.270 win. reload question..HElP

[rabbitstew]

So being fairly new to reloading and loading my 1st rifle round tonight i ran into a problem. I bought myself some .270 win Barnes triple shock 140gr. bullets for the upcoming hunting season and my question is im not sure how far into the case to seat the bullet. My lee book which came with my reloading kit is telling me to seat the bullet at 3.340. and im just using my caliper to match the books diagram. Unfortunately when i seat my bullet at this length the bullet is much longer than any other factory load I have to compare too, and just does not look right... So i dont know if I should just make the length match my factory loads or have a extra long bullet as my book instructs me to do. FYI Im using IMR 4350 at 53gr of powder. Thanks for your time.

[w748]

Load a dummy ; no primer / powder. Check that it fits and feeds through the magazine.
Smoke the bullet , chamber and eject. Check to see that the bullet isn't being jamed into the leade ( start of the rifleing ).
Never had a .270 but the OAL you mention should be fine in comercial bolt actions. If you're loading for a single shot you only have to worry about the leade part but all of my #1s have a rather long throat so my OALs are longer than published numbers. Just has to work in your rifle!

[SA Friday]

Yep. I agree with his post. Additionally, you want to load the bullet to not sit on the rifling. I test this at least 6 times till I get a really good indication on the OAL the leade will take and then shorten the OAL so the bullet is not sitting against the rifling when chambered. Also, if it's a box fed rifle, your mag length is probably going to be your OAL limiting factor. Make sure to measure that too and see what length round it will take.

Tomorrow after class, I'll check the specs I use to load the Rem 700 I have in .270 and post it. I haven't loaded for a Barnes yet, but it will get you some ball park numbers.

[rabbitstew]

Thanks for the help. My concern is, but i might be wrong is the OAL effects the velocity and by seating the bullet too deep in the shell it might be dangerous or too much energy for the rifle. How much change in bullet speed will there be with minimal changes in OAL??? How do you tell if the bullet is touching the "leade"?

[w748]

Only way to tell how much OAL will affect velocity is to chrono in your rifle. Bullets seated too deeply can raise pressure , stick to published charges and don't start with max loads!
As stated above , load a dummy then smoke the bullet , i.e. , hold the bullet over a sooty flame from an oil lamp or candle untill it's coated with carbon , hand chamber the dummy and close the action. Carefully eject and examine the bullet ; if it is contacting the rifleing you will see the marks.

[SA Friday]

Loading longer will not increase your pressure. Loading shorter will increase it, but as long as you are following the reloading manual or the results of checking what OAL will run in the gun, you'll be fine. Start your charges low based on the published data and work your way up looking for indications of overpressure.

The Lyman 47th edition reloading handbook shows an OAL with a 140gr Hornady BTSP bullet as 3.335". With a Nosler BT 140gr bullet, I load to an OAL of 3.37, and with a Nosler Partition 140gr bullet, I load to 3.30. The bullet's shape will affect how long you can load it without hitting your rifling.

Rifle reloading is first about learning the techniques to load good accurate rounds, and then second learning what to feed the machine. It takes experimentation to gather enough data to determine what the gun likes to shoot and what bullets it likes to spit. My Rem 700 doesn't like H4350, but loves RL-19 and H4831. I shoot two reloaded rounds out of that rifle:

140gr Nosler BT
55gr of RL-19
3.37" OAL
Rem Brass
CCI LR primers
It benches these less than 1/2 MOA at 100 yds.

140 Nosler Partition
57.5gr of H4831
3.30 OAL
Rem Brass
CCI LR primer
It also benches these less than 1/2 MOA at 100 yds.

I have three sheets of data on experimental rounds, their results, and the actual targets to get to just these two rounds.

I suspect that 53.0gr of H4350 is close to a max charge. This is not where I would start my testing... Start lower and work your way up. Some bullets result in higher pressures with a lower powder charge due to the bullets sectional density. A Barnes bullet is solid copper and not as 'squishy' as a bullet with a lead core. It's going to take a little more to force the bullet down the barrel, therefore a little higher pressures. Everything I've read is it takes about a full gr less to get the same velocity with a solid copper bullet over a lead core of the same weight. This also means a little higher pressures with less powder. Start lower.

Every reload/rifle combo is going to have a sweet spot. It's going to favor a weight of bullet and a velocity range that it just likes. Some even seem to work better with one powder over another (mostly due to the velocity thing and case capacity). Don't expect an automatic home run by simply choosing a bullet, some powder, and putting it all together. It happens, but it's usually based off of previous knowledge from reloading that caliber for a specific manufactured rifle.

[spencerhenry]

i agree with all of the above posts. the one thing i can add is that data varies from one manual to another, from one bullet manufacturer to another. if i were loading anywhere near maximum, i would get a manual from the manufacturer of the bullet i am using. as said in a previous post, barnes bullets can have higher pressures because of their construction. i would look for load data that has been specifically developed with that bullet.

[The1andOnlyKC]

Loading longer will not increase your pressure. Loading shorter will increase it,

Im no pro-reloader but from everything I have read and experienced this wrong.

If you have the bullets on the lands then the pressure will be higher than if you have the bullet with a jump to the lands.

Like I said I could be wrong, so kind of more a question for the pro reloaders out there.

I have always been taught and have followed to find true max load for the rifle start on the lands. Then for accuracy work OAL down and pressures will not go up.

[SA Friday]

Im no pro-reloader but from everything I have read and experienced this wrong.

If you have the bullets on the lands then the pressure will be higher than if you have the bullet with a jump to the lands.

Like I said I could be wrong, so kind of more a question for the pro reloaders out there.

I have always been taught and have followed to find true max load for the rifle start on the lands. Then for accuracy work OAL down and pressures will not go up.

You are confusing loading longer lowers pressure with loading an OAL where the bullet chambers to the rifling. In the latter case, yes, it does spike the pressure. This isn't what I'm saying. I'm referring to loading longer than factory or the reloading book, just off of the rifling.

[rabbitstew]

Thanks a bunch SA Friday and W for your input and time... Its greatly appreciated. Now i cant wait to get out to the range and work on my .2 inch groupings. Just a quick question, my .270 die set didn't come with a crimpling die. Is it not necessary to crimp a rifle load?