My precious Winchester 260 brass is dying!

[Steel head]

Had a few primers fall out on firing today.
This is with an absolutely sane load.

They were kinda sketchy loose on loading.

I’ll have to check my notes but it was on it’s 39th firing and that lot killed two barrels already.

Got my moneys worth!

I should probably check my bolt face but is back on the savage,,,my red headed stepchild rifle.

 

[Huskydriver]

That brass owes you nuttin

 

[eklarsen]

wow, 39th firing is impressive.

 

[Ryridesmotox]

Give it a heroes burial.

 

[Steel head]

Yep,,,39th firing.
At about 25th firings I to cut the primer pocket depth back to spec as brass flow had made the primers flush or a bit proud.

About 5 of the loadings were low node 140 loads at 2710.
15 loads of 140 hybrids and eldm’s at 2810 with H4350 and rest with 147’s at 2805 with IMR4451 and R16.


Ignore the cratered primers, it’s a savage and cratering it’s its signature trademark.
Extractor is trashed on that rifle and I need to deal with it eventually.


All three barrels headspaced less than two thousandths from a go gauge.

 

[Skeptic1]

My favorite brass to use is Federal, believe it or not.

 

[AIAW]

Yep,,,39th firing.
At about 25th firings I to cut the primer pocket depth back to spec as brass flow had made the primers flush or a bit proud.

About 5 of the loadings were low node 140 loads at 2710.
15 loads of 140 hybrids and eldm’s at 2810 with H4350 and rest with 147’s at 2805 with IMR4451 and R16.


Ignore the cratered primers, it’s a savage and cratering it’s its signature trademark.
Extractor is trashed on that rifle and I need to deal with it eventually.


All three barrels headspaced less than two thousandths from a go gauge.
View attachment 7198442

Not bad at all.

Are you under-powering those 140g ELD-M’s or is it just a slow barrel perhaps? I got around 2995 FPS pretty easily on those with H4350, 27" barrel though. 44.8g if I recall off the top of my head. Had it long-throated so I can really jag them out there too.

 

[MK20]

For your next brass try the lake city LC LR brass. M118LR once fired. That stuff is TOUGH. It is made to be thick too for use in over gassed dirty long guns. Accurate as hell.

 

[19Scout77]

Try wolf primers. They are a tad oversized and may help you get to 40

 

[Steel head]

Not bad at all.

Are you under-powering those 140g ELD-M’s or is it just a slow barrel perhaps? I got around 2995 FPS pretty easily on those with H4350, 27" barrel though. 44.8g if I recall off the top of my head. Had it long-throated so I can really jag them out there too.

All three barrels liked those loads.
I could go faster but I’d get issues when it got hot outside.
Those loadings were 100% stable.
a bit of water on them wouldn’t be a big issue.

 

[BoltRunner]

I honestly do the same thing and just run them until they completely die shooting Remington & Lapua Brass on 2 different 260's. I check case dimensions and make sure everything is within spec and I stop using them when priming if the primer literally falls in there I chunk it. I have 2 different built 260's that run 2,600 FPS - 2,925 FPS depending on load and have never seen any pressure signs whatsoever, one rifle has 3,000+ rds the other 2,500 rds and they both still shoot lights out...

 

[Steel head]

Update

I ran one of the dead cases though the band saw.

 

[FishDr]

Good reloading practices here demonstrated. I’ll guess you didn’t trim much either.
Now swage those pockets and get another 5 loads!

 

[BoltRunner]

You have any other almost dead brass in different brands...? Would like to see a side by side wall comparison if you get bored...

 

[Steel head]

You have any other almost dead brass in different brands...? Would like to see a side by side wall comparison if you get bored...

Thankfully no.
It’s already a sad time watching my precious Winchester brass die.

 

[BoltRunner]

No worries thought Id ask & thanks for the info

 

[Steel head]

I loaded the second box of 100 of that batch of brass last night.
I pretty sure that box is on its last leg as well.

 

[MK20]

Did LC brass change since the adoption of the M110? Many units are still shooting lots that were made when the M24 was still in service.

Nope. The stuff I am shooting is 05 and 09 vintage.

 

[plinkin]

Update

I ran one of the dead cases though the band saw.
View attachment 7212485

How often did you anneal? What dies where you using? That's awesome.

 

[Steel head]

How often did you anneal? What dies where you using? That's awesome.

I usually just use a lee collet for 2-3 firings then anneal and run it through a Redding body die as well so the cases don’t get tight.

 

[lash]

Thankfully no.
It’s already a sad time watching my precious Winchester brass die.

Well, as you probably already know, good reloading practices pay off and that brass owes you nothing. It helps to start with decent brass, but it does not have to be Lapua in order to work well.

I’m currently on the 15th loading of a batch of Prime brass by Norma and it’s in great shape. I do full length size every time, but barely bump headspace and sometimes not at all. I use a lee collet for consistent neck tension and anneal every 2nd or 3rd time depending on my available time.

If I hadn’t lost over a third of it in matches, I’d be only on 12 loads or so. I’d continue to use it after this barrel is toast (soon), but there’s not enough left to make it through another barrel.

What brass are you planning on using next?

 

[Steel head]

Well, as you probably already know, good reloading practices pay off and that brass owes you nothing. It helps to start with decent brass, but it does not have to be Lapua in order to work well.

I’m currently on the 15th loading of a batch of Prime brass by Norma and it’s in great shape. I do full length size every time, but barely bump headspace and sometimes not at all. I use a lee collet for consistent neck tension and anneal every 2nd or 3rd time depending on my available time.

If I hadn’t lost over a third of it in matches, I’d be only on 12 loads or so. I’d continue to use it after this barrel is toast (soon), but there’s not enough left to make it through another barrel.

What brass are you planning on using next?

I have 450 more Winchester 243 cases already expanded to 260.
I bought 650 cases just before Obama got elected.
I paid 24.99 per 50.

My 7 saum is wanting to be sized more (just a .001 bump or less) to avoid tight cases.

I modified a 7-08 lee collet and again use a Redding body die.

I’ll probably anneal it every 3rd loading.