.260, the start of my reloading journey - advice wanted

[JW100]

Hi,

I am eager to start my reloading journey, therefore if anyone has some good knowledge / tips they would like to share all are greatly welcomed.

In particular if anyone can point me in the direction of a good couple of books to start me off. Any that have a particular focus towards .260 rem and are tried and tested would be fantastic.
I will then be looking at starting to collate equipment after suitable reading has been done.

Thanks all
J

 

[webley701]

Buying a good reloading manual such as published by Lyman or Hornady which have extensive information on the reloading process (plus tested load data) is a must.
These publications will also give good advice regarding equipment - they will highlight their own brands but the advice will apply equally well to others.

Another excellent book & one which should be in your bookcase is this one Handbook of Reloading Basics: Amazon.co.uk: Sharpless, Robin, Sapp, Rick: 9781440241321: Books

Without the basic grounding you can get from such books & manuals you’ll be unable to judge the value of any advice you may receive via other means.

 

[Border]

I think the guy jake millard "panhandle precison" has done alot with 260 rem. Don't know if he has moved on to the Creedmoor or not. He has both youtube channel and website

 

[75]

@webley701 is on the money - focus on the process rather than the calibre. That's where you a) stay safe and b) produce consistently good reloads.

Personally, I like Viht powders as I can get them locally - there are 129 different loads to chose from on their website for 260 alone. So pick a bullet, pick a powder and go from there. Viht data can be conservative (not always!) but the mantra is always "work up slowly" and stop as soon as there are any pressure signs. It's all very well saying look for flattened primers, stiff bolt lift etc but it's not always obvious until you're experienced it so worth having someone help you who knows their stuff.

 

[Jagged77]

.260 is a brilliant cartridge. 130 / 140 bullets with N160 is a good combination.

 

[Radstorm]

I would buy one of the reloading manuals from a powder manufacturer- if Vhit does one that’s great .

I started with a Lee reloading manuals and there press - and I have reloaded for .260 -
Look out for some Lapua brass - sometime on offer as not the most popular 6.5 calibre.

I’m changing from my .260 in a couple of months - il be selling of all my .260 stuff on here if you keep an eye out.

I can also vouch for N160 - with 112gn to 140gn had good success with 120gn prohunter.

 

[Tikka 260]

I have used all sorts over the 23 years that I ve been using a .260, Accubond 130 and 140, Partition 123?, Sierra Gaming 130, GS Custom 95, and now using Peregrine 118 over Vit 140, Ed @ Edinburgh Rifles very kindly ran the numbers on the Peregrines for RL15 and Vit 140, my rifle prefers the Vit140 recipe, which gives .3MOA at 2875 fps out of a 20" barrel and Lapua brass Federal GM210 Match primers. It takes everything that is available in this neck of the woods, Fallow , Roe, Muntjac, Fox and further afield for Sika , no Reds or CWD down here.
The Sierra Manual is worth a read, and I think that you could benefit from finding a friendly mentor to guide you through the first steps and take out the doubts and folklore from the reloading process. Good luck with the .260 and play safe.

 

[JW100]

Thanks all, will start reading through all the information provided.

 

[EMcC]

What part of Somerset are you in ? I travel to Yeovil/East Coker quite often and if you were anywhere near there I could show you a couple of my reloading books.

 

[Tikkat3rob]

Rs 62 Or N555 powder would be the best picks for 260 rem. Along with lapua brass, What bullet are you thinking of using and for what purpose ?

 

[Bowland blades]

I have been shooting and loading for a custom .260 rem 1-7.5 twist for a fair while now ( actually the build was started just before Covid hit the world ). What i would like to point out is straight off is with the best of todays copper bullets you really don't need anything more than 100 grain even for big Red stags all the way down to muntjac and CWD. 120 copper ( I use Ttsx by Barnes ) . With lead I have done well with 100 grain lead made a great fox / other vermin , 140 lead is realistically the heavy end .
I employ vhit N150 for the lighter stuff and N140 for the heavier end . Most of my Brass is Lapua ( don't be a mug though when Brass is hard to get in .260 rem and over pay etc. ( i usually use a straight expander into 243 cases ) Though you can easy size down larger 7-08 or 308 , though its all extra working though . Shooting pests of no use for the table and practice I will employ the far cheaper PPU cases in 243 win and again using a straight expander .
The 260 rem has some advantages over the creed for those that hand load , If i had another built or when the barrel needs changing i fancy doing it as an Akerley improved , reason being i have never seen a new .260rem factory ammo on the shelf and i bet it would be dear with poor repeat supply

 

[stu847]

Been running a 260 for some years. Great cartridge. Down side is factory options are limited to federal 120gr(great ammo but not great supply) and if copper then fox 100 & 123gr(both great)
Hand loaded the world is your playground.
I run 147s with RS60 for my range rifle and
Fox classic hunter 123s with same powder for my deer rifle.
N160 is a great powder for the heavier stuff More forgiving at the top end with pressure.
N150 is good for lighter stuff.

Just to add N150 for lighter and N140 for heavier is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Scipio]

Been running a 260 for some years. Great cartridge. Down side is factory options are limited to federal 120gr(great ammo but not great supply) and if copper then fox 100 & 123gr(both great)
Hand loaded the world is your playground.
I run 147s with RS60 for my range rifle and
Fox classic hunter 123s with same powder for my deer rifle.
N160 is a great powder for the heavier stuff More forgiving at the top end with pressure.
N150 is good for lighter stuff.

