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260 Loads Only

Re: 260 Loads Only

I have a few theories:

-My velocity measure is right at the muzzle (6 to 10 fps)
-Fast barrel
-I'm using Lapua brass, and you aren't (this could have a very big impact, I've -heard- of 150-200 fps changes with brass brands)
-You have an 8 twist barrel, mine is 8.5 ??
-Clean living (must be you, it aint me)
-Our chronys produce different #s (1-2%)

I measured the velocity over the course of 3 shooting sessions. I'm confident in the number.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Brandon05_88</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jAXDIALATION</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My load for 23" Kreiger 8.5 twist
142 SMK
42.9gr H4350
Seated .02 from lands.
2850fps velocity. </div></div>

How? I'm burning 43.4 in a 26" tube for 2,820. </div></div>
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

I usually sit my chrono 15-20' from muzzle and measure to muzzle each time. Use JBM to extrapolate to the muzzle. JBM usually says 2820-2825 depending on the 15-20' measurement.

Yeah, I'm using Lapua brass, that's what is more confusing. Just about everyone I talk to uses 0.5 grain less than me in Win brass for 25-50 extra fps in a 26" tube.

I'm running a 1:8.2" twist 5R Bartlein @ 26". I figure that could eat a few fps.

I don't put too much faith in chronos. However, today my drops ran in JBM for a 142 SMK @ 2820 fps @ the muzzle @ 3,000' DA all the way out to 1,165 yards. I mean spot on too. Double checked by shooting clay pigeons at 1,000.

Has to be clean living.
smile.gif


I'm not doubting you one bit dude. I just want to know who supplies the magic dust.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

No Sir, never thought you were calling me out. This is exactly what this thread is about.

I previously had a 26" 8 twist barrel on another 260. It was "slower" than this rifle. That was a Moon built GAP. I believe the move from 8 to 8.5 twist helped me out.

FWIW I seat -.02, but I doubt that's a factor.

We're both at about Sea Level, so atmospherics aren't an issue.

Let go with the clean living idea
smile.gif
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

Hello. New to 260. Just picked up a stock AR-10(T) in 260 REM this afternoon. I've been loading for gas guns for a while (just not in 260) so I want to stick with Varget or RL15 which I have in quantity. I'm planning to run 123 Scenars. Anyone have experience with these in a 22" AR-10? Charge and velocity expectations?

I've got both RP and Lapua brass, but gonna run the RP first and see how bad it gets beat up. CCI BR2 primers. Probably start with Varget.

Any experience? I don't have a Lapua Manual but by digging through several manuals for similar projo weights, I'm looking at 34 to 38 grains of Varget as my initial run of test loads to run over the 35P.

And yes, I read all 6 pages of this before asking and ran several google searches. Maybe this is out there, but I can't find it.

Thanks in advance,

-David
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hog Rider</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Garvey</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I did the 500 yard test and the short story is that I loaded 5 shots of 43.8 gr. 43.9 gr 44.0 gr 44.1 gr 44.2 gr 44.3 gr and the load that shot the best was the 44.2 gr.

44.2 gr made 2850 fps and printed this

2012-03-31500yd5.jpg


Looks like I'll be running this powder charge. </div></div>

Garvey

What rifle are you running this load through? I just started loading for a new savage LRP and this 44.2 gr load produced .25moa for me. Everything else was .6 - 1.0 moa. Thanks

hog</div></div>

The rifle started life as a Savage 10 FLCP-K in .308 Win. Only thing left of the original rifle is the action.

Obermeyer Rem Varmint 1:8.4
McMillan A-5

Note: when the barrel got about 250 rounds down it, it sped up to 2950 fps. The original speed it made was on a newish barrel and virgin brass. Brass with a .002" shoulder bump and now a barrel with 450 rounds down it, it is now making 2950 fps with the same bullet, powder charge, and primer.

I'm going to move to 140 A-Maxes and start off at 42.0gr and work up to 43.8 gr. Don't want to be putting a new barrel on anytime soon.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

Just found my load today on the new barrel. Had to whittle my way through 400 rnds of Black Hills before I needed some home made. Every group I shot was a nice little .5" five rnd group so accuracy wasn't the deciding factor. Didn't really see any pressure sign until I hit 44gr, just a real faint ejector mark. This load is going about 2900 on the nose with single digit SD and ES of 16.

