260 Remington loading help needed

[Stony]

I have a 260 Remington in an Eliseo chasis with a LH Pierce action. I have just started to shoot it with Factory Berger 140 hybrids and it groups about .85 MOA or less and I'm happy with that. I plan to shoot it in 3x600 matches either in sling or F-class configuration.

I'm getting ready to start reloading for it and have measured the Factory Berger 140 hybrid at: OAL 2.856 and Ogive 2.186. The difference between the two is 0.70. Should I just duplicate that length and adjust the H4350 powder charge and call it done or should I figure out the MAX OAL and adjust both the length and powder charge?

My initial crude method of seating a bullet long, then trying to close the bolt and seating deeper yielded the MAX COL of 3.045 and Ogive 2.345. The difference between the two is the same 0.70. The test bullet isn't seated too deep in the case. Do those number seem inline with others experience?

Any thoughts on loading for this would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[dc.fireman]

I load the .260 Rem. for competition, and there's a few things I can advise you:

1. If you're seating long, and closing the bolt, you're more than likely 'jammed', and not just 'touching'. It's okay, and some bullets like jamming vs. jumping, just be aware that that's where you could be at when approaching the upper load limits.

2. Look up the Satterlee method of loading on your favorite streaming video website. It helped me tremendously, and worked very very well with my .260 loads. You'll need a reliable chronograph to perform it. You'll probably find a 'node' down low, and a 'node' up high.

3. I found that for the 300M - 600 Yd distances, velocity played a huge part in accuracy.

4. I seat my bullets, so that the base of the bullet is even with the case neck/shoulder junction.

5. Annealing really works. It makes your cases re-size, and seat bullets with the same 'feel' every single time. It also helps keep the standard deviations down in the single digits.

6. Full length resize every time, if you're going to shoot from a sling. You don't want to have to fight with getting a round chambered, and then have to rebuild your perfect position all over again, every time.

Best of luck,

-tc

 

[dstoenner]

My load for fclass with 30 inch 1:8 barrel was 42.5 h4350 lapua cases BR-2 primer with a coal 2.900+ as i chased the lands. I got about 2875 with the 140 hybrid

David

 

[wagonman]

never shot the berger hybrids shot 142 smk the ojive on both are a little less sensitive to jump bet you find 10 to 20 off touch will do well. close up that .070 jump from factory ammo on your loaded rounds, seat bto to your chamber.

 

[Sniper338]

You need to for get about the factory ammo anything and measure and load for your gun.

My load is almost axactly the same as dstoenner above except 140 vlds.

 

[JimSC]

I think you will find .260 Rems are pretty easy to load for. I have burned out three barrels over the years and have a Shilen on a practice rifle right now. With a little work you can shrink those groups down to the .5s at 100 and not much larger than that on out to 800 and beyond. Try H4350, IMR 4350, or H4831 SC with darn near any 140 gn HPBT bullet. For load data just use Hogdon's online data, start low and do a normal load workups. Depending on the bullet and barrel anywhere between touch and .030 off has worked for me. WIth 29 inch barrels I found around 2700 to 2750 FPS was the sweet spot. Good luck

edit - 1 word of warning. If you load any 142 SMK's with H4350 be very careful if using the Hogdon load data. I found it was fairly hot even at the recommended starting load. At 42.0 gns in a 29 inch barrel I was getting 2725 FPS. By 42.5 I was getting pressure signs in my rifle.

 

[karrarararararar]

my 260 shoots very well with with 4831sc. I set my jump at .020" with bergers and sierras.

 

[KY_Windage]

You need to for get about the factory ammo anything and measure and load for your gun.

Yup. How deep you need to seat your bullets depends on what your particular barrel likes. Stating an ogive measurement is meaningless anyway unless you also state what bushing you are using.

You need to experiment with different powder weights and seating depths (among other things) to see what your barrel likes best. What someone else has found to be best, even with the same brand and model of rifle, will probably not be optimum for your barrel. Their recipe could easily make your rifle shoot worse than the .85 moa you are getting now.

Sorry, I wish there was a shortcut, but there isn't. That's the way it is.

 

[wagonman]

I think you will find .260 Rems are pretty easy to load for. I have burned out three barrels over the years and have a Shilen on a practice rifle right now. With a little work you can shrink those groups down to the .5s at 100 and not much larger than that on out to 800 and beyond. Try H4350, IMR 4350, or H4831 SC with darn near any 140 gn HPBT bullet. For load data just use Hogdon's online data, start low and do a normal load workups. Depending on the bullet and barrel anywhere between touch and .030 off has worked for me. WIth 29 inch barrels I found around 2700 to 2750 FPS was the sweet spot. Good luck

edit - 1 word of warning. If you load any 142 SMK's with H4350 be very careful if using the Hogdon load data. I found it was fairly hot even at the recommended starting load. At 42.0 gns in a 29 inch barrel I was getting 2725 FPS. By 42.5 I was getting pressure signs in my rifle.

