260 rem barrel twist and issues shooting 130gr pills

Hey guys,

Ive been wanting to extend the range of the little mod 7 in 260 rem. I have tried 130gr Berger VLD's and just cannot get them to shoot, tried several powders and several different seating depths incl touching the lands - Just wont shoot.

I had heard that the VLD's can be fussy so thought id give the 129gr SST's a go as i have found they generally shoot fairly well in other rifles ive used them in.

Well, same deal, a couple of powders, and the grouping looked pretty good (if it was a shot gun).

My rifle shoots the 120gr Sierra Prohunter very well, and just to confirm it still did, i shot 3 rounds of 120gr prohunters straight after the 129 SST's, and sure enough, tight little group like normal.

Ive come to the conclusion that the twist rate of my Rem Model 7 barrel (1:9 i think) just doesnt like pills around 130gr.

Anyone else found this?

Looks like the Sako's use 1:8

I just may have to stick with a 120 NBT doing 3k and call it done!

The 120 nbt is a tough lil performer

Berger recommend a 1:8 twist for the 130 VLD, so you are probably right. Did you try jamming the VLD? I use to jam the 168VLD 10thou into the lands in my 7mm mag. I never had an issue with a projectile sticking.

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Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

The 120 nbt is a tough lil performer

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Yeah i think i'll just stick with that and be done with it, if i'm heading somewhere that's likely mostly longer range i'll take the 284 or the 7SAUM.

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Originally Posted by stug

Berger recommend a 1:8 twist for the 130 VLD, so you are probably right. Did you try jamming the VLD? I use to jam the 168VLD 10thou into the lands in my 7mm mag. I never had an issue with a projectile sticking.

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I think i tried them just 5 thou into the lands, didn't want to get too carried away jamming them. I tried them at 3 quite different OAL's and none of them showed promise. Most rifles ive loaded for, its not hard to get something shooting well pretty quickly, but this 260 just doesn't seem to like the 130gr range.

I like the look of the ballistics on the 130 VLD, and due to the rifle being small, reasonably light and very handy i was trying to turn it into a wonder 'do it all' gun.

Shoot this barrel out and then re-barrel with a 1:8:thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by stug

Shoot this barrel out and then re-barrel with a 1:8:thumbsup:

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The way ive been going with trying different pills and powders of late, this wont take long ;-)

123 amax?

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Originally Posted by gimp

123 amax?

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Have you tried these on game as it won't be long I hope till I get my .260 back and will be doing the same testing like the 130 weight but have been looking at the 123 A max.

If you are not intending to shoot past 500 there are plenty of good flat base projectiles that should shoot well.
I shoot 129 gr hornady accurate enough to 600. For steel and targets the 130 scirocco goes well for my results but not my pocket.

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what twist rate has more to do with bullet length than weight a long bullet like a vld will generally need a faster twist than a short stubby low bc bullet of the same weight to stabilize
I have seen a 260 with a 1-9 twist run 130 vlds though with same hole accuracy was a match grade barrel though but at the end if the day your rifle might not like them period
maybe the 123gn Amax could be a good one to try

ive got a 1-8.5 twist barrel but ive only stot 6 rounds down the thing in the 6 months ive had it lol :(

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Originally Posted by gimp

123 amax?

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That was one of the original bullets I used, but discovered a problem with variation in base to ogive length as mentioned here. This was bullets from the one box too! Lost confidence and interest in them after that.

It seems when you google it, that im not the only one to notice the problem either, heres another example

Hand loading ammo is about getting everything as consistent as possible, so to use a bullet that is so inconsistent is just mental!

Worked up loads for a .260 Model7 earlier this year, got a dynamite load going with 2209 and 130 Sierra Hp Gameking doing 2900, bc not great but those Gameking Hp's are tough bullets in all the calibres.

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Originally Posted by 257weatherby

Worked up loads for a .260 Model7 earlier this year, got a dynamite load going with 2209 and 130 Sierra Hp Gameking doing 2900, bc not great but those Gameking Hp's are tough bullets in all the calibres.

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That's good velocity from a 130 in a mod 7 20" barrel I assume. Are you willing to share details of the load? PM if you prefer.

I got the 130 gr vld stabilising in 1 in 8.5 twist out a long 6.5 creedmoor tube and shooting the best.
the 140 a-max were not shooting as well.
With 20" barrel I would stick to the lighted pills .

Hi GWH, I assume youre the same bloke I was talking too the other day about my 139 Scenar load in the M7 260?
Im currently playing with some 140 VLDs using basically the same powder charge, im not getting the accuracy on paper at 100yds that the scenars were giving me, but still respectable results for hunting (around 1") will play around with seating depth a bit and see what I come up with.

Yep thats me, thanks Ryan. The heaviest ive tried is the 130 VLD's and 129 SST's, didnt bother trying heavier after i could get those to shoot.

I don't know if this will help but I have a 264 Win Mag with a 9" twist 24" barrel it's favourite bullet is the Hornady 140 grain interlock I only load it to 2870fps and it puts the first 2 bullets on top of each other with the third 1/2" away at 200 metres, it will go much faster but the accuracy is great and I don't take real long shots, they might be worth trying they have shot well in all the 6.5's I have had.

In a moment of weakness a couple of days ago, I hit the accept offer button on Trade Me for a Model 7 in 260.....

While Berger state a 1:8 for the 130s, they also state that the bullet MAY stabilise in a 1:9 and group OK, but this would come at a 6% reduction in the BC. If anyone is trying to offload half a box of 130 VLD's, let me know.

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Originally Posted by Uplandstalker

In a moment of weakness a couple of days ago, I hit the accept offer button on Trade Me for a Model 7 in 260.....

While Berger state a 1:8 for the 130s, they also state that the bullet MAY stabilise in a 1:9 and group OK, but this would come at a 6% reduction in the BC. If anyone is trying to offload half a box of 130 VLD's, let me know.

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Easy enough to slip a 7mm08 barrel on it :)


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I don't live in Auckland and never will, there will not be putting a 7mm08 on it!

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Originally Posted by Uplandstalker

I don't live in Auckland and never will, there will not be putting a 7mm08 on it!

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Nice rifle! Mine loves 120Amax and also puts the 139 Scenar's where I point it, am playing around with 140 VLDs at the moment, still havnt got the accuracy I'm after with them but it's stabilising them, I think a bit more playing with seating depth and powder choice and it will shoot them