Rem 700LH in 270

[bdoyle]

Hello all,
Went pawn shop scouting Saturday and came up with a left handed 700 BDL in 270. Never a big fan of the 270, I planned a conversion to 35 whelen. But now I am having second thoughts. Doesn't seem to be many 270 moulds about. Not much variety there. So back to the Whelen. Big bullets here. Just need a barrel. What do you think?

Brian

[sundog]

Brian, I did a 700 that started life as a WallyWorld special in '06. It's now wearing a 14 twist Shilen and handles the 358009 Improved like they were made for each other. I vote 35 Whelen and big lead boolits. sundog

[felix]

I second Sundog's suggestion. It's boils down to a no brainer selection, especially if you can handle the recoil from a 280 going 1900 plus. 2 inches at 200 with that Shilen barrel, or any smooth 14 twister. ... felix

[bdoyle]

Sundog,
Who did it for you? I was thinking 1 in 14 but I haven't chosen a gunsmith yet.

Felix, can't be too much worse than my 375 hawk... 270s @ some where near 2000. Did manage a 290 @ 2275 (verified but ouch!)

Brian

[sundog]

Brian, local smithy here in Indian Territory. But, he did his LAST one just recently, it was also for me and a 22-250 rebarrel. He got that one right, too. sundog

[carpetman]

bdoyle---what is the intended purpose of the rifle? For .270 RCBS makes a 150 grain mold that is about the same shape bullet as their .22 mold and 6mm mold. Ive not used the .270 but if it shoots as good as the .22 or 6mm---you don't need any other selection.

[Scrounger]

bdoyle---what is the intended purpose of the rifle? For .270 RCBS makes a 150 grain mold that is about the same shape bullet as their .22 mold and 6mm mold. Ive not used the .270 but if it shoots as good as the .22 or 6mm---you don't need any other selection.

Yes, I have the RCBS mould and it works great in my rifle. If you will pay shipping, I'll be glad to send you the mould and my Lee push-through bullet sizer (which a friend gave me) so you can turn out some to try to decide if you want to buy one or not. It is the first mould I bought, and now I have probably 2 or 3 dozen of them...

[bdoyle]

Carpetman,
The original intention was a left handed action that I would build into a 35 whelen. Found it in a pawn shop and got what I feel, for my area, was a good deal. Talking to my boss, also a shooter, he says, "might be a good shooter- you should get a couple boxes and run em thru". So I was just kind of thinking about using it as a 270 while I find the right guy to make me a 35 whelen. But, you know the right mould might have me looking for other whelen fodder.

Brian

[onceabull]

bdoyle..You have PM, I hope... Onceabull:coffee:

[BCB]

bdoyle,

Well, I am a 270 Winchester man!!! And I have several of them in Winchester and Remington rifles. The Remington 700 I won a ½ dozen years ago at a local gun raffle. Well, I had only been casting bullets for a few years prior to winning the Remington, so I thought, maybe a .277 caliber mold. So, I purchased a Lyman 280642. It is a gas check design and weighs-in at the 150 grain mark. With a moderate charge of XMP-5744, and a muzzle velocity of a tad less than 2000 fps, this rifle will shoot honest M.O.A. at 100 yards. I entered a postal match some years ago, and this rifle shot 10 bullets into 1.28” at 100 yards—8 of the bullets were less than 1.0”. This load will hit 24 ounce plastic beverage bottles at 200 yards with amazing consistency. This particular Model 700 has shot nothing but cast bullets.
Another thing you might want to try if you have 7mm/.284 molds is to size some to these bullets down to .278”. I also shoot the Lyman 287346 bullet sized down to .278”. It weighs-in at 135 grains and XMP-5744 is the powder of choice again. It seems to be as accurate as the 150 grainer, but I really haven’t messed with it as much. Three-shot groups at 100 yards stay very close to M.O.A. I have never shot a 10-shot group with it at 100 yards.
The listed bullets are heat treated in the oven and dropped into water. I have had good luck getting bullets to a SAECO hardness of 10-11 (BHN 22-26). At the end of last summer, I was trying some bullets that were around BHN 9-10 and they seemed to shoot well. Warm weather ended so I put the testing on hold. Maybe heat treating isn’t necessary? Anyhow, the 270 Winchester caliber might not be all that bad to try before rebarreling. Good-luck…BCB

[carpetman]

bdoyle---Lol intended purpose was to build it into a .35 Whelen. Ok. Whats the purpose of the Whelen? Trying to ascertain if pursuing it's shootability as a .270 is worth pursuing. If so, Scrounger done made you a good offer.

[bdoyle]

Well, here is where the projects sits. I have around 7 lbs of 280468ls cast (on loan from a generous member) and I have 50 lubed and sized, brass ready to go. Pulled out the lyman cast bullet manual, thinking that I would try some 2400. No listing. They have the 25-06 and 30-06 with comparative bullets listed, but no 270. Guess I'll just fall back on SR4759. Looking for 1700- 1900 fps. any sugestions?

As far as the 35 whelen is concerned I have been eyeballing a 760 I have...
Could go either way.

Brian

[sundog]

Brian, I am not cavalier in playing with powder and burn rates. But, if you have data for 25-06 and 30-06 for 2400 then it seems that you could split the difference on starting loads and begin there and work up. At those kinds of velocity and pressure, you're not going to get into trouble (like you could if using jacketed). If you have a chrono, it's even easier. Seems like 2400 would be a good choice. sundog

[onceabull]

Brian: Ancient Lyman I have shows 13.0 gr #2400 with the small (105 gr) # 280468 making 1500 fps,but nada for the heavier one !! might provide you something to start with though.. I'm long two 760's in 35 Whelen..first was a rebore on 30/06, then found OEM in Pick up bed after attending Gunshow...lacking cast exp.in this caliber though..first was built for a pole timber elk-knocker so will require cleansing before workUp..[smilie=1: . Oncebull

[bdoyle]

I have two 760's in '06. One is a carbine that is very handy. The 311466 works well in this rifle. The other is a rifle that was made in 1952, first year production. It has a 4 digit serial number. The stock is not original and if I can come up with a donor barrel a 35 would be a good choice.
Brian

[Bucks Owin]

Unless you intend to use the rifle for big bears or especially HAVE to own a .35 Whelen, I'd leave it alone. Although not in the current catalog, Lyman does make .277 molds and will have them in stock I'm sure....

The .270 WCF is one of the all time greats and has killed very dead, anything that walks this continent and a few others! (With one shot) Truthfully, there isn't ten cents worth of practical difference between the .270 and the 7mm Rem mag!

I'd think twice before deep sixing such a legendary caliber....

JMO,

Dennis

(who owns a 1941 M-70 and a 1935 M-54 in .270 WCF....) [smilie=1:

[26Charlie]

Have a M721 and a M760 in .270, and they are both really nice shooters with cast bullets. With about 18 gr. of 4198 and a 150 gr. RCBS or Lyman design they will take down the Ram at 225 yds most of the time at our cast bullet silhouette matches. The M760 pump will put 150gr. jacketed round-noses loaded full-house into 1.25" at 100 yds. If it will shoot well, I wouldn't alter it. Thing is you can't find too many LH actions around used, so you may have to have it rebored or rebarreled if you really have to have the .35 Whelen. Give it a good trial beforehand.