270 Winchester with RL 26 Powder

[35 Whelen]

No that sounds like good advice to me as well , and 2950 ish is fine anyway................ however I really have no idea how the gun is shooting them as I was just firing over the chrono at a small rock at 500yds , bringing the smoke out of it every shot but that really doesn't mean much as that rock is 30" across the bottom and 2 ft wide in the middle of it and is about 30" high.................. so that load my be a 2" er at 100yds I really don't know yet, but will be sorting that out soon. And will share the results with all , however bear in mind this gun was never considered a "nail driver" and 1 1/2" was normal for this Ruger with this "pencil barrel" on it, it is a great hunting gun as is soooo short and handy, but benchrest shooting was never its strong point! This barrel gets very hot VERY quickly!

PS. Now I feel like a whimp as when I got to 3350 using 60grs of RL25 in the 25 Whelen, and it shot so well,I never tried to go any further, with that load as it was already literally blowing the liver right outta them? But you have whipped me and the 25 Whelen, with a measley little 243!!! Shooting a 90gr bullet FASTER by 50fps, than I did from that big 06 case....................... ah well this aint over with yet Marine! :evil:

PSS. Of course I would have the same problem with my .243 as I do with my .270 it tooooo has a 20" barrel !!!!!! :mrgreen: Can you tell I like short barreled guns!!!!

 

[lagerboy]

35 Whelen I tried some RL26 with a 140gr Hornady BTSP for the first time. I've been married to H4831sc for quite some time using the same bullet with great results. Just thought I would give this new powder a shot. I'm glad I did . I started at 58.5gr and worked up to 61.5gr.
58.5grRL26-2925
59.5grRL26-2955
60.5grRL26-3030
61.5grRL26-3115
Best group was 61.5gr at .5in. The others weren't as good. Primers were fine and bolt lift normal. I won't go any farther as that is more than good enough for me. At 3115fps this load tops my load using H4831sc by 200fps. That's considerable.

 

[hubcap]

Lagerboy, what cases and primer are you using ? Looks like you got things figured out pretty well.

 

[lagerboy]

hubcap, you might laugh but I'm using some old Imperial cases from a box of 20 factory ammo that my father give me many years ago. They were new never fired. I pulled the 160gr bullets from them and here we are. Primers are CCI 250. The gun is a model 9000 Husqvarna. The OAL is 3.295. The cases are full but not compressed. Maybe Winchester would have more room.

 

[hubcap]

OK,good info. It looks like the mag. cci-250 primer was a good idea with slow burning RL-26. The velocity is very good for your .270. Nice.

 

[SJB358]

26 has worked amazing in my 270’s with 130’s and 150’s so far. 3150 with 130 Trophy Bonded Tipped and 3030 with 150 ABLRs. Both 22” barrels. Accuracy has been all I could want from either.

 

[270elk]

I agree that RL-26 and the 270 Winchester are an excellent pair. I have two 270s that both like the powder with 130,140, and 150 bullets. The first 270 is my fathers which was passed down to me many years ago. A 98 Mauser with a 24" barrel also know as "Mr. Lucky". The newer 270 is a Forbes 270 with a 24" barrel which shoots anything that I load very accurately. Mr.Lucky prefers 130 Hornady interlocks and 140 Nosler Accubonds.
Here is some 140gr data with the Mauser:

Case Winchester,
Primer CCI 200,
Temp approximately 30, using a Magnetospeed chronograph,
140 gr Accubonds:
RL 26
59.0=3077fps
59.2=3057
59.4=3086
59.6=3075
59.8=3071
60.0=3102
60.2=3118
60.4=3137
60.6=3129
60.8=3164 (hot load)
settled on 59.6 most accurate, consistent 3/4" groups.

Forbes results
Winchester cases,
CCI 200 primers
Temp approximately 50 degrees, Magnetospeed chronograph
24" barrel
140 gr AccuBond
RL 26

56.2=2976fps
56.4=2996
56.8=3030
57.0=3034
57.2=3026
57.4=3064 (hot)
settled on 56.8 most accurate, 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups

The Forbes always runs with a lower charge of powder than the Mauser. I think that the hand lapped chamber and tighter tolerances contribute to the lower amount of powder needed to achieve the velocity.

 

[lagerboy]

270elk those are excellent results. Very high velocity. The barrel on my Husqvarna is 22.75in. Maybe that has something to do with my lower velocity. Are your Winchester cases near full?

 

[270elk]

The win cases still have some room. Not into the neck of the case.

 

[lhsako]

WW cases have the most volume in my experience. this post is incredibly well done and very informative !!!!!!

 

[SJB358]

I forgot to mention I am using Winchester cases as well. Work excellent in my opinion when they are prepped decently. Tough as well.

 

[lagerboy]

Thanks guys for the info. I use Winchester brass for the other two rifles I reload for. A 338-06AI and a 22-250. I'm just being cheap by using these Imperial cases.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

larger boy a .270 Win with 140gr bullet going 3115 FPS is impressive and with .5 inch groups you have a excellent and impressive round there. Good Shooting

 

[lagerboy]

Thanks Rem Man. I figure I got lucky finding a load this good this quickly. But I'd rather be lucky than good any day. I just joined this site days ago and I'm glad I did. Seems there are a lot of knowledgeable and kind folk here.
When I began shooting the 270 in the late 90's who would've ever thought speeds like the ones people are attaining now with these "new" powders were possible. I must admit though that this Husqvarna rifle given to me by my late father, who bought it new, has always been an absolute tack driver no matter what you feed it. Sorry the image loaded 90 degrees counter clockwise. 5 shots.
Cheers.

 

[270elk]

A little more data on the 270 with RL-26. I have become very fond of the Hornady 150 Interbond bullet for elk hunting. Unfortunately Hornady is not currently making the bullets so the few I have remaining are cherished. I typically use the Hornady SST for my summer time target shooting because of the nearly exact POI with the Interbond.
The RL-26 load in my Forbes 270 is low in its charge weight but gives good velocity and excellent accuracy.
Forbes 270 with 24" barrel
Winchester brass
CCI 200 primers
Magnetospeed chronograph .
Estimated temp of 60 degrees
150 gr SST bullet
54.8 RL-26
1) 2906
2) 2909
3) 2886

Another data point:
300 Win mag
Sako A7
24"barrel
Win brass
Federal 215 primers
165 grain Nosler BT
Approximately 65 degrees
RL-26

1) 3186
2) 3182
3) 3184
Groups with this load have averaged .7". I only shoot 3 shot groups because my glasses have usually moved off of my nose. Therefore this rifle is also known as the "punisher".