I have a 22" .260 Rem built by GA Precision with a Bartlein barrel, and it's a laser. I push the Berger 130gr VLD to 2850fps with H4350, but that within 50fps of max from a 24" bolt gun, so I can't recommend pushing there without starting lower. I also found that Winchester 7mm-08 brass works great for .260 Rem, with a simple full-length re-size. I also use Lapua .260 Rem brass, which has a different case volume, so you need to work up separately when switching brass for sure.
I have pushed the 123gr Scenar to 2960fps as well, using N540, but I feared torching the devil out of my throat, so I stepped away from that powder and went to Hodgdon's H4350. If you look at Varget in the book, it is not an ideal powder for .260 Rem and 120gr class bullets. It's also one of the lower velocity producing powders for 100gr class pills. Book has it maxed out at 39-40gr with 2877fps the fastest from a 24" bolt gun, so your data of 39.5gr at 2800fps is bolt gun velocity. If you look at all the data from Nosler, Hornady, Sierra, & Hodgdon's, you are getting all you can from Varget. To push 120gr A-MAX (a bullet made obsolete by the 123gr A-MAX with its .510 G1 BC), I would look at other powders like RL19, IMR4350, H414, W760, H380, IMR-4064, IMR4831, and H4350.
The bullet to beat in the gas-operated .260 Rem for long-range is the 130gr VLD, because you can get enough velocity to beat the slightly higher BC's of the 140's. Book values for the 142gr SMK is maxed at 2700fps in a 24" bolt gun, and I can safely get that with RL17 in my 22" gas gun, but the trajectory of the 130gr VLD at 2800fps + will beat the 142gr SMK at 2700fps, and will have less drift at 1000yds.
142gr SMK at Sea Level 67F G1 BC: .580 100yd Zero 2.5" Scope Height
Code:
Range Velocity Energy Trajectory TOF Drift
(yards) (fps) (ft-lb) (MILS) (sec) (MILS)
0 2700 2298 0.00 0.0000 0.00
100 2545 2042 -0.00 0.1144 -0.16
200 2396 1809 -0.40 0.2359 -0.34
300 2251 1598 -1.09 0.3651 -0.52
400 2112 1406 -1.92 0.5027 -0.71
500 1978 1233 -2.85 0.6494 -0.92
600 1849 1078 -3.88 0.8063 -1.14
700 1726 939 -5.02 0.9743 -1.37
800 1610 817 -6.28 1.1543 -1.62
900 1500 710 -7.67 1.3474 -1.89
[B]1000 1400 618 -9.22 1.5545 -2.17[/B]
130gr VLD, same conditions:
Code:
Range Velocity Energy Trajectory TOF Drift
(yards) (fps) (ft-lb) (MILS) (sec) (MILS)
0 2850 2345 0.00 0.0000 0.00
100 2686 2082 -0.00 0.1084 -0.16
200 2526 1842 -0.32 0.2236 -0.32
300 2373 1625 -0.94 0.3461 -0.50
400 2224 1428 -1.67 0.4767 -0.68
500 2081 1250 -2.50 0.6161 -0.88
600 1944 1090 -3.43 0.7653 -1.09
700 1810 946 -4.46 0.9252 -1.32
800 1682 816 -5.60 1.0971 -1.56
900 1557 700 -6.86 1.2825 -1.82
[B] 1000 1437 596 -8.28 1.4831 -2.11[/B]
If you use ladder-testing with the powder you're using, you will find some nice accuracy nodes, from which you can conduct even more ladders with seating depths, but I haven't even played with seating depths because I'm sub-MOA at 1000yds with one of my first loads of H4350 and the 130gr VLD.
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