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260AI roll call

@msalm, you get anymore testing or shooting in over the weekend with your nephew's new 260AI?

I've been going over the historical data for this barrel and even had one of the best F/open shooters go over my targets (and thankfully confirmed my own analysis) to figure out where I should load to. I'm going to shoot 44.8gr with the new lot of primers at 2805fps at the next 1000 yard club match to confirm my info. I really can't test too much anymore before Western States as I need to get a solid feel for this new velocity.
Nothing yet, hopefully this fall yet but he’s a busy kid working and family affairs. With hunting seasons coming in, he’ll be busy with that too. I have high hopes for those 144gr Lapua bullets though, and well at least load up a ladder and check velocities and pressure in preparation for accuracy testing. I finished the rifle in time for his last evening match with friends and he dominated them quite handily…I believe it’ll be on the back burner until this spring
 
Solidified my load in the new rifle at the last 1000y club match last weekend. Going to take this load to the Western States Championship in a couple weeks. Shot a 150-8, 149-11 and a 141-2. Last relay I took my two sighters in what was to be the last of the calm winds as it picked up from the 3-5 knots to well over 10 with gusts and fish tailing in my face after my first round for record. Put up an 8 when trying to figure it out during record string, lol!

Target is from my second string. The right 9 was all me. Saw the flags switch right as I pulled the trigger and knew it was going to be close. Load shoots good, just need to confirm some tuner settings if needed for weather changes.

260AI
Berger 153.5
Peterson SRP 10x fired
Rem 7-1/2
N555 44.8gr
2804fps avg
SD 3-5 over 22 rounds.

20251011_133054.jpg20251011_102221.jpg
 
Well the 260AI did me proud at the Western States Long Range Championship this past weekend. It held its own against a lot of big 7mms and magnums. Conditions were calm but far from benign. You had to really watch the mirage to stay centered up. It wasn't just an X ring contest, that's for sure. Get lazy and you could easily shoot a 9. I took honors in F/Open Master and shot a very competitive score against the HM group, too.

Load
Berger 153.5 -0.010
Peterson 260 SRP (mixed from 2x to 18x firings)
Rem 7-1/2 seated -.003 with slight crush
44.8gr N555 weighed to +0.04/-0.00gr

Atmospherics
Starting the day in 65°F, 29.20-29.33in/Hg, 55%rH
Ending the day at 80°F, 29.24-29.40in/Hg, 40%rH
Elevation 876' ASL
Winds light and highly variable

20251031_125322.jpg20251101_151747.jpg20251102_130212.jpg20251102_130217.jpg
20251101_084841.jpg
 
Well the 260AI did me proud at the Western States Long Range Championship this past weekend. It held its own against a lot of big 7mms and magnums. Conditions were calm but far from benign. You had to really watch the mirage to stay centered up. It wasn't just an X ring contest, that's for sure. Get lazy and you could easily shoot a 9. I took honors in F/Open Master and shot a very competitive score against the HM group, too.

Load
Berger 153.5 -0.010
Peterson 260 SRP (mixed from 2x to 18x firings)
Rem 7-1/2 seated -.003 with slight crush
44.8gr N555 weighed to +0.04/-0.00gr

Atmospherics
Starting the day in 65°F, 29.20-29.33in/Hg, 55%rH
Ending the day at 80°F, 29.24-29.40in/Hg, 40%rH
Elevation 876' ASL
Winds light and highly variable

View attachment 1708345View attachment 1708346View attachment 1708347View attachment 1708348
View attachment 1708350
Don't forget paint by BC'z!
 
Did some bullet lot # testing Berger 153.5 over the last weekend. Was hoping to shoot a 1000y match but after 3 hour delay for fog the match got canceled. The next day was a Palma but after 2 hour fog delay we had just enough visibility to shoot a 600y match.

Winds were light and very switchy. Left, right, in your face and 2-3 minutes gusts and let offs that if you didn't pay attention would bite you.