140 amax
44.5 gr H4350
BR2
COAL of 2.875
Win .243 brass necked up.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

When I did my load development it seemed like the accuracy nodes were 1.0 grains apart.
 
41.0, 42.0, and 43.0 all shot really well. I went with 42.0 because it was slightly slightly better than the 43.0 load.
 
Lapua Brass
42.0 H4350
CCI BR2
139 Lapua Scenar about 0.01" off the lands.
 
With the 140 class bullets 43.0 seems to shoot really well in most guns with Lapua brass. If running Winchester up the load 0.3 - 0.4 grains to make up for the brass volume difference. YMMV.
 
I also just started looking for a load with the 130 Berger Hunting VLD being deer season is getting closer. I am loading them to 2.090" to ojive which is 2.880" OAL or max AI Mag length. I loaded up 43.5 H4350 and shot a .156" 3 shot group. I have retested this load two more times and it has never shot over 1/2". This load is jumping far over .100" but unless I single feed I can't get them close. However, it doesn't seem to matter.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

Obermeyer 8.4t 24" .098 freebore (I think)
Winchester 7mm-08 brass
CCI standard primer
H4350 @ 43.5g
140 A-Max seated .015-.020" off the lands
2763fps average and shoots tighter than I can hold. Shows very little vertical at 1000y... ~3-4" and some of that is me.

Could push it faster but why
wink.gif
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

Both the Berger loads are shooting .25" or less and the Amax is shooting .25-.3" out of my .260 Rem with a 24" 8-twist Rock (100 yds).

130 gr Berger Hunting VLD
44.5 gr H4350
Lapua brass
CCI 200's
0.01" off the lands


140 gr Berger Hunting VLD
42.2 gr H4350
Lapua brass
CCI 200's
0.06" off the lands


140 gr Hornady Amax
42.5 gr H4350
Lapua brass
CCI 200's
0.02" off the lands
 
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Re: 260 Loads Only

I've been working up loads for my new Savage LRP in .260 Rem.

I started with .308Win LC brass that I necked down with a .260Rem Forster FL sizing die with the 0.2650 expander ball installed. After firing I inside neck reamed to remove the doughnut, neck sized in a Redding die, then outside neck turned to 0.290in. Case lenght was trimmed to 2.025in although most were under that number. Overall these cases worked well and didn't show a major difference in performance between newly formed and fire formed. I later purchased new Lapua .260Rem brass and found that the loads developed in the LC brass carried over to the Lapua brass (similar case capacity).

As somebody else mentioned the nodes tend to be about 1.0gr apart. At least that's what my OCW data concluded.

I toquered my action to 40 in/lbs by alternating between the front and rear screw in 5 in/lbs increments starting at 15 in/lbs.

Savage LRP 1 in 8", 26" barrel lands at 2.160in
Lapua brass
Win LR primer
Hornady 123gr AMax
H4350 = 42.3gr
avg MV = 2875fps Magnetospeed chrono
SD = 13
cOAL = 2.147in
jump = 0.013in
This load did tighten up when jumped 0.005in from lands


Savage LRP 1 in 8", 26" barrel lands at 2.160in
Lapua brass
Win LR primer
Hornady 140gr BTHP
H4350 = 41.7gr
avg MV = 2770fps Magnetospeed chrono
SD = 13
cOAL = 2.147in
jump = 0.013in
Did not try any closer to lands as I was getting intermitent sticky bolt at 42.0gr and stuck bolt at 42.5gr

I also found a really nice accuracy node with my rifle and the 123gr AMax down around 40.8gr of H4350 but the MV was barely 2700fps. Not the most practical load for unknown distance competitions.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

27 inch Obermeyer stainless 5R barrel (measured from front of recoil lug to crown)
Defiance machine action

Winchester 7mm-08 brass necked down to 6.5mm
CCI BR2 primer
140 grain Sierra MK (it was all I could find on short notice)
43.8 grains of H4350
2.30 to ogive

velocity 2888 fps at 10 feet from muzzle, and no pressure signs at all. Very accurate, and best of all, very consistent. I tried seating the bullet + and - .003 of an inch, and there was no significant change in accuracy with either change.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: esromvre</div><div class="ubbcode-body">mine seems to like Varget with 142 SMKs and 139 Lapuas but in no way could I get it to shoot Bergers at all... tried all of them. </div></div>

If I may ask what are the specs on your rifle and your Varget load?
Thanks in advance
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

26in McGowen Rem 700 9twist load is 38g Varget dont know speed but groop is 2.35 @ 600

I do all my testing at 6 because thats what I normaly get to shoot. And to be honest all I care about is the vertical.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

Remington 700 with 24" 8-twist.