Hodgon load data uses rem cases, for the 260 having used only laupa 260 cases I found 42 gr.h4350 to be max in my 260rem with 142smk, I got stiff bolt lift at 42.5 gr. same as you. Have switched to 260ai 28in shilen I only load to 42.8 get velocity of 2850, at 43gr. pressure signs. When some people freely give load data they should state what cases their using. New reloaders have a hard time understanding the importance case volume can make, or work up to a given load

 

[JimSC]

Hodgon load data uses rem cases, for the 260 having used only laupa 260 cases I found 42 gr.h4350 to be max in my 260rem with 142smk, I got stiff bolt lift at 42.5 gr. same as you. Have switched to 260ai 28in shilen I only load to 42.8 get velocity of 2850, at 43gr. pressure signs. When some people freely give load data they should state what cases their using. New reloaders have a hard time understanding the importance case volume can make, or work up to a given load

I ran the numbers through Quickload and Gordons reloading tool using the default case capacity. Quickload has 42.5 right on the border of PMax, Gordon's let me go up to 43.9 before I hit PMax @ 60K

BTW I was also using Lapua cases when I did that load workup

 

[dstoenner]

Hodgon load data uses rem cases, for the 260 having used only laupa 260 cases I found 42 gr.h4350 to be max in my 260rem with 142smk, I got stiff bolt lift at 42.5 gr. same as you. Have switched to 260ai 28in shilen I only load to 42.8 get velocity of 2850, at 43gr. pressure signs. When some people freely give load data they should state what cases their using. New reloaders have a hard time understanding the importance case volume can make, or work up to a given load

I would bet that COAL inthe hodgdon manual is 2.810 whicn constrains case capacity and hence pressures rise. Load long like i did at 2.900+ you have more case capacity and lower pressures. I went up to 43.0 with no signs of pressure.

i do agree you need to start low and work up. Every barrel is an animal unto itself. My first barrel was a Shilen and my next was a McGowen but both liked the same load. Go figure.
David

 

[Stony]

Thank you for all the responses. The rifle currently has a 26" Bartlein with 8.5 twist. I'll be using the Lapua brass from the factory Berger loads once I shoot them. I'll most likely outsource annealing when needed.

I appreciate the heads up on jamming the bullet. I just received a modified case gauge and the OAL is 2.996" I have a Whidden sizer die with the expander ball kit. Right now I'm using the .262 expander so that should be about .003 of neck tension if I understand it correctly. I bumped the shoulder back about .002". The lock rings never seem to hold so I'll have to put some plumbers tape on it to keep the ring from spinning right off the setting.

I also purchased the Magnetospeed Sporter chronograph so I can develop loads with the Satterlee method once it gets warmer. Its seems pretty straight forward. Fortunately I bought 16 pounds of H4350 and 8 pounds of 4831sc last year so I have plenty to get through the current barrel and a Bartlein 8 blank that I picked up.

Hopefully in the Spring I can shrink the groups and I'll post some results.

 

[karrarararararar]

Thank you for all the responses. The rifle currently has a 26" Bartlein with 8.5 twist. I'll be using the Lapua brass from the factory Berger loads once I shoot them. I'll most likely outsource annealing when needed.

I appreciate the heads up on jamming the bullet. I just received a modified case gauge and the OAL is 2.996" I have a Whidden sizer die with the expander ball kit. Right now I'm using the .262 expander so that should be about .003 of neck tension if I understand it correctly. I bumped the shoulder back about .002". The lock rings never seem to hold so I'll have to put some plumbers tape on it to keep the ring from spinning right off the setting.

I also purchased the Magnetospeed Sporter chronograph so I can develop loads with the Satterlee method once it gets warmer. Its seems pretty straight forward. Fortunately I bought 16 pounds of H4350 and 8 pounds of 4831sc last year so I have plenty to get through the current barrel and a Bartlein 8 blank that I picked up.

Hopefully in the Spring I can shrink the groups and I'll post some results.

Sounds like you're off to a good start. My setup is similar to yours. Pre64 M70, 26" 8.5 twist Kreiger, Peterson SRP brass. I've been shooting 140/142's but will be trying 130 smk's this year.

I'm assuming you're talking about the locking ring moving when changing dies? If that's the case, I highly suggest getting the Hornady bushing conversion. It makes life so much easier.

