Thread: First time reloading 270win

I wouldnt have the foggiest ...if it fits in the magazine,feeds well and chambers well....and shoots well...who really cares how far off the lands it is??? I did try seating NBT130s out to lands once...the ywere barely in the case and no way would fit in magazine...gave up on that idea... my howa doesnt care...neither did the winchester...seriously I mean it doesnt care at all...the first 11 rounds were three different types of factory loads and still went into just over an inch..... that told me right from get go to just load em up and enjoy using rifle....the 12th and 13th rounds both took a deer LOL.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

I wouldnt have the foggiest ...if it fits in the magazine,feeds well and chambers well....and shoots well...who really cares how far off the lands it is??? I did try seating NBT130s out to lands once...the ywere barely in the case and no way would fit in magazine...gave up on that idea... my howa doesnt care...neither did the winchester...seriously I mean it doesnt care at all...the first 11 rounds were three different types of factory loads and still went into just over an inch..... that told me right from get go to just load em up and enjoy using rifle....the 12th and 13th rounds both took a deer LOL.

Yea, from what I’ve been reading, the 270 is not that fussy when it comes to seating depth. I don’t have any factory rounds here but I’ll check OAL on a couple of reloads that I have that feed and chamber nicely and use that as a starting point. Just wanted to get my head around the process as I’ll be digging deeper into this with the 260 later on.

The 270 seems to be pretty tolerant on a lot of things, seating depth included. Try it and let us know. Once you've found that load that just seems to work, then its time to start playing with the variables if you want to tighten it up. But only one variable at a time.

I think I have my bullet seating sorted. Didn’t seem too difficult. Ended up with about 30 thou to the lands using the black marker method and a COAL of 3.310” which is smack in the middle of the book values for the Sierra 130gn SBTs at 3.300” and the Nosler 130gn Ballistic Tip at 3.320”. Have more than caliber seating depth so should be all ready to progress to priming, powder charge as per MDs recommendation, and bullet seating.

Anything else to consider before I proceed on these last steps?

Calm shooting days are few and far between at the moment so need to be ready for the next one. It’s a cracker one today so a reminder to me to complete the initial loads for testing. Had a run on visitors so doing the decent thing and not hiding out in the shed.

Ready to rock and roll. Nice to have that satisfied feeling even at this early stage and looking forward to punching holes the next calm day. At least the suns been out the last couple of days, just a wind sharp enough to cut bread.
Next post will be targets. Cheers all.

What OAL are you running with?

Originally Posted by charliehorse

What OAL are you running with?

3.310”

Sorry now see that above must have been the angle I thought they were unusually long

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Ready to rock and roll. Nice to have that satisfied feeling even at this early stage and looking forward to punching holes the next calm day. At least the suns been out the last couple of days, just a wind sharp enough to cut bread.
Next post will be targets. Cheers all.

Attachment 203449Attachment 203450

Stop trickling, get a powder measure (Latest Lee Deluxe one is good, get the stand too), learn to use it properly with a beam balance scale and not the small electronic ones.

Thank me later!

Originally Posted by caberslash

Stop trickling, get a powder measure (Latest Lee Deluxe one is good, get the stand too), learn to use it properly with a beam balance scale and not the small electronic ones.

Thank me later!

Like these!!



I did use them to check accuracy of the electronic and will continue to use them in the future. I have to say the Hornady G3 is an excellent scale. Accurate, responsive, always returns to zero, no drift and I just used a powder scoop till I was within 1-2gns then trickled the last wee bit.
I spent some time setting up the area for them to avoid the environmental issues that effect scale operation and have quite a bit of experience using both types despite being completely new to reloading. Tried to keep to the point on this thread without going into my life history so apologies if I’m short on details.
I have considered getting a powder thrower and see the advantages of one. I’m just at the stage of taking my time and keeping it as simple as possible. Will reassess as time progresses.
Thank you for your input.

I have two powder throwers,both VERY accurate,and to be completely 100% honest,unless Im doing more than 30-40 rounds in a session,they do not get used.now the plastic LEE spoons under the bench however..same theory just old technology...or should that read???zero mechanical technology?? get used all the time,pick spoon below and trickle up to weight....or if using trail boss...just scoop and dump in case..... throwers are nice,but for small batches,the time taken to set them up,them empty them out again is worth about 6-8 loads already done using spoons.
throwers are awesome with ball powder but can suck with AR2206h logs of powder....its not uncommon to get a crunch every 4th or 5th cycle...which results in a check weighing anyway.....

Well, today was nothing if not instructional. Started off with a lovely day at the beach till I went to chamber a round.



As you can see from the following photo my issue is clear.



Why did I did not see this I don’t know. My initial dummy round, unmarked, looked and chambered fine but pretty much all the rest, bar one, have varying degrees of of donut syndrome. On closer inspection even my initial dummy round shows signs of swelling on the neck, clearly showing the bullet impression and looking back at the previous photo of the completed rounds, the fault is plainly visible.
Obviously the necks are way too tight and what I had thought was minimal pressure to seat them was totally incorrect. The only indication I probably had at the time was that I had to hold the bullet on top of the case as it went up into the die and thought that odd but dismissed my concerns.
So, a number of things going through my mind but will just stop thinking now and absorb some feedback if you all wouldn’t mind.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Well, today was nothing if not instructional. Started off with a lovely day at the beach till I went to chamber a round.

Attachment 203839

As you can see from the following photo my issue is clear.

Attachment 203840

Why did I did not see this I don’t know. My initial dummy round, unmarked, looked and chambered fine but pretty much all the rest, bar one, have varying degrees of of donut syndrome. On closer inspection even my initial dummy round shows signs of swelling on the neck, clearly showing the bullet impression and looking back at the previous photo of the completed rounds, the fault is plainly visible.
Obviously the necks are way too tight and what I had thought was minimal pressure to seat them was totally incorrect. The only indication I probably had at the time was that I had to hold the bullet on top of the case as it went up into the die and thought that odd but dismissed my concerns.
So, a number of things going through my mind but will just stop thinking now and absorb some feedback if you all wouldn’t mind.

I wonder if your cases are too long or perhaps there is no or insufficient chamfer. I would check the dia of those projectiles as well.
GPM.
PS lOA needs checking as well.

This looks an awful lot like your seating die is set too low in the press. The marks on the case mouth could indicate that it is contacting with the crimping part internally.

If your seating die is still set up in the press go and run a scrap case with no primer powder or bullet in it up into the die until the handle stops. If the neck comes out munched and squashed you have your answer.

Most seating die instructions suggest to put an empty case in the shellholder and raise the press handle. Then back the seating adjustment right off and wind the die body down into the press. At some point the crimping function will contact the case mouth - at this point back the die out one full rotation and nip the lockring. Now you can go ahead and adjust your projectile seating depth.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

I wonder if your cases are too long or perhaps there is no or insufficient chamfer. I would check the dia of those projectiles as well.
GPM.
PS lOA needs checking as well.

Case lengths were all under book value and but received a light skim to tidy up. Chamfered and deburred but only minimally so am now doubtful I chamfered enough. How much is enough?
Will run a check measurement on projectiles as well .
IOA??
Cheers.