Loads for 260 Rem

[ppkny]

Well I made my choice and ordered the Savage Mod 10 Pred. Htr. Max1 in 260 caliber yesterday. The best price was Buds Guns Shop.com at $701.00 / Fee Shipping. My FFL will charge $35.00.
I'm interested in working up some loads for HP silhouette plus some long range loads for up to 1000 meters.
I'm asking please is anyone willing to share some load data to get me started: bullet type and powder charge.
I've already ordered some Lupua brass becuase I've had good luck with it on my 6.5x55 Tikka.
Thanks for any help offered.
ppkny

[Jerry G]

I have a 6.5 x 47 which is real close to the 260.

107 sierra - 34 gr varget - 2790 fps - c, p, t
142 sierra - 37 gr varget - 2654 fps - rams

the 142 does well out at 1,000 yds.

I hope that gets you a starting point for your 260.

[shakes]

PPKNY try these.

107 38-39 grains of varget.
142 42-43 grains of rl-19.

Shot this load for three years with no problems. Towards the end of the season I started trying 34-35 grains of IMR XBR 8208 for my 107's(clover leafs at 200 meters) and 38-39 grains of Varget for the 142's with no ringers.

[DanDeMan]

ppkny,

Here are some loads that shoot great out of the 8-twist, 24" long barrel on my HP Hunter rifle. For 1,000-yd work, max MV out of a 260 is what I'd strongly recommend.

Seat 139 Lapua Scenars out so they engrave the lands. Use 47.0 grains of H4831 Extreme (2,840 fps) or 42.0 grains of RL-17 (2,912 fps.) Start 2.0 grains lighter then the recommended charges and work-up in 1/2 grain increments while checking for excessive pressure signs like heavy bolt-lift and/or flattened primers.

Here are the match loads for my HP Hunter rifle:

CPT Load: MV = 2,600 fps; 33.0 N135; F210M; 107 Sierra or 108 Lapua - 34.0 grains of VarGet also works well.

Ram Load: Vel = 2825 fps; 139 Lapua Scenar; N160 @ 43.0; F210M

[ppkny]

Thanks, You guys are great. I hope to have everything setup for the January match at Williamsport, PA.
Thanks a lot.
ppkny

[Another Dang 9]

Pete. Seriously you need to buy a Sierra reloading manual.

[ppkny]

I do have one but it's always good to get other opinions if people are willing to share and I really appreciate it.
ppkny

[Bob259]

Pete. Seriously you need to buy a Sierra reloading manual.

Tom, I'll give him your phone number... he won't listen to us so maybe he'll listen to you

Sorry Pete couldn't resist

[Another Dang 9]

Ahhhh my number is unlisted!
All kidding aside Pete there should be more than a few threads here with load info for the. .260 rem. I use Reloader15 but most if not all use Varget. I have some vit150 but have not used it yet. Those seam to be the most popular powders to use. As for what loads to use with what....trial and error till your find what works best with your gun.

[DanDeMan]

ppkny,

Most of the powders recommended on this thread are too fast to allow the heavy 6.5mm bullets to reach optimum MV's for 1,000-yd work. Powder burn-rates between H4350 and H4831 are optimal when launching the 140-gr-class bullets over 2,800 fps out of an 8-twist, 260 rifle. Also, I'd strongly recommend using Lapua 260 brass because the other brands will develop loose primer pockets after a few firings if loading at the high pressures required for optimum 1,000-yd work.

