270 Win and H4831SC

[TaperPin]

It does bring up a good question of where reloaders get their data. Many of us like the layout of specific manuals or web pages. I’ve always liked the range of powders and velocities from Sierra. Hornady has always had a wider variety of cartridges and is a prime source for loads using their bullets. Nosler is compact and easy to thumb through and shows load %, which is nice to know if the reloader doesn’t care for heavily compressed loads. Hogdon has good reduced loads. Eventually, if you check enough sources there is information overload, duplication and no practical reason to try to get anything more exact since rifle and component variations are so large.

I’ve had a number of rifles that matched Nosler data so that seems to get used more than the others, followed by Sierra, then Hornady. No right or wrong answer. Over the years sometimes a manual will have an extra slow load, or a max that seems a little spicy and much of that is the lot of components and stacking of variances. Some lots of powder are just slower or faster.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Find some manuals from last century; you will be amazed at how throttled back today’s loads are. The manufacturers are very careful these days.

I have a 20th century load with 62gr of 4831: @ 3200 with 130gr Hornady interlock, but something changed in 4831 and I was getting pressure signs
So dropped it down

 

[JFK]

4831sc is great in 270. H4350 will get you to 3100fps with 22” barrel as well. H100v gets you a little more speed but is more finicky.

 

[Fudd]

If you want a place to start use the reloading manual or published data for the bullet you want to use. No AI or brain busting needed.

That’s the rub, GRT isnt some AI gimmick it’s published data and actual chrono results from everyone using that data. It agrees with the books more often than not, because it’s built from all of them. All it says in this case is that a decent amount of the charge is going out the bore unburned, not whether that matters, which is why I’m here asking. I could give a shit as long as it shoots from freezing to hot.

 

[onlybrowning]

My first reloading experience was with a Browning A Bolt Medallion in .270 win. Right around the time I got a load figured out for it, Hodgdon switched to H-4831sc. I noticed back then it worked better in my thrower and my trickler. I only chronographed it on one outing, but I remember being surprised by the speed in that 22” barrel. If I remember correctly, I settled on 59.0 grains with a 130 Nosler Ballistic Tip and it was just over 3150 fps. Some day I’ll load for that rifle again I’m sure, and I’ll go right back to that load. It was the only powder I tried back then and I saw no need to try another in that rifle.

 

[Backcast88]

I loaded 140 SST for a little better BC and used 4831sc. I got 3025 fps in a 22" and smoked the crap out of deer and a couple pigs. None went far.

Don't overthink it. 4831sc is a great powder for 270 win and will work very well with a 130 bullet.

GRT isn't perfect. It's just like the Berger calculator to determine if a bullet will stabilize. For me, it said my 140 SST would not stabilize in a 1:10 barrel. But I've targets and data to say otherwise. Don't depend entirely on GRT. It's a tool and guide but not 100% perfect all the time.

I am getting back into loading for 270 win and 4831sc will be a powder I will load with. But, I don't have much and its not the easiest to find locally. So before I order some, I will try n160 and n555 but they will have tough competition going up against 4831sc.