Load work for Ruger 270 Win, for Elk

[minute of elk]

I don't know if this is any help, but my ruger likes them seated long at over published max loads.

 

[Roughwater]

I don't know if this is any help, but my ruger likes them seated long at over published max loads.

Minute of elk - Appreciate any and all info that might help and your info might.

When you say "Seated Long" do you mean close to the lands? Since till now I haven't had the rifle in my hands I have been seating so the bottom of the bullet is close to the bottom of the neck. Bad thing about loading these 165 grainers, there is no published data that I can find. I kinda use data for 150's and 160's and go from there....

I see no signs of pressure yet in the cases we fired today so it looks like I can go some yet. If I can eventually get into the 2800 FPS range with good accuracy I would be OK with that and it looks promiseing.

Terry

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I just wanted to do a little update here.

My friend and I finally got together at the range today and shot some 270 Winchester, 165 gr Matrix Hunting VLD bullets in his Ruger with 22" barrel that I had reloaded for him. I reloaded 9 bullets in 3 shot groups with 56.8 gn of IMR 7828, 61 Gr of RL-25 (slightly compressed) and 60.5 gn of Magpro.

The Magpro had the best group of the 3 by far at 1/2" and averaged 2680 FPS. The question was asked prevously by someone if the big 165 gn 270 matrix VLD bullet would stabilize near sea level with a over the counter, ten twist sporting rifle and I gotta say now the answer is a definite "YES".

The RL-25 was was slightly compressed and velocity averaged around 2700 fps but with being compressed already not much hope of getting more velocity.

With both my 270 Winchester and his Ruger 270, so far the most promising loads have been with the Magpro. I see no pressure signs with this load so I believe it can be bumped up another .5 grains in his rifle to 61 gn of Magpro.

I have alreaday shot my 270 with 61.5 gn and it did show some signs of mild pressure so that may be the max for my rifle but velocity was over 2800 FPS and accuracy still good.

Again, I don't recommend anyone use these loads without starting much and working up.

I have my friends Ruger rifle now and I'll do a little more testing this coming week with additional loads especially with the magpro and report my results here.

Terry

Are you using Win brass?? If you aren't, try it, as it has a bit more volume than rem or fed brass has. With heavy compression and a 130 interbond(cheap stuff load with mil surp and blems) I am able to get 69.5 gr of wc872 into a win case. And I still have 1/2 of the neck clear to seat the bullet. That's a regular 270, not a wsm. It only goes 2750 fps, but will put 5 in an inch and costs $20 per hundred. I never thought I could get that much powder into a 270, but it fits and shoots well.
Good to see it is coming together with the matrix.

 

[silvertip-co]

"only". That's sad. To think that a guy "only" has a .270 and has to have ammo so very special to kill an elk. When in fact the 270 with 130 gr has been killing elk moose squirrels grizzly grouse polar bear brown bear mule deer and gosh knows what else since 1925 with just old plain jane factory ammo. And todays ammo is 10x better than what they made in 1925. I quit reloading cause todays ammo is sooo good, and I reloaded for 40 years. But I cant compete with computerized manufacturing and Hornady Superformance ammo or some of the match ammo thats available. So now I spend more time shooting , a lot less time reloading, and just a little more money, buying in bulk. And I only have a .270.

 

[Roughwater]

Are you using Win brass?? If you aren't, try it, as it has a bit more volume than rem or fed brass has. With heavy compression and a 130 interbond(cheap stuff load with mil surp and blems) I am able to get 69.5 gr of wc872 into a win case. And I still have 1/2 of the neck clear to seat the bullet. That's a regular 270, not a wsm. It only goes 2750 fps, but will put 5 in an inch and costs $20 per hundred. I never thought I could get that much powder into a 270, but it fits and shoots well.
Good to see it is coming together with the matrix.

Lefty, Problem is that I'm using a 165 gn bullet, not a 130 so it's got to go deeper into the case as it's a much longer bullet. Also, considering the weight of the bullet, as you can't load a high performance 165 gn bullet with the same powder load as you can a high performance130 gn bullet. Going to Winchester brass might not be a bad thing in it's self. Right now I am using mostly Norma brass. Some say it's soft but most say it's some of the best made brass out there. As to the Hornady interbond bullets, they are decent big game bullets, cheap and easy to load just like you said. But I'm wanting to load a bit heavier bullet with better BC.

Someone on here recommended H 1000 for these heavy 270 bullets so I'll make up a couple loads of it and see how that does. I just finished making up a few Magpro bullets with a slightly heavier powder load than I used earlier today. I'm thinking they may get me to 2800 fps or close anyway.
It would be nice if the accuracy was the same or close to the Magpro load my friend shot today with the Ruger.