Here's a link to Hodgdon's powder burn-rate chart. As I've posted before, my 260's love RL-17, N160, H4350 Extreme and H4831 Extreme when shooting the heavy bullets over 2,800 fps.

http://www.hodgdon.com/burn-rate.html

Here is the recommended powder burn-rate range:

114 Hodgdon H4350
115 Alliant Reloder 17
116 Accurate Arms 4350
117 NORMA 204
118 Hodgdon HYBRID 100V
119 VihtaVuori N550
120 Alliant Reloder 19
121 IMR, Co IMR 4831
122 Ramshot Hunter
123 Accurate Arms 3100
124 VihtaVuori N160
125 Hodgdon H4831 & H4831SC

[ppkny]

DanDeMan, Thank You very much and all the others (except Bob259) that have given me some starting loads for my new 260. Bob259 is still mad a me for not letting him use the PADDLE SIFTERS on my car on our trip to the Last Dance in Winnsboro.
I did order some Lupua brass yesterday plus some 140g sierra's and some 139g scenar's. I curently don't have any H4350 or H4831 but will be buying some soon when I go to Cabela's next month. ( cheaper to drive to Cabela's than pay the sh/haz fee)
My loads for my 6.5x55 107g/140g are using Varget and I'm getting very good reults with 39gr of varget so I'll probably use Varget as suggested and work up loads for the 260 for the HP 200/300/375/500 distances and wait until I get the H4350 for the longer ranges. I probaly will not be able to test the long range loads until I get to Ridgway early in the spring.
Again Thanks to everyone for their help.
ppkny

[Bob259]

DanDeMan, Thank You very much and all the others (except Bob259) that have given me some starting loads for my new 260. Bob259 is still mad a me for not letting him use the PADDLE SIFTERS on my car on our trip to the Last Dance in Winnsboro.
I did order some Lupua brass yesterday plus some 140g sierra's and some 139g scenar's. I curently don't have any H4350 or H4831 but will be buying some soon when I go to Cabela's next month. ( cheaper to drive to Cabela's than pay the sh/haz fee)
My loads for my 6.5x55 107g/140g are using Varget and I'm getting very good reults with 39gr of varget so I'll probably use Varget as suggested and work up loads for the 260 for the HP 200/300/375/500 distances and wait until I get the H4350 for the longer ranges. I probaly will not be able to test the long range loads until I get to Ridgway early in the spring.
Again Thanks to everyone for their help.
ppkny

Pete, Hate to tell you, but I used the paddle shifters and revved it over 3K when you were alseep Feel the love
PS: Cabelas is a 15 min drive for me now
Still your BFF

Also, While I know you don't (or only half) listen to Paul or I, listen to Dan as he has been launching pills at the longer distances for some time now and is always providing valuable info and starting points to us.

[DanDeMan]

ppkny,

Here's a link to a very good, 3 page discussion about loading the 260 for shooting "way out there."

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index. ... =3773413.0

Given you'll have a 24" barrel, using H4350 Extreme is probably the way to go. The old, 140-gr SMK's are not the best way to go when trying to hit targets at 1,000-yds. Here are the BC stats for that bullet from the Sierra web site.

Ballistic Coefficients for the 6.5mm 140 gr. HPBT MatchKing
.535 @ 2800 fps and above
.526 between 2800 and 2000 fps
.521 @ 2000 fps and below

Here's the dope on the 142 SMK's. The 139 Scenar, 140 A-Max and 130 Norma HPBT are all about the same, BC-wise.

Ballistic Coefficients for the 6.5mm 142 gr. HPBT MatchKing
.595 @ 2850 fps and above
.580 between 2850 and 2400 fps
.575 between 2400 and 2050 fps
.550 @ 2050 and below

Another excellent option is going with the Norma 130-gr HPBT.

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/pro ... ctId/11500

The Norma bullet has the same BC as the 139 Scenar and 142 SMK but can be driven faster for better 1,000-yd results. But, it is a finicky bullet that does not shoot well in some chambers, so trying a few might be interesting. Don't forget the excellent 140-gr A-Max bullets. They are cheap and have shot lights-out in my rifles from 6.5mm TCU all the way up to my 6.5 x 284.

[ppkny]

DAnDeMan, Just for clarifiction you are talking about Hodgdon not IMR. Is that correct?
ppkny

[DanDeMan]

DAnDeMan, Just for clarifiction you are talking about Hodgdon not IMR. Is that correct?
ppkny

Yup, Hodgdon's H4350 Extreme or sometimes called H4350 SC for "short cut," referring to the grain size. It is a very stable powder with respect to temperature.