Yup it was the Federal brass. I picked up some Winchester brass on the weekend and reloaded the 140 Accubonds up to 3100 fps. The Savage 270 and my Tikka T3 seem to really like the 140 Accubonds. I tried some 130 Accubonds but the RL 22 powder was too slow to get any real velocity out of them. The rifle seems to dislike 130 TSX's that's for sure. Just a follow up from my last post and thanks to all for the input.
Take good care,
Dave

My Ruger 270 WSM really likes the 140's as well, I am however committed to finishing up my 130's before restocking with 140's.

Glad it worked out for you. Federal's soft brass reall caused me a few headaches in 308 before I figured out it was actually the brass causing me fits!!

My Tikka T3 270WSM's love 140 Accubonds with Retumbo. Another good choice in powder is Mag PRo and WS 780, maybe H1000 and 7828SSC

quote:

Yup it was the Federal brass.

I am sorry, I did not catch your prior post. What problems was the Federal Brass causing you in your .270 WSM?

I always thought that Federal was really good brass.

Thanks for the update Dave.

I found that Federal brass produced the lowest chronographed velocities with the same powder load as compared to Remington and Norma brass.
That is not abnormal. It is just not what one expects. Mostly, the Federal brass, for me produces the best groups, lower velocities and the best E.S. for the loads I work with.
I DO know that with the two rifles I shoot factory Federal 140 gr Accubonds show MUCH lower velocities than advertised.
Example:
Tikka T-3 chronographs 2870 with the Accubonds, with an E.S. of 24 fps for five shots.
Kimber 8400 chronographs 3046 for five shots with an E.S. of 39 fps for five shots. Both FAR below the advertised velocities of 3200 fps.
Both rifle exhibit accuracy within 1.5 moa. or less
The Tikka has a VERY long leade. As compared to the Kimber.
I wonder if that is the reason for the descrepancy of velocity of the two rifles.
Since, I have only used Remington or Norma brass for my loads and have velocities within established data. Could be....Federal brass the problem. It is accurate in my oun loads, but much lower in velocity for equivelant loads.
MYSTERY.....

I was getting 2920 fps with the Fedral brass. Anything above that and I was getting sticky bolt lift. With the Winchester brass I picked up I'm reaching 3100 without any pressure signs and have loads to try yet to reach the 3200 fps and hopefully the sweet spot.
Take good care,
Dave

I read posts like these and cringe. Federal products have been favorites of mine for decades, and in fact have been of the highest quality until recent years. The same thing happened to Winchester in the 80's. I had several batches of Winchester brass that refused to resize properly and needed constant trimming. I have had issues with Remington brass as well as CCI pistol primers in the past too. Just to throw in the proverbial monkey wrench all one has to do is flash back a few years to Ford's Explorer and Firestone tires...

I guess the moral of this story is that brand loyalty guarantees nothing.

I was so dissapointed with the velocities with the factory Federal .270 WSM Accubond 140gr load that I pulled 20 bullets to examine.
The load was 61.5 to 61.9 gr. of a powder that looks exactly like RL-25. Looks don't mean everything, but is it is something of the the speed of RL-25 is the reason for the velocity degradation.
I was impressed with the weight of the empty Federal cases, and found them to be within +, - 3gr. to 234.7 gr. Interestingly, Norma cases weigh the same.
NO, I don't think the problem is Federal cases.
Something else is the problem.
Most likely powder speed. Or primer "hotness".
I will suggest using a powder like RL-17, Rl-19 or MagPro at the slowest to get the best performance in the 270 WSM.
My "pet load" for this wonderful ctg. is:
Norma case
Woodleigh 150gr P.P.
Fed. 215m primer
67.0gr MagPro
I get 3109fps, 17 fps Extreme spread, and a consistant half inch, or better group with my Kimber 8400.at 100. Good for hunting anyway.
Good Luck,
Lyle