Terry

 

[Roughwater]

"only". That's sad. To think that a guy "only" has a .270 and has to have ammo so very special to kill an elk. When in fact the 270 with 130 gr has been killing elk moose squirrels grizzly grouse polar bear brown bear mule deer and gosh knows what else since 1925 with just old plain jane factory ammo. And todays ammo is 10x better than what they made in 1925. I quit reloading cause todays ammo is sooo good, and I reloaded for 40 years. But I cant compete with computerized manufacturing and Hornady Superformance ammo or some of the match ammo thats available. So now I spend more time shooting , a lot less time reloading, and just a little more money, buying in bulk. And I only have a .270.

Silvertip, you do make a good point there. There is some great ammo out there. Hornady is good too but I'm not super impressed with it.
When I say, just a 270 Winchester I compare this rifle caliber to the magnums and custom rifles many use especially long range hunters who many of which I have to assume inhabit this website. As to reloading, I can't say I'm saving a lot of money if any but I enjoy the crap out of it. I get to load bullets of different brands some of which are very expensive loaded and hard to find loaded. As to time used loading bullets, seems like time well spent. I would like to spend more time shooting too but I can shoot many dollars worth of bullets in a short time so I doubt I would spend any more time shooting whether I reload or buy loaded bullets. I've learned a lot from reloading that I would otherwise not know. It's one of those things you got to enjoy doing and if you don't, like many things in life, then don't do it. I enjoy working up loads and finding that load that shoots super accurate. I haven't seen any companies out there loading the 165 gn Matrix bullet yet. But I am.

Terry

 

[minute of elk]

D'oh! I meant to edit my previous post- I'm working on a 150 sst load atm.
My latest ladder was with a coal of 3.320, which is noticeably longer than any of the factory loads I've seen. These are all once fired remington brass. Once I get it all worked out with my stash of "fire formed" brass from factory loads i'll buy new stuff & do up a big pile of them.... And then see if I can find a sweet node with 165's.
My ruger likes h4350, and doesn't particularly like n160. The gun likes h100v, but it was hard on brass. I haven't tried much else- especially after my initial ladder with the h4350. I had two shot groups running 1/4"-3/4" from 52-54 grains. 53 gave me 1/4" and slight cratering, but no stickiness on he bolt or any other signs of too much pressure, so once it stops snowing I'll shoot a few more to confirm consistency. I found a published load for a 140 grain bullet with 53 grains of h4350, but all of the published loads for 150 grain bullets used significantly less.

The funny thing with my ruger is how tight the groups were with all 3 powders at high pressure- every group fired that had sticky bolt lift was 1/2" or better. I wouldn't be surprised if your buddy's ruger is similar. Of course you know better than to try out some interweb know it all's recipe without exercising a lot of caution....

Based on what I'm seeing with mine, I'll bet I end up running somewhere in the 50-52 grain range when I jump up to the 165's.

 

[minute of elk]

I should add that I got that coal by looking at a buddy's 150 sst load book for his ruger. His & mine seem to both have extra long chambers, so I propose that it might just be a ruger thing...

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

"only". That's sad. To think that a guy "only" has a .270 and has to have ammo so very special to kill an elk. When in fact the 270 with 130 gr has been killing elk moose squirrels grizzly grouse polar bear brown bear mule deer and gosh knows what else since 1925 with just old plain jane factory ammo. And todays ammo is 10x better than what they made in 1925. I quit reloading cause todays ammo is sooo good, and I reloaded for 40 years. But I cant compete with computerized manufacturing and Hornady Superformance ammo or some of the match ammo thats available. So now I spend more time shooting , a lot less time reloading, and just a little more money, buying in bulk. And I only have a .270.

Geeze, tough crowd here. I guess I could really ruffle your feathers and tell you I don't hunt with mine(I may though); I use my stw, a 300 mag, or a 300 ultra. 3300 to 3400 fps with a 180 isn't "just a 270". And I've never seen factory ammo that will equal well put together handloads that are tailored to a specific rifle. I've got 5000 examples in my basement. I do use factories at times in a few cartridges(223 and 405 win), but only have 1000 or so on the shelf total.

 

[Roughwater]

Minute of Elk,

H4350 is great powder for 270 medium weight bullets. It's my go to powder for 130 grainers. But I'm thinking you may have to go to a slower burning powder to get optimal velocity with the heavier bullets. But give it a shot and see what it does, just start low and work up slow cause with the faster powders you can get into trouble faster too.

Terry

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Lefty, Problem is that I'm using a 165 gn bullet, not a 130 so it's got to go deeper into the case as it's a much longer bullet. Also, considering the weight of the bullet, as you can't load a high performance 165 gn bullet with the same powder load as you can a high performance130 gn bullet. Going to Winchester brass might not be a bad thing in it's self. Right now I am using mostly Norma brass. Some say it's soft but most say it's some of the best made brass out there. As to the Hornady interbond bullets, they are decent big game bullets, cheap and easy to load just like you said. But I'm wanting to load a bit heavier bullet with better BC.

Someone on here recommended H 1000 for these heavy 270 bullets so I'll make up a couple loads of it and see how that does. I just finished making up a few Magpro bullets with a slightly heavier powder load than I used earlier today. I'm thinking they may get me to 2800 fps or close anyway.
It would be nice if the accuracy was the same or close to the Magpro load my friend shot today with the Ruger.

