260 Rem Load Recipeies?

[BitterrootBob]

Before reading much about the 260 twist rates I purchased a Rem 700 CDL SF 260 that came with a 24" barrel & 1:10 twist. I pillar bedded the stock and the rifle has grown on me without firing a round. I plan to take it on an antelope hunt and to let my daughter bust whitetail with it. Let me know if I am just clinging to a bad investment because it seems that may be the case.

I realize the downfall of the 1:10 twist but does anyone have a good load & bullet combo that has worked? I like Berger Hunting VLD's so originally wanted to use the 140 grain VLD. I see that I may need to go with a shorter bullet for stability to compensate for the bad twist rate?. Any thoughts or good experiences?

I have much to learn in the 260 world so I am open to any suggestions. I appreciate any advice fellas.gun)

I know this was posted quite a while ago...but the published twist rate for that rifle is incorrect. The Remington 700 CDL SF has a 1:9 twist, not 1:10. They published 1:10 in several locations but Remington never made a rifle in 260 with a 1:10 twist. Just an FYI for anyone interested.

I have the same rifle and it will stabilize the Berger 140 VLD.

 

[Sargesniper]

I agree. I use my 260 Savage LRP at 2750FPS for target/competition, the 6.5x284 at 2975 for hunting. I have found that the 6.5x284's life can be extended to 1000-1100 rounds when used for hunting and not running it hot like I do with my target rifles. Never got much more than that, sometimes less, from my 270, 7mm, and 300 Magnums. I would have to say though, I personally can see the advantage over the 260 with 800+ yard performance in ballistics, accuracy, and terminal performance with the 6.5x284 which is probably the reason for the strong following.

Yes Greyfox, The 6.5x284 is superior at a longer range but you pay for it. If i were to obtain another one, it would be for hunting only. I cannot afford a barrel change every 8 months or so. But it sure is a sweet shooter. I loved it,but such a short romance! .......SEMPER FI.

 

[Greyfox]

Yes Greyfox, The 6.5x284 is superior at a longer range but you pay for it. If i were to obtain another one, it would be for hunting only. I cannot afford a barrel change every 8 months or so. But it sure is a sweet shooter. I loved it,but such a short romance! .......SEMPER FI.

I agree, not only the cost, but the time and energy to test and reconfirm the ballistics data as well. My favorite 6.5x284 that I use exclusively for hunting deer, antelope, and coyotes during the big game season has gone through three seasons including load development, rifle set up and testing. It's at 400 rounds through the barrel. Figuring around 100 rounds a year for practice, confirmation, and actual hunting shots, I'm hoping that I can get another 5-7 years out of the barrel. This particular gal is an incredible shooter. I can safely say I have not had another that could do what she does. I'm trying to prolong the romance, but I know she is going to break my heart when she dumps me.

 

[Onewolf]

The story of my (ongoing) education pursuing long range shooting with a Savage LRP 260.....

I just started shooting a rifle last fall with the intention of learning 'how' to shoot long range. I ordered a Savage LRP 260 in October and started shooting it at the 100yd/200m/300m range in November. I had never shot a real rifle (besides an AR with a 1X red dot) before I started shooting the LRP 260.

In early January I started handloading rounds using my new Redding T7 press. I bought 100 bullet packages of a variety of high BC 6.5mm bullets and I have done powder load tests with a variety of those bullets (Barnes MatchBurner 140s, Hornady A-MAX 140s, Sierra MK 142, Sierra MK 140s) to try to determine which bullets and powder loads my rifle 'likes'. I have not yet tested with the Berger 130/140 VLD or Hybrid bullets.

In mid January I had my first qualification and practice session on the 'long' range at 500, 600, 800, and 1000 yds. I was able to qualify out to 1000 yds (which was great) but I clearly had/have a LONG way to go regarding dynamically reading the wind.

My second long range practice didn't go as well as the first because I had a number of shots (SMK 142s) that just didn't 'behave' as expected (non called flyers). I was trying a longer OAL (2.87") with these rounds and the rifle didn't seem to like it. I had 20 rounds left over so I reset them down to 2.805" and went back to the 300m range and shot two 10 round groups to see if it solved the 'flyer' issue. Both 10 shot groups were less than 2.2" at 300m which seemed to indicate that the 'flyer' issue was OAL related.

However at that point I was out of SMK 142s and I had a long range practice scheduled for last Saturday so I made 25 rounds of Barnes Matchburner 140s and 25 rounds of Hornady A-MAX 140s with 43.0gr of Hodgdon H-4350 (This load had tested well previously with both of these bullets) set at an OAL of 2.81". My theory was that the MB140s and A-MAX 140s have G1 rated BC of .586 and .585 so they 'should' behave similarly. I shot the MB140s at 400, 500, 600, and 700 yards and I shot the A-AMAX 140s at 700, 800, 900, and 1000 yds. At 700 yards the Barnes and A-MAX (6 shots total) grouped around 5" so that proves they are very close in exterior ballistics.

