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WallyWin

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Looking for pointers on how to go about finding the best bullet weight, powder charge, primer etc.

I ordered nosler accubond and Berger vld bullets in 130, 140, and 150 gr.
I plan to buy 3-4 different powders (maybe 4831, 4350, h1000, reloader 22)
and primers (maybe CCi 200, 250, br2)

Do you just pick one load to start with and work it up before comparing to other loads? Or do you load a few of each and shoot in some order? How many rounds should I load of each to be confident?

I have a Winchester extreme weather in 270 that shoots well, but I am interested in learning how to fine tune for even better consistency at say 3-500 yards.

Any recommendations on manuals or other reading to get started?

Thanks
 
I use a ton of Nosler bullets for various hunting rifles, and I have their manuals, I also use Berger bullets and have their manual.
My .270 win loves Nosler 130 grn Btips, 140 Partitions, and 150 grn ABLR'S, and I use different powders for each bullet.
What I would recomend to you is get their manual, and pick the bullet you want to use and go from there.

I use IMR 4451, N160, H4350, IMR 4350, RL19, Magpro, RL 22.
Take your time, start low and go slow until your satisfied with performance..
 
Wally,

Welcome to the forum.

For peak accuracy you have a little homework to do:

The first thing is to realize you will likely want one of the highest bullet ballistic coefficients (BC) you can get to work with your rifling twist rate in order to minimize wind deflection. As BC's go up, the bullets are getting heavier because sectional density contributes to BC. At the same time, though, that added weight means the bullets are getting longer. The longer a bullet, the more twist it needs to stabilize well, so there is a limit to how far you can take this. You want to look over the catalogs of bullets and pick some higher BC bullets and check the velocities reported in load data. Remember load data, unless stated otherwise, will be for a 24" barrel, so you need to allow for your barrel length producing 50-60 fps less. You also need to know the lengths of the bullets. There is a list here. Once you have bullet length, weight, and velocity, use it with this stability calculator. Keep the bullets whose results fall in the range of 1.4 to 1.7 for peak accuracy. Good quality match bullets can run a bit higher, but those numbers are usually where the tack drivers are.

After all that, take your candidate bullets and look at load data for it. Look at load data for best accuracy powders as one possible clue. Another is to use data where pressure is listed. Note that the highest pressure differs with powders. Generally, pick the powders first that have the highest top load pressures listed. The reason they are highest is those powders showed the most consistent pressures (lowest pressure standard deviation) so the manual writers were more confident that no unexpected peaky pressures would occur. Velocity will likely be more consistent with them as well.

Start load development with the bullet jammed into the lands, if your throat allows that. This creates worst case pressure, and when you top out there you will have a load that is safe at other seating depths. Then start walking the seating depth away from the throat to see if you get better accuracy at some other amount of bullet jump. If you do, start playing with powder charge at that better seating depth to find your tightest groups. Once you've done that, you can try varying the seating depth a little in each direction to see if the adjusted charge weight does still better somewhere else. It's an iterative process.

The reasoning behind seating depth changes is in this article. One method of looking for best accuracy loads is here. A bunch of reading, but worthwhile.

If none of the above works out well for you, keep in mind that a gun that needs bedding or lugs lapped or the receiver blueprinted or the barrel re-crowned may never shoot any load really well. I don't know that your gun has any problem at all, but keep a record of what you see to watch out for issues that may need a gunsmith's attention.
 
Welcome to the wonderful, oft confusing and frustrating world of reloading! As usual Unclenick has posted an excellent answer. But I am a simple guy that likes to keep things simple; K.I.S.S. First I'd recommend you decide what you want your gun to do. Hunting? Informal target? Bench rest type competition? Research the manufacturer's recommendations for bullet type and the same with manufacturer's recommendations for powder. Then find a load in your reloading manual(s) and then buy components (I always use a starting load). If I want to shoot Beger's bullets, I'd get a Berger's manual. This simple method works for me prolly because I like the research, loading, shooting, and analyzing recording results.
 
