Science of Reloading

January 9, 2016
Baton Rouge, Louisiana & Beaumont, Texas

The science of reloading is as old as shooting itself. Reloading can be beneficial for several different reasons including increasing the precision of a cartridge while lowering the cost per round. 


I recently started loading my own ammunition in an effort to increase my long range precision. I've always been interested in long range shooting proficiency but it became a necessity after I booked my first West Texas mule deer hunt in the fall of 2015. The guide for my upcoming (2016) West Texas hunt prefers that the hunting party be comfortable and proficient at shooting up to 500 yards. At 500 yards, there are only a few factors that affect the trajectory of the bullet, mainly, bullet drop and wind speed. 


For the past 10 years, I have shot 130 grain Winchester Ballistic Silvertips out of my Remmingington model 700 .270 with great success. I took the last of my silvertips to the range today in order to get a baseline grouping. I wanted to have a factory-loaded group at 500 yards so that I could compare the results with the customer loaded ammunition. There was a decent left-to-right cross wind at the range today which pushed all of my shots off-center. The grouping measured 7" from the farthest points. I am hoping to get a grouping below 5" with my new custom ammo. 

My first cartridge that I chose to load was a 140 grain Berger Very Low Drag (VLD) hunting bullet loaded in .270 Remmington brass and Alliant reloader 17 powder. The Berger VLD bullet is a jacketed bullet whose design reduces the effect of wind drift by 27% at 500 yards over the silvertips. The 140 grain bullet has a longer length that allows for increased spin stability at longer distances. I was also able to increase my muzzle velocity by 50 fps while staying below the manufacturer's recommended maximum chamber pressure. The increases in long range bullet stability and muzzle velocity should provide for a much more potent hunting load for my hunting trip later this year.