I was the first shooter at 1000 yds and by that time the breeze was variable 6-14 MPH and quartering between 1-2 o'clock. First shot, impact on the silhouette 6" popper bullseye! I had hits on 11 of 12 shots at 1000yds on the 8-10" targets. None of the other shooters had above a 33% hit rate at that distance.

So, the moral of the story for this message thread is that it appears to me that 43.0gr of Hodgdon H-4350 and Hornady A-MAX 140s set at 2.810" produced fairly consistently accurate rounds for _my_ Savage LRP 260.

Now I need to start load testing with the Berger bullets since I am out of SMK 142s, Barnes MatchBurners, and Hornady A-MAXs.

 

[Sargesniper]

The story of my (ongoing) education pursuing long range shooting with a Savage LRP 260.....

I just started shooting a rifle last fall with the intention of learning 'how' to shoot long range. I ordered a Savage LRP 260 in October and started shooting it at the 100yd/200m/300m range in November. I had never shot a real rifle (besides an AR with a 1X red dot) before I started shooting the LRP 260.

In early January I started handloading rounds using my new Redding T7 press. I bought 100 bullet packages of a variety of high BC 6.5mm bullets and I have done powder load tests with a variety of those bullets (Barnes MatchBurner 140s, Hornady A-MAX 140s, Sierra MK 142, Sierra MK 140s) to try to determine which bullets and powder loads my rifle 'likes'. I have not yet tested with the Berger 130/140 VLD or Hybrid bullets.

In mid January I had my first qualification and practice session on the 'long' range at 500, 600, 800, and 1000 yds. I was able to qualify out to 1000 yds (which was great) but I clearly had/have a LONG way to go regarding dynamically reading the wind.

My second long range practice didn't go as well as the first because I had a number of shots (SMK 142s) that just didn't 'behave' as expected (non called flyers). I was trying a longer OAL (2.87") with these rounds and the rifle didn't seem to like it. I had 20 rounds left over so I reset them down to 2.805" and went back to the 300m range and shot two 10 round groups to see if it solved the 'flyer' issue. Both 10 shot groups were less than 2.2" at 300m which seemed to indicate that the 'flyer' issue was OAL related.

However at that point I was out of SMK 142s and I had a long range practice scheduled for last Saturday so I made 25 rounds of Barnes Matchburner 140s and 25 rounds of Hornady A-MAX 140s with 43.0gr of Hodgdon H-4350 (This load had tested well previously with both of these bullets) set at an OAL of 2.81". My theory was that the MB140s and A-MAX 140s have G1 rated BC of .586 and .585 so they 'should' behave similarly. I shot the MB140s at 400, 500, 600, and 700 yards and I shot the A-AMAX 140s at 700, 800, 900, and 1000 yds. At 700 yards the Barnes and A-MAX (6 shots total) grouped around 5" so that proves they are very close in exterior ballistics.

I was the first shooter at 1000 yds and by that time the breeze was variable 6-14 MPH and quartering between 1-2 o'clock. First shot, impact on the silhouette 6" popper bullseye! I had hits on 11 of 12 shots at 1000yds on the 8-10" targets. None of the other shooters had above a 33% hit rate at that distance.

So, the moral of the story for this message thread is that it appears to me that 43.0gr of Hodgdon H-4350 and Hornady A-MAX 140s set at 2.810" produced fairly consistently accurate rounds for _my_ Savage LRP 260.

Now I need to start load testing with the Berger bullets since I am out of SMK 142s, Barnes MatchBurners, and Hornady A-MAXs.

Good shooting and well deserved for your loading effort. Yes the wind is your best friend or your worst enemy@ 1000 yds. Work on fine tuning and you will get even better. Good luck and shoot bug holes. .............SEMPER FI!

 

[5R LR SHTR]

fantastic story and info you dished out and a very good read. ironically i just went to the range this past weekend and tested out my krieger 260 1-8 and got exactly the same results you had only i tested them at 100 yds. i typically load test at that range with my 308 and 260 and find that close in and long range they perform the same so i can get a good idea of the "producer loads" even at 100 yds.

the 140 amax at 2.817 with 42.9 and 43.0 grns performed fantastic with both groups just over one-holers, with the 42.9 slightly larger than the 43.0. the 43.0 had four shots almost in the same hole, the 42.9 was about the same with some minor widening. problem is i want to shoot and perfect this load with neck turning but there aren't any 140 amax bullets to be found in my area so i am gonna have to order them. i tried the bergers with a load i got off of this website with 41.5 H4350 but i didn't have any CCI BR primers so i think my test was scewed but that load with a BR primer .015 off the lans seems to work really well for several folks (1-8 twist).

hopeit works out well with yah and i am going to test the SMK142s maybe this weekend. i was testing some 123s as well as the 140s and didn't load any of the 142s. would like to hear back how it works out for you for the rest of your load testing. thanks, jason

 

[338shooter]

I know this was posted quite a while ago...but the published twist rate for that rifle is incorrect. The Remington 700 CDL SF has a 1:9 twist, not 1:10. They published 1:10 in several locations but Remington never made a rifle in 260 with a 1:10 twist. Just an FYI for anyone interested.

