RL26 in the 6XC

[Frankr]

RL26 in the 6XC was a bust shot bad at 200 yards like 3 to 4" It had shot real well at 100 yards but when I stretched it to 200 I could not get it to group at all. It was just inconsistent and got worse as the temp dropped into the 20's it was huge. tried a few different primers but it did not shoot well. I switched to RL17 and it was shooting 1/2" groups at 200 yards.. I had matched up a few cases and turned the necks full match prep on them loaded some H4350 up in them for my #3 1-8 twist sporter barrel just to see how well it could still shoot with right at 1,000 rounds on it and it shot .362 3 shot group at 200 yards ya got to like that. But the RL17 just treats me better as a hunting load a little more speed and 1/2 moa and it has proved it self as temp stable over two hunting season. The H4350 I have shoots better it shot .362 or .181 moa at 200 yards but they left or forgot to put the Extreme in my can. as it is the worst powder as the temperature drops from 80 to 20 deg F I have seen over a 100 FPS velocity loss but it still shoots great.
It's not good to me for the hunting I do. But fun to play at the range with it.

 

[dearlallen]

I'm not sure why we keep searching for new loads for 6XC? H4350 is the ticket.....

 

[potatoe]

What kind of velocity and bullet are you getting/shooting? Also does this thing mag feed well, and by well I mean no mods? It reallllly has my attention.

 

[Frankr]

Hunting/fun target shooting/play around experimenting 1-7 twist #4 sporter 26" 115 VLDH
this is what it shot at 100 yards a few times at over 3,100 FPS
3 shot groups at 100 Yards measuring at .110ish / 45.5gr RL26 but it proved I could not get it to shoot at 200.
Yes H4350 shoots great. RL17 shoots great. I am sure so do quite a few other powders.
I did kill a whitetail doe at 420 yards with that load but did not hit where I held and missed two I don't think I should have.So I finished my Hunting season with my 1-8 twist 6XC which 4 whitetail doe fell to the 105 VLDH this year.
I shot a load of RL17 in this rifle this past Sunday at 200 yards with the 115 VLDH right at 1/2" so good. going to load quite a few up and be back out there this weekend. It was around 27 deg F warmed up to 40 deg F.

 

[Frankr]

What kind of velocity and bullet are you getting/shooting? Also does this thing mag feed well, and by well I mean no mods? It reallllly has my attention.

What has your attention ? The 6XC
feeds as well as a 308 win from a short action box or mag at 2.800
I only been shooting one rifle for a year and a half and now have a second one. I am completely sold on it. The Norma brass makes it easy, accuracy close to the 6BR but capable of pushing a 105 or 115 gr bullet fast enough to be a effective long range hunting round with low recoil and report.
I have been able to push a 105 VLD out of a 26" barrel at 3,150 FPS with good accuracy .(MAX LOAD)
Now the new rifle I have a have pushed a 115 to 3,150 FPS but that load did not prove to shoot well. But I shot a 115 at 27 deg F at 3,025 1/2 group at 200 yards no pressure.1/4 moa. sure I can get it to 3,050 or might even 3,100 but 3,050 is my target velocity. That is with RL17. As I stated I can not get that kind of velocity in the one rifle with H4350 but it does shoot great. I have never tried H4350 in this new rifle as it seems faster for many reasons, Slightly larger chamber,more clearance.possible just a fast barrel.

 

[WyleWD]

What kind of velocity and bullet are you getting/shooting? Also does this thing mag feed well, and by well I mean no mods? It reallllly has my attention.

The 6xc feeds just fine from a Rem 700 BDL magazine. I have a couple and have never had an issue.

As I stated I can not get that kind of velocity in the one rifle with H4350 but it does shoot great. I have never tried H4350 in this new rifle as it seems faster for many reasons, Slightly larger chamber,more clearance.possible just a fast barrel.

