lapua 123 & 139 loads

[speedy]

Anybody have pet loads for a 260 using 123 & 139 lapua scenars that they would care to share? I am currently using 123 & 142 smk's and am not satisfied with results that I have gotten thank you, speedy

[Jim Beckley]

Speedy, What are you unhappy about? Accuracy, bullet performance, or what? When I was shooting a .260, I was using 37.0 grains of VV-N150, but there are far better loads out there I'm sure.
As far as you bullet selection, I shoot the 123's also. Doesn't really matter with the 123's either Sierra or Lapua, with the 139's, I think the `139 Lapua's are a little better than the 142 Sierra as far as ringing rams goes. Have tried the 142 Sierras, 139 Lapuas, and the 140 Hornady A-Max's. Currently shooting a 140gr Barnes Match Burner Bullet. Haven't rang a ram yet, and they are cheaper than the first two listed. Just my .02.

[speedy]

jim,
thank you for the reply, i am mostly unhappy with accuracy. I'm using 35 grains of varget with 123 smk's and 36.5 grains of varget with 142smk's, shot respectable last fall, in the heat this summer not so good 2.5" 5 shot groups at chickens. last fall i was around 1.25' with 5 shots at chickens.
speedy

[Jim Beckley]

Usually when something is shooting good and then goes south it's something simple, check your screws all of them and make sure they are tight. Between fall and summer means alot of rounds down range for me, check your overall lenght your bullets might have to be seated further out due to barrel wear.

[lone ringer]

Good advice as always Jim.
Speedy another thing is to make sure you are cleaning your barrel good so you do not have cooper fouling that can be affecting its accuracy.

Also depending on how old or how many rounds you have shot through your rifle may make a difference in the accuracy. I used to wear out a barrel in less than one year when I was shooting a lot and not letting my barrel cool off between series of rounds when I was practicing.
I would notice that my wore out barrels would lose accuracy more so at 385 and beyond than 200 and 300 meters.

[Jim Beckley]

Yes Sir Tony, I have found that to be true and have seen it also, when a barrel goes getting a turkey or sheep is usually a problem. I once saw Kathy Garvin run 10 pigs and then couldn't hit a turkey or a ram, her barrel was gone.

[kevinbear]

Interesting story, I thought I was imagining it when my 700 DBM in 260 seemed to go south in one match. I didn't keep track of how many rounds the gun had through it but it was the third year when about 3" of the rifling ahead of the chamber really eroded bad in what seemed like one match but was probably more than that. It was the first year of production of that rifle/caliber and me thinks something was not as it should be in the barrel making shop at Remington. Later guns in 7-08 seemed to last forever.

[speedy]

Thanks guys, I did check all the screws action, bases and rings when i discovered the unacceptable groups everythng was fine there. I measured the 123's in my comparator and found there was .003" to .004" of deviation a couple were as much as .007". My nosler accubonds that I use in my hunting guns stay within .001". Thats the reason i am looking to try some lapua's, if I can't find something there that works then I'm going to have to start thinking about rebarreling it

[kevinbear]

120 ballistic tips as well as 140's shoot really well in all my guns and are cheaper than accubonds, not sure if steel targets could tell the difference.

[Trent]

How many rounds do you have on the barrel Speedy? Some barrels give up the ghost pretty quickly at the end of their life.

[speedy]

Trent I'm the third owner of this gun, I knew both of the previous owners. We're thinking somewhere in the area of 1800 to 2000 rounds.The original owner had success wth benchmark and lapuas, but doesn't remember the exact charge.

[RBriscoe]

Speedy,

In addition to the other recommendations, if you have a spare scope, swap scopes and then take some fresh brass and load between 36.0 and 36.5 grains of either Varget and H4895 under a 120 gr MK, if you have some, and seat them within ten to twelve thousands of the lands. If that does not shoot well, visit a 'smith, preferably one with a borescope, and see what is wrong with the rifle. The .260 Rem just is not that "fussy" a cartridge.

A common ram load is 42 gr of H4350 with a 139 gr Scenar seated off the lands. As with all such things, start lower and work up as pressure signs permit.

Oh, one other thing. If you have been shooting your current brass for some time, measure it's length. On occasion, too long brass can cause problems.

[speedy]

thank you guys for the advice

[Varn]

Speedy,
The load for the 123 was 32g or 33g of benchmark and the 139 was around 40g of H4350 with Lapua brass and Fed 210M primers. The rifle was smithed by Donny Clark and bedded by Alex Sitman. The barrel is either a Krieger or a Bartlein. Ive had 3 of them built off of that reamer and Jeff (who was the original owner of that rifle) has had 3 or four built with the same reamer. They ALL shot those same loads in the 1/2 MOA range. Try that before you try anything else and then try a different scope. Give me a call if you have any questions. Mark

[Heavybarrell]

If I remember correctly, I think somebody said last year to go to the Lapua's! LOL!!!!
Butch