270 Win with cast

[pearson1662]

Anybody that has a favorite mould/bullet for the .270, I would like to hear about it. I got outbid on ebay for a Hensley and Gibbs #98 that I thought looked like a good'n.

Any reason that the 270 shouldn't shoot cast well? It would be from a Savage 110.

How does the "M" die work differently from the case mouth beller of my Lee pistol dies? Is it any better than the Lee Universal Expanding Die?

I don't see alot of discussion of shooting cast from smaller than a .30 cal. Are there any special considerations that I should be aware of?

I'm also going to cast for a 6.5mm Swede that I have a Saeco die for (also via eBay) but the Gator gas checks haven't arrived as of yet.

Thanks,

Jay

[ktw]

I have collected up a couple of 270 molds over the years and am just beginning some load development this spring. Haven't made a lot of progress yet.

I have had some promising preliminary results with Lyman 280468 (112 gr Loverin) over Red Dot: ACWW, sized .278 in the 1500-1700 fps range. These drop from the mold at .284". Sizing to .278 doesn't leave them with a whole lot of lube capacity, but I fill all the grooves and they seem to shoot well enough.

I have come to the conclusion that for anything much over 1700 fps it would be a good idea to heat treat my WW alloy. I have batches of Lyman 280468 and RCBS 27-150-SP oven heat treated and ready to load for future range sessions

I have a Lyman 287405 (150 gr loverin for 7mm) that sizes down to .278/.280 pretty easily. This one is is too long to fit the short throat in my Ruger #1, but fits great sized to .280 in the longer throat of an old Ruger M77. I have only started working with the #1. The M77 is a project for another day.


How does the "M" die work differently from the case mouth beller of my Lee pistol dies? Is it any better than the Lee Universal Expanding Die?

The M-Die expands the walls of the entire case neck as well as adding a bell at the case mouth (optional). The Lee universal "expander' only bells the mouth of the case without sizing the rest of the neck.

Most die sets reduce the neck of a case to too small of a diameter for cast boolits and forcing one in during seating may size it down to a smaller diameter and/or damage it. An M-Die of the proper dimensions solves this problem. I have been using the M-Die type expanders from a Lyman 310 tool die set for the 270 Win.

-ktw

[Calamity Jake]

Try this one!! All data is on the target.

http://photos.gunloads.com/images/CalamityJake/castinthe270.jpg


The 9 ring is 1" in dia. the shot to the left is a called shot that opened the group.

The lyman M die is a lot better than the lee universal expander.

[pearson1662]

I just got my Lee 20# bottom pour and haven't even taken it out of the box yet but I have a Saeco 410 220gr FP that I am going to try for a M57. Would you use an M die for a 41 cal? If so, which one? (I didn't see one on their web site for 41 cal.) and if not, what?

Thanks for the info.

Jay

[Bent Ramrod]

My late-issue Model 70 in .270 shoots cast very well.

8 grains of Unique seems to be the magic load, and although it shoots every boolit except the Ideal 280412 well, it especially likes the 280468.

[GabbyM]

I've an RCBS 150 gr mould. Have a few made up but not laoded them and had any fun yet. I"ve great expectations. They've a high B.C. for a cast bullet.
I have 1000 gas checks but Hornady is out of production on them. With any luck Gator has 270's.

[pearson1662]

Gabby,
That's a great looking boollet. What kind of lube did you use and was it sized?

Jay

[pearson1662]

My late-issue Model 70 in .270 shoots cast very well.

8 grains of Unique seems to be the magic load, and although it shoots every boolit except the Ideal 280412 well, it especially likes the 280468.

BR-
Those are some impressive groups. Were they all from the same poa? Do you hunt with those bullets? Eventually, I want to hunt at less than 100 with mine if possible.

[GabbyM]

Gabby,
That's a great looking boollet. What kind of lube did you use and was it sized?

Jay
Thanks. That's the RCBS 270-150-SP. Managed to win it off ebay for a good price. Imagine that's since 270 isn't a hot caliber for cast.

The lube is Lar's White Lable Carnauba Red. Alloy is heat treated 2/4. Sized at .278”. In my mind I can't see a long skinny bullet shooting well in a soft alloy. But I've never tried it. Seams to me the boolit would bend.?

Not looking for expansion hear anyway. If any live targets were shot it would be coyote or smaller. Where this caliber should make a great hide colector. We can't hunt deer with a modern rifle in Illinois anyway. Which is why I've owned a muzzle loading rifle since I was 14.

LASC web page shows the bc at .327 compared to 30-180-SP at .293.

My Weatherby Vanguard is the only carry weight bolt rifle I own. Has a poorly made bore. You can see drill marks left behind before they hammer forged the rifling. It copper fouls badly but you can get five to eight shots out of it before the groups open up. The bore riding section of this RCBS boolit does fit snug in the muzzle end. So all looks well. Hoping to get 2,200 to 2,400 fps from it. Should be fun. I won't be a bit surprised if this crappy bore shoots cast boolits well. Plan to start with some very light loads with unique powder to condition the bore. Then start charging up some stick powder to go for velocity. Have some Ramshot TAC and IMR 4350 to try.

[JudgeBAC]

I just got rid of my .270 cast gun and sold all of the casting stuff except for two sizing dies RCBS .277 and .278. I also just found an unopened tin of 1000 Hornady gas checks. The tin tells you the age of these checks and I'm sure they are O.K. If anyone is interested PM me and we can work out a deal.

[Bent Ramrod]

pearson,

I used each black square as a separate point of aim as I have a scope with a post on it that subtends the width of the squares at 50 yards. The groups open up to 1-3/8" to 1-3/4" at 100 yards with the 8 grain Unique load, but it isn't a high-intensity load anyway. I haven't done any hunting with it, but it should do OK for small game out to 75 yards or so. I keep trying to find a load that shoots to the same scope setting at 50 yards that the full-house jacketed loads shoot to at 200 but they all shoot slightly low and right.

According to strict theories of loading density and case volume the .270 should be a mediocre cast boolit shooter, but this one at least confounds the theories. I have another .270 (a rebored Newton) that turns in frequent under-2" groups at 100 yards with cast boolits as well, so maybe this caliber is some kind of cast-boolit sleeper.

I have a plain-based custom Loverin-type boolit that shoots almost as well as the 280468; a good fallback if the .270 gas check supply dries up totally. Alternatively, the top of the 280468 mould could be milled to eliminate the shank. My experience with shooting gas check boolits without the gas checks has not been encouraging.