.264 142 SMK in a .260

[MikeMcCasland]

Howdy Gents,

I wanted to seek some advise on the 142 Match Kings in the standard .260 Rem.

When I first got into the .260 I picked up a gob of these bullets because it seemed like the wallet friendly BC-King and a ton of people were successfully shooting these things for 1k work. That said, I've run through about 200 of them and can't get them to shoot out of three different barrels (2x 1:8t, 1x 1:8.5t) behind about 7-8 different powders; other bullets will post respectable groups.

I was curious if these bullets were sensitive to seating depth like the VLDs, or if there was something you guys were doing to get them to shoot so well? (I started them at .020" from the lands for load testing.) I fully accept that I may just have three barrels that don't like the bullet, but I've never been able to get them to post better than 1" groups in everything I've tried.

Anything special to do here, or should I just dump them?

Edited to add the barrel types:
Shilen 26" 1:8.5 Ratchet Twist - Varmint
McGowen 28" 1:8 - Varmint
Shaw 24" 1:8 - Magnum Contour

 

[jonbearman]

I couldn't get them to shoot in my 8 twist either.I don't have a real answer other than they just do not work in all gun's.Some swear by them and I swear at them. I am adding this. I tried the 120 matchkings and voila,they shoot.I am going to try the 123 sierra matchkings as well.I only have 1 box but we will see.

 

[Albany Mountain]

Certainly you've tried H4350. When you say 1" groups, at what range? 100 yards?? If so, is that the longest yardage you have shot??

 

[MikeMcCasland]

Certainly you've tried H4350. When you say 1" groups, at what range? 100 yards?? If so, is that the longest yardage you have shot??

Good call-out; I didn't list all pertinent info.

I was shooting at 100 yards for load testing and at best getting a 1" group out of them. I've tried the following powders behind the 142 SMK:
H4350
Varget
RE19
H1000
IMR4350
H4831
Ramshot Hunter

The longest distance I've shot is 1,000 yards. I shoot that distance roughly every month or so. That said, I was shooting these at 1k as well just for fodder a couple of times, and couldn't get them dialed in at all. I don't know what the groups were as I was shooting at steel in heavy wind, but I doubt they'd of been good at all. 20-30"? Some of that is/was me, but I expect the results at 100 to be somewhat indicative (at least to a point) of the results at 1000.

 

[Mr. Ten-X]

Mike, when the 6.5x308 was en vogue for National Match shooters in the 90's, the SIE 142MK was "the" bullet to shoot at 600yds. A friend of mine that did quite well with one in 600yd events used Varget as a propellant.

 

[Dans40X]

Other than your barrel selection,I've fired thousands of 142 MK's thru 1:9" & 1:8.5" twist CUT rifled barrels w/out issues.
Try some of the harder jacketed Hornady 140 A-Max's.
All of the polymer tipped projectiles won't be to call at 1K & I point the blame on the polymer tips.

 

[MikeMcCasland]

Other than your barrel selection,I've fired thousands of 142 MK's thru 1:9" & 1:8.5" twist CUT rifled barrels w/out issues.
Try some of the harder jacketed Hornady 140 A-Max's.
All of the polymer tipped projectiles won't be to call at 1K & I point the blame on the polymer tips.

Dans40x - Rgr that on the 140 A-Maxes; I've tried them, and they shot better, but not as well as I'd of liked. That said, I was curious about your comment on the polymer tipped bullets; I don't understand the "won't be able to call at 1k" portion. Can you elaborate?

Mr. Ten-X - Thanks for the heads up! Varget shoots well in my Shilen barrel, but I've looked to the slower powders for better velocity. If I can ever find varget again, I may buy a bunch and just accept that it'll be a slow shooter.

 

[kochie]

lapua has a new bullet 136 grain scenar i haven't tryed it myself but heard good things about it .

 

[jonbearman]

Maybe we are pushing the 142 matchking too fast and that's why they don't shoot as well as other bullets.I tried the 130 Berger vld and it shot terrible no matter where I seated it.There has to be a real solution why this happens but can we nail it down.I know cut rifled seem to shoot better but what difference does it make with a hand lapped good quality button rifled barrel.

 

[MikeMcCasland]

Given the experience/knowledge of shooters on this forum, and the number of views/replies, I'm guessing there's no miracle cure to get these to shoot. I'll probably sell them and invest in the 123 Scenars/Match Kings.

Out of curiosity, assuming the BCs are roughly the same do you think I'll see any appreciable gain or decrease in 1k wind performance? I guess a better way of asking it is, will I see gain or lose anything pushing a .547 123gr at 2950 vs shooting a .595 142 at 2800?

Thanks in advance gents, I really appreciate this forum and the responses/PMs I've received from this thread.