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260 Remington thoughts

I LIKED, the .260 Rem., So MUCH that, I Bought,.. a 6.5 Creed., TIKKA !
130 ELD-M's at, 2,850 fps w/ group's, into the 3's and almost ALWAYS,.. SUB 1/2 MOA
Braked with, NO Recoil = Mucho, FUN !
I bought the 260Rem version as it was £800 cheaper, similar results without the stigma ;)

All joking aside there's more difference in the shooters than the cartridges. I agree with the fun, really enjoying my flavour of 6.5.
 
I'll shorten the story but I built a few 260's a long time ago. They shot but were finicky and caused the phone to ring. I finally had the reamer reground. The SAAMI spec is a 3 degree leade angle. That doesn't work that well. I rechambered a customers problem barrel with the new reamer. I knew in less than 10 shots it was a different rifle. I now have reamers with 5 different throat lengths but the leade is 1'30" on all of them. YMMV
Well this is some good info
I just looked at the Reamer print from Manson and sure enough it shows 3 deg lead angle
However their 260 AI blueprint shows a 1' 30"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
So in the future if ordering from them spec out the lead angle
luckily the reamer I bought from them shot 147 ELD-M's and 153.5 Bergers very well.
 
Well this is some good info
I just looked at the Reamer print from Manson and sure enough it shows 3 deg lead angle
However their 260 AI blueprint shows a 1' 30"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
So in the future if ordering from them spec out the lead angle
luckily the reamer I bought from them shot 147 ELD-M's and 153.5 Bergers very well.
My Tac A1 must be 3° but seems to like the 142gr SMK, good job as I've got 1,000 to get through.
 
Well this is some good info
I just looked at the Reamer print from Manson and sure enough it shows 3 deg lead angle
However their 260 AI blueprint shows a 1' 30"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
So in the future if ordering from them spec out the lead angle
luckily the reamer I bought from them shot 147 ELD-M's and 153.5 Bergers very well.
Whoever ordered the first 260AI was a smart guy
 
My 260rem Bartlein loved H4350 with 140s..


26" Bartlein
Stiller TAC30
XLR Element chassis
Jewell trigger




140 ELD-M
0.02 off lands
Lapua brass
210M
42.6gr





140 Hybrid
0.02 off lands
Lapua brass
210M
41.9gr H4350
2780






I went up on a ladder to 42.5 grains and started getting marks on the case head and a heavy bolt lift.

I've concluded this barrel just doesn't like heavy bullets, even though the math said it should.

I've another profiled blank. I'll go down this road again if I ever get around to chambering and crowning it.
 
I'm soon to acquire a Tikka 24" in 260 Remington, too good a price not to. I'm thinking of loading 142SMK, Lapua brass, N560, Remington 9 1/2 primers and loading to mag length (up to 2.90").

Any thoughts or suggestions on that as a starting point? I think the Tikkas are pretty long throated so I should be about to seat the longer bullets out. I did consider necking Lapua Palma brass down but it seems like it may be extra effort without a lot of gain.

This is just for target use.
Go to the Sierra book and use their recommendations. HTH
 
If you're still looking for load data. I'd check out panhandleprecision.com He also has a lot of youtube videos on reloading 260. I had a Tikka CTR in 260. I put it in a KRG Chassis for my first PRS rifle. Shot all the Berger hybrids awesome with H4350. I'd also try Hornady eld-m if your barrel doesn't like the Bergers.
 
If you're still looking for load data. I'd check out panhandleprecision.com He also has a lot of youtube videos on reloading 260. I had a Tikka CTR in 260. I put it in a KRG Chassis for my first PRS rifle. Shot all the Berger hybrids awesome with H4350. I'd also try Hornady eld-m if your barrel doesn't like the Bergers.
Thanks, I've watched some of his stuff. So far getting good results with 142gr SMK and N555. Some more testing on Sunday, it all looks good at 100m but need to do some more at range. I need to get the ES down a bit too.
 
Thanks, I've watched some of his stuff. So far getting good results with 142gr SMK and N555. Some more testing on Sunday, it all looks good at 100m but need to do some more at range. I need to get the ES down a bit too.
Just read all the way through this thread, and I noticed a few things weren’t mentioned among a good bit of great advice, already mentioned:

- Tikka barrels shoot slow. Accurate, but slow. Basically, if you re-barreled to an identical length premium aftermarket tube, you will likely gain 50-100fps MV. Just something to consider moving forward.

- N160 burns cooler than N550/555. But typically the 100-series powders also have less potential energy than the 500-series.

- The BC of the bullet does the heavy lifting. Chasing another 50-100fps makes almost zero difference down range. I exclusively look at performance in the wind when trying new bullets (assuming accuracy is acceptable). You can dial elevation as long as the speed is consistent, but wind margin is where bullet efficiency actually shows up.

My buddy and teammate for certain matches shoots a Tikka in .260 Rem. His has been re-barreled a few times now. I think his load uses Barnes 140gr Match Burners, N555, & Lapua Brass.

You seem to be on the right track with your load and rifle. Component choice, velocity, etc. are all where I would expect to find success.
 
@SweaterDood Thanks. I have two possibilities one at around 44.4gr and then at approx 43gr. Obviously as BC is affected by velocity I'd prefer the upper end but I wouldn't give up accuracy for a little more speed or BC. When it comes to a rebarrel I'm looking at a 28" 260AI but this one should last me a few years yet.
 
Shot today at 300 and 500m. If you did your bit with the wind it would hold the V at 300m. At 500m there was the worst mirage I've seen at that range but it would still hold the 300m 5 ring (next ring out) despite wondering where the scoring rings were half the time! That was with 44.0gr N555, 2736fps average and 30 ES, 9 SD over 30 shots. I'm pretty happy with that so far. About 130 rounds down the barrel. (TAC A1).
 
I had my first attempt at 1000yds at the weekend. That F Class target is hard with the wind blowing! Had between 3.5 to 7 MOA windage. I'm going to drop the load down a grain though as in the warm weather it was showing some pressure signs.
 

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