RL26 and 300WSM loads - I debated starting a separate thread for this but thought updating my previous post would do the job. I have been (and still am) an advocate for using Superformance in 300WSM's (165-180 bullets) and personally have had good success in accuracy and velocity for hunting loads - but a new Savage 16 did not seem to like it at all. I recently was able to find some RL26 (planned to use for 270 Win), but found some data (Speer, Hornady, Berger) for 300WSM and thought I'd shoot a ladder with 165's in the Savage. All bullets were seated at 0.020 off lands. Got really nice velocities and what appeared to be 2 nodes, so narrowed charge increments down and shot again. The lower accuracy/velocity node was 71.1 gr/3126 FPS; the higher node was 71.8/3156 FPS (with some very slight bolt lift issues). The accuracy of both nodes was outstanding (for me) at less than .75 MOA - given rifle is scoped temporarily with Bushnell Banner D/D 3-9 and some rusty shooting skills. I'll be going with the lower node and refining with a seating depth test - if anyone's interested, I can post these results as well. Bottom line is that I've found RL26 to be a great powder in the 300WSM for the mid-weight (165-180) bullets I shoot - and as
@Jud96 and
@300 Driver have stated above, it also performs well with some of the heavier bullets they have used. IMO - RL26 is definitely worth a try if you're looking for a fast, accurate, consistent and reasonably temp stable load for 300WSM in quite a wide range of bullet weights.