Yes that sounds good. I have wanted to reload for years, just have been busy with other projects. Need to practice to be better come antelope, deer, elk season.

I was interested in finding if my gun prefers one weight in general over another is my first thought. That is why i selected two brands that had 3 weights of bullets.

In the past i have always sighted in for zero at 200 yds and just hold on out to 300ish. Now i bought a z3 3.5-12 bt and have it set at 2,3,4,and500 yards. I want this gun to be my main go to gun for big game, predator, and fun. (I also have model 70 22-250 and 338wm). Not all that concerned with splitting hairs, just want something im can get real confident with and shoot well. Then see where it goes from there.
 
A SEARCH here or on any reloading site will answer his question hundreds of times.

Invest in Lyman #50. Read it, and go from there.
 
To me, the best manual is one of the older sierra manuals. If you can't find one, the new Sierra and Lee are decent. My advice is learn and get proficient at the basics of reloading before you try to come up with the world's most accurate handload.
 
Hornady, Alliant both do yearly reloading "manuals". Western( aka Ramshot, Accurate), Vitavhuori are both online also.

IMR 7977 looks fairly promising for all bullet weights you are looking at.
Always start at the start loads.

For a hunting rifle i would avoid jamming the bullet into the lands.

For my Savage rifles, and Ruger 77 the Bergers like 0.008" off of the lands.
ELDX like 0.015" off of the lands.
Nosler ABLR like 0.030" off the lands.

This may not be the same for your rifle. Just give you a direction for a starting point.
 
Buy a good manual or two and read tje front sections, you'll learn tons of stuff. In those manuals they usually will show what powders were most accurate with what bullets, tjis will help get you on track alot faster.
 
"...just pick one load to start with..." Start with just one powder. Best one is the 'Accuracy load' for a specific bullet weight. Said bullet weight (really no need to worry about the BC' etc. for a hunting load.) selected according to calibre and intended use of the rifle. Usually a 130 or 140 for a .270. Loaded to the max OAL given in your manual.
Forget the off-the-lands stuff altogether until you've worked up a load. That's a 100%, trial and error(every chamber is different and every rifle will prefer a different distance off the lands. There is no average or set distance at all.), load tweaking technique that is unnecessary. It's an 'If you feel like it' thing after finding the most accurate load.
Beginning with the starting load given in your manual, load 5 rounds only(A mag load if your rifle holds less than 5). Go up by half a grain of powder, loading 5(or a mag load) of each keeping them separate until you get to the max load in your manual.
Then go shooting. Shoot at 100 yards, for group only, slowly and deliberately off a solid bench rest.
Change targets between strings of 5(or a mag load) and allow time for the barrel to cool.
When you find the best group, sight in high at 100.(how high depends on the load and bullet weight. A 130 at 2900ish FPS MV gets sighted in 1.4" high at 100.) That'll put you on target out to about 300 yards with no hold over with a .30-06/.308 and the like.
500 yards is to far for a .270. A typical 130 grain SP sighted in at 200 will drop 39.2" at 500. A 140 drops 39.9" at 500. With barely enough remaining energy out of either weight.
 
