Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 264 win mag and 140 VLD?

Any ideas for loads? Your experiences?

TIA

RS Magnum, Moly, Fed 215s...

Work up to about 3100 (24" plumbing) from the JB article in handloader... accuracy goes south and primer pockets in WW brass get loose too quickly for my tastes loaded any faster.

I find myself using RS or AA ball powder for just about anything in lieu of stick powder these days...

Do you mean the Berger Hunting VLD? If so, you may want to check your barrel twist first. The VLD requires a 1 in 8" twist. I have two 264WM's and neither has a fast enough twist. One is 1 in 9", and the other 1 in 10".

The other issue you can get into with these things is the seating depth. If you want to get the bullet ogive close or into the lands you have to seat them out a long ways. Because the nose is very long and pointy, it can make for a very long cartridge that potentially does not fit in your magazine. A Sierra 140 boat tail pushed 0.010" into the lands is right at the very limit of my magazine. A Berger VLD is probably going to be a lot longer, with the bullet ogive further back.

As for a load 62 grains of H4831 is getting close to max pressure for a 140 grain in my guns, but you should work up to that level carefully. This gives me 2930 fps in a 22" barrel with a 140 gr. Sierra boat tail. H1000 or Retumbo may be other good choices.

A chamber cut with a factory reamer is pretty stingy on the throat, and I've been able to stuff the lands at less than mag length in all of them.

Thinkin it's due to the land rider bullet they were originally chambered for but can't know.

Rugers are properly twisted 8.

.....................The recommended twists by Berger are just that,,,recommended,,,rather than required. If you go to their site and review their Q&A section or in possibly one of their other sections, it will specify that if I`m not mistaken.

Also, it was later determined by Berger, that there are many rifles out there that when using the VLDs actually prefer a little bullet jump. It all depends on the rifle, as to what VLDs it prefers if at all, and the bullet jump (sweet spot) distances to the lands.

There is nothing set in stone when it comes to loading the VLDs. With plenty of experimenting, the individual rifle itself will tell the tale whether the VLDs will be a hit or a miss.

This is a Remington Sendero. I do not know the twist.

Yes the hunting VLD.

Looks like it is the same as my Remington, 1 in 9, so I would say a no go for the Berger.

http://www.snipercountrypx.com/pc-3405-1596-remington-700-sendero-sf-ii-264-wm.aspx

The Nosler Partition and Sierra boat tail 140's are good in 1 in 9.

..........Not with a 264, but have extensive experience with the 30s.

In case you`re not aware. For your hunting loads and for each individual charge, start with the max COAL that your magazine will allow for bolt cycling, test fire 6 rounds (two, three shot groups) for accuracy.

With the same exact load, reduce your COAL by 15/1000ths and test fire another 6 rounds.

Reduce the COAL again another 15/1000ths for another 6 rounds and test fire for accuracy.

Repeat!

Repeat again!

Somewhere within that 60/1000ths, you will find the best sweet spot or your rifle`s preferred bullet jump for the best VLD accuracy.

Anytime you switch or vary the powder, the charge, bullet weight etc, you start the above process all over again.

Many rifles using the VLDs prefer some bullet jump. For hunting loads, the magazines usually aren`t long enough to seat the bullet out either touching the lands or jammed into the lands.

For range loads, start with jamming them into the lands by 5/1000ths.

..........Bergers reco twist for the 6.5 mm 140 VLD is 1 in 8.

My 300 WSM has a 1 in 10 twist, yet Berger recomends anywhere from a 1 in 11 to a 1 in 14 twist rate for all 30 cal hunting VLDs. And yet with the 155s, the 168s, 175s and the 190 hunting VLDs, my accuracys are very good (after finding the COAL sweet spots), mostly MOAS and less.

Don`t put a whole lot of creedence on twist rates. Your Sendero will determine what COALs, what VLDs, using what powders etc that it likes best. On the other hand, it may not like any of them.

I have a 1 in 9 Lilja on mine, shoots the 140 VLDs just fine at a shade over 3150.

I'll check the particulars when I get home tonight Fotis.

Berger's recommendations are minimum suggested twists, and your twist falls on the tighter side of the spec so they're getting enough spin.

It's the other direction that causes problems, e.g. Berger says 8 but the rifle has a slower 9.

...............You do have a good point there.....But in any event, one can`t know,,,,until one tries.

Thank you sir!

For what it's worth, I think the 264 Win Mag never received the lavished attention it deserved. I had an old friend with a Model 70 in that chambering and he packed that rifle with confidence and conviction. Whatever he pointed it at was instant death & those were the days long before premium bullets.

Though I personally prefer my 280 & 300 Wsm, I just don't see how anyone would need more gun than the 264 Win Mag for general hunting duties.

The Berger recommendation is a minimum twist, so if they recommend a 1 in 11 or 14, you are fine with a 1 in 10.

Really?

Let you guys know tomorrow

it worked.....




140 berger at 3075fps RL25.

Sweet!

how much rl-25 did you use?? im having a hell of time getting my .264 to shoot anything.

ive tried three different weights of bullets from three different companies as well as a ton of different powders. then i started messing with seating depth and that didnt help either. rl-25 is one of the few powders i have yet to try.

list of stuff ive tried
120gr tsx
130gr accubomb
140gr sgk

rl-22rl-19
imr 7828 4831 4064 4350
h-1000 retumbo 4831sc

i had a friend of mine really clean the hell out of it and use jb paste on it and its still shooting like chit.

66 grains