Reloder 26

[therifleman556]

3060~ in a 24" barrel iirc

 

[therifleman556]

3051 in a 24" barrel @ 69.1 grains

 

[jimbires]

that seems to be where they figure max velocity should be , in the 3050 - 3080 FPS area . you can probably add about 50 FPS for the 2 inches of extra barrel you have , although the quickload I ran is for a 26" bbl .

if you could get to shoot with a magnetospeed , or labradar , you could maybe find out how accurate your chrony is . with your chrony set up 10 or 15 feet in front of the rifle you are getting a slightly slower reading than true muzzle velocity . I had a chrony brand chronograph . it was affected by how bright the sun was . I found the best time to use that chrony was at daybreak .

 

[ATH]

Keep in mind also, some barrels are faster than others. I had a Remington 700 with a 20" barrel and a Savage with a 20" barrel, both in .308, both rifles would reach very similar pressure at the same charge, and with everything else being the same, the Savage would send the 168 A-MAX about 50-60 fps faster than the Remington. This, in conjunction with a longer barrel could certainly make that much difference. These slower burning powders seem to respond better to longer barrels than some others

This is why I said "in my rifle". Particularly with the extraordinary claims with this powder, I think it's fair to balance it with my positive but not extraordinary experience.

It's a great powder and I'm making the switch, but I stand by my experience that the claims of 3350-3400fps+ should be viewed as the exception in standard length barrels.

It makes all the sense in the world to me that this would shine in extended length barrels. I wish I had a reason to build one.

 

[ATH]

I am running an even 50g of RL26 in my 243 AI, and a 105 Berger. Velocity is 3440.
That is 30rds over the chronograph, not just 10.
The kicker is my 31" bbl.
The load is a top end load and used only for hunting, so the bbl doesn't get heated up.
Should last me several years.

I stopped shooting rounds at 48.8gr due to significant pressure signs (threw that brass in the trash). I'm back in the 47.3-47.9gr range to tweak for accuracy once it cools off.

 

[Trm82]

I ran some RL 26 in my 270 wby McWhorter with 129lrx and I'm getting 3485 fps. That should do the trick on what ever it hits.

 

[Bowfishn]

I tested out the 147ELD-M Bullets today with the load that looked promising from my last test. Today I played with seating depth, 2.890" down to 2.860" using 48 grains of RL26 , BR2 primers Nosler Brass 52.7gr H2O HBN coated bullets. 2.890" gave the best group at 100 yards and lowest SD. .300" ctc with 5 shots and SD of 5, this was at an average velocity of 2930 fps.

 

[Keith1]

I have been trying RL26 in my old Remington 700 270 that has a 24 inch barrel. I was testing the 150 grain Partition bullet. After starting at 55 grains of powder I arrived at 60.8 grains that Alliant calls maximum with no indications of to high pressure such as hard bolt opening or marks from the ejector. The 3140 FPS speed of these 150 grainers absolutely amazed me. This is a 5 shot average.
This shooting was done in temperatures of mid to low 70s as we are having a cool day today.

 

[therifleman556]

Keith, how's your accuracy? RL26 can't seem to do any wrong in my 7mm.

This was three shots at 310 yards with 162 Hornady ELD-Ms

 

[Keith1]

Keith, how's your accuracy? RL26 can't seem to do any wrong in my 7mm.

This was three shots at 310 yards with 162 Hornady ELD-Ms
View attachment 78109

Good Shooting. Those Partitions weren't near that good. Three were a little less than 1 inch.
Regards

 

[86alaskan]

I've just starting tuning the RL26 in my 260 with 130gr Norma Diamond line bullets. At 50grs RL26 with a light compression I'm getting 2980fps and no pressure signs on a 95deg sunny day. I'm sure I could push higher but I'm not sure I want to . I'd really like to hit 3000fps, then I'd be doing real well. This all from a 1-8" twist 22" 260rem.

 

[Wedgy]

86alaskan, I always like to keep going until I see pressure signs for two reasons; that way I KNOW where it is so I can be safely under it, and I'm not left wondering if there is a higher, more accurate node that I didn't explore. This powder in particular seems to go way past where you thought you would stop, as I'm sure you have seen from the results. Also read the Temperature sensitivity of Reloder 26 thread if you haven't.

 

[Rhovee]

Has Reloader 26 been out enough to see if it's hard on throat erosion? Say compared to h1000?

 

[codyadams]

I've just starting tuning the RL26 in my 260 with 130gr Norma Diamond line bullets. At 50grs RL26 with a light compression I'm getting 2980fps and no pressure signs on a 95deg sunny day. I'm sure I could push higher but I'm not sure I want to . I'd really like to hit 3000fps, then I'd be doing real well. This all from a 1-8" twist 22" 260rem.

If you go much higher I would suggest using a drop tube, but it sounds like you may be already to fit 50 grains with only light compression in a standard .260....I got up to 51.5 grains in my .260 Ackley Improved under a 140 Berger VLD, seated to 2.895" (.005" off) and it isn't compressed but it is 100% fill, no powder shake. That load pushed the 140 to 3170 fps, but I have a 29" barrel. It was a touch hot, leaving ejector marks every couple rounds, so I backed my load down. I am now settled on 49.1 grains under a 140, and its going 3080 fps, with a drop tube I can hear a small amount of powder shaking, I would guess 93%-96% fill.