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Brass for the .260 Rem

tman300wm

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 3, 2004
667
5
56
Texas
Guys,

Are any of you using Nosler or Lapua brass in .260 Rem? Not necked down 7-08 but true .260 brass. What kind of longevity are you getting out of your brass? Are you having any issues with loose primer pockets? Any issues with necks? What die set up are you using (bushing, FL, NS)?

Thanks for any and all,

Tman
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

Rem .260 Brass actually works fine in .260.

Don't get me wrong, Nosler and Lapua are fantastic but I've never had an issue with .260 Rem brass.

Could it be weight sorted to get better results? Sure.

I don't shoot benchrest, don't run tight necks or chambers but my rifle outshoots my abilities with shot-to-shot consistency on a regular basis. Any misses I have on steel are my fault not that of the brass or the rifle.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

There's actually been quite a bit of discussion on here about this topic. Use this search engine:

Sniper's Hide Search Engine

Long story short:

Lapua brass is incredibly tough stuff... and super consistent. You can actually just drop powder and shoot (probably want to run an expander ball through to make sure the necks are round)If you have a tight neck chamber, you'll run into issues as loaded rounds are in the .294+ to.295" range. I use a .292 TiNi bushing and have excellent results.

A few of the brass that I've used for load development have over 10 firings and I cannot tell them from once fired.

John
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

I've used Nosler, Lapua and Rem brass in 260. Unfortunately, I blew out the primer pockets very quickly on a Nosler lot of 50 during load dev with an initial load that was a little too hot for the brass. I think others have noted the Nos as softer as well.

The Rem brass I have his on its 8th reloading and I anneal every two firings. On loadings 5 and above I have lost several each reloading to loose primer pockets but the attrition rate is pretty small. No complaints given the cost and availability.

The Lapua 260 brass I have is only on loading 2 or 3 and I haven't seen loose primer pockets yet.

Sorry for the unscientific response.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

My AR-10 in .260 I shoot for course didn't have much luck with Remington brass, shot great but pockets were soft, although my load may have been a little high. Was loosing primers after 2 loads on some almost all after 3. Currently I'm shooting surplus RA-60 brass necked down and turned with 123's and LC07 LR brass necked down and turned for the 142's. Much harder and geting more reloads out of them than the Remington.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

I am a 260 newbe but so far I have 4 loadings on Lapua with no signs of primers pockets growing or neck issues.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

The reason why I asked is my Rem .260 brass is showing a lot (20% to 25%) of blown out primer pockets on only the 2nd and 3rd reload. I'm thinking of going to Lapua. I just wondered what kind of results you all were getting.

I know how the search function works, and I gave me about umpteen million threads and plenty of them didn't have the info I was looking for.

Any and all comments/recomendations are welcome.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

I got some of the first Lapua 260 brass to come out and I'm on the 3rd firing. 50% of the pockets are loose and I'm really not sure how many more loadings I'll get. If I was starting with new cases and doing load development I'd stay well away from hot loads and seating bullets into the lands...

I've also been using some Rem cases and had some very impressive accuracy with them, primer pockets so far are ok but I'm only on the second firing.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lessthanfour</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you could also neck down .308 to .260 right? </div></div>

Yes you can but 7mm-08 or .243 is a much better option.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jagged77</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lessthanfour</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you could also neck down .308 to .260 right? </div></div>

Yes you can but 7mm-08 or .243 is a much better option. </div></div>

Yes you can neck down 308 to 260 but it will be too short, Win 7-08 is what I use, I have some 15 reloads
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

Hello! Dont waste your money on Nosler 260 brass, Not many people have good things to say about it. It is more expensive than Lapua and I have thrown mose of it away after only a few firings. I have shot the Remington a lot and last summer I bought Lapua but only have shot it a few times so far.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

Complaining that large Boxer primer pocket Mauser case head brass gets a loose primer pocket too easily, there may be another way to look at it.

I handload the same case head in 22-250, 243, 250 Savage, 257 Roberts Ackley, 260 Rem, 6.5x55, 270, 7x57mm, 300Sav, 308, 7.62x51mm, 30-06, 8x57mm, and 35W.

I have had a lot of loose primer pockets.
When that happens [@ ~ 72 kpsi Quickload], I back off on the powder charge to where that stops and I have a safety margin [@ ~ 67 kpsi QL].

Or get small primer pocket brass from Lapua, work up, and get primer piercing at ~85 kpsi.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Clark</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Complaining that large Boxer primer pocket Mauser case head brass gets a loose primer pocket too easily, there may be another way to look at it.
</div></div>

+1

If you are getting loose primer pockets you are loading to hot or have softened the head whilst annealing.

To avoid this you need to back the load off & or change to a slower burning powder.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

I run the same load in the Remington that I did in the Nosler and did not have the that problem in the Rem. Several beople have said the Nosler is a lot softer.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

I don't think I'm running my .260 loads super fast or hot. I'm shooting 142 SMKs at 2810fps, with H4350. I guess I could back the load off, but I'm thinking it's just soft Remington brass. I suspect the next step is to try some Lapua brass and see what happens.

Thanks for the input guys!
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

Once mine get too loose I shall try to tighten them up with an RCBS primer pocket swaging tool. Have tried it on a couple of old cases and seems to work.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tman300wm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't think I'm running my .260 loads super fast or hot. I'm shooting 142 SMKs at 2810fps, with H4350. I guess I could back the load off, but I'm thinking it's just soft Remington brass. I suspect the next step is to try some Lapua brass and see what happens.

Thanks for the input guys! </div></div>

That's pretty fast unless you have a custom barrel. My 24" AAC barrel peaks at a little over 2700fps with 142SMK and 4350 - more powder yields no more velocity.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tman300wm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm using a Bartlein 27" 1 in 8 twist. Built by GAP.
</div></div>

That explains a LOT.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

I have used Remington, Lapua, Winchester and Nosler brass in .260. The Remington was the softest, primer pocket was loose in 1 to 2 firing.s I went to Nosler and got 3 firings and the pockets were loose. Then I went to Winchester, necking it down. That worked OK. When Lapua brass came out I moved to it and am very happy. Up to 5 firings so far and no issues. Like the .308 and .338 Lapua brass I use it is very consistent and you can reuse over and over. I use the Redding FL bushing dies.
 
Re: Brass for the .260 Rem

I use winchester 7-8 necked down to 260 and so far they all look good but I only have 3 loadings