Robert Gradous .260 Remington beginning load development

[jtom66]

I recently took delivery of a .260 Remington made by Robert Gradous. It was a joyous day. 24" Rock, 8.5-1, #5 contour, Surgeon Action. This is my second Gradous rifle, the first was a .308 that spoiled me as it was happy shooting 168FGMM - one hole all day long. I have reloaded some in the past but do not claim to be an expert by any means. The primary use of this rifle is for hunting white tail deer. Perhaps getting involved in 600 yard competitions at the local range as well. Wanted to get the thoughts of the resident .260 experts to see if I am headed in the right direction with load development.

Here is what I have have on the shelf. I would like to stay with this if possible, but happy to take suggestions and any favorite recipes you can pass along.

140 Berger VLD hunting
H4831SC
Remington brass
CCI 200 or Federal #210

Robert sent me a dummy test bullet with a COAL of 2.870 which fits nicely in the DB magazine. Anything over this would make me nervous about feeding properly in the magazine. I was planning on trying the Dan Newberry OCW method on my next trip to the range.

Don't worry, I will add more pics and a range report soon.

 

[jtom66]

I realize now that I should have posted this in the Reloading Depot section. Is there any way to move it?

 

[KYpatriot]

When did you order yours? Wondering where he is on the backlog...

 

[jtom66]

It took me 8 months to get all the parts together. The Rock barrels took the longest. All together it was about 18 months from start to finish. Be patient, it's worth the wait.

 

[Prebanpaul]

4831 in my was way slow. It was really accurate. 4350 is awesome.

 

[ShtrRdy]

I couldn't get enough H4831 in a Remington case to get it much above 2600 fps. I ended up using H4350 with the Berger 140 gr VLD.

 

[jtom66]

Thanks, I figured I would try the H4831 since I had it on the shelf.

 

[Hondo64d]

H4831sc will work great. You might run into some compression, but that has not shown any adverse effect in my .260. My best accuracy with H4831sc and 140s came at about 2700fps. With 130s, 2850ish.

John

 

[EasternNChunter]

I was just in that shop a few months ago. What a great guy and awesome builder.

 

[Nate O.]

I posted this in another thread too, but here you go. Using all the same components you have.. I'd have to look in my book to find the charge weight, but they were compressed loads. Chrono'd right at 2800 out of my 8 twist krieger. The ES and SD was worse than using the H4350, but they still do alright..6 shots..100 yds Nice looking rifle, good luck with it.

 

[jtom66]

I have decided to use the OCW method. Wanted to get a sanity check before I went to the range.

Steps 1-3 (select bullet, powder, and find max load data)
The max load for the Berger 140 VLD hunting using H4831SC is 45.5 grains per the Hodgden manual.

Step 4
sighters
Sighter 1 = 7% less max load 42.3
Sighter 2 = sighter 1 + 2% 43.2
Sighter 3 = sighter 2 + 2% 44.0

use these 3 rounds as sighters and to test pressure tolerances

Step 5
1st 3 rd group = sighter 3 + 2% 44.9 Load 3 rounds with this charge weight
2nd 3 rd group = 1st rnd group + .7% 45.2 Load 3 rounds with this charge weight
3rd 3 rd group = 2nd rnd group + .7% 45.5 Load 3 rounds with this charge weight
4th 3 rd group = 3nd rnd group + .7% 45.9 Load 3 rounds with this charge weight


Remaining steps: Follow OCW round robin at range.

Am I on the right track?

 

[Supersubes]

For my sighters I just load a few more at my starting charge. Since you're loading to 45.9 anyway, the #3 sighter isn't really telling you much. Read pressure as you work up the first round robin string. My ocw's are usually 24-27 rounds, or 8-9 different loads. Decide on a max charge, then work back in 2-3% increments. I also do mine at 500-ish yards.

 

[jtom66]

Appreciate all the advice. I had to delay my range trip till the end of this week. Will keep you posted.

 

[6.5BR]

Nice shooting, do you do anything to your cases, or is that RP brass out the box?