Bullet: 140 gr Berger VLD (hunting)
Powder: 42.8 gr H4350
Case: R-P 2.027"
Length at Ogive: 2.239"
0.010" Jammed

Avg FPS: 2793

The VLDs did not like to jump in my rifle but shoot great when jammed.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

Not much info here for semi-autos so here's my contribution. It seems I get considerably less velocity than most bolt actions with the same barrel length/maker.

DPMS LR 260
Kreiger 26" SS 1:8" twist, .260 rem. Rifle gas length, .963" gas block (adjustable JP)

140gr Amax
CCI #200 LR primer
R-P brass, trimmed, .288" Redding bushing die (.0035" tension) and flash holes uniformed.
43.3gr H4350
2.805" COAL. Contact with the lands with the Amax is at 2.845" (won't fit in Pmags).

Avg Velocity: 2795 fps 5yd from muzzle (~2805 at muzzle)
ES: 18 FPS

Accuracy is a solid .8 MOA. It has done smaller groups, but not worse than .8 with me doing all the right things-- that is my standard. I'm only 80 rounds into this barrel, though.

I seem to get accuracy nodes about every half grain.

I got no chamber pressure signs going all the way up to 44.5gr of H4350. That is the published max. on Hodgdon's website and I'm not trying to wreck brass.

41.0 gr H4350 got 2630fps
43.3 gr H4350 got 2795fps
44.5 gr H4350 got 2845fps

If I have time I will try out a few Berger 140gr VLD's, but I'm happy with the Amax's performance thus far.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

I decided to get away from 130gr. bullets and move to more BC and less speed. I also wanted to experiment with two bullets, the 140 Berger VLD Hybrid and the 140 A-max.

The barrel is an Obermeyer 1:8.4 twist with 800 rounds on it now, screwed into a Savage 10 action and A-5 stock. SS 5-20.

H-4350, CCI 200, Rem brass with two loadings, then annealed for this test.

I fired a bunch of 5 shot groups at 300 yards. The worst one was .8 MOA verticle and the best was .3 MOA. So I took that data and went home to load some 5 shot groups for 500 yards. I don't have all the speeds here, but you can tell that the A-max is a solid performer. And I will be sticking with the A-max.

Low to high powder charge.

423140VLD.jpg


423140A-Max.jpg


432140VLD.jpg


432140A-Max.jpg


438140VLD.jpg


438140A-Max.jpg


Clearly 43.2 gr under the A-max is the load for this rifle. It is at 2800 fps. I loaded 200 of them and rang the steel to 1000 with no problem at my home range and in a match.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

I measured with the hornady coal tool and the 123gr scenars are 2.340 to the ogive while the 139gr scenars are 2.353. Does this seem really long? Seated at mag length I am jumping something like .050".


Update - for some reason I measured to the lengths above but ended up trying to chamber a round and could not. I ended up bringing the coal at the ogive down to 2.230 for the 123s and 2.235 for the 139s which is ~ 2.810 to the tip of the bullet.
 
Re: 260 Loads Only

1st time I've tried the Hornady BTHP Match bullets, but they seem pretty good!



I think I showed this load before, but here's a confirmation:



As with all loads I show, the OAL includes a Sinclair "hex nut" bullet comparator. For base to ogive measurement, subtract 1".

John
 
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Anyone have good luck with Ramshot Hunter and 130's? I have bunch on hand and would like to hear some results.

I've got 5# of Hunter coming. It was the only powder I could find. It SHOULD work great with everything from 120s to 140s since it's burn rate is about that of R19, but like you, I'm not finding much data for it. I'll be sure and post my results...

