270 REN any old "wildcatters" out there?

[Dezynco]

I just got a very nice Bullberry barrel in .270 REN.  I can't seem to get the little cartridge to shoot a nice group.  I've used data from Lee, Load Data, and a source or two on the internet.
My barrel is an 8" bull barrel.  Any magic "recipes" out there?

[Catfish]

All of thr Bullberry barrels I`ve had shot pretty good so I doubt it`s the barrel, you just haven`t found the correct loading combo yet. You will need to match your bullet weight to the twist rate of the barrel and from there on it`s just seating depth and powder. I never had a Wren, but have messed with alot of different rifles and several wildcats and have been able to get about all of them to shoot good enought to work at least.

[gypsyman]

Dezynco, that was a cartridge designed by I belive Jim Rock, who made RPM pistols. It's main purpose was for IHMSA shooting. I've never loaded for that cartridge, but, you might want to head over to the IHMSA web site and post a message on one of their boards, as there are still some silhouette shooters using that cartridge. gypsyman

[Lone Star]

Co-developed by Charles RENsing, the .270 Ren was moderately popular as a Field Pistol/Hunter's Pistol cartridge when using the taco hold.  I never owned one, but a silhouette shooting partner did.  He used 90-grain Sierra bullets and as I recall AA-7 powder.  Sierra lists a maximum load with the 90-grain HP and 10.1 grains of AA-7 giving 1700 fps in a 10" Contender with 10" twist. 



.

[tlyne]

I get good groups (270 REN) with powder 296/H110 10.1 gr, bullet Sierra 90 Hp #1800, OAL 1.874

[securitysix]

The Sixth Edition Hornady loading manual has some data for the .270 Ren.  They show 100 and 110 grain bullets pushed by H110, 2400, AA5744, Win 296 and IMR 4227.

What combination of bullet and powder will work within that, I have no idea, but it gives you another place to look, anyway.

[Dezynco]

Thanks for all the help guys!  I have several sources of reloading info, but it all seems to be a repeat of one or the other.  Having folks say that "this load gives good groups, etc"  helps to find a good starting point.

I've tried 100 grain Remingtons with H110, 2400, and 4227.  I've also tried some 130gr cast lead with H110 and a few with some Red Dot.  The best groups so far at 25 yards have been with the jacketed Remington's with H4227, and that has been only about 2" or so.

I may try different primers also, I'm using Remington small pistol primers.  I've got some CCI small rifle that might work better.  I might go ahead and order some 90 grainer's to see what happens.

[Nobade]

I don't have that barrel for a TC, but built a little Sako rifle in this caliber. (actually mine is a full length Hornet case, but it's the same thing just .050" longer) Best so far has been with IMR 4227 and a 110gr. NEI borerider bullet. Sub MOA at 100 yds off the bench. I found H110 to be too fast, it did OK but is kind of peaky. The 4227 gives a smoother pressure curve and grouped much better. I'd think AA1680 would be good for this too, but haven't tried any yet. Possibly 2400 as well. 

[Dezynco]

I tried a few of my 100 grain bullets loaded with 4227, used small pistol primers.  It's starting to shoot now, I managed to put bullets touching at 25 yards.  The rifling may be settling in a bit also.

I believe that H110 and 2400 are a little too hot for the 8" barrel.  I think I'm getting more of a "kick" rather than a "shove" down the little barrel.  I notice that the H110 and the 2400 give a big fireball.  Usually that means that there is a lot of wasted powder.  The 4227 doesn't give much of a muzzle flash, but seems to be more accurate.

I hope to get my hands on some 296 in the next day or two.

[securitysix]

H110 and WW296 are pretty close to each other.  Odds are if H110 isn't doing the job, WW296 won't, either.  You won't know until you try, of course.

[stubshaft]

I've got a 10" t/c custom shop barrel that I used to compete in field pistol back in the day.  I have always loved the REN it is an extremely efficient cartridge.  My best groups were with 10.0 2400 and a 90gr sierra hp boolit.  I have gotten 5 shot groups of .345"@50 yds.  I loaded it with 680, 4759 and 296 (H110 is interchangeable in most data nowdays).  I even tried this cartridge in big bore competition using a 150 for the 200yd ram but cases would last only 3 firings.

[Axehandle]

As I understand it when the NRA legalized the 22 Hornet and the 32-20 for Hunter's pistol it killed the REN.   Looked for a 270 REN barrel for my TC barrel set for a long time...  When I finally found one and bought it I almost had a heart attack when I saw the price of the RCBS die set with the carbide sizer....  Haven't done any accuracy testing but it warms my heart to see these discussions on it...

[Dezynco]

Do any of you have any old data tables for this little cartridge (besides those in the Lee book and the other few that use the above mentioned powders)?  I ran across someone somewhere that said there was at one time an article written about loading this cartridge.

Most of my tables only show 90 - 100 - 110 grain jacketed bullets with H110, 4227, and occasionally Winchester 296.  Just wonder if there any "forgotten" recipes for this cartridge with cast lead and slightly heavier bullets.

[Dezynco]

OK!  I got to shoot some more this afternoon.  Using my Remington 100 grainer's with H4227, I managed to put three shots through the same little hole at 25 yards!  Amazing!  You would have thought that I shot once, then fired the next two off through the woods or completely missed the target or something! 

I guess this may turn out OK!  Maybe the little barrel just needed to be "shot in" some.  I couldn't be happier!

[Dezynco]

Ok, I got the little pistol to shoot great with 100gr. Remington JSP's with 4227.  Now I'm trying to get a 130 grain cast bullet to shoot.  I've tried Red Dot and Unique.  2 grains of Unique seems to be the most accurate so far.  Very mild load, fairly accurate.

[Steve P]

I did quite a bit of load work with the Ren years ago when it first came out.  I got a lot of information from some of the early IHMSA Silhouette shooters, but most of my info is in my storage unit.

I use WSR primers, Rem 100 gr SP bullet, and I believe, 5.0 or 5.5 grains of AA#5 powder.  This load is mild with negligible recoil in my 10" TC.  Groups at 1" at 100 yards.

I used the NEI 130 grain bullet and tried to work up cast bullet loads.  By the time I got up to the accuracy potential, I lost the case life.  I contacted Walt Melander at NEI and he cut the cherry for me to make the first 110 grain cast bullet mold.  I worked with the 110 cast bullet for a while but again found case life diminishing when load became hot enough for accuracy.

Enlarged primer pockets and separated cases ate up about 500 brass in the first couple of years I played with this one.

I would still be using it in IHMSA silhouette if I hadn't found a BF in 32-20 that shoots better.

Steve