I am working up a new load for a .270, I was going to use RL22, but my local reloading supply shop owner tells me that IMR 4064 is the most versatile and accurate powder there is to use. I will be loading CCI 200 primers and Nosler BT 130's. What is the prevailing opinion on the accuracy of different powders, do you think one brand/type is better than another ?

Thank You All

I have never been able to say that one brand of propellant gives better accuracy than another across the board,maybe in a given rifle. I have always found bullet brand,weight and type,seating depth and charge weight more important to accuracy than propellant brand. But I am sure that there are people out there with more experience than me on this subject. I will say that I am very fond of Alliant's line of Reloder powders,I dont think you can go wrong with them.

H4895 is a real accurate powder too but it is not the best powder for the 270. Either is 4064! IMR4350, H4350, WW760 and H414 are all good powders for the 270. IMR4831 is one of the best in most rifles.
You will lose 200 FPS over the others and although that has nothing to do with accuracy it does have a lot to do with potential huntability. Either of the 4350 powders are capable of giving fine accuracy in most rifles and calibers that are recommended for them. H414 is my choive in the very similar 3006 because it gives near maximum velocity and sub MOA accuracy. the double base powders (760 and 414) meter so well through my powder measures that I use thrown charges.
You need to find a powder that is well suited to the size of your cartridge, meters to a level that you can tollerate, provides the velocity that you can be comfortable with, and gives you the accuracy that the rifle and you are capable of.

No one powder is the most accurate. Each one has it's purpose and may work for several cartridges. In addition each firearm has it's likes and dislikes. For quite a few years I have used the Nosler Reloading Manual and checked out what powder they list as their "Most Accurate Powder Tested". They list this for each and every cartridge. In addition Nosler also lists the "Load Density" for each load. This is a very usefull tool as I have most times found that a Load Density above 90% gives me the best accuracy in most of the cartridges/firearms that I use.

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Your local "reloading supply shop owner "doesn't know much about reloading". To even suggest that one powder is more accurate than another is rediculous. How could he possibly know this.........the amount of testing envolved to prove that would take several lifetimes.

Most rifle powders are of the slow burning kind. The acuracy of a given powder is dependent on your preference and attention to detail during the loading process. I doubt that a given powder has that much to do with acuracy I would probably put the responsibility of acurate loads on primer selection, case preperation, bullet selection and your skill at paying attention to detail. Except for the .30-30, my preference for .30 calibre rifle powder is H4831SC.

Thank you all. As usual everyone has been very helpful. The members of this site always have valuable input and it makes it easier to come to a decision which you know will be the right one. Thank you all again.

Live Long and Shoot Well

When I started I went with Hodgdon, mainly because they claim their "Extreme" rifle powders have less velocity variation in heat or cold than the competion. Is it true? I don't know but I've been well pleased with H4350.

Any of the powders in your reloading manual for the 270 can produce accuracy in the 270. In the Nosler manual and others you will see an "accuracy load" or "most accurate powder tested" listed in the tables. That powder is the place to start if available to you because the testers saw a lot of data to give it that designation. You will find that the 270 Win. is accurate with many powders and bullet combinations. The 270 is just one of those 'goodies' that are easy to load for. Work up a good 130 and 150 grain load and you will find that there is little difference in the point of impact of the two bullet weights. You might find for your eastern US hunting that the 150 gr bullets may perform better. But test them for yourself on game and pick the one you like.

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In my experience, I'd say that IMR 4350 and H4350 are the most versatile powders. For the 270, although you can work up a fine load with 4350, it is not the best powder. IMR 4895, and IMR 7828 give me the best accuracy in my 270. As far as IMR 4064 being the most versatile, I'd say your shop owner doesn't know much.

Blaine

Observations:

Looking at a burn rate chart one notes over 100 different powders listed from fastest to slowest. There are single base and double base powders with different shapes. It is logical that some of these powders will be better suited to certain cartridges and bullet weights than others. Further, among those suited for a given cartridge, there will differences in how and when they develope their peak pressure. This will effect both velocity and accuracy. And, some powders will be better in both catagories than others.

Nosler helps with their manual by showing load density as well as velocity and the powder that was most accurate in their testing. If one studies a range of cartridges a pattern emerges. Powders with both high load density and the higher velocities will often be among the most accurate powder tested. That said, the most accurate powder varies often due to cartridge or bullet weight.

Carefully examining various load data in Nosler reveals that virtually all powders mentioned have their "most accurate" designation in some combination of bullet weight and caliber. Unless one is shooting benchrest, the minor differences in accuracy with appropriate powders is far less critical than other factors.

Extreme powders, such as H4350, have merit IMO if one hunts in varied temperatures. We chronographed H4350 in a 30-06 and 7X57 at O degrees and at 110 degrees, along with six other powders, and found the velocity variation notably to be the smallest, less than 40fps.