Shot my first string with my known lot number then the next two strings with the new lot. Didn't see an appreciable difference between them, which is good enough right now. Getting things sorted for final selection for SWN.

Target was first string. Scores were really close at the top, one point could send you down a few spots.

20251214_131608.jpg20251214_095953.jpg
 
I contacted Redding a year ago inquiring about a small base 260AI die and turns out they do have a small base body die (#74623) but it is special order only through a dealer. I had a couple base sizing dies already so didn't follow through with that back then. After ripping the lip off my shell holder when base sizing right before the WSLRC in October, I decided to see if Bruno's could order it for me. After a bit of back and forth with Amy at Bruno's and Redding she was finally able to get the correct die on order and they had it in stock.

Hopefully I'll have it in hand by the end of this week and can try it out. I already body size and neck size in separate steps, so this won't cause any extra work for me. I'll take and record measurements over a larger sample and post my findings here. I'll also shoot before SWN to make sure everything is good.
 
Well the 260AI did me proud at the Western States Long Range Championship this past weekend. It held its own against a lot of big 7mms and magnums. Conditions were calm but far from benign. You had to really watch the mirage to stay centered up. It wasn't just an X ring contest, that's for sure. Get lazy and you could easily shoot a 9. I took honors in F/Open Master and shot a very competitive score against the HM group, too.

Load
Berger 153.5 -0.010
Peterson 260 SRP (mixed from 2x to 18x firings)
Rem 7-1/2 seated -.003 with slight crush
44.8gr N555 weighed to +0.04/-0.00gr

Atmospherics
Starting the day in 65°F, 29.20-29.33in/Hg, 55%rH
Ending the day at 80°F, 29.24-29.40in/Hg, 40%rH
Elevation 876' ASL
Winds light and highly variable

View attachment 1708345View attachment 1708346View attachment 1708347View attachment 1708348
View attachment 1708350
details on the build? looks great
 
Starting playing with the SB Body die tonight. It's just a tiny bit longer than my Type S FL die, so needed to use a lapped shell holder to get shoulder bump where I liked it.

It sizes well below the .200" line, and average base size for my many times fired Peterson SRP brass was 0.4686" as compared to the Type S FL die which would typically size to 0.4705".

Thats in line with my small ring die and my mid ring die would typically size to 0.4695".

I'm going to mix and match a couple shell holders to see if I can get that magic combo, but so far I'm liking this by the numbers. Going to shoot a 1000y match tomorrow and will report how it feels on extraction and how it shoots.

Redding PN# 74623 Small Base Body Die, 260 rem Imp 40°. Special order from a dealer through Redding, only.
 
I’m on the fence on building one more. Need a decently flat shooting whitetail rifle for my kids to shoot out of a box blind and a solid tripod rest. It’s between this, a 6.5 PRC, straight 284 or a 7 RSAUM. Lower recoil in a 10-12lb rifle and likely a suppressor.
 
I’m on the fence on building one more. Need a decently flat shooting whitetail rifle for my kids to shoot out of a box blind and a solid tripod rest. It’s between this, a 6.5 PRC, straight 284 or a 7 RSAUM. Lower recoil in a 10-12lb rifle and likely a suppressor.
A 6.5 shooting 150gr or less bullets will have much less recoil than a 7mm shooting 180gr bullets. 140s in a 260AI run about 2950-3000 in 24-26" barrels.
 
A 6.5 shooting 150gr or less bullets will have much less recoil than a 7mm shooting 180gr bullets. 140s in a 260AI run about 2950-3000 in 24-26" barrels.
I’d be shooting 130’s in 6.5 or tops of 155 in 7. 155 gr Terminal Ascent in 7mm or 6.5 130 Sciroccos. Pretty sure with the rifle at 10-12 lb w/ a suppressor recoil will not be an issue with either caliber…that’s my thought anyway. The box blind would have 2-400+ yards views hence the thought of something more than a standard SA offering.

Oh, and it’ll be clamped in a sturdy tripod.
 

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