Cast in the Rem. 700, 270

[Calamity Jake]

This was shot last month at our PDog match in the hunter weight rifle class, max power setting for scope is 6X.
The 9 ring is 1in Ø. Distance 100 yards, the 3rd shot in the 7 ring was a called flier.
All the particulars are on the target.
This Rem 700 is a ¾ min gun with condoms, that's pretty good with cast, but they weren't doing 2700 eather.

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

[BCB]

Calamity Jake,

It is nice to see another 270 Winchester cartridge shooter on board. That caliber doesn’t seem to be a big crowd pleaser when it comes to cast bullets!

Four or 5 years ago, I won a Model 700 LS (laminated stock) in that caliber. I have always been a 270 Winchester fan and own several Model 70’s of which I have one that I have used for deer 43 years now. None of the 70’s has ever shot cast bullets. So, when I won the Model 700, I thought, why not try it with cast—the rest is history!

I shoot the Lyman 280642 that is heat treated and only the check is sized to 0.278” in the seating process. Twenty grains of XMP-5744 pushes this 150 grainer at around 1710 fps (chronographed). Accuracy is M.O.A. out to 200 yards. I have the rifle topped with a Burris 4x-12x ‘scope. I can hit 1-liter soft drink bottles at 300 yards from my bench. I have a spring at my shooting bench so I fill the plastic bottles with water and add a drop of red food coloring. When they are hit at 300 yards, I can see the water level drop! The bottle never moves and there is no “water action” at all—just a .278” hole straight through! I have shot this bullet with 5010PD also, but accuracy is not so good. Fifty-eight grains of those logs give a velocity of 2375 fps (chronographed). I think working with this powder might give acceptable accuracy with a bit more velocity than the XMP-5744.

I also shoot the Lyman 287346 that is also heat treated. I push this 0.285” bullet into a 0.278” RCBS sizer die when I seat the check. I then heat treat, although I really an not sure that the heat treating is necessary with either slug. I should experiment sometime, but sometime is always hard to find! Regardless, I am getting around 1900 fps (chronographed) with this bullet and accuracy is almost as good as with the 280642. The same 20-grain charge of XMP-5744 is used.

I will be interested as to other shooters who shoot the 270 Winchester with cast boolits…BCB

[BruceB]

From time to time I also dabble with the .270. The rifle is a tang-safety M77 Ruger with light 22" barrel and a rather decent trigger, after some tune-up.

I've never given the outfit a real workout with cast loads, but right now it's sitting with a de-coppered bore waiting for the "round tuit".

My moulds are the RCBS 130, Lyman's Loverin 280468 and the spire-point 280473. Sizing is .278". In limited testing to date, both the 468 and RCBS bullets have done quite well. The rifle wears a Leupold 2-7x with fine cross-hair and 1/4-minute dot, so the "seeing" is pretty good.

I have about 500 rounds of good brass, so there's no excuse for my shilly-shallying like this. After the 100+ temps go away, the .270's gonna get some attention.

After posting the above, I went out to measure some bullets. The 280468 is .274" on the front band, and fully .283 on the rear....it could conceivably work in a 7mm, as well! The RCBS is skinny, at only .273"....add a gascheck at .278, and it's almost as if the whole bullet is a bore-rider with a copper driving band....

[fourarmed]

I use the SAECO 270 as well. It is .270 on the nose, and I size the driving bands .278. It shoots very well in everything I have except my 270 Maximum pistol, which has a bore size of .271. I beagle it for that, and it shoots like a house afire. I have a 280412 Lyman mold, but it is useless. The nose is around .268 and the driving bands are something like .286. My dad bought it back around 1949 when he got a 721 Remington, but found that jacketed bullets were still hard to get.

[Marine Sgt 2111]

Jake
My neighbor has a .270 win and I have been bugging him to try lead bullets. All he has to do is see that target and the rest will be history. Nice group.

[TGM]

If any of you 270 shooters are interested I have an Ideal mold 280473 that i bought at an estate sale that appears to never have been used. PM me if you whish it to be yours.

[ktw]

I have the rifles, the molds and the gas checks, but I have other load development priorities this summer. Maybe next summer.

-ktw