Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 26 Nosler

McMillian GP HTG.
Brux fluted No,4 finish at 26 inches.
1-8 twist.
M700 BDL.
Rifle Basic trigger.
PTG bolt with handle.
Finished in Duracoat desert digital camo.

S&B 4-16x50 PMII... of course..

Seekens Rings.

Barreled action skidded forward .5 of an inch.

Randy at Accurate Rifle Works did a bang up job.
Factory 129g ABLRs drill 1.5 inch groups at 300 yards.
Managed to pop a freezer doe last season.
Looking forward to this year..


dave

Very Nice Rig

That’s a clean looking killer. I’m jealous.

Nice caliber!!!

I think so.
I have not loaded for it yet.
Ammo is expensive but the way it shoots,you dont need much.
Eventually ill get a set of reloading dies and have at it.
But for now, Im just having fun.
Thinking about building a lighter version. ie carry version.
Will have to loose the Schmidt.
Its all good.
Have to be careful if you lay it down in the corn field......

dave

What’s the idea behind skidding the action forward 0.5”?

I makes for ALOT more room on the grip.
If you have large hands like me....
Its just more better.
dave

Really nice setup.

You won't have to tweak your turrets till past 400 with that outfit. I think Nosler hit the right capacity for a max 6.5 with the powders available. The 6.5 STW and Weatherby may be a tad much just enough to make them more temperamental or so I have heard. But then people said this about the 264 WM which is considered a solid citizen now.

Nice rifle, I am debating between a 26 and a 28

How does it shoot with the longer bullets, like the 140's?

Not nearly as nice or as fancy, but almost as functional. Old 700 BDL 7RM with #2 Shilen, 510 Timney.

Mine didn't like the 129 LRAB as well as the 127 LRX, 120 E-Tips/TTSX's. It'll shoot a little over 2" at 400 with those loads.

I found that U.S 869 was the best performing powder. My current load is 91 gr. with the 127 LRX.

You can pick up WC 872 from Jeff Bartlett, around $50 per 8#'s. It's a Vulcan cannon pull down surplus powder. And IME, it's an exact sub for 869. Same loads, same velocity, same accuracy. Just cheaper. I have 8# jugs of each, use both.

The Z3 Swaro with Sharpie yardage marks on the aluminum discs. Acetone erases them. Cheaper than a dedicated turret.

So, this is a low budget 26 Nosler. BTW, the sticky factory recoil pad was replaced at no cost by Remington. It's made by Limbsaver.

Another thing I did was to shave the bottom of the bolt knob. It bumped my trigger finger on the bench. The 26 Nosler doesn't kick that much, just enough to be a nuisance when the bolt knob hits the trigger finger. Fixed that.

DF

If 1/2 MOA is to be maintained you'll probably be re-barreling it about every 400-450 rounds.

For hunting big game 1/2 MOA is actually not needed, but I would not want it to shoot an average of over 1.5 MOA before I installed a new barrel.

Assuming you have a 1/2 MOA rifle to start with, I would make a guess that will mean a new barrel for hunting about every 1000 rounds.

Some steels do better then others and the more powder you burn and the higher you run your pressure, the shorter the life will be. Lots of cooling time between shots help a bunch too.

My Nos is sub MOA at 500 rounds. Bore not that bad thru Hawkeye. Early throat erosion. I worked it over with JB, recoated with DBC.

I think it’ll go a thousand. We’ll see.

DF

I'd be interested in your progress. Please keep me informed.

I picked up the gun for $400. It had been in a fire, mostly water and steam damage. Barrel and trigger were toast. If they don’t get hot enough to damage the wood, the metal is OK. I glassed it, had the Shilen fitted, pulled the mag block for a full 3.6” mag. Added a RUM box and follower, got a Timney on EBay for $105 delivered. Already had the Z3, mounted it and marked the yardages on the turret.

Monos at those speeds are accurate and destructive. They mess up more meat than one may think, kill with authority.

Low budget, but a lot of gun for the buck.

BTW, even though I have full mag 3.6” capacity, I’ve found my best groups at around factory 3.4” COAL. I guess that gives it a bit of free bore and monos do like to jump.

DF

100gr Scenars sizzling along at 4K are fun in a 26.

I have way more scope on the 26 than what I need.
The reticle is a P3 so I have built in dots if I ever need them.
Last season was my first season to run any 6.5 for deer.
It also was about the first time in 30 some years, I havent run a handload...
I had the 26 built instead of a 28 or a 30 as I was looking to keep the recoil to a min.
I watched the smith shooting the 28 and the 30 and I think ill pass.

dave

Dirtfarmer,
I like it.
When I start loading I was thinking the 127 LRX.
I prefer monos for the highspeed stuff anyway.
dave

I like 140 Ballistic tips and 869 in mine. I don’t think the recoil is anymore than a 7 Rem mag. I would go with Accubonds if I hunted anything heavier than pigs and Texas Whitetail. I think I’m loading a grain under max.

[quote=hanco]
My hunting bud likes 140 NABs in his 26 Nos.

Not running as fast as the mentioned monos, but tissue damage about the same.

Very accurate with 869.

DF