Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Reduced loads for a 260 for hunting.......

had back surgery last week and ive got two choices for hunting season, use a 223 or reduced loads for my 260......game is speed goats and mule deer, just need good to 100-150 yards with as lil recoil as possible..... bullet and powder recommendations needed......

Hodgdon has reduced load info using H4895 and Trail Boss.
Rem. has the Managed Recoil ammo in 260.

100gr Nosler B-tip. Possibly Hornady 100gr sp.

Maybe send a PM to Seafire for blue dot info.

I have it somewhere but I haven't loaded any so can't say what the recoil is like.

+1 on PMing Seafire, he'll send you the info. I'm using 20 gr. of Blue Dot with 100 gr. Ballistic Tips - bug hole groups with my Ruger M77 and MGM Encore barrel, very low recoil and muzzle blast.

What kind of velocity selmer?

100 Partition over 30 grains 4198

Aww that Seafire Character again...whoever he is..some nobody from out in Oregon I hear...

Well Rattler,

first let's hope your recovery goes quickly and painlessly as possible..

for light recoil that will still perform well on antelope and deer, I am going to recommend the 100 grain Ballistic Tip first, the Hornady 100 grain SP second and the Sierra 100 grain HP third...the Sierra 85 grain HP and the 90 grain Speer a tied fifth..

If you desire to use Blue Dot, I am going to recommend charges anywhere between the following with the following bullets.. this is tested out of a Ruger 77 Mk 2..

85 grain Sierra HP:

16 grains : 2254 fps
17 grains: 2381 fps
18 grains: 2467 fps
19 grain: 2558 fps
20 grains: 2646 fps

this bullet will work fine at the 100 to 150 yds you made a request for..

I am not a fan of the 95 grain V Max.. however I know folks who do use it with success...
16 grains: 2162 fps
17 grains: 2242 fps
18 grains: 2365 fps
19 grains: 2470 fps
20 grains: 2574 fps

the 100 grain bullets:

17 grains: 2213 fps
18 grains: 2310 fps
19 grains: 2397 fps
20 grains: 2453 fps
21 grains: 2548 fps

as mentioned by Dakota Deer, a 30 grain load with a 100 or 120 grain ballistic tip with any of the following powders is also something I load frequently for myself... it is more than adequate to do the job when I am hunting in an area where my shots are well under 200 yds..
30 grains of any of the following: IMR 4198, RL 7, H 322, RL 10

or 20 to 25 grains of SR 4759 also...

if you use Blue Dot it is the responsibility of the handload to make sure they don't do a double charge.. with lighter charges it is possible..

I recommend charging a case and then seat the bullet before going onto the next one..

all the above will be very accurate in a 260 and the bullets will more than adequately perform at the velocities given..

Recoil will seem in the 222-223 range...in a similar sized rifle...

best of luck and feel free to drop me a PM if I can be of any more assistance..

One load I've seen work is the Hornady 100gr with 36.0gr IMR4064. When my son was 8 he popped a 115lb doe at about 25 feet. Broke both shoulder bones low and exited. This with a Model 7 stainless 20" barrel. Probably 2700 fps or so. I've shot bowling pins at 100 yds with this load. Offhand you never lose the sight picture. Recoil is just a bump.

Would u recommended the same loads for the larger spaced 270 case. I have some older hunters in my club who are getting a little recoil sensitive and I would like to maybe give them an option over factory full power loads. I have told them about the reduced recoil loads from rem and federal. I have yet to hear back from them on weather they have tried them yet. This is a unique case. the gentleman I am talking about is blind, so it is harder for him to zone out the recoil when he shoots at a animal. And no worries he has a spotter in the blind with him. We would not let him in a stand with out a working pair of eyes with him. But we campaigned to long for him to let him give up cause he feels to much recoil. He is going to kill another deer before he dies. It has been almost 30 years since he lost his sight.

My MV is right where Seafire's chart says, probably helps that we're both shooting Ruger M77s

Hodgdon says it is safe to reduce H4895 loads down to 60% of the maximum listed for that powder. They warn not to go below 50%.

Personally I would load 100 gr NBT's at the starting load in the books for something like Varget, RL-15, 4064. Velocity should be in the 2800-2900 fps range and recoil should be nil.

The starting loads I have run through my 260 have had very little recoil to me, of course I haven't had back surgery either so YMMV.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Bill

Mauser8x57.....Check the Hornady manual. I don't recall the loads offhand but there are quite a few listed for the .270 that are in the 2600 to 2700 fps range for the 130gr Interlock. That should kill a deer without bouncing him too bad. At those velocities you could probably drop down to a 110gr and kill deer just fine out of a blind. Don't imagine he'll be taking long shots. If don't have access to a manual PM me and I'll quote some low end loads for you. Good luck.

The way he is set up his longest shot might be around 100. I will look through everything I have, including load data.com.

yeah unfortunately, accuracy sucks at best...

I still don't know why they push that powder when they have a lot of other powders that are better for reduced loads.. or reduced velocity/recoil loads..

such as IMR 4198, H 4198, SR 4759, H 322...for starters...

I have always personally thought they push it, as the load data they have was give to them by ADI....

H 4895 is great for making a gun go bank.. but for reduced loads.. accuracy stinks ( hit and miss at best) contains a VERY loud BOOM to it ( which can frighten young and new shooters)...

Not trying to dispute RON here, but I have tested it extensively to just try to get the results Hodgdon claims.. it has never been achievable for accuracy..

Yes, 4895 is an odd duck for reduced loads.

4198 can go down a long way without any problem, if one wants to reduce even further.

Trail Boss is probably the safest to work with concerning the double-loading issue. Not really much for higher velocities though.

4198 was used extensively for reduced loads in the older Speer manuals as well as 4759. I have not looked at a newer Speer manual, the one I have was purchased in 1979.

Do they still give reduced loaded for most cartridges?

Rattler, just for a little bit, while you recover, you might want to consider the Remington Managed Recoil 260 load. 140gr bullet at about 2360 fps, and they advertise half the recoil. Their catalog number is RL2601 for that load.

You really do have several workable reduced loads suggested here. If I were doing this, I would consider sticking with the 140 grain bullets, and just push them a bit slower to make a more pleasant load. Even a slower 140 kills like the proverbial hammer.

I've disected a Remington 260 Managed Recoil round or two..

they are loaded with 30 grains of IMR 4198 and a 140 grain Rem Corelokt..

If you handload and want even better accuracy.. load 30 grains of RL 7 instead..

The 120 grain Ballistic tip is still the best bullet for that lower velocity..30 grains of either powder and the 120 BTip will give you an MV of approximately 2450 to 2500 fps..

I'm wanting a reduced recoil load for my 260AI that doubles as a fireform/plinking load.......so I want pressure 50,000 psi or more to form the shoulder of the AI cartridge. Hoping my daughters can use this as a hunting load.

I have a box of the 123g SST that Hornady makes for the Grendel. Per Hornandy, these are made to perform at the slower speeds of the Grendel so shouldn't be pushed over 2,700 fps.

So I'm thinking 36.0g of Varget with the 123g SST for roughly 2,700 fps MV and, per Hodgdon, 50,300 PSI. Another plus for this load is that on 125g and 120g bullets, Nosler shows 35.5g and 36.0g (starting load for 120g and mid load for 125g) as the most accurate charge with this powder and both are at similar velocities.

Thoughts, or an alternative suggestion? Another powder that might work well is IMR-3031. Hodgdon shows a max load of 34.0g getting 2,720 fps at 57,600 psi.