Just to add N150 for lighter and N140 for heavier is a recipe for disaster.

hello mate, interesting post - i am about to start reloading the 6.5x57, so a quite similar, case capacity wise, cartridge to the 260, and as it happens the fox 100 and 123s are thw exact two projectiles i am likely chosing between. So may i ask how you find the pros and cons for the fox 100s vs 123 respectively

Thanks! .-)


PS. I was thinking of loading either projectile weight with the N160, as Gordons reloading tool wasnt spitting out data that made the N150 look better for either weight. But maybe i should recheck!

 

[stu847]

6.5x57 is not one you see very often, nice.

The 100gr works very well and you can get some good speed out of it. I prefer the 123 just for a slight advantage in the wind as the distance increase. Neither bullet has particularly high BC and wind effect both of them more than other choices on the market but it’s something you can learn or just get closer.

N160 would be a great powder especially for the slightly bigger case.
If you can get it in your area RS60 is my go to powder for the 260 now.
It’s magic stuff. Seems to find velocity over other choices and it’s quite as hard on barrels as the N500 series.

Any issues give Edinburgh rifles a ring, they import the bullets and have a host of load data on hand for fox. if not can run you a quick load

Cheers

 

[Tarquin]

I reload for 2 260rems. Its hard to get 260 to shoot badly! I have tried all sorts of powders and bullet combos. N160 or N165 works fine. I now use N555 in my AI with 136gn scenars and N150 in my T3 with 108 scenars.

 

[Scipio]

6.5x57 is not one you see very often, nice.

The 100gr works very well and you can get some good speed out of it. I prefer the 123 just for a slight advantage in the wind as the distance increase. Neither bullet has particularly high BC and wind effect both of them more than other choices on the market but it’s something you can learn or just get closer.

N160 would be a great powder especially for the slightly bigger case.
If you can get it in your area RS60 is my go to powder for the 260 now.
It’s magic stuff. Seems to find velocity over other choices and it’s quite as hard on barrels as the N500 series.

Any issues give Edinburgh rifles a ring, they import the bullets and have a host of load data on hand for fox. if not can run you a quick load

Cheers

Thank you for the advice @stu847 and yeah, i am quite looking forwards to seeing what is possible reloading the 6.5x57 ) My rifle is a bit of an "experienced lady in her best age", so to speak, so i am thinking the more mild mannered n160 might be the way to go.

 

[Devon Stalker]

What are peoples’ views on reload data in manuals and reloading with copper? I’m also new to reloading and use copper 100% of the time. I’ve just bought some virtus projectiles and am now looking for the load data, but with copper there doesn’t seem to be much info in, predominantly older, manuals.
Any ideas?
Cheers
A

 

[Scipio]

What are peoples’ views on reload data in manuals and reloading with copper? I’m also new to reloading and use copper 100% of the time. I’ve just bought some virtus projectiles and am now looking for the load data, but with copper there doesn’t seem to be much info in, predominantly older, manuals.
Any ideas?
Cheers
A

Hello @Devon Stalker i have recently been in a quite similar position to yourself, and i have found the following:

1. Check out the projectile manufacturers own website. Sometimes they will list loads. At least for fairly common cartridges.

2.Ditto for the powder manufacturers, Vithavouri and Reload Swiss for example both do it. RS also have a section for client uploaded loads, using RS powders, but be careful to see if/how those have been checked for safety, before being made public.
If you contact RS with the specifics of your intended load, (rifle, cartridge, projectile, primer, etc), asking what powder of theirs that they reccomend to use, they will even do a quick load development for you.

3. I am a member of xxlreloading.com, a large online reloading site. The price for membership is modest, you there can find access to a lot of information on powders, loads, cip dimensions for different cartridges and lots of other stuff.
The loads which are available on xxlreloading i believe are, in part at least, uploaded by the clients too. However i do think they are checked by reloading programs for validity, before being posted.
But as always, be sure to check up on that yourself, should you go there.

4. Gordons Reloading tool is free, (RIP and thanks Gordon!) and once you get into using it, i find it to be a pretty good way of checking if a load you might have found in one of the other 3 spots seems to make sense, numbers wise. Or you can do it in reverse, and develop a load yourself on gordons, and then check at xxlreloading to see if the numbers you have makes sense vs posted loads using the same powder, cartridge and projectile etc.

I hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Griggo06]

I would buy one of the reloading manuals from a powder manufacturer- if Vhit does one that’s great .

I started with a Lee reloading manuals and there press - and I have reloaded for .260 -
Look out for some Lapua brass - sometime on offer as not the most popular 6.5 calibre.

I’m changing from my .260 in a couple of months - il be selling of all my .260 stuff on here if you keep an eye out.

I can also vouch for N160 - with 112gn to 140gn had good success with 120gn prohunter.

What length barrel are you using? Do you know speed sd and es?

 

[Radstorm]

What length barrel are you using? Do you know speed sd and es?

Off the top of my head - 112gn with N160 was approx 2830fps that was with 20 inch barrel -

The SD and ES I don’t have.