Tikka T3 CTR .260 Remington

[the_accuser]

I really wish they would come out with a T3 CTR in .223. The stainless CTR should look really sharp.

Heading to the range in a bit to test more .260 loads. I'll update my thread here and on SH later today with my results. I'm really not digging this freakin' below 32 degree weather here in middle TN.

[the_accuser]

It was a beautiful day here in middle TN today. Clear skies, sunny, 32 degrees and 30% humidity. I was excited to finally see the sun after several weeks without it but today it wrecked havoc on me. The freakin' sun was directly in my eyes and made it harder to stay directly on target. I wish I had brought a towel to throw over my head and scope to cut out all the brightness.

First thing was to chrono my so called go to load:
brass: virgin lapua (straight from the box)
primer: Fed 210M
bullet: Lapua 139gr scenar
powder: 43.0gr H4350
COAL: 2.795"

results were almost identical to 12/26 even though it was a lot colder today.
max: 2701 fps
min: 2666 fps
avg: 2679 fps
SD: 14
ES: 35


Second part of the day was testing out 5 rounds each of the Lapua 139 scenars, 142 SMK and 140 Berger Hybrids at charges of 42.5 and 43.0gr of H4350. Also, in the test I used Tula large rifle primers. I just picked them up and get lower SD/ES numbers in my 223 loads using Wolf and Tula primers so I figured I would try them in this test. I definitely know I could have tightened up the groups below if the sun had not messed with me. Granted these results are only with 5 shots each. I usually do 10 shots but with each shot costing around $1.50 right now because of the new brass and my limited supply of it, I worked in sets of 5.



top Left: 142gr SMK w/42.5gr H4350
max: 2616 fps
min: 2600 fps
avg: 2607 fps
SD: 6
ES: 16

top right: 142gr SMK w/43.0gr H4350
max: 2655 fps
min: 2610 fps
avg: 2635 fps
SD: 16
ES: 45

middle: 139gr Lapua scenar w/43.0gr H4350 (actual first 5 shots of the day)
max: 2635 fps
min: 2612 fps
avg: 2621 fps
SD: 8
ES: 23

bottom left: 140gr Berger hybrid w/42.5gr H4350
max: 2613 fps
min: 2568 fps
avg: 2593 fps
SD: 17
ES: 45

bottom right: 140gr Berger hybrid w/43.0gr H4350
max: 2701 fps
min: 2666 fps
avg: 2679 fps
SD: 14
ES: 35

The Tula primers did give me lower overall SD/ES values but velocity dropped way off. For now, I'm going to still stick with the 139gr Lapua scenar bullet and Fed 210M primer. I'm going to play around with the 140gr Berger hybrid some. FYI, I did load the hybrids to a COAL of 2.900" and they fit in the magazine with room to spare.

[LRRPF52]

I've been reloading and shooting .260 Rem for years now, and I came to the conclusion early on that the 130gr class of bullets is where it's at for me. The 130gr Berger VLD particularly is a screamer and super-accurate, along with the 130gr Normal Golden Target.

BC on the 130gr VLD is .282 G7, whereas the 140gr VLD is .313 G7. The speed makes up for it, much like a 155gr Scenar or Berger vs. a 175gr SMK in the .308 Win.

I'm shooting a gas gun, which was built by GA Precision right before they started making the GAP-10. I went with a 22" Bartlein barrel. Pushing the 130's at 2800fps makes a flatter 1000yd load than the 139-142gr pills. I use 129gr SST's to plink with, since I backed up the truck on them with a birthday discount from Midway a number of years ago.

I doubt I'll ever buy another 140gr-class bullet for the .260 Remington, due to trajectory. The 130gr VLD gives me such a flat arc, and the same windage as a 140gr VLD because of speed. I have much less drop at 1000yds because of this, even compared to my friends shooting 140gr from bolt guns.

My go-to powder is also H4350, but that's so I can drop the pressure curve before it hits the gas port. For a bolt gun, I would be loading RL17 all day long. Speeds will increase for you. Also look at H4831SC. These are the 3 main powders for long-range shooters in the .260 Rem.

I just ran your same load with a 130gr VLD through a velocity estimator program, and it predicted an avg. 2770fps mv, using 43.0gr of H4350. 43.5gr will get you to 2800 with a 130gr.