Terry

Just looking at volume, nothing more. I realize that the 165 is a long bullet, but loads that were fine in the win brass actually bulged the rem brass. I had to go down to 68 gr with that brass to get it to fit correctly.

 

[minute of elk]

Minute of Elk,

H4350 is great powder for 270 medium weight bullets. It's my go to powder for 130 grainers. But I'm thinking you may have to go to a slower burning powder to get optimal velocity with the heavier bullets. But give it a shot and see what it does, just start low and work up slow cause with the faster powders you can get into trouble faster too.

Terry

I hear ya- and if by "trouble" you mean an incurable addiction to bullet splash at 600+ yards you're too late!

I've dumped a few critters with 150 sst's in my 308, and I love the terminal performance (DRT on everything so far- BUT I haven't had to put anything through heavy bone), so I'm not looking to jump up to 165's until I see how 150's work. But I know me- I'll probably have to try them eventually. Luckily there are a few 270 guys in this corner of Mt. I doubt I'll be trying anything too risky without qualified supervision.

 

[Roughwater]

I just wanted to do a little update here.

My friend and I finally got together at the range today and shot some 270 Winchester, 165 gr Matrix Hunting VLD bullets in his Ruger with 22" barrel that I had reloaded for him. I reloaded 9 bullets in 3 shot groups with 56.8 gn of IMR 7828, 61 Gr of RL-25 (slightly compressed) and 60.5 gn of Magpro.

The Magpro had the best group of the 3 by far at 1/2" and averaged 2680 FPS. The question was asked prevously by someone if the big 165 gn 270 matrix VLD bullet would stabilize near sea level with a over the counter, ten twist sporting rifle and I gotta say now the answer is a definite "YES".

The RL-25 was was slightly compressed and velocity averaged around 2700 fps but with being compressed already not much hope of getting more velocity.

With both my 270 Winchester and his Ruger 270, so far the most promising loads have been with the Magpro. I see no pressure signs with this load so I believe it can be bumped up another .5 grains in his rifle to 61 gn of Magpro.

I have alreaday shot my 270 with 61.5 gn and it did show some signs of mild pressure so that may be the max for my rifle but velocity was over 2800 FPS and accuracy still good.

Again, I don't recommend anyone use these loads without starting much and working up.

I have my friends Ruger rifle now and I'll do a little more testing this coming week with additional loads especially with the magpro and report my results here.

Terry

I don't know that anyone but me is following this thread close but either way I want to correct a statement I made earlier which I quoted above where I said the following:
"I have alreaday shot my 270 with 61.5 gn and it did show some signs of mild pressure so that may be the max for my rifle but velocity was over 2800 FPS and accuracy still good."

Actually, I have not shot the 165 gn matrix with that powder load. The heaviest Magpro load I have fired with the 165's was 61 gn. I did make up a Magpro load for the 150gn Matrix at 61.5 gn on this thread. I just wanted to clairify that and keep the numbers straight here for myself and for you all.

Terry

 

[Roughwater]

D'oh! I meant to edit my previous post- I'm working on a 150 sst load atm.
My latest ladder was with a coal of 3.320, which is noticeably longer than any of the factory loads I've seen. These are all once fired remington brass. Once I get it all worked out with my stash of "fire formed" brass from factory loads i'll buy new stuff & do up a big pile of them.... And then see if I can find a sweet node with 165's.
My ruger likes h4350, and doesn't particularly like n160. The gun likes h100v, but it was hard on brass. I haven't tried much else- especially after my initial ladder with the h4350. I had two shot groups running 1/4"-3/4" from 52-54 grains. 53 gave me 1/4" and slight cratering, but no stickiness on he bolt or any other signs of too much pressure, so once it stops snowing I'll shoot a few more to confirm consistency. I found a published load for a 140 grain bullet with 53 grains of h4350, but all of the published loads for 150 grain bullets used significantly less.

The funny thing with my ruger is how tight the groups were with all 3 powders at high pressure- every group fired that had sticky bolt lift was 1/2" or better. I wouldn't be surprised if your buddy's ruger is similar. Of course you know better than to try out some interweb know it all's recipe without exercising a lot of caution....

Based on what I'm seeing with mine, I'll bet I end up running somewhere in the 50-52 grain range when I jump up to the 165's.

Minute of ELK,

I didn't mean to imply you need someone to oversee your reloading. I"m sure you'll do fine and I really do appreciate knowing that I could possibly see great accuracy with a hot load.

It's just the statement you made about your Sticky bolt loads that worried me. I'm an old fart and I know my limitations and know that I am suseptible to an occasional error. I'm afraid that if I purposly loaded too close to the edge that I would one day make a .1 grain error and go from sticky bolt to disaster. This is off the subject but for what it's worth I think you are very lucky to live in MT. I think the Western part of the US is the place to be for a hunter if possible.
Though the south ain't bad. We do have a really loooong deer season. Starting in Sept and going into January but no Elk....