Old post, new info.
Check out the 2015 Hodgdon Annual Manual of Reloading for new 26 Nos load data. The author, Steve Gash, puts the 26 thru the ringer. His conclusion: Hodgdon US-869 powder is the best choice overall for this round. He didn't use WC-872. In my experience, 869 and 872 run neck and neck for the best 26 Nos. powders.
His most accurate load was with the Hornady 120 gr. GMX, .39" three shot 100 yd. groups. He went from 5 shot to 3 shot groups due to barrel heat, I use 3 shot groups for the same reason. 89 gr. 869 produced 3,451 fps with the 120 GMX.
My 26 loves the 120 E-Tip, a very similar bullet to the 120 GMX, both gilding metal/mono-metal projectiles.
The author says to use the free bore and not try to load long or touch the lands. He likes .050" jump with the GMX and TSX, .040" jump with other bullets. My gun shoots half MOA with 120 E-Tips at 3,450 fps. at factory COAL. I just got some 127 gr. LRX's to try and will pick up some 120 GMX's.
With such a hyper-velocity round and its affinity for these lighter weight mono-metals, these may prove to be good bullet choices for general use. From what I've seen, 120 gr. mono-metal bullets reign devastation on critters about the same as heavier Partitions, Accubonds, etc. I can't tell a difference. And there is confidence that a mono-metal isn't going to blow up at high speed, it'll stay together and punch deep.
Also, the fast 8 twist really spins these bullets. Some on the Fire have postulated that the fast twist along with fast velocity helps explain the tissue damage we're seeing with mono-metals.
I've never been a mono-metal fan, per se. But with the 26 Nosler, I think I'm a convert...
Very long range shooting may be another matter, although these mono-metal bullets have pretty good B.C.'s. There is always a trade off between weight and velocity. I'll see how the 127 LRX performs, as it has a pretty decent B.C. Some advocate 150-160 Matrix, etc. for the 26 Nos. I haven't tried those, but they're not going to be moving that fast compared to the E-Tip, GMX, LRX, etc. Whether higher B.C.'s will compensate for slower velocity at extreme range is a question I can't answer. I'll defer to dedicated LR shooters to solve that one.
DF