Be advised that Lapua brass has significantly less case capacity than Remington .260 Rem brass, so pressures are much higher with the same charge weights in the Lapua brass. This has important implications when you look at load data in most sources, since a lot of them used Remington cases. I have 4 different handbooks with .260 Remington load data that I cross-reference whenever looking at new components.

I started out using Winchester 7mm-08 brass, which has been very good to me, but I also have a bunch of Lapua .260 Rem brass that started production after I got into .260 Rem.

Another thing to think about is that your throat life will deteriorate more quickly if you run the pressures over 58,000psi regularly, since this is a 60,000psi rated SAAMI cartridge.

[the_accuser]

I've been reloading and shooting .260 Rem for years now, and I came to the conclusion early on that the 130gr class of bullets is where it's at for me. The 130gr Berger VLD particularly is a screamer and super-accurate, along with the 130gr Normal Golden Target.

BC on the 130gr VLD is .282 G7, whereas the 140gr VLD is .313 G7. The speed makes up for it, much like a 155gr Scenar or Berger vs. a 175gr SMK in the .308 Win.

I'm shooting a gas gun, which was built by GA Precision right before they started making the GAP-10. I went with a 22" Bartlein barrel. Pushing the 130's at 2800fps makes a flatter 1000yd load than the 139-142gr pills. I use 129gr SST's to plink with, since I backed up the truck on them with a birthday discount from Midway a number of years ago.

I doubt I'll ever buy another 140gr-class bullet for the .260 Remington, due to trajectory. The 130gr VLD gives me such a flat arc, and the same windage as a 140gr VLD because of speed. I have much less drop at 1000yds because of this, even compared to my friends shooting 140gr from bolt guns.

My go-to powder is also H4350, but that's so I can drop the pressure curve before it hits the gas port. For a bolt gun, I would be loading RL17 all day long. Speeds will increase for you. Also look at H4831SC. These are the 3 main powders for long-range shooters in the .260 Rem.

I just ran your same load with a 130gr VLD through a velocity estimator program, and it predicted an avg. 2770fps mv, using 43.0gr of H4350. 43.5gr will get you to 2800 with a 130gr.

Be advised that Lapua brass has significantly less case capacity than Remington .260 Rem brass, so pressures are much higher with the same charge weights in the Lapua brass. This has important implications when you look at load data in most sources, since a lot of them used Remington cases. I have 4 different handbooks with .260 Remington load data that I cross-reference whenever looking at new components.

I started out using Winchester 7mm-08 brass, which has been very good to me, but I also have a bunch of Lapua .260 Rem brass that started production after I got into .260 Rem.

Another thing to think about is that your throat life will deteriorate more quickly if you run the pressures over 58,000psi regularly, since this is a 60,000psi rated SAAMI cartridge.

LRRPF52,

First, thanks a bunch for your reply and info. I definitely want to get as much barrel life as I can. My main goal with the rifle is to just find a decent load and stick with it. I'm just plinking steel plates from 100 to 1250 yards.

I wish someone had Remington brand .260 brass but pretty much all I can find right now is Lapua, Norma or Nosler. I really don't have the setup or experience in converting other caliber brass to .260 so I'm trying to stick with factory brass.

I do had a bottle of R17 but haven't tried it yet. Seems some people really like it and definitely get higher velocities with it using less powder than H4350 but others say it is temperature sensitive. What are your experiences with it?

I may have to give those Berger 130 VLDs a try. Some are saying Berger was supposed to come out with a 130 Hybrid but I'm not sure if that is true or not. Have you or anyone you know tried out the Lapua 136gr L scenars?

Thanks,
Jason

[LRRPF52]

The Lapua .260 Rem brass will give you the most life, although the SAKO brass is good too. I have only seen SAKO brass in Europe, so not really on the US radar anyway. If there was one brass to go to, it would be the Lapua, so you're in a great place with what you have. I personally would only buy that and not mix up with other case capacities, which will deviate and complicate your loading tasks.

The Remington brass has traditionally been short-lasting.

Extruded powders normally do very well with temp stability, because we have a very consistent geometry to the kernels, as opposed to ball powders. I have mostly worked with H4350, but have found very accurate loads with RL17 right off the bat with several 140 and 142gr loads. RL17 has pretty small kernels, so you can get high density into the case. I think that makes it a great powder combination with the Lapua brass, since there is less volume.

