Question on reloading 270 WSM with RL 22

[Capt Craig]

Hello. I'm fairly new to reloading but have shot, hunted and fished all of my life. Just picked up a sako tecomate 270 wsm and want to put together some loads for it with 140 nos ab. I'm planning to use win brass and fed 215m primers and have RL 22, imr 7828 and both imr and h 4350 on hand. No magpro available here locally so I'm going to try what I have here first, starting with RL 22 first.

My question is, many guys using RL 22 and the 140 ab combo suggest working up to 66 gr, which seems to shoot universally well in a lot of rifles. In looking at the nosler 7 book they list the max load as only 61 gr. Are they just being extremely conservative in their max listing or is this an error? My father who has been reloading for over 40 years (and teaching me) says he has never been able to work a load that far above a book max, even with some of the known conservative book loads. I know each rifle is different and max will vary, so I'm seeking advice on where to start my charge weights and your experience with getting that high over the book listed max for that load. Any input would be very much appreciated, and sorry for the long post

Thanks, Craig

 

[FOTIS]

Craig:

Welcome to the forum. My Tikka T-3 Lite shoots 66 gr of RL 22 with 140 AB at 3150 fps and does under 3/4" at 100 yards. No pressure signs using Rem brass and 215 Match caps.

Everything is relative in the reloading world. Start low and work up slow. If you go past a a posted maximum in the book so be it. They are there for a reference only.

 

[Capt Craig]

Thanks very much Fotis, that's what I thought and thanks for the welcome. Going to try the RL 22 first, then the 7828 to see which is more accurate and stable, but still gives great speed. You guys were a lot of help with me developing a great load for my 7-08 nos tgr rifle with W760 as recommended by mike aka Bullet.

Thanks again,
Craig

 

[FOTIS]

Anytime, and remember for any issues there is always the PM button.

 

[SJB358]

Welcome aboard the forum.

Without a doubt, work up to 66 grains of RL22, I actually run 65.5 of RL22 for the 150 PT's and 66 for the 150 BT's. You will never even get close to Nosler listed speeds with 61 grains. The chronograph is a good tool to have on your side when working with the WSM's. As Fotis said, it is a reference, but if you have the chrono and some observations skills, you'll be in great shape.

RL22 has done excellent for me in the 270WSM. I run just over 3100 with the BT, PT and PT Gold.

The 140's are humming along at 3150 and is an excellent hunting load as well. Good luck with it. 7828 should be just about the same as RL22 as well, so you have two great choices to get your load sorted out.

Enjoy the Sako, that is a SHARP rifle. I bet it'll shoot unreal for you once you start to get it dialed.

 

[Capt Craig]

Thanks Scotty, I do have a chrono and will put some loads together this week and shoot them this weekend. I just thought +5 grains over what teh book max was showing was a little odd. Other sources show that 66 gr should be easily attainable, hopefully in my rifle, but I'll work up. I have about 6 boxes of 140 gr accubonds so hopefully they will shoot well. Next up is to acquire a 35 Whelen because of all the great things I've heard about them.

 

[CatskillCrawler]

Welcome to the forum Capt. Your Tecomate is a no nonsense rifle. Congrats on a fine purchase.

I don't load for 270WSM so I won't venture into the load development arena but will give one wornout but always pertinent piece of advice. Speed is nice, but accuracy kills.

More excellent loads than there are newborn Chinese have been discarded due to the presence of a chrono. An accurate 140gr AB at 2950fps will kill no slower than one at 3150fps. The ballistics of the same loads will be minimally different. I've burned more powder chasing elusive speeds when I already had excellent loads in the book. Good Luck and have fun!

 

[SJB358]

Thanks Scotty, I do have a chrono and will put some loads together this week and shoot them this weekend. I just thought +5 grains over what teh book max was showing was a little odd. Other sources show that 66 gr should be easily attainable, hopefully in my rifle, but I'll work up. I have about 6 boxes of 140 gr accubonds so hopefully they will shoot well. Next up is to acquire a 35 Whelen because of all the great things I've heard about them.

Cartridge : .270 WSM
Bullet : .277, 140, Nosler AccuBond 54765
Useable Case Capaci: 71.442 grain H2O = 4.639 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.860 inch = 72.64 mm
Barrel Length : 24.0 inch = 609.6 mm
Powder : Alliant Reloder-22

Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 1.0% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !

