.260 Remington

4451 is my go to powder now for the .260. It's proven to be every bit as temp insensitive and consistent as H4350. I have about 16# of each and they pretty much are identical in performance.

I've been hearing good things about this Staball. I've not tried it, but I'm tempted to get some and give it a go as a backup in these crazy times.
I've been running 4451 in my 260 with either 140SMK's or 139 Scenars. Both will produce 1/2 MOA
 
Jeez!
I’ve been following this thread for a long time.
My 260 when I first started.
C32F9593-8121-4BE3-A855-DB23133573EC.jpeg
 
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Fixing to order some and tried an experiment... Lapua non-primed brass gets $15 shipping, but PRIMED Lapua brass gets $37.50 shipping... So, I'm guessing they're factoring in Hazmat.

Ordered 2 boxes of the Lapua and they had 2 boxes of Hornady 6.5 Grendel brass in stock for close to normal price ($37.50/box), so I grabbed those, too, since I needed some.
 
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I received my 200 primed Lapua cases, which were bulk packed. I haven't opened them yet, but they look good!
I got mine as well. They were bulk-packed, which was a disappointment, but oh well...That's what Frankford Arsenal boxes are for. The sealed plastic bags are pretty nice, so they shouldn't discolor or anything while sitting around. And for $35 per 100 CHEAPER, I don't need the plastic boxes. 👍🏼

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Has anyone, who is shooting a 136gr Lapua Scenar-L, had issues when the bullet goes transonic? I'd like to shoot this bullet to a mile, but my experience has been limited to 1035y. TIA.

only time I had tried them past transonic I was having issues getting hits. I blamed it on switchy winds but definitely could have been bullet having issues.

next time I went I used 140 hybrids with really good results.
 
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Hell, I decided to go ahead an order another bag... That puts me at 500 pieces of new Lapua .260 Rem brass, and 300 will be primed for free...And were significantly cheaper than the unprimed stuff. So, hard to argue with that.

Ever since I started reloading, I like to keep a minimum of 500 pieces of brass for each short-action bolt gun cartridge I reload for, and 250 for each long-action and magnum cartridge I reload for. AR's...The rule is as much brass as I can get for them.
 
only time I had tried them past transonic I was having issues getting hits. I blamed it on switchy winds but definitely could have been bullet having issues.

next time I went I used 140 hybrids with really good results.
A friend was trying to shot them to a mile and reported he had issues. They were good at 1250, but he couldn't get hits at 1650, but had no problems with a 142gr SMK at a mile. Guess I'll have to go heavier.
 
Have any of you guys tried the 139 Scenars? They work well for me to 1200 but that's the furthest I've shot them. Maybe the extra 3 grains will get you there
I've shot them, but only to 1,000. I don't really need to shoot the 136gr past 1,000 as I have a 300PRC for that, but I thought I might be different. :)
 
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Have any of you guys tried the 139 Scenars? They work well for me to 1200 but that's the furthest I've shot them. Maybe the extra 3 grains will get you there
It’s not the weight has a lot more to do with how the bullet is designed, BC, and how stable it is through the transition from super sonic to subsonic
 
Really thought about it but I’m going to hold out for more Peterson SRP brass. I’ve had really good luck with this first batch 14x and still holding primers just fine
 
I just got a box of 139 Scenars to try out in my AI-AT bolt gun. I'm currently shooting a great load with 140 Berger Hybrids with both H4350 And IMR 4451 that I worked up to years ago and it's still my go to load. Is there any need to do a full work up again with a bullet that is .1g difference? I'm thinking it should be on the node within a couple tenths of the current load. Any have any experience running the same load with both bullets? TIA.
 
I've been working hard over the last week to get a load developed for my new .260 Gas gun upper I just built. I think I'm stopping here. ;)

22" JP AR-10 barrel (unsuppressed)

130 Berger AR Hybrid OTM Match
42.8 H4350
Lapua Brass
Fed 210 primer
2.850 OAL

2840 FPS
SD 6.5

42.8 4350 130 Berger Hybrid.JPG



I went back and reshot it today @ 2.847 because 2.850 are not reliable in my ASC Mag. The accuracy repeats pretty much the same. It was really windy this afternoon, 15 gusting to 25, so not ideal for a retest - but it repeated.

Here is the same load @2.847 suppressed (TBAC Ultra 9). It shot about 1.1 mil low from unsuppressed POI.

130 Berger suppressed.JPG

The wind was buffeting the gun, so I lost the one round low. I eventually had to shoot prone for the rest of the day as the wind gusts were shaking the bench to much.