Yes, there is a Hybrid 130gr VLD. I have not shot the 136gr Scenar-L's yet, but have been following that line, since I know several of the engineers personally at Lapua. I have some 120gr Scenar-L's that I have to test. I'll probably try them in one of my 6.5 Grendel's instead.

123gr is another weight class to look at, as they can really cook out of a .260 Rem, and they hit steel freaking hard. They are super-flat for trajectory as well. The 130 and higher are better for me and the guys I know when it comes to impacting steel past 1000yds though, and I actually do a lot of ELR throughout the year, including out to a mile.

[the_accuser]

Yeah, I think I'll stick with the Lapua brass and once I finish off the bullets I currently have on hand, I'll try out the 123r and 136r scenars and probably the berger 130r VLD. Thanks again for your input, it is much appreciated.

Jason

[the_accuser]

Had a pretty good day at the range. Overcast, 45 degrees and almost no wind. This rifle is really freakin' sweet. Had a few folks taking note of it today.

All targets are 5 shots at 100 yards. Loads are in virgin .260 Lapua brass (straight from the box) with Federal 210M primers. I'm finally at the velocities I was hoping to reach and no signs of pressure. Really not much more to tweak. Time to start testing some of these bullets are at longer distances. For those of you that shoot long range, do you test your loads on paper at each distance you intend to shoot at?


139gr Lapua Scenar- 2.830"
43.5gr H4350
Max: 2724
Min: 2710
Avg: 2717
SD: 6
ES: 14



Top Left:
123gr Lapua Scenar- 2.865"
44.0gr H4350
Max: 2794
Min: 2754
Avg: 2774
SD: 16
ES: 40

Top Right: (I need to retest this one; think I got cocky after the first target and didn't focus on this one like i should have)
123gr Lapua Scenar - 2.865"
44.5gr H4350
Max: 2849
Min: 2818
Avg: 2833
SD: 11
ES: 31

Bottom Left:
130gr Berger VLD Target - 2.920"
44.0gr H4350
Max: 2777
Min: 2741
Avg: 2756
SD: 13
ES: 36

Bottom Right:
140gr Berger Hybrid
43.5gr H4350
Max: 2712
Min: 2685
Avg: 2700
SD: 11
ES: 27

[mark5pt56]

Looking great! The velocities seemed to have come up some and evened out for you. I will usually use the steel to "get me there" and I will try to use the actual target to check grouping and tweak zero. Sometimes I may just use the steel if it's clean so I can see the grouping on it, try to paint a dot on the center for a good aimpoint. Advantage on steel is you don't have to drive or walk, paper you do but you have something to take and reference.
I normally do the paper only at the distance of the match, so 300-600-1000, 200 if it's High Power.

A saying goes "you aim at paper but shoot at steel" I take that as some are simply happy with that noise but where on it did you hit? I do see the obvious advantage at really long ranges though.

[the_accuser]

Looking great! The velocities seemed to have come up some and evened out for you. I will usually use the steel to "get me there" and I will try to use the actual target to check grouping and tweak zero. Sometimes I may just use the steel if it's clean so I can see the grouping on it, try to paint a dot on the center for a good aimpoint. Advantage on steel is you don't have to drive or walk, paper you do but you have something to take and reference.
I normally do the paper only at the distance of the match, so 300-600-1000, 200 if it's High Power.

A saying goes "you aim at paper but shoot at steel" I take that as some are simply happy with that noise but where on it did you hit? I do see the obvious advantage at really long ranges though.

Thanks...my range hosts friendly monthly long range matches. They typically shoot various size steel plates at 100, 600, 750 and 1000 yards. I'm going to watch next months match and just get a feel for what goes on then enter March's match.

After going back over my data from yesterday it looks like with the 140gr Berger Hybrid I will be able to reach 1000 yards without any alterations to my setup. I really need a 20 or 30 MOA rail so that I have plenty of elevation travel with my current scope but I'm not comfortable changing that myself since supposedly the factory 0 MOA rail is really on there tight. I'll start testing my load on paper and steel at the different distances.

Jason

[mark5pt56]

Jason, Going to review your H4350 data as I scored 7 pounds today, all a local store had. I haven't been able to chrono my 2000MR loads, but estimate 2650 based on drop at 600. Hoping to maybe get more from the H4350, if not, I have a second load.

Mark