John
 
T3 sporter, 24" barrel. 142 smk, nosler brass, br2 and 44.0 gr h4350. Groups in the .3s but is kinda slow. 2725 with low teens ES and single digit SD. New rifle with 35 rds down the tube. My two 6.5 cm ave 2840&2790 fps, kinda hoping for more speed in the 260. Primers still have radius at edge and no ejector swipes . Going to try 44.5 and 45 gr next. Did shoot a 6" 5 shot at 950 tonight, 28.5moa up from 100 yd zero.
 
ok guys, I placed an order a while back with a cowboy action shooter who orders quite a bit of reloading components, but apparently he's not up on rifle components... I watched him write my order on the list with the rest of the group list, but instead of BR2's I got CCI no.34 military primers, (at least I didn't have to give BR2 prices for them...) but more to the point.... After trying to find out about these primers I decided to load down 5% and see what kind of velocities I'd get... so far they aren't very different from 210M's but the velocities vary more.

My normal load is as follows, through a Kiser built Rem 700 with 26" Benchmark barrel
41.7g H4350
140 berger hybrids
lapua brass
Fed 210M
avg. 2860fps @ 12ft

I started these CCI's (according to info I found they are magnum primers, or similar at least?) out at 37.5gr of 4350 just to be safe, and used some left over 130 VLDs seated to 2.010 to ogive... it was 38 and gusts to 15mph today so I only shot four seperate loads at 100yds to check for pressure, but these primers weren't nearly as hot as expected..

37.5- avg 2530fps es 27 w/.3 vertical (first three groups were about 3/4 inch wide stringing due to wind)
38.0- avg 2582fps es 18 w/.42 vertical
38.5- avg 2624fps es 31 w/.28 vertical
39.0- avg 2671fps es 24 w/.22 vertical (wind settled, was a pretty clean one hole group)

when it warms up and actually starts acting like spring I'll load up some for a new ladder test and see how these primers act with an appropriate amount of powder, on the bright side I did find a very nice reduced recoil load... haha
 
260_zpsc051629b.jpg


This is shot out of a stiller action, krieger barrel with 1 in 8 twist 140 amax, remington 260 brass, remington 9.5 primer and 44.5 4831sc. Barrel is 26 inches long. I will chrono it when its not so damn cold. 10-15 wind from 5 oclock. 100 yards. rounds 6-10 fired out of gun.
 
Doing my ladder test now so far

LC M118LR brass resized
-primer pockets reamed
-primer pockets uniformed
- necks turned
CCI 7.62 military primers
N550 42 grains
140 JLKs

2794 fps measured 8 ft from barrel no pressure signs and not at my node so I'm going to continue my ladder test upping the powder load. I figure I might go up to 43-43.2 the most since I am loading to mag length and the jump is high to my lands
 
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23" Krieger 1:8 5R
PT&G "tight match" chamber, .295 neck with .060 freebore

140 VLD
R-P Brass
CCI BR-2
46.4 Reloader 22
2.206 CBTO, which is a .010 jump in my chamber (AI mag length with a hair to spair for chasing the lands)

2840 fps, although my dope in shooter adjusted it to 2865

No pressure signs whatsoever, even when working past my chosen load on the initial ladder tests in high 80 degree temps. So far from early last spring until now, no sign of temp sensitivity.
.3-.4 MOA from 100-1000
 
Anyone have any ideas on a load for IMR 4350, all I could find in stock as I ran out of H4350. I was running an accurate load with 142smk's and 42.3g of the H4350.

Thanks,
Kris
They should be close. I just ran two calculations with QuickLoad and the IMR version gives just a few more fps MV and a few hundred more peak chamber psi compared to the Hodgdon powder.
 
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Here's a ladder I did yesterday with 7828ssc and 140gr Amaxes. Appears to be a definite lack of vertical from 46.2gr to 47.7gr. The grid is 1cm and the ladder was shot at 300 meters. Within the node, looks to me to be <1/2" of vertical, which at 300m, seems pretty good to me. I'm going to load up some with 46.8gr for accuracy testing.

Warning! 47.7 and 48gr are too hot, leaving definite ejector marks on the Lapua brass.

John