Anybody use them? My buddy claims they are the best thing since sliced bread. He has been laughing at my 270wsm since I got it as gift. Says the lite mags will do the same thing. Guess we will see cause deer season open this coming weekend.

Haven't used the lite mags, but have used Federal's similar High Energy loads in 30-06. I used the TRophy BOnded Bear Claw load and took an elk w/ one shot.

I don't chrono the stated 2900 fps for the 180 gr bullet , but do get about 2850 fps, which is more than normal 30-06 performance. A 300 WSM or a 300 Win Mag can give higher velocities for a 180 gr bullet.

The only downside I see to these loads are the cost and the fact that you're limited in bullet selection.

For those that reload, what is Hornady and Fedral doing to get the extra velocity? I have seen the ballistic figures and they are pretty hot. Is this anything that can be duplicated at the bench with commercial powders?

Anybody use them? My buddy claims they are the best thing since sliced bread. He has been laughing at my 270wsm since I got it as gift. Says the lite mags will do the same thing. Guess we will see cause deer season open this coming weekend.


I'd also like to hear about people's experiences with the light mags. I've kept a spreadhseet of factory ballistics from Fed, Hornaday, Rem, and Winchester for .270 ammo. Kind of a quick reference guide for comparisions.

Just with some rough numbers:

-the 130 gr Interbond Light Mag gives @ 108% of the average muzzle velocity of all .270 ammo offered by the 4 major companies listed above. This includes 130-150gr bullets.

-it also gives @ 111% of the average ft/lbs engergy at the muzzle of the of .270 ammo offered by the 4 major companies listed above. This includes 130-150gr bullets.

Now, I've averaged all the ammo (weight) because we generally choose one wight per caliber from all others. If anyone would like more numbers, I have them all handy for comparison. Kinda fun.

For grins, I bounced it up against my deer catridge of choice, the Win Supreme Accubond (140gr). Using the 140gr Spire Point Boatail Light Mag (to be fair), the Light Mag comes up 105% in muzzle vel, and 110% in ft/lbs energy.

Obviously this is all hypothetical: lots of other variables come into play when looking at ammo performance. But this is just a simple numbers comparison.

At face value, doen't look like the Light Mag gives that great an advantage. The thing to do would be compare the same numbers of WSM ballisitic tables. Maybe if I get bored today...

Like I have said before: will the deer actually notice those differences?

cheers

jonas

For those that reload, what is Hornady and Fedral doing to get the extra velocity? I have seen the ballistic figures and they are pretty hot. Is this anything that can be duplicated at the bench with commercial powders?


I've read that these loads can't be duplicated by the handloader. We can pound extra powder into a case to make a hot load, but I believe these factory loads all stay within SAAMI pressures.

Also check the Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. They're pushing that one pretty fast. They have 2 versions, and the hotter of the two leaves the muzzle @ 3100 ft/sec, which is equal to the Hornady 140gr Spire Light Mag.

Very comparable down range energy as well.
Overall, its the closest performer (vel/engy) to the 2 Light Mags.

The Light Mags are a bit flatter shooting, however.

Again, these numbers are all gun and condition dependent, but worth looking at for a rough baseline.

Enjoy

jonas

For those that reload, what is Hornady and Fedral doing to get the extra velocity? I have seen the ballistic figures and they are pretty hot. Is this anything that can be duplicated at the bench with commercial powders?


They use powders not available to the public and proprietary loading techniques. That's what they say, anyway, and whatever they're doing it works.

Thats marketing BS to say that handloaders can't get the powders...

Take a look in any of the various manuals and you can find a faster load than most major manufacturers. I handload for cost and consistency... take apart premium ammo and you will find variations in powder, brass lengths, even primers.

Well, all I can say is the 30-06, 180 gr Light Magnum loads developed by Hornady are deadly accurate in my old pre-war M70 and I'm extremely hard pressed to handload to equivilant velocity and accuracy. I'll cast a positive vote for the Light Magnum loads.

They seem too shoot very well as my buddy got a 23" 6x6 this past weekend.But the doe I shot with my 270WSM fell just as dead so I don't think the deer care.

For those that reload, what is Hornady and Fedral doing to get the extra velocity? I have seen the ballistic figures and they are pretty hot. Is this anything that can be duplicated at the bench with commercial powders?

B Dog,

I've heard that the powder they are using is "duplex powder" not sold to the public. Wish I could get my hands on some!

Federal lists the MV of their 270HE load at 3,100 fps with a 140 grain bullet.

Also, Hornady lists the MV of their 270LM load at 3,215 fps with a 130 grain bullet.

Best I've been able to do with comercial powders in my 270 Win. is 3,025 fps with a 150 grain SGK. But the load is over COL at 3.40". The long round alows me to get more powder in the case w/o excessive pressure. The rifle has a long throat - 3.40" is still off the riflings. Haven't tried loading the (shorter) lighter wt. 130 and 140 bullets out to this length.