 

[Stony]

I finally loaded up some rounds and hit the range with my Magnetospeed Sporter. I set the COAL at 2.905" and used the Berger 140 Hybrid. I started at 41.5 and loaded in .1 increments to 43.1 of H4350.

I tested the chronograph with the factory Berger 140 to get a baseline.
AVG: 2758 SD 17 ES 47

1. 2750
2. 2739
3. 2786
4. 2754
5. 2761

Then I tried the Satterlee method:

1. 41.5 - 2772
2. 41.6 - 2768
3. 41.7 - 2786
4. 41.8 - 2812
5. 41.9 - 2787
6. 42.0 - 2826
7. 42.1 - 2827 LOW NODE ?
8. 42.2 - 2788
9. 42.3 - 2835
10. 42.4 - 2817
11. 42.5 - 2838
12. 42.6 - 2849
13. 42.7 - 2836
14. 42.8 - 2860
15. 42.9 - 2866 HI NODE ?
16. 43.0 - 2871
17. 43.1 - 2892

This is my first shot at it. It seems like the LOW node is 42.1 and the HI node is about 42.9. Some of the velocities seem out of order. Not sure if that's normal? 42.3, 42.5, and 42.7 are very tight (2835, 3838, and 2836) but how do you account for 42.4 and 42.6? I didn't see any pressure signs in the brass. I don't think I had a stiff bolt lift. This is my first bolt rifle so I don't know what a stiff vs. not stiff bolt feels like.

Any thoughts on the data listed and the best node to develop with seating depth would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[75vmax]

Got away from 4350 . Moved on to R16 and got more speed and better accuracy with a SD of 4

 

[284winner]

My go too load for my .260s with 140s is 46-46.6 grains of H4831sc. Berger 140 VLDs .010 off. Very good (.2-.3s) consistently. I don't shoot competition but love shooting tiny groups for hunting.

 

[Stony]

Finally was able to do a seating depth test. There were two stand outs. I'm happy. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Walt Schmidlin]

Measure the OD of your fired brass, then measure the OD of the loaded round. There should be a .002”-.003” difference to reduce the possibility of pressure issues than are related to a tight chamber.
If the OD of your fired brass is .295” the maximum neck thickness would be .014”. Most probably not an issue with R-P or W-W brass but most likely Alpha, Peterson or Lapua will require neck turning with a .295” neck.
Also should you elect to use Nosler 140gr RDF check your freebore and adjust your seating depth according. RDFs are longer than 123/142gr SMKs and prefer ~.050” off which depending on your freebore seats the bullet below the neck shoulder junction resulting is pressure issues.
I have only used 123/142gr SMKs and 140gr Nosler RDFs.

 

[Stony]

The OD of fired Berger Ammo with Lapua brass is .297 The factory load is .295
The OD of fired Prime Ammo with Peterson brass is .297 The factory load is .294

 

[dc.fireman]

I finally loaded up some rounds and hit the range with my Magnetospeed Sporter. I set the COAL at 2.905" and used the Berger 140 Hybrid. I started at 41.5 and loaded in .1 increments to 43.1 of H4350.

I tested the chronograph with the factory Berger 140 to get a baseline.
AVG: 2758 SD 17 ES 47

1. 2750
2. 2739
3. 2786
4. 2754
5. 2761

Then I tried the Satterlee method:

1. 41.5 - 2772
2. 41.6 - 2768
3. 41.7 - 2786
4. 41.8 - 2812
5. 41.9 - 2787
6. 42.0 - 2826
7. 42.1 - 2827 LOW NODE ?
8. 42.2 - 2788
9. 42.3 - 2835
10. 42.4 - 2817
11. 42.5 - 2838
12. 42.6 - 2849
13. 42.7 - 2836
14. 42.8 - 2860
15. 42.9 - 2866 HI NODE ?
16. 43.0 - 2871
17. 43.1 - 2892

This is my first shot at it. It seems like the LOW node is 42.1 and the HI node is about 42.9. Some of the velocities seem out of order. Not sure if that's normal? 42.3, 42.5, and 42.7 are very tight (2835, 3838, and 2836) but how do you account for 42.4 and 42.6? I didn't see any pressure signs in the brass. I don't think I had a stiff bolt lift. This is my first bolt rifle so I don't know what a stiff vs. not stiff bolt feels like.

Any thoughts on the data listed and the best node to develop with seating depth would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

It appears to me as though you have only discovered one node, using that combination of components: 42.0-42.1.

2800 fps is a decent velocity - If it groups well for you, I don't think I'd fool with anything else.

-tc