.270 Win help needed

[Glasgow Grin]

I sighted in my Remington 700 BDL today. I was using reloads with 46 grains of Varget and a 130 grain Sierra Boat tail. The accuracy was ok, but not great. 3" groups at 100 yards. It didn't make me happy. However, I then tried a few Winchester Silvertips and my group, though about 3 inches higher, was a clover leaf group. So, I'm not happy with my .270 hand loads. What I would like, is a recipe for a very accurate load, that closely duplicates a factory load. I don't want to keep changing my scope settings from factory ammo to hand loads. Th e reasoning, is that if I'm hunting away from home, I would like to have a factory ammo that I know will shoot just like what I'm hand loading in case I need to buy it. This may seem like a ridiculous request, but this particular cartirdge is giving me nothing but headaches in the relaoding room. Thank you.

~Glasgow

 

[DukeInFlorida]

Don't expect that anyone can give you the magic recipe for your gun.

This is what handloading is all about.

So, here's my advice:

Keep notes!

Keep track of the recipes you try. Include details like the weather/temperature, etc. When "working up a load", do it in small increments, and write down how the results were, both in terms of accuracy (group size), and pressure indicators. If something isn't working, then change it slightly. Different powders might work better in your gun. Or, more or less powder. Or, a heavier or lighter bullet. After some safe (always use the published reloading data) experimenting, you'll find a combination that you'll be happy with. By documenting the experiments, you'll avoid making the same mistakes over and over again, and progress towards that "dream load" that you are asking about.

 

[RKG]

My guess -- and that is all it is -- is that the Silvertips seated to a given COAL have a shorter jump to the lands than the Sierra BT slugs. To check on my guess, you'll need one of those Hornady throat gauges. My experience (which is limited to my guns and my loads) seems to be that when the jump is 50 thousandths or more, consistency of shot placement falls off, and most rifles seem to do best somewhere in the range of 15 to 25 thou.

 

[bpm990d]

What RKG said. I bet it has a long throat. Different bullets even of the same weight are shaped differently and will preform very differently. If you want to duplicate factory loadings, you will need some Winchester projectiles. Do they even sell sell silvertips as components? All I could find was loaded ammo.

B

 

[DukeInFlorida]

The "old school" way is to purposefully seat a bullet very long, and place it in the breech, and slowly close the bolt on the round. If the bolt won't close, then seat the bullet a few thousandths deeper, and try again. When you get to the point where the bolt will close, your bullet is a few thousandths off the lands. Check the overall length then, and see how far off from the reloading data it is. You might have issues feeding the rounds from a magazine, if your gun has one. Test fire one round, looking for signs of pressure. If all is well, then load up a few more, and do a test group. Work up a load from there.

Bottom line: Rather than spend a ton of money on gauges, there are other ways to get your bullet closer to the lands.

 

[dgoalie]

What the other guys said is good advice. It is pretty normal to try one handload and have the accuracy be unimpressive. That being said, the suggestions about seating depth are a great place to start. On those silvertips, have you measured the OAL and also (and maybe most importantly) the length to the ogive. Assuming bullet weight is the same, there are also items like bullet shape (boattail or not, length of the bearing surfice, etc) that can effect accuracy out of a specific rifle. So many variables here, that you really just have to take the time to try a few things. You may hit on a load the rifle likes early, or it could take some time. I had an older ADL (early 70s if I remember correctly) that really liked 150grn round nose soft points. Spire points didn't shoot that great in that gun, but the RNSP bullets were excellent. YMMV.

 

[swampy]

Is this a brand new rifle? A little break in time might be needed if it is.

Did you start your reloads at the starting point? Some people skip up a few grains in powder figuring they need all the oomph they can get. I get good results with starting loads on my 243 win with 80 grain sierra. The more powder I use the larger the groups get. Just the opposite with the 85 gr. I don't think the lower FPS really matters to the coyote.

 

[Glasgow Grin]

The rifle is not new. It was made in the 70's. I have tried working up from minimum loads. This is why I am so frustrated with it. I just can't seem to find a sweet spot for this gun.

 

[DukeInFlorida]

Maybe it's that you can't find a sweet spot for that powder. Try switching powders.

1970's barrels might be good or they might be rough. I'm not suggesting that your bore isn't in good shape, but have you considered taking it to a gunsmith, and having the gunsmith check the condition of the bore with a camera? If it's pitted from some neglect, or badly copper fouled from lack of proper cleaning, then you will never be able to get the groups to tighten up properly.

Another item to check is the screw that tightens the receiver to the stock. That screw is supposed to be torqued to a specific torque. If it's loose, or not to proper torque for that gun, the receiver will move slightly with every shot, and the groups will suck. That's an often overlooked detail. Be cautioned that the proper torque for that screw on your gun is in INCH pounds, and not foot pounds. A gunsmith can help you with that. I had to buy a special torque wrench driver to set the torque on my rifle receiver screws. It's adjustable in INCH pounds.

Also, the "FREE FLOATING" or to the opposite end of the spectrum, the "Bedding" of the barrel to the stock will also affect the groups. As the barrel heats up, if it presses against the wood in some wrong way, it will change the alignment of the bore ever so slightly. Off the rack Rem 700's are notorious for barrels pressing against wood. I changed the wood stock on my 700 out to a synthetic free float barrel style stock. My barrel now rings like a bell every time I pull the trigger.

Finally, a recently cleaned and lubed barrel won't fire accurately. Wipe any oil in the bore by running dry patches down the bore prior to shooting. And then, fire about ten shots to clear any remainder of the lube/cleaner from the barrel. They call those "fouling shots". After that's when your rifle is most accurate.

I'd go through the list of details that I have just suggested, eliminating them one by one, and then start working up loads.

Please report back.

 

[Dick]

FWIW, my Winchester Model 70 in .270 never liked any load I tried with 130 gr bullets, but I regularly get sub-MOA and in some cases sub-1/2MOA groups with the 150 gr.