So you want to take a bath on my range huh!!!
After working some long hours the last couple of weeks I took off early from work today in hopes of seeing how the new reloads Carlos and I worked on for my Howa .270 rifle would shoot. Since i've never reloaded for my .270 I had to start from the ground up, which means Carlos came over and assisted me in setting up the dies. Since i've never reloaded for my .270 I had to start from the ground up, which means Carlos came over and assisted me in setting up the dies. It's very important not to have too much pressure when the round goes off, so overall length (oal) is important. We adjusted the die for the right oal of the cartridge and once completed we made two empty rounds to check if they would feed into the chamber and extract properly. The rifle I would be using is a Howa 1500 series that my wife Alma bought for me over 10 years ago.
I've taken quite a few deer with it and in some of the previous stories on here 2 of my nephews have made some fantastic shots with it but I've never shot a hog with it and i've never reloaded for it, till now.
We decided to try 3 different charges to see which would group the best. I wasn't looking for accuracy yet, that'll come later, I just wanted to see how tight 4 rounds from each charge would group. I would be launching Hornadys 130 grain interlock soft point bullet with 3 charges, the first being 44 grains of varget, the second 44.5 grains of varget, and the third being 45 grains of varget.
On range day I set my target at 100 yards, so the rounds would go into a pond, or using the back of the pond as a bullet stop. In the past I have used factory 130 grain bullets and it's been very accurate. I fired the first round then walked to the target and found it hit 2 inches to the left of the bullseye and just above the 9 mark. After letting the rifle cool down I fired the second round and walked down to the target and found it hit about 1 inch to the left of the bullseye and again just above the 9 mark. This goes on 2 more times with the results being not too impressive, so I can scratch reloading 44 grains in the bullet. Oh sure they are all within 2 inches of the bullseye and would take any animal down but I'd like to put them all through the same hole if possible. It is achievable.
Next up is the 44.5 grains and the first round hit 1 inch to the right of the bullseye on the 3 mark. Not bad, lets see how the next 3 rounds do. After letting the rifle cool down I got the next round loaded and was looking through the scope to see where it would hit on the target, but that would never happen.
As I was getting ready to fire round 6 I could hear pigs squealing, off at a distance through the electronic ear protectors I had on. Looking to my right I could see 3 big hogs with 7 to 10 smaller hogs running from north to south through the field. In a few seconds they would be about 180 yards in front of me and I couldn't get a shot off at them. At this point I'm telling myself, "self, there's got to be a straggler". The late guy, the early to bed, late to rise guy, The guy that was supposed to cross the field at 1556 hours with the rest of the sounder but since he is used to being a straggler, he crosses at 1559 hours and then decides to take a bath. And there he is, the straggler coming out of the wood line and crossing the field like he's top hog. And I've got the crosshairs of my scope on him. One of two things is getting ready to happen next, and that is, a: he's going to start running with the pack, or b: he's gonna be supper.
I track him through the scope and he's not really running, but it's more of a trot. A leisurely stroll during the nice cool day. I lose him in the high weeds and then he appears and stands on top of the tank and stops and looks around. I guess he was checking to make sure it was safe around him and once he feels comfortable he walks down the bank and into the water. At 120 yards away from me I can hear him splashing around in the water but I can't see him since there is a dirt mound between me and him which is blocking my view. He stops and stands up to check his surroundings again and I can see about 3 inches of his shoulder, then he goes back to splashing around in the water. My mind is made up, the next time he stands, and I see his shoulder, I'm gonna shoot. I can see the little rise in the dirt and then his back appears about 3 inches above it as he looks around. BOOM, I fire and what was calm water now looks like they started the wave machine at Seaworld. I can hear loud squeals and water splashing, then silence. I walk to the pond and there he is, the next meal that we'll have in Tennessee. That's right, he's taking the trip to Tennessee and will be cooked like last years hog. As you can see I had to get into the water to retrieve this guy but it was not a problem. I think I've found my reload, and I'll be making more rounds to take to Tennessee. Until the next hunt, stay safe.
We decided to try 3 different charges to see which would group the best. I wasn't looking for accuracy yet, that'll come later, I just wanted to see how tight 4 rounds from each charge would group. I would be launching Hornadys 130 grain interlock soft point bullet with 3 charges, the first being 44 grains of varget, the second 44.5 grains of varget, and the third being 45 grains of varget.
On range day I set my target at 100 yards, so the rounds would go into a pond, or using the back of the pond as a bullet stop. In the past I have used factory 130 grain bullets and it's been very accurate. I fired the first round then walked to the target and found it hit 2 inches to the left of the bullseye and just above the 9 mark. After letting the rifle cool down I fired the second round and walked down to the target and found it hit about 1 inch to the left of the bullseye and again just above the 9 mark. This goes on 2 more times with the results being not too impressive, so I can scratch reloading 44 grains in the bullet. Oh sure they are all within 2 inches of the bullseye and would take any animal down but I'd like to put them all through the same hole if possible. It is achievable.
Next up is the 44.5 grains and the first round hit 1 inch to the right of the bullseye on the 3 mark. Not bad, lets see how the next 3 rounds do. After letting the rifle cool down I got the next round loaded and was looking through the scope to see where it would hit on the target, but that would never happen.
As I was getting ready to fire round 6 I could hear pigs squealing, off at a distance through the electronic ear protectors I had on. Looking to my right I could see 3 big hogs with 7 to 10 smaller hogs running from north to south through the field. In a few seconds they would be about 180 yards in front of me and I couldn't get a shot off at them. At this point I'm telling myself, "self, there's got to be a straggler". The late guy, the early to bed, late to rise guy, The guy that was supposed to cross the field at 1556 hours with the rest of the sounder but since he is used to being a straggler, he crosses at 1559 hours and then decides to take a bath. And there he is, the straggler coming out of the wood line and crossing the field like he's top hog. And I've got the crosshairs of my scope on him. One of two things is getting ready to happen next, and that is, a: he's going to start running with the pack, or b: he's gonna be supper.
I track him through the scope and he's not really running, but it's more of a trot. A leisurely stroll during the nice cool day. I lose him in the high weeds and then he appears and stands on top of the tank and stops and looks around. I guess he was checking to make sure it was safe around him and once he feels comfortable he walks down the bank and into the water. At 120 yards away from me I can hear him splashing around in the water but I can't see him since there is a dirt mound between me and him which is blocking my view. He stops and stands up to check his surroundings again and I can see about 3 inches of his shoulder, then he goes back to splashing around in the water. My mind is made up, the next time he stands, and I see his shoulder, I'm gonna shoot. I can see the little rise in the dirt and then his back appears about 3 inches above it as he looks around. BOOM, I fire and what was calm water now looks like they started the wave machine at Seaworld. I can hear loud squeals and water splashing, then silence. I walk to the pond and there he is, the next meal that we'll have in Tennessee. That's right, he's taking the trip to Tennessee and will be cooked like last years hog. As you can see I had to get into the water to retrieve this guy but it was not a problem. I think I've found my reload, and I'll be making more rounds to take to Tennessee. Until the next hunt, stay safe.
posted by Marc G | 8:59 PM
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