FJM You might want to try IMR 4350 in them. It has slightly faster burn rate (in some burnrate charts), and REALLY improved groups over the H4350 in my rifles. JME. WD

 

[Frankr]

Thanks WyleWD I have IMR4350 I have shot a lot of it. I tried it once in the XC but never really tested it in the XC. I know how it shoots in other cartridges. H4350 shoots great but our hunting season is in December and it can be anywhere between below zero and 60 deg F and I try to shoot the hunting load year round and none of the H4350 I have is temp stable. I chrony'ed it at 30 deg F 2,975 FPS 75 deg F 3,050 FPS but no matter what temp it shoots great.
where as the RL17 at 30 deg F 3,150 FPS 80 deg F 3,150 FPS it seems real stable..not just in my gun but I have two friends shooting RL17 in short mag's one in 7 and one in 270 and they have chrony'ed the same temp stability I have. So it is just a better powder for my use. It shoots well I get 1/2 moa or slightly better sometimes. If I really want to shoot groups the H4350 is the ticket for the day but you can not count on the velocity to be the same unless you shoot in the same temp..I called bullshit on the Extreme part. I talked to a few other guys who said the same. I am not trying to put H4350 down I just have been out there behind a chronograph at -20 deg to 95 deg F and is does not work for me but understand RL17 is the most stable powder I have ever tested. I played with it for two years in a 6.5 creedmore and in this 6XC I have never seen a powder be this stable. I need to buy some more I hope what I buy is like what I have.
Last Sunday we shot it was 17 deg F in the morning..it was 27 deg F at the range. Hunting weather. I was all bundled up in my Sitke Incinerator jacket even had my hood on,worth every penny.

 

[Frankr]

I may have pulled the plug on the RL26 too soon. I found a few errors in my loading process. For some strange reason this rifle like a new case run threw my die with the expander ball..If I FL size a case to where I have slight crush when bolt is just closed(where I have found my best accuracy with most rifles) new case to fired case .007 so I sized about .0005 to .001 but for some reason this rifle seems to like .003 or what a new case is after it is run threw my die.
I have tried a few powders and primers and what I found in this rifle is I seem to make pressure around 2,950 to 3,000 witch is fine but I have been shooting in the cold 6 to 45 deg F and the rifle has shot well but the velocity has been all over the place.shot good at 2,850 but that is just too slow all the 4350's and 4451 is making pressure 2,900 to 2,950 and you can not hold consistent velocity in the cold weather.I tore up 50 cases experimenting as to what would shoot and where.So I started 50 new cases,changed seating depth slightly,changed primers and it seemed everyting went awry. So I decided to run the RL26 gauntlet one more time on new brass with cci BR2's(key factor). It seems I may get it to shoot and if it is stable. Key thing to keep in mind is it's 30 deg F and the wind chill is close to zero. wind is all over the place(snow) and I just don't always shoot great.

G1 the first shot 2934 was a clean clean barrel. that is a super mild load.
The small group is 45.0 grs I have 15 of them loaded to test and see if it is going to be consistent.It is not a compressed load I use a 4" drop tube the powder is below the neck shoulder junction. Need to use the drop tube to get that.

 

[dbduff]

Am I reading you right, target number 5 is 45.0 grains of re 26? What range? I'm getting similar targets, but 4 grains lower, starting at 38 grains and going up to 40 grains. Increasing powder weight equals tighter groups so far. One inch plus at 300 with 4 shot groups. I'm using 107 gr Sierras upwards of.020 off rifling. Will go higher based on what you're showing, but need to re prep brass. No signs of pressure, Norma large primer brass.
D

 

[Deton8tor]

I am with WyleWD, I went to IMR4350 in my XC. Closed up the groups and gave a little more velocity. I have not noticed a change with temps.

 

[boltfluter]

FJIM,

Great write up. In the process of having a 6XC chambered up as we speak. What is your favorite load with RL17 and primer of choice? Very nice looking rifle you have there.