IMG_8192.JPG
 
Finally got to shoot my .260 last weekend. Love that little cartridge. I've shot the .308 Win for so long, I'd forgotten how nice the .260 shoots.

I still have more load development to do, and will post up my results with IMR 7828 SSC and Nosler 140 RDF and Berger 153.5 Hybrids.
 
Has anyone use Prime headstamped brass in .260? Wondering if this would be a decent alternative to other headstamps in a gas gun so I don't beat up my Lapua brass. If so, how does it compare volume wise to Lapua? Are the loads significantly different between headstamps to achieve the same OCW node?
 
Has anyone use Prime headstamped brass in .260? Wondering if this would be a decent alternative to other headstamps in a gas gun so I don't beat up my Lapua brass. If so, how does it compare volume wise to Lapua? Are the loads significantly different between headstamps to achieve the same OCW node?
Yes, to your first question, but I cannot help you with the volume comparison to Lapua. As a caveat to my answer, I’m using the earlier Norma manufactured Prime brass and not the newer Peterson brass. Either of them are a great option in my opinion though. I have well over 15 reloads on my Prime brass and haven’t lost a single piece to failure or to primer pockets getting big. Primers still fit in snugly.
 
Has anyone use Prime headstamped brass in .260? Wondering if this would be a decent alternative to other headstamps in a gas gun so I don't beat up my Lapua brass. If so, how does it compare volume wise to Lapua? Are the loads significantly different between headstamps to achieve the same OCW node?
FWIW, I've shot a few thousand of the original Prime (Norma brass, Norma 130gr Golden Target bullet and Norma components) in my AIs, but not so much in my LaRue tOBR gasser. The factory Prime was loaded too hot for a gas gun, 2900+ FPS and even with the 22" barrel and +2 gas tube, it was blowing primers.

I haven't reloaded the Prime, but people have said they have been getting 10+ reloads in their bolt guns. I would expect far fewer reloads in a gas gun due to the stretching of the brass and beating the case takes on ejection.

I'll look through my notes, but I'm not sure I have any water volume data for the Prime.
 
Anyone running 147 grain ELD Match in their 260? I came into a few hundred of them and I’m debating trying them out or trying to trade them for some 140 grain ELD Match. I’ve run the 143 ELD-X with good results so I feel like the 147s should work alright? My barrel is a McGowen Remage with a SAAMI chamber. Thanks for your time.
 
Anyone running 147 grain ELD Match in their 260? I came into a few hundred of them and I’m debating trying them out or trying to trade them for some 140 grain ELD Match. I’ve run the 143 ELD-X with good results so I feel like the 147s should work alright? My barrel is a McGowen Remage with a SAAMI chamber. Thanks for your time.
You already have them, why not try a few? You never know till you try them. 👍🏼

I've been REALLY happy with the results I'm getting with IMR 7828 SSC in my .260 Rem with Nosler 140 RDF and Berger 153.3 Hybrids. I will be trying the Berger 156 EOL's soon.
 
Anyone running 147 grain ELD Match in their 260? I came into a few hundred of them and I’m debating trying them out or trying to trade them for some 140 grain ELD Match. I’ve run the 143 ELD-X with good results so I feel like the 147s should work alright? My barrel is a McGowen Remage with a SAAMI chamber. Thanks for your time.
I've not personally shot them in my .260. But a friend and Hide member here has shot some in his 6.5 CM. He reports they are OK but nothing to write home about and that their BC advantage over say a 140 Berger Hybrid isn't really noticeable until 1200+. I recall him saying he would take the 140 Bergers over the 147s most any day. @sako.308 , feel free to chime in here with your experience.
 
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Yes, to your first question, but I cannot help you with the volume comparison to Lapua. As a caveat to my answer, I’m using the earlier Norma manufactured Prime brass and not the newer Peterson brass. Either of them are a great option in my opinion though. I have well over 15 reloads on my Prime brass and haven’t lost a single piece to failure or to primer pockets getting big. Primers still fit in snugly.

So..... I've tried to give my Prime .260 brass a fair experiment and frankly my opinion of them is they are meh. I've now shot them in an AI-AT bolt gun and a JP gas gun. I get good accuracy from them with both rifles, but the primer pockets went to shit within 4-5 rounds. I was shooting some in the gas gun the other day, and primers literally just fell out of some cases while in the mag. And that was on loading #4. Comparatively, I'm shooting the exact same loads in Lapua brass and the pockets are still fine after 10+ loads on them.

