Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters RE 26 loading

Mule Deer

Back when you were writing about RE 26 in the 280 AI and the 270 and the velocities you were getting, I stocked up.

I am getting good results with RE26 in several cartridges, but am a little irritated that there seems to be little (compared to other powders) data with RE 26. What is the deal? I expected that RE 26 would be in a powder burn chart by now, but so far I have not seen it. Further, load data is slim, in my opinion.

So far what on different cartridges where I can't find data, I have been doing is referring to RE 22 and RE 25 loads, cutting back a few grains and working up. I have 25 and 22 on hand, but I have a butt-load of 26.

Would you consider doing a write up using RE 26 on cartridges from something like the 25-06 through maybe 300 Magnums - maybe others? I would like to see it. Thanks.

Bugger

Try Speer Handloading Manual Number 15

Cheers,
Walt

Yep, the Speer 15 has more RL-26 data than Alliant's website.

I tried 26 in my 280AI with a 168 Berger VLD. RL-23 ended up being my Huckleberry for that bullet. Tiny little itty bitty holes.

The free Sierra app has updated data for the newer powders

A recent burn rate list from Hodgdon shows it as #151 of 163, sandwiched between IMR7977 and Hodgdon H1000.

This link might work: https://hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/burn-rate-color.pdf.

--Bob

Develop your own loads for your own rifle. Manuals always differ and always will, because of all the factors we waste time on here discussing, so the only arbiter should be the suitability and consistency of results obtained by your own rifle. Just as you would when changing powder batches, drop a grain or 2 and work up back to where you were or hope to be with the previous batch and record everything.

This puts you in control of your reloading and also provides the most accurate and relevant information you need for that rifle. I seldom worry about what a manual says once I know the powder burning rate, that tell you more because you can rate the starting loads against what you know already and go from there. I like what Mulwex did when they expanded the AR line of powders by rating IMR 4350 as "100" and all other powders were rated in their relative burning rates using closed bomb testing to establish burning rates as a percentage. It made understanding powders much easier for the handloader so once you know a powder is slower or faster that your previous choice, you can more easily nominate a starting load and work up from there.

I do develop my own loads for my rifles. Most rifles I’ve been buying lately do not have much load data. I enjoy finding rifles that are no longer collector items that I can experiment with. I found a 35 Winchester in a Win 1895 That had been refinished. Perfect, but I was too slow. I think I would have started with light 35 Whalen loads...
I strife to find starting points, with RE 26 I felt that the 300 Weatherby, the 7mm RM, the 300 Win Mag and the 25-06 would have loads of load data. But i didn’t find much data. A couple of those love RE26 by the way.
I am some times puzzled by the differences in manuals, yet when I start with a new to me cartridge I read what others have experienced and I look at manuals. I have a couple of rifles from different manufacturers that, while chambered for the same cartridge, the top loads differ more than I would have expected. So, I have experienced more than once what you’re saying.
Re 26 is a mere puzzlement (perhaps a perfect conundrum) It’s been out for a while and with exception of the Speer manual there’s been little data. I appreciate the tip regarding the Speer manual by the way.

Thanks for that chart. However, I have not found it slower than RE25.

Seems a lot of powder effective burn rates are application specific.

I think RL-26 is no different, maybe even more so.

I think in some applications it's faster, not slower than RL-25.

So, who knows. Those charts are an approximation at best.

There is only one Gospel...

Burn rate charts need not apply...

DF

Good news and bad news:

Bad news - Speer chose not to include 7mm RM load data with their on-line reloading data???? (I have not been bought one of their later manuals.) I guess there just isn't many 7mm RM's out there...

Good News - Aliant has added many more RE 26 load data recipes, including the cartridges with which I have been experimenting.

Bugger,
A great Aussie colloquialism by the way.............
Because of your interest in semi obsolete or less popular cartridges, I would recommend you look for a book called "The Home Guide to Cartridge Conversion" written by George C. Nonte Jnr with Forward written by Elmer Keith. First published in 1961 as "Cartridge Conversions" and revised in 1967 to the aforementioned title, it gains in practical value the more the years role on.

This book covers everything including brass conversion, primer pocket dimension, Metric, British and US calibers and cartridges, loads and bullets. I once owned a 1912 John Rigby Double in 350/400 Number 2 where this book came with the rifle and became a source of great information on such semi obsolete cartridges.
John

I spent a year in the land "down under", (Sydney and NW Queensland mostly) A friend there had most of his rifles confiscated buy the government - some very valuable, he said. As I recall they paid him $700 a piece for his H&H doubles and his high end African game rifles. Curious about your government and the gun laws as you see them.

Look here bugger:
https://www.speer.com/reloading/rifle-data.html
Don't enter anything in the filter functions, just scroll down. You will find loads for 7mmRM from 110 to 175 grain bullets.

You’re right

Some states are better than others. None of them make it particularly easy to buy and own guns however.

Back to the OP

I use R26 in my 243AI and FWIW I have found it almost interchangeable with H4831SC with near identical velocity with the same charge and bullet weight. Bullets are 105 and 107 grain match bullets.

I know that probably won’t translate directly into other cartridges or even other bullet weights with the same cartridge, but in that narrow range of application R26 and H4831SC are very similar.

48.5g of either powder makes about 2980fps in the 21” barrel with the Hornady 105g BTHP.