.270 wsm

[Upperbay]

Looking for good starting point for reloading. Been years since of performed any reloading. Back then it was 30 30 and 44 mag. I have a Lee single stage reloaded and a set of dies and plenty of single fired brass for the .270 wsm. Would like to get started reloading. Couple of questions. Is magnum primers a necessity? Getting conflicting info on the web. Good starting point for loads? Powder and bullets. Gun is Savage 111 bolt. Will be using loads for target but also for whitetail and possibly for hogs.

 

[85MikeTPI]

Looking for good starting point for reloading. Been years since of performed any reloading. Back then it was 30 30 and 44 mag. I have a Lee single stage reloaded and a set of dies and plenty of single fired brass for the .270 wsm. Would like to get started reloading. Couple of questions. Is magnum primers a necessity? Getting conflicting info on the web. Good starting point for loads? Powder and bullets. Gun is Savage 111 bolt. Will be using loads for target but also for whitetail and possibly for hogs.

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center is usually always my first goto... If you're not using one of the Hodgdon powders, go to the website of whomever you are planning on using. Hodgdon lists Magnum primers for all their loads I glanced at, that may depend on the bullet and power choice eventually.. Bullet mfg also either have online web data, or published load manuals you can purchase. If you always use Hornady or Sierra or ???, invest in one of their manuals..

 

[BUFF7MM]

+1 on the Hodgdon reloading center for info. Be prepared to buy a shitpile of brass if it’s anything like the 7WSM, when I was loading for it I’d be lucky to get 3 loadings from a case. Usually after 2 it would split the neck on most of my cases.

 

[Upperbay]

Thanks for replying. Weeding through data and deciding on manual purchase.

 

[4g64loser]

I don't own a 270wsm but one of my best friends has several wsm rifles, including a 270. I hit him up about your post. Keep in mind that he is a hunter who shoots, while I am a shooter who hunts. His loads tend to maximize horsepower.

Specific to the 270, here are his suggested go-to loads (as always, you need to work up, as your rifle may be different):

White tail in bean fields- Nosler 110 accubond as close to lands as you can get while still keeping one caliber length of shank in the neck, RL19 69.0gr. laser flat, still exits unless you take a texas heart shot.

Pretty much everything else- Nosler 150 accubond or Nosler partition seated to .030 off lands over 60.5gr RL22. Use partition for close shots, accubond for anything over 200.

Some general notes on short mag case prep and shooting:

I don't own any wsm rifles currently so take my opinions with a shot of penicillin but I have done plenty of case prep and some load development for others. The two big things up front are to buy Nosler brass (no they don't sponsor me) and to buy top shelf dies. Or at least middle shelf. Wsm cases tend to be thick, including at the neck. Winchester especially seems to work harden in only a firing or two and will often split. This is avoidable by getting better brass to start with, annealing at least every other firing, and using properly fitted dies that do not overwork the cases. If you use brass other than Nosler, buy flash holes uniformity and deburring tools and use them. Invest in a shoulder datum gauge of some type so you can accurately assess how much you are sizing your cases. I assume they will be fired in only one rifle, so adjust your die to size .002 below fired dimensions, measured at shoulder datum line.

I advocate for turning the case necks but I am a certified rifle looney so I fully understand people who tell me to pound sand on that one.

I'm hoping Sticky sees this thread. He's a good guy who likes his wsm and has put in a lot of wrench time working up loads for it. If he doesn't comment on it, maybe PM him. He won't mind sharing his experiences, I'm sure.

 

[Sticky]

I don't load for the 270wsm, but I do for the 300wsm. I run Norma brass, never had an issue with it. I run a set of Redding dies for loading, they work great for me. I also set the shoulder back about .002" when full length sizing (it is all shot from the same rifle).

I ran RL-15 for the 168's that I shot when working up an elk load and I don't push them to the max. I can usually find a good node at less than max velocity that works well, spares the brass a bit (I know I have close to 10 loadings on my first batch of 500rds of Norma brass with no issues or failures). I am currently working with some H4831sc and the Berger 200.20x (I pretty much shoot Berger exclusively out of this rifle).

I have load data from several sources/manuals if you want me to get some of that for you I will gladly do it. I typically work my loads up from lower charge weights and try to find a sweet spot that is consistent. No, I don't turn my necks.. yet... lol

I also don't chase the lands. My oal are closer to factory spec than jamming or getting close to the lands, as I really saw little difference in my early testing. I think my distance to the lands was 2.935" and I loaded the 168's to 2.820", well short of max length.

My elk load was the Berger 168gr VLDH over 58.5gr of RL15 with a velocity of about 3000fps. Not smoking, but consistently accurate for me at well past 500yds.

Primers are a bit subjective, but my loads were using either CCI 250 mag primers or CCI 34's. I did load some with CCI 200 (std large rifle) and BR-2 (benchrest) and they performed just fine. Some use charge weight as a basis on regular or mag primers, I really didn't see a whole lot of difference with my loads for the 168's and RL15, so I opted for CCI250's.

 

[Upperbay]

Thanks again. The last 2 poster. I currently have once shot factory brass about 100 to 150 rounds. Will load that first. Then move to suggested brass in future. Hunting shots will be close woods shots under 100 yds. Field shots could stretch to 300 yds. But most likely 200 or less. Primer guesting seems to be answered.