So no, the used Prime stuff is going into the trash. I might keep them for some light loads, but honestly I might just sell my unopened bag of 100.
 
So..... I've tried to give my Prime .260 brass a fair experiment and frankly my opinion of them is they are meh. I've now shot them in an AI-AT bolt gun and a JP gas gun. I get good accuracy from them with both rifles, but the primer pockets went to shit within 4-5 rounds. I was shooting some in the gas gun the other day, and primers literally just fell out of some cases while in the mag. And that was on loading #4. Comparatively, I'm shooting the exact same loads in Lapua brass and the pockets are still fine after 10+ loads on them.

So no, the used Prime stuff is going into the trash. I might keep them for some light loads, but honestly I might just sell my unopened bag of 100.
Did you shoot the Lapua in your gasser and get the same results? My 260 gas gun will ruin any brass after a few firings.
 
So..... I've tried to give my Prime .260 brass a fair experiment and frankly my opinion of them is they are meh. I've now shot them in an AI-AT bolt gun and a JP gas gun. I get good accuracy from them with both rifles, but the primer pockets went to shit within 4-5 rounds. I was shooting some in the gas gun the other day, and primers literally just fell out of some cases while in the mag. And that was on loading #4. Comparatively, I'm shooting the exact same loads in Lapua brass and the pockets are still fine after 10+ loads on them.

So no, the used Prime stuff is going into the trash. I might keep them for some light loads, but honestly I might just sell my unopened bag of 100.
Huh. Interesting results. Now, I honestly haven’t used the Prime brass in an auto loader, but your results are interesting. What version of Prime were yours, Norma or Peterson?
 
So..... I've tried to give my Prime .260 brass a fair experiment and frankly my opinion of them is they are meh. I've now shot them in an AI-AT bolt gun and a JP gas gun. I get good accuracy from them with both rifles, but the primer pockets went to shit within 4-5 rounds. I was shooting some in the gas gun the other day, and primers literally just fell out of some cases while in the mag. And that was on loading #4. Comparatively, I'm shooting the exact same loads in Lapua brass and the pockets are still fine after 10+ loads on them.

So no, the used Prime stuff is going into the trash. I might keep them for some light loads, but honestly I might just sell my unopened bag of 100.
What bullet and speeds?
 
Huh. Interesting results. Now, I honestly haven’t used the Prime brass in an auto loader, but your results are interesting. What version of Prime were yours, Norma or Peterson?

No clue on what version of Prime. They came in unmarked sealed plastic bags of 100 with PRIME headstamped on them. I don't recall whether the distributor's webpage said which. I'll have to go back and look at where I bought them from. I'm pretty sure it was Powder Valley.
 
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What bullet and speeds?

GAS gun = 130 Berger AR Hybrids @2850 and 123 ELD-M and 123 Scenars at 2890-2905.
Bolt gun load = 140 Berger Hybrids @ 2875.

Gas gun Load for the 130 Berger AR Hybrid was 42.8 H4350, 2.840 OAL, Fed 210 primer @2850-2860fps. Gas gun load for the 123 ELDs and Scenars was 43.2 H4350, 2.840 OAL, @2890-2905fps.

Bolt gun gun load (AI AT): 140 Berger Hybrid, 42.3 H4350, 2.955 OAL. 2875-2890fps.

In the AI bolt gun, I've been shooting that same load for years now. When I tried it in the Prime brass, I did a water volume measurement first and the Prime had a slight larger volume (i.e. larger case capacity) than the Lapua - so in theory it should have been safe to shoot the same load in the Prime. The Lapua i the bolt gun is on firing #9 and the Prime was virgin. After that one load in the Prime through the bolt gun, the primer pockets were absolutely toast. Some went to firing #2, several had to be chucked away as the pocket was far too loose. Everyone that went to firing #2 got chucked as unfired primers were literally falling out of the pocket when in the mag or popped out after being fired.

The results in the gas gun were pretty similar.

I'm probably going to back off to the next lower node down in the gas gun as I am getting some decent swipe with the current loads. I'm getting phenomenal accuracy but I'd like my Lapua to last a few more rounds without having to file down the swipe everytime.
 
Sadly, I bought the Prime mainly to shoot in the gas gun and save the Lapua for the bolt gun. But I didn't expect them to go this quickly.
I bought the original Prime (Norma components) to shoo tin my LaRue tOBR. I had flattened primers so I reached out to Jim at Prime. Basically, it was loaded for bolt guns. I had the same issue with FGMM, which actually popped primers despite having a +2 gas system.

Norma brass is supposedly on par with Lapua.