R26 in the 7 wsm

[MallardAddict]

With all of the positive press about R26, I was wondering if anyone has tried it in their 7wsm and what they found for loads.

i have the standards such as 4831, h1000 etc but everyone is posting great speeds and accuracy with 26 in various calibers so I figured that I would see if anyone had any loads for 7 WSM.

I'm mainly leaning towards the 162 and 180 eld or the 180 vld's as my rifle has Badger DBM.

 

[nbowlin]

I have 175 eld-x's at 3100.

 

[MallardAddict]

I have 175 eld-x's at 3100.

How much r26 and what oal are you running sir?

 

[reeldawg]

I have been using it mine. I am running 67.6 grains and pushing 180 VLDs at 3048. I was running 168 VLDs over 3200. I was over 70 gn. I started getting pressure signs. I have a 22 inch barrel.

Jay

 

[nbowlin]

I made it to 3200 at 69 but it shot better and also my spreads were out of hand with that load. Oddly enough Very similar as above at 67.7 with good es and that is at 2.227 with a comparator. They seem to like a decent jump.

 

[MallardAddict]

That gives me some ideas to start with. My rifle was built by Ga Precision with the Badger bottom metal so I'm assuming I have a little leeway for seating as long as I stay under the 2.95" max oal of the accurate mags.

Strangely enough the rifle came with a A.I. 308 mag tuned by GAP and it holds 4 rds even though it is the same size as my accurate bodies that hold 3.

 

[30calyooper]

I have 175 eld-x's at 3100.

Just curious, how much RL-26, what brand of brass & primer, COAL and the barrel length that gave you 3100? Also was this the max velocity that you mentioned DID NOT provide best accuracy? I am considering the idea of developing a high-end load with either a 168 or 175 Nosler Long Range Accubond for my Savage 11 with 24" barrel. In other cals these have flown well with the same loads as the ELD-X's of similar weight, so this would be very useful info. I haven't played around with this cartridge or rifle a whole lot, but I'm anticipating a dual-purpose load for elk/mule deer at reasonable hunting distances...I will also get into 150 LRAB's as I have these onhand, but experience with my 7mm RemMag indicates that the 168/175 are truly the best options when elk come into the picture.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I used 69.0 RE26 under several different bullets that ranged from 162 ELD - 168 ABLR. Velocity was right at 3,100 from my 25" Broughton bbl. I had no indications of excess pressure.
Accuracy just wasn't there in this rifle with the RE26 so I moved on. I'm currently shooting the 143 Hammer Hunter bullet with 67.1 RE23. Accuracy is running under 2"" at 400 yds. Velocity is about 3,200 ft/sec and I'm sure that I could get an addition 100-200 ft/sec if there was a need to do so.

 

[30calyooper]

I used 69.0 RE26 under several different bullets that ranged from 162 ELD - 168 ABLR. Velocity was right at 3,100 from my 25" Broughton bbl. I had no indications of excess pressure.
Accuracy just wasn't there in this rifle with the RE26 so I moved on. I'm currently shooting the 143 Hammer Hunter bullet with 67.1 RE23. Accuracy is running under 2"" at 400 yds. Velocity is about 3,200 ft/sec and I'm sure that I could get an addition 100-200 ft/sec if there was a need to do so.

Good info - thanks!
So the question to follow is whether or not you were able to get reasonable accuracy with these pills using a lower charge weight, say 66-68 grains of the RL-26? By reasonable I would say grouping at no more than 1 MOA at 400? Not really competition accuracy but probably a reasonable expectation from my Savage, which is glass-bedded in a Boyd's laminate stock and has the older trigger (pre-accutrigger) which is easily adjusted...ultimately I hope to get at least 3000 FPS at the muzzle with sub-moa accuracy out to 500 yds. Cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but I think this goal keeps it real. Your thoughts?
I have also considered RL-23 as a powder to work with, especially for the 150 LRAB as mentioned earlier. Any experience running those heavier bullets with the 23? Or perhaps RL-25, or any other powder for that matter? Since this caliber is pretty new to me, I'm all ears!

 

[nbowlin]

Morning
I have the powder amount above. Was using fed 215s and crappy ole Winchester brass. Pacnor 26" 8t throated pretty good. I ended with a 3130fps load for that rifle 5/8" but super consistent. Could get into the 3200's pretty good but wasn't worth it on any level. Most of my pacnor barrels are some what faster than one would expect.

 

[30calyooper]

Morning
I have the powder amount above. Was using fed 215s and crappy ole Winchester brass. Pacnor 26" 8t throated pretty good. I ended with a 3130fps load for that rifle 5/8" but super consistent. Could get into the 3200's pretty good but wasn't worth it on any level. Most of my pacnor barrels are some what faster than one would expect.

Okay, sounds pretty reasonable. So what was your charge weight for these loads, and which bullet did it work with? If you had 3130 from a 26" barrel, 3000+ from a 24" sounds probable. The difference in twist rates might be a factor but that will shake out in the testing/load development.

 

[just country]

morning, I like crappy old Winchester brass. 66.5g 4831sc.
145gr.TTSX, 210fed. primers. same load used on Accu-bond
140. one hole no problem 3 shots. justme gbot tum and
crappy old Winchester brass.

 

[nbowlin]

175eld-x was high 67's for powder.

 

[nbowlin]

The Bertram brass is a relief.....at least for me it was.