Anyone Here Have Experience Chronographing Loads with Alliant Re26?

South Pender

South Pender

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
75   0   0
Location
Vancouver
I've been doing some research on various powders for my .243 Win., 6.5x55, .270 Win., and 7x61 S&H, and, after working with QuickLoad with these cartridges, it has become clear that Alliant Re26 is really quite different from the more common powders used with these cartridges. Via QuickLoad, this powder consistently is shown to give significantly higher velocities at safe pressures. For a particular pressure with these cartridges, Re26 yields muzzle velocities up to about 100 fps faster than all the other appropriate powders at the same pressures.

It's a double-base powder employing what Alliant calls their EI technology (which is not explained anywhere), and is said to have a de-coppering additive and be relatively temperature insensitive. It has high bulk density, which makes it possible to get a maximum load of it into a case without having to compress the powder much (in this respect, it differs from Re25).

So my question is: has anyone used it and chronographed their loads? I'd like to see some empirical evidence that the QuickLoad predictions are borne out with some real-world data.
 
If you find any for sale in Canada, let us all know.

It's rare as hen's teeth where I live.

I use RL 25 in those cartridges and it does similar things.

For the 270Win, 62.0 grains of RL25, over CCI250 primers, under 150 grain bullets, generates almost 3000fps out of my Remington 700 and the accuracy is excellent if I do my part.
 
It's supposed to be the answer for 280ai, 7prc and lots of others. I've never seen it on the shelf so I stick to 7828ssc and it gets top speed out of many of the cartridges I shoot . 6.5x55 and 280ai in particular. N565/n570 is also supposed to be a top performer but I've never used it either
 
I use R26 in my 6.5PRC, I gained about 80fps over H4350. As soon as I saw how well it shot in my 6.5PRC, I bought 4 pounds, and I haven't seen it for sale since. As a bonus, copper fouling is virtually non existant, due to the additives in the powder.
 
I exclusively utilize Reloder #26 in my 240 Wby. and 270 Winchester, being that it's unfound in North America at retail outlets; and I only have 2 pounds remaining. The powder is a great performer whereas, my rifles achieved ultra velocities, accompanied with beyond acceptable accuracy for hunting.

My 240 Weatherby, with 90 grain Accubonds achieves 3,660 FPS and .200" to .300" accuracy. My 270 Winchester with 130 grain Accubonds achieved 3,300 FPS with .300" accuracy. I would love to reload for other cartridges with this powder, however it will not occur until long after wars are complete.

I failed to mention that both cartridges stated have 27" sporter barrels.
https://imgur.com/a/t7IwdNO
 
Last edited:
on my laptop, my Labradar folder has 356 Xcel files for the search word "RL26"

Yes, it lives up to QL predictions
 
Yes, It does give superior ballistics. I use it exclusively in my 8mm Rem Mag with
200 and 220 A-Frames. A load of 8x.x grains of RL26 gives just shy of 3100 fps
with the 220, and 8x.x grains with the 200 exceeds 3200 fps. Both safe loads
with no indications of excess pressure. Accuracy is superb with both. Dave.
 
Yes, it gives higher velocities. It is very easy to get above 3000 fps with a 150 grains in a 270 win. With the 145 ELDX I was able to get 3150 fps. This is 7 mm Rem Mag territory.
 
Have used it in my 300 win mag and 270 Win. Gained appx 100 ft/sec on both chamberings at safe pressure. Great powder but can't be found.
 
I used it in a 270wsm and was getting way better velocities than 7828ssc and H1000. Shooting a 145gr eldx at 3247 fps. I use it in my 6.5 PrC with a 143 eldx and getting 3040.
 
Definitely got higher MV with RL26. Much higher with no pressure signs. It's fairy dust for sure! Got almost 3200fps in my 270Win with a 140gr Accubond. But acquiring it... that is the problem!! Good luck in your quest...
 
From what I can see on other sites, RL25, VVN565, IMR7828ssc and Retumbo are what others are using to duplicate or come very close to RL26 loads.

It seems to be very hard to find, no matter which side of the border you're on.

I've been using RL25, which is close but my lot seems to be a bit faster, say one or two grains faster than what the books suggest for the two rifles I use it in.
 
bearhunter said:
From what I can see on other sites, RL25, VVN565, IMR7828ssc and Retumbo are what others are using to duplicate or come very close to RL26 loads.

It seems to be very hard to find, no matter which side of the border you're on.

I've been using RL25, which is close but my lot seems to be a bit faster, say one or two grains faster than what the books suggest for the two rifles I use it in.
Click to expand...

Yes, the powders you've mentioned are good substitutes for the hard-to-find Re26. I've been doing some research with QuickLoad, and none of these other powders will quite duplicate the velocities obtainable with Re26 (assuming identical pressures). What you said about Re25 is interesting. I've seen burn rate charts that show Re26 as slower than Re25 (as the numbers 25 and 26 would suggest), but all the loads I've experimented with using both powders show Re25 to be slower than Re26--in the sense that a slightly larger powder charge of Re25 is required than of Re26 when pressures are held to be identical. The problem with using Re25 instead of Re26 is that its load density, in g/cc, is quite a bit lower (load density of Re25 is about 7.3% lower than that of Re26). This means that, for many cartridges, you can't get enough Re25 into the case to equal the velocities available with a lower-weight charge of Re26. This is a much greater problem with Retumbo, with which you just can't get enough into the cartridges I examined to get velocities anywhere near those of Re26.

I've been tinkering with QuickLoad in connection with the following cartridges: .243 Win., 6.5x55, ,270 Win., and 7x61 S&H. In all cases, Re26 produced up to 100 fps higher velocities than any other powder. These are the cartridges I'm most interested in, but, with larger cartridges, it's possible the results I've obtained may not hold up. If time permits, I'll do the same analyses with 30 cal and larger.
 
Last edited:
South Pender said:
Yes, the powders you've mentioned are good substitutes for the hard-to-find Re26. I've been doing some research with QuickLoad, and none of these other powders will quite duplicate the velocities obtainable with Re26 (assuming identical pressures).

That is correct.
Click to expand...
 
VVN565 is available, but not always at your LGS or Canadian Tire.

During the latest powder drought, VV powders were available when others weren't.

I used the VVN565 because I needed a less dense powder in that burn rate.

You're right, RL25 is bulky. It's one of the main reasons it works so well in many cases because it fills the case to ideal levels. I find it works best when slightly compressed, over magnum primers.

It's also getting difficult to find, so you may not want to get into it.

The VV powders have relatively consistent grain density between burn rate types, unlike other powders, but they can't quite get the same velocities, before reaching book maximum pressures.

I mostly use IMR7828ssc for loads requiring this burn rate. It's usually available long after and before the other hard-to-find powders are, so it's a good choice to keep on hand.

Chasing that last 50-75fps can get expensive and isn't always worth the effort.
 
I use r26 in my 6.5prc with excellent results but have never tried it with my 270. I am going to have to give it a go. Think I am down to around 9lbs left. lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom