rotorhead,
Thanks for the response. Let me explain what I mean by practice rounds. I only have one gun, my 270. I just paid for a .308 but have to wait the CA 10 days. I don't think there is any practice in the world that can replace pulling the trigger. Ideally I would have a couple big long range guns, a few medium bores and then a varmiter or two. I could then take several guns to the range and shoot to my hearts content. I'm sure there are many that would laugh at the thought of a 270 giving much recoil but after about 20 full power shots it starts to creep into my head. Before anyone starts to picture me as a light weight sissy let me tell you that I am 6'2" and weigh 275lbs., I just have a mental tendency to flinch. I think bouncing a poorly mounted shotgun off my cheek too many times hasn't helped but when those teal go whipping around behind you and you're slipping in the mud wearing every jacket you own it can be a little tough to get a perfect mount /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
In the past I tried the Sierra 90gr and now use the 110gr Vmax. I try to load them to a mild velocity that gets the best accuracy. I did a ladder test a few weeks ago and 4 or 5 charges went into a 1/2" which seems like a pretty good node to me. The 110s at a mild velocity are plenty strong for ground squirrels. The powder I tested was H4831 but I am guessing that faster burning Varget with 3/4 as much powder might lead to longer barrel life. I've always been a one gun kind of guy, I think being real familiar with your gun is a real bonus.
I don't really intend to shoot the 110's much past 200 yards so it's basically a dead on hold and trajectory differences don't really matter. I wouldn't try to hit anything at any real distance with these loads. I'll try the Varget out as I plan on getting some for the .308. I probably won't smoke the barrel out of either of them anytime soon.
To summarize a lighter bullet that spends less time at the throat and a lower charge of a faster burning powder should add up to less erosion of the throat. At any rate I think I'll stick with my light plinking loads for busting squirrels inside 200 yards. Thanks