Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles AR-10 powder question

I have a DPMS LR-260 for which I am beginning to reload. My question is whether there are any concerns regarding which powders to use to prevent damage to the gun. I reload for an M1 Garand which does have such issues but I have no idea whether the AR platform has similar requirements. My attempt with DPMS was less than stellar as they recommended using factory loads only.

To be fair, this was just before they moved from Minnesota so the person I talked to may have had other things on their mind or there was no one to ask technical questions of. Winchester appears to use a version of 760 so I probably could be OK with that but if I can get better velocity with a slower powder without damage, I wouldn't mind. Thanks for any help that can be provided.

You don't have to worry about damage to the gun so much as you have to worry about damage to the brass. The LR isn't a fragile antique like an M! or M14.

I'll let other chime in on their favorite .260 powder.

Use whatever powder is appropriate, but be aware that slow burn rate powders work the gas system harder than fast burn rates. Particularly in that rifle, I'd expect to need an adjustable gas block and tune the gas system for your load when you figure out what you like. If it's severely overgassed, you may need to restrict the gas just to do load development, as violent overgassed systems can mess up accuracy and also show false pressure signs.

Thanks for the information. I suspected I could use pretty much any powder by the lack of warnings in regards to powders but my "Google-fu" is not strong and I could easily have missed any warnings.

I never thought of an adjustable gas block, I will have to see about one. I doubt I will see any improvement in accuracy due to me but if it helps save the brass and eases stress on the rifle it seems a good investment.