You might find the 4831'a a bit to slow. You just might end up with compressed loads of powder. I haven't shot a 270 a lot but if I went to one today, i'd go with the 140gr bullet, I did when I did have a 270, and moderately slow powder. 4350'a, H414/W760, RL19 and maybe RL22. RL22 has worked well for me in the 25-06 but I shoot a heavy bullet in it. I don't recall the powder I used to use in the 270 but probably either 4350 or more likely a 4831. Both powder's should fill the case well without giving you a compressed load, I am not a fan of compressed loads. I learned that the best powder's will fill the case to the neck shoulder junction from about 80% up. At 100% you could very well run into a compressed load. I am not a fan of them. Using different bullet weight's you should find that the only thing the light bullet's bring you is more velocity with a ballistically inferior bullet. That will make inside damage worse or maybe the bullet will come apart before getting well inside or even blowing a hole in the side of a animal you could drive your truck through! The med weight bullet's will be stouter built and will run some what slower and reduce damage with ballistically superior bullet's. My own though about the 270 is that the best bullet's are 140gr and 150gr. Both will bring down the velocity better holding the bullet together. They will also have better sectional density bullet's, meaning they should penetrate better. I wouldn't get to googoo eyed about BC, It will go up depending on the weight and shape of the bullet but not that many people can take advantage of it. Basically it doesn't really pay off till way down range past reasonable hunting range. Forget it, it is what it is. And the weight of the bullet in relation to the dia and cartridge does make a difference unless in some case you go to premium bullet's, sounds like you plan that. I would strongly suggest you sitck with cup and core bullet's to get going, they are much much less expensive than premium bullet's which means you can practice for a lot less money. Check the price's of them all. Cup and core come, normally, 100 to the box, premium 50 to the box! Huge difference for me. And, choose the cartridge and cup and core bullet wisely and the cup and core will do all than a premium bullet will do.
 
Like every other newby who comes here, the first thing he needs to do is buy and read Lyman #50, then do a search here for the info he needs.
 
Thanks to all for the Good pointers.

I always get a chuckle out of the computer cowboys that want to make themselves appear greater than they are. Ive been on enough forums to know how it goes. It would be more helpfull if you know so much to give some summary of your extensive knowledge or links to more fitting specifics the op asked about.

Ps i did pick up lyman 50. Thanks kev!
 
I never cease to realize and express my observations on the tremendous differences there are between reloading rifle calibers and pistol calibers. The processes (at least for me) are so different that I wonder why there aren't two threads for the two subjects. I reload for 30-06 as well as 4 different pistol calibers. Techniques are so different that what I learn for the pistol doesn't seem to carry over to the rifle and vice-versa. It would be very helpful if some of our community would comment more on the differences.
willr
 
Unless you are shooting lead in my view the Lymans manual is not my first choice (4th or 5th)

Hornady in my opinion is the best current one out (10th Edition)

note that it has a lot of powders for any given bullet weight.

Hornady makes a bullet of each type or close to each type out there.

I don't advocate using their data at maxim for a different mfg of bullets, but mid way would be fine (I start low but I shoot short distances so the max velocity is not an issue)

Sierra is also very good, its just has not been updated lately so its missing some newer powders (R17 and others, as well as the new IRM Enduron Powders).

The others don't offer the bullet variety or the powder variety.
 
Unclenick:

In using the stability calculator it has two length values, but the plastic tip one is?

The bullet data only gives length, it does not discern between the plastic tip or not.

Can you clear that up?
 
What has changed that the new manuals dont have what the older ones do?

I bought the Hornady 10, berger 1, nosler 7, lyman 50, and a couple 270 specific pamphlets.

So now im thinking that ill start with the 145g eldx as i have the most quantity of those and they are less expensive, then move to the 150s (nosler ablr, berger vld, nosler ct), then 140s (nosler ab, berger vld) then 130s (nosler ab, berger vld, nosler ct)

I have h4831, re 19, re 22, imr 4831.
Cci 200, 250, br2, win lr

Cleaned up and decapped federal, hornady, winchester, and haf a few remington shells. I have the most federal so plan to start with those.
 
WallyWin, I feel your confusion. I too am just starting out and thank you for asking what must be the same question every nubee asks.

I've been reading everything I can get my hands on and watching every "good" you-tube reloading channel. My biggest question at this point bis which powder?

Here's how I answered it for the powder at least (I'm sure one of the more experienced members will correct me if I'm wrong). I looked in ALL the manuals I have, Lyman 50th, Lee 2nd ed, Lyman cast bullet, Hornady several on line references and looked at the bullet manufacturer's info. Then I made a list of possibles and went shopping. Turns out only 3 of the powders I was looking for are available in my area so problem solved! I bought all three and since I enjoy the process I'll work my way through each hoping to find a favorite in the bunch and learn as I progress.
 
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