My grandson wants to shoot my .260 this yrar. he has always been a little recoil shy, Is it better to use a slow powder like 4831 or 4350 and load the low side, or faster powder like 4064 or RL-15 and load the low side. I will be loading the same 120s that i load for my load..

I've had good results with reduced loads and a 139 gr. bullet with sc-h-4831, acc-4064 H-4895 and IMR 4895. had velocities as low as 2200 fps. with good results. roger

NEVER, the recommendation is to NEVER reduce loads with "slow" powders. What is "slow?" another discussion, it varies. Not with 4350 or 4831 for certain.

There is phenomenon called "pressure excursion" and if you get one it can blow the gun all over the range. Sprayed with shrapnel, you could be blinded, dead... bad day... BAD DAY.

In the data I have read, 4064 is not considered slow but may be dirty at lower pressures. Old Lyman manual of mine recommended 4895. Said you could cut loads 40% with safety and comparable performance, accuracy not velocity, obviously.

You also want to remember the cases may develop excessive head space without a full power load to force them back against the bolt face and you may not want to reload them with full power loads after that.

There has been an IMR manual around, paperback, free, in which IMR lists performance in a caliber with all their powders. 4831 in the .223 is pretty lame. There is an older powder, SR (Sporting Rifle) 4759 useful for reduced loads. Or you could email Hodgdon for advice since they distribute most powders now.

Thank you for the interest in the sprout and best of luck.

Hodgdon has lower velocity data for 120gr and 140gr bullets using SR4759, they also have reduced load data and instructions for reducing H4895 for any of their loads listing H4895. And there's TrailBoss data and instruction for even futher reduced loads.

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/H48...%20Rifle%20Loads.pdf

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Tra...ed%20Loads%20R&P.pdf

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
I've had good results with reduced loads and a 139 gr. bullet with sc-h-4831, acc-4064 H-4895 and IMR 4895. had velocities as low as 2200 fps. with good results. roger

In the interest of safety the reduced load of h-4831 was 42.2 gr. for a velocity of 2335 fps . in my rifle.Not exactly the type of load that will ruin your day. roger

H4895 is the safest powder to down load with and the most predictible. Go to the Hodgdon Home page and go to the top and click on data and then on "H4895 Reduced Loads" and it will explain how you do it. Then go to the data center and look up a 260Rem W/ H4895 and 120 bullet. The max load is about 2800fps and a 60% load will be right at 1690 fps. A 75% load will be 75% of 2800 or about 2100fps. And so on.

quote:

Originally posted by Fat_Albert:
A 75% load will be 75% of 2800 or about 2100fps. And so on.

Ya kinda lost me on that sentence,FA,
75% of the powder would yield right at 2425 fps. roger

quote:

Originally posted by vines:
My grandson wants to shoot my .260 this yrar. he has always been a little recoil shy, Is it better to use a slow powder like 4831 or 4350 and load the low side, or faster powder like 4064 or RL-15 and load the low side. I will be loading the same 120s that i load for my load..

Hodgdon only recommend the H4895 for youth loads.
.260 Rem.120 grn.bullet.

Max.powder load; 38grns 2,813fps
60% youth load ; 22.8grns (absolute min load)
70% youth load ; 26.6grns
80% youth load ; 30.4grns
90% youth load ; 34.2grns

Hodgdon say these reduced youth loads are good for deer up to 200yds but you will have to check the drop it can be quite dramatic.We are stuck with a minimum 2,450fps for deer over here so can only use them for vermin but these youth loads have much reduced recoil.
Fat Albert has added chrono speeds above.


These were chronoed from my sako mod 75 7mm-08 ;Sierra match kings 150gr.
40.0 grn 2728
35.0 grn 2462
30.0 grn 2075 jc

bartsche:time to get some new AAA's for you 1980 calculator. Every 10% is 281.3fps. 100%=2813 90%=2537 80%=2250 70%=1969 60%=1688 and 75%still=2109.75fps give or take a little.

quote:

Originally posted by Fat_Albert:
bartsche:time to get some new AAA's for you 1980 calculator. Every 10% is 281.3fps. 100%=2813 90%=2537 80%=2250 70%=1969 60%=1688 and 75%still=2109.75fps give or take a little.

Albert, a 10% change in powder charge gives you a 10% change in energy not velocity. Energy = 1/2 m X velocity squared. Even my arcaic 1950 calculator( slide rule ) bares this out. roger

thanks bartsche,.. i used some powder i had at the house, i loaded H4350 at 41 grs. That was the suggested starting load. 46.5 is max.. shot pretty good, Alot milder that my load of 42 grs of LR-15 at 2920 fps.

Another option would be to go with 100 grain Nosler Partitions. I started my daughter at 10 on these from a 6 pound rifle and she loves it still at 15. That bullet has punched holes in some pretty big deer from a pretty far ways with flawless performance. H414 to 3200fps will feel like a reduced 120 load with great trajectory and surprising penatration. Cost is elevated, but after a season, you may shelf the 120s al together.

Be careful with "Rules of thumb". Hodgdon .260 data shows an 8.6% increase in charge weight yields a 5.6% increase in velocity, an 11.1% increase in energy, and a 13.1% increase in chamber pressure for H4895 and a 120-grain bullet.

I have used 100 BTips and BlueDot at 2500 fps for some very accurate, relatively quiet, mild-recoiling loads.

.

quote:

Originally posted by TX Nimrod:
Be careful with "Rules of thumb". Hodgdon .260 data shows an 8.6% increase in charge weight yields a 5.6% increase in velocity, an 11.1% increase in energy, and a 13.1% increase in chamber pressure for H4895 and a 120-grain bullet.

I have used 100 BTips and BlueDot at 2500 fps for some very accurate, relatively quiet, mild-recoiling loads.

.

Thanks for posting that TX nimrod. That sounds more like the velocities im looking for.jc

my grandson killed his first ever deer saturday evening. with the load i mentioned above. glad i was with him..you never forget those moments. it was a split 4 pt. 125 lbs

(desired velocity / listed maximum velocity) x listed maximun charge weight

This the basic formula and have been proven calculations for the fast-medium to medium burn rate IMR powders such as 4064, 4320, 4895.

One can also plot the min, start and max loads on graph paper with their respective velocity coordinating and extrapolation can be made safely to about 65-70% load density with the above mentioned powders.

But if you never passed a HS math class or don't know how to use a calculator stick with published data, and by all means if you blow yourself up sue the hell out of the gun companies.