Step Fill. Charge Vel. Energy Pmax Pmuz Prop.Burnt B_Time
% % Grains fps ft.lbs psi psi % ms

-10.0 90 59.92 2860 2542 44195 12343 96.7 1.353
-09.0 91 60.59 2892 2600 45701 12478 97.1 1.332
-08.0 92 61.25 2925 2659 47251 12609 97.5 1.311
-07.0 93 61.92 2957 2718 48853 12734 97.9 1.291
-06.0 94 62.59 2989 2778 50509 12854 98.2 1.271
-05.0 95 63.25 3022 2839 52220 12968 98.5 1.251
-04.0 96 63.92 3054 2899 53990 13077 98.8 1.232
-03.0 97 64.58 3086 2961 55819 13180 99.1 1.213 ! Near Maximum !
-02.0 98 65.25 3118 3023 57710 13276 99.3 1.195 ! Near Maximum !
-01.0 99 65.91 3150 3085 59666 13367 99.5 1.176 ! Near Maximum !
+00.0 100 66.58 3182 3148 61689 13451 99.6 1.159 ! Near Maximum !
+01.0 101 67.25 3214 3211 63783 13529 99.8 1.141 ! Near Maximum !
+02.0 102 67.91 3246 3275 65949 13600 99.9 1.124 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+03.0 103 68.58 3277 3339 68191 13664 99.9 1.107 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+04.0 104 69.24 3309 3403 70512 13721 100.0 1.091 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+05.0 105 69.91 3340 3468 72916 13771 100.0 1.074 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!

Results caused by ± 10% powder lot-to-lot burning rate variation using nominal charge
Data for burning rate increased by 10% relative to nominal value:
+Ba 100 66.58 3322 3431 74366 12984 100.0 1.070 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
Data for burning rate decreased by 10% relative to nominal value:
-Ba 100 66.58 2982 2764 49323 13277 95.0 1.277

Capt Craig, I think you'll be fine working up to 66, matter of fact, I would feel okay pushing to 67, to at least see what it does, working up of course. I have a feeling you'll be towards the upper end before you are through though.

I am still working on the same bunch of cases that were fired from factory loads back when I got the rifle in 03-04. I have split a couple of necks, since they are nickel plated and could not be annealed, but other than that, they remain tight and very reloadable. You'll be good. Never seen many folks have issues loading the 270WSM.. It is a very easy rifle to shoot. I love the tar outta mine.

On another note, I like where your going with the Whelen. You will fit in pretty well around here. Another one of the great ones. Between a 270 and 35 Whelen, you are so well heeled anything else should be used on tags/licenses! :lol:

 

[Capt Craig]

Thanks very much for the QL printout Scotty, very much appreciated. Looks like 66 gr should be attainable, but as always, accuracy first. I really like reloading and although I started a little later than I should have, I'm definitely going to reload for everything I have now.

As for the Whelen, I've always wanted one and hunt elk pretty much every year out in WY, so it will be handy. Previously used either a 7 mag, 30-06 or my old 338-06A Weatherby before I sold it (wish I hadn't). I have a long action Ruger boat paddle that I took off my -06 a looong time ago, that I think I'm going to find an action and barrel for and use that for the Whelen platform. Not really ideal here for the deer and hogs down here in S FL, but definitely something great for out west elk.

Thanks Again!
Craig

 

[sask boy]

Welcome Craig, you won't go wrong listening to the people of this forum. There is a wealth of knowledge here & just fine folks. I can see you have a real good head on your shoulders in that you want to get a 35 Whelen :mrgreen: . With a 270WSM & a 35 Whelen you are set for hunting on this continent!

Blessings,
Dan

 

[257 Ackley]

As for the Whelen, I've always wanted one and hunt elk pretty much every year out in WY, so it will be handy. Previously used either a 7 mag, 30-06 or my old 338-06A Weatherby before I sold it (wish I hadn't).
Thanks Again!
Craig

Welcome to the forum...It looks like you already know how great a caliber the 338-06 is. Do not allow all the brain-washed minions on this forum convince you that the 35-06 is better! :mrgreen: :wink:

 

[Capt Craig]

I just wanted to say thanks to Fotis, Scotty, and everyone else who gave me some input here on this load. Put some loads together with RL 22, new Win brass, Fed215M primers at mag length, working up with the chrono (disclaimer: please work up slowly to this load) and all I can say is awesome! Shot all the way up to 66.5 and stopping there with a slightly sticky bolt and primer flattening. Accuracy nodes were 63 and 65.5 gr with the 65.5 gr load shooting three groups of three into a 3/4" average, no kidding or embellishing. This rifle shoots! Unfortunately the battery on my chrono bit the dust before I got to the best load, but based on speeds at 1 gr lower and recoil, I should be around 3100 or so which is really good speed with that kind of accuracy and absolutely no load work up other than running it up looking for pressure. Now to reload some more, chrono them and shoot them at some distance (which is hard to do in S FL), and hope that it repeats. If it does, I have my load done. Next up is the 130gr AB and TTSX just to have some backup loads in case I have issues finding bullets.

Again, this forum and its members are great and thanks again for the help

Craig

 

[FOTIS]

Glad it worked out for you buddy,

 

[SJB358]

Glad it worked out well for you, although, I didn't have too much doubt, you have a solid rifle with an awesome cartridge. That's one of them loads that'll work for about anything.