do offer some "insurance", but ONLY if you can shoot the rifle accurately. ymmv..........

I've actually slowed my 270 loads down a bit after having 2 Sierra 130's blow up on muleys...one was at ~30' and the other at 210 yards. Velocity was a chrono'ed 3040 fps.

I also no longer use Sierra bullets for hunting anything larger than coyotes.

I'm very happy with 53gr of H-4350 under a 130gr Nolser Accubond, average velocity 2950fps. Accuracy is consistantly MOA for my 22" barreled Ruger No. 1. I've found that 51 to 53 grains of H-4350 or IMR-4350 give excellent accuracy in every 270 I own or have loaded for. About one grain less gives good results with 150gr Partitions this bullet preforms way beyond what one would expect. These are not max loads but rather the most accurate in my rifles. I doesn't matter haw fast it's going if you can't hit anything with it...

Results? We'll see how the Accubonds do, haven't whacked enough critters to tell yet. Hornady's are fine on medium game but have done a few odd things at nasty angles and tend to make a mess if you hit bone. Speers or Sierra? Nice for paper or coyotes and that about it.

I didn't include them in my list, but I've also used H4350 in loads for my .270. In my experience, H4350 seems to be a tad slower burning than IMR4350, so you can probably use a grain more of it than what you'd use with IMR4350 -- the difference between the two is similar to, but possibly smaller than, the difference between H4831 and IMR4831.

quote:

Originally posted by ar corey:

I have some IMR 4350... It is not as popular or been around as long as the 4831

In the interest of scholarly accuracy, we should note that IMR 4350 has been around longer than IMR 4831.

H4831 has been around for a long time, but today's H4831 is NOT the same as the old, surplus H4831 -- today's H4831 is faster burning than the old surplus H4831. So loading data based on use of the older H4831 may exceed max for today's H4831.

quote:

Originally posted by ACRecurve:
I've actually slowed my 270 loads down a bit after having 2 Sierra 130's blow up on muleys...one was at ~30' and the other at 210 yards. Velocity was a chrono'ed 3040 fps.

I also no longer use Sierra bullets for hunting anything larger than coyotes.

I agree. I think if most everyone would realize that a 270 with the 130, 140, and 150 going speeds of 2900, 2800, and 2700 fps respectively is PLENTY, they'd see fewer blowups, etc. I would guess that the NBT is the most notorious for blow ups. I've never seen it happen, but I've never loaded them to peak velocities if I recall

Can't comment on the Sierra.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:

quote:

Originally posted by ACRecurve:
I've actually slowed my 270 loads down a bit after having 2 Sierra 130's blow up on muleys...one was at ~30' and the other at 210 yards. Velocity was a chrono'ed 3040 fps.

I also no longer use Sierra bullets for hunting anything larger than coyotes.

I agree. I think if most everyone would realize that a 270 with the 130, 140, and 150 going speeds of 2900, 2800, and 2700 fps respectively is PLENTY, they'd see fewer blowups, etc. I would guess that the NBT is the most notorious for blow ups. I've never seen it happen, but I've never loaded them to

Can't comment on the Sierra.

I shoot whatever speed gives me the best accuracy. Using the TSX's, I have no worries about blowups.

I am happy between 2900-3000 fps with 140 gr's.

I would never slow down my loads 200 fps because of bullet instability. It would be a different story if the TSX's weren't an accurate bullet. I would not be using them.

My shooting bud & I use a lot of Vihtavuori powders over here, but still shoot 4831/4831sc, with perfect results.