Regards, Paul

www.boltfluting.com

 

[LitLBoy]

Why doesn't anyone talk about 7828SSC in the 6XC? Shoots really well for me with 105BH
LitLBoy

 

[Frankr]

Yea I have not tried IMR7828SC, I do have some..I just don't have enough time to try everything. RL17 with CCI200's or Fed GMM 210's has worked very well around 40.0 to 40.5 grs. with a 105 HVLD.. I have used that load Hunting for a few years now with the 105 HVLD at 3,150 FPS.. BUT in the 1-7 twist with the 115 HVLD I have not got it to shoot as well. I have been shooting RL26 CCI BR2 43.5 Grs. You Have to understand my goal is maximum performance for hunting so I am trying to ring as much speed as I can and still be accurate and stable. stable is most important with as much speed as possible...As far as just shooting great it seems just about anything works and 2,950 FPS shoots very well.
The RL26 seems to be a good powder for me and I have been shooting it in several cartridges. This was my last group at 200 yards checking my zero. So the 43.5gr load with some seating depth changes..I run at 2.790 OAL due to I need to fit in my clip. So jumping some not sure how much but a good bit...The 110 sierra's were .086 off touching and could not get them to shoot well in my .160 free bore. but the 115 HVLD's do and that is what I set the rifle up to shoot...And yes I have had some or more temperature related velocity loss with the RL26 than I like but you have it with all powders other then that lot of RL17 I had.

 

[Frankr]

Am I reading you right, target number 5 is 45.0 grains of re 26? What range? I'm getting similar targets, but 4 grains lower, starting at 38 grains and going up to 40 grains. Increasing powder weight equals tighter groups so far. One inch plus at 300 with 4 shot groups. I'm using 107 gr Sierras upwards of.020 off rifling. Will go higher based on what you're showing, but need to re prep brass. No signs of pressure, Norma large primer brass.
D

Yes group #5 is 45.0 I even shot 45.5...You have to be very careful. My cases are weight sorted and uniform...and it is 30 deg F with a wind chill of ZERO deg F 0 Deg F .....do not shoot that load....I have seen that load be 3,200 FPS at 60 deg F...Very hard on brass... shot it around 3,150 fps....good ....So I have backed down to the 43.5gr load....So in my testing...actual outside temperatures RL26 does not seem to temp stable to me or as I would like it to be for my use.
I can run two loads or just know when it drops...At in a small test the velocity drop was consistent. like same speed every time.

 

[Frankr]

So my thoughts on RL26 after close to two winters shooting it..confused...lol.... sometimes shoots great..and seems consistent...then ah I don't know...velocity loss...All you can do is try it and work up a safe load in your rifle. I am going to get some new brass and try to work up a good RL17 load and see if it stays as consistent as it has in the past..I have been going to revisit H4350 and some other's...I like the 26 and it has shot well with great speed. But I am thinking inconsistent.. like we were hitting a steel plate at 500 yards a small one..Like 8" Like childs play..we even let a 10 year old girl shoot several times and she hit the plate every shot..Then I miss a deer at 600 yards.. So I don't know..Would not have happened with my 1-8 twist XC with a 105 and RL17 just always spot on never fails. zero deg or 85 deg always on.

 

[dbduff]

So my thoughts on RL26 after close to two winters shooting it..confused...lol.... sometimes shoots great..and seems consistent...then ah I don't know...velocity loss...All you can do is try it and work up a safe load in your rifle. I am going to get some new brass and try to work up a good RL17 load and see if it stays as consistent as it has in the past..I have been going to revisit H4350 and some other's...I like the 26 and it has shot well with great speed. But I am thinking inconsistent.. like we were hitting a steel plate at 500 yards a small one..Like 8" Like childs play..we even let a 10 year old girl shoot several times and she hit the plate every shot..Then I miss a deer at 600 yards.. So I don't know..Would not have happened with my 1-8 twist XC with a 105 and RL17 just always spot on never fails. zero deg or 85 deg always on.

Been shooting in 20 degree weather, but not enough to draw conclusions about temp sensitivity of re26. Going to up my load in .5 gr increments from 40.0 and seemit things continue to tighten up. Will be seeing some warmer weather, soon hopefully, so will keep look out for temp related changes. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Encouraging information.
D

 

[dlwheel]

Been working with RL26 in a 6x47L with 100 rounds down the tube. 26" RockCreek 8Twist (Gain Twist). Did ladder tests at 600 yards with max of 45g (105JLK's) at 3213fps. Got a clear node at 44.0g (3150fps) and shot 5 shot groups at 600yds. All around .5moa or better. I'm not sure it is the best powder for that case, but it looks like it would work. My other ladder was H4350 and its node was 40fps lower than the RL26, which was expected with equally good groups.