I have the same rifle and it will stabilize the Berger 140 VLD.

Thanks for that info. I have decided to stick with the rifle now and will try out some heavier bullets next time around. Are you running H4350 like most other guys?

 

[Sargesniper]

I agree. I use my 260 Savage LRP at 2750FPS for target/competition, the 6.5x284 at 2975 for hunting. I have found that the 6.5x284's life can be extended to 1000-1100 rounds when used for hunting and not running it hot like I do with my target rifles. Never got much more than that, sometimes less, from my 270, 7mm, and 300 Magnums. I would have to say though, I personally can see the advantage over the 260 with 800+ yard performance in ballistics, accuracy, and terminal performance with the 6.5x284 which is probably the reason for the strong following.

Hey Greyfox. I just looked at some of my data sheets and found a load that gave me .434" 10 round group @ 100 yds. with the .260. Vel. was 2894. If you want to give it a go ,let me know. ........SEMPER FI!

 

[BitterrootBob]

Thanks for that info. I have decided to stick with the rifle now and will try out some heavier bullets next time around. Are you running H4350 like most other guys?

338shooter, obviously I don't get around here much, LOL. I am running RL-17 simply because I can't find H4350 around here. I haven't shot this rifle a ton but I have shot some nice groups (for me anyway) with the 140 Bergers and 140 Accubonds. I found an accuracy node between 42-42.5 grains.

The groups started to open up after 42.5gr and started to close back up at 44gr. I started at 40gr, which shot like crap. I started at 40gr because I was reading a lot of people having pressure issues with RL-17. My gun showed no excessive pressure at 44gr, though, and I shot 44gr with 140 Accubonds at 88 degrees. I don't currently have a chronograph, so I don't have a clue as to speeds.

I plan on loading some rounds up from 44gr and see if the groups keep closing up. 44gr was right about an 1.5" for 3 shots while 42-42.5 could have been covered by a quarter.

 

[blackdog]

I have been shooting H4350 (43.5g) and 142g SMK's with WLR primers in my .260 and the combo works very well. Recently as I was running low on SMK's I bought a bunch of 140 Berger hybrids (and then of course immediately found more SMK's!). I tried the Bergers this weekend, starting at 41.5 and used .5g incriments up to 44.5. Groups started at 2" at 300 yards and just kept getting tighter and tighter. Stopped at 44.5 with no obvious pressure signs and about a .3 MOA group at 2860fps. Just validated why I love my .260!

 

[trailrider121]

Anyone currently using 130 vld's?

 

[rinodods]

I have been shooting H4350 (43.5g) and 142g SMK's with WLR primers in my .260 and the combo works very well. Recently as I was running low on SMK's I bought a bunch of 140 Berger hybrids (and then of course immediately found more SMK's!). I tried the Bergers this weekend, starting at 41.5 and used .5g incriments up to 44.5. Groups started at 2" at 300 yards and just kept getting tighter and tighter. Stopped at 44.5 with no obvious pressure signs and about a .3 MOA group at 2860fps. Just validated why I love my .260!

Just tried the H4350 for the first time last weekend myself with some 140 VLD targets. Had been using 4831SC. Got 2878fps and .2MOA groups out of 43.5gr seated 0.010 off the lands. Thing was shooting some great groups at 750 yards on steel. You couldn't miss if you held still. Hadn't shot the 260 in a long while. Almost forgot how fun it was.

 

[Jinx-)]

My latest load was with 142gr SMK and 42gr of RL-17, I clocked 5 shots 2867, 2879, 2879, 2873, 2875 fps cold bore shot was the slowest, but it grouped nicely .43 MOA@300yds

 

[BitterrootBob]

My latest load was with 142gr SMK and 42gr of RL-17, I clocked 5 shots 2867, 2879, 2879, 2873, 2875 fps cold bore shot was the slowest, but it grouped nicely .43 MOA@300yds

What length barrel you getting those speeds? I'm shooting a 24" with a brake added and it takes 44.2gr of RL17 to achieve those speeds.

My barrel has been broken in with hBN and the bullets coated. I know people say you lose speed and get lower pressures with hBN and I'm wondering if I shouldn't try a little faster powder.

I've seen guys get major pressure issues with 41-42gr of RL17 and 140gr bullets out of 260 Remingtons and I don't get any pressure signs until 46.4gr with a 140 bullet.