The local gun shop has a Browning a-bolt stalker in 260 rem that's been sitting on the shelf for about 2yrs now and i'm considering buying it but i have a couple questions i was hoping you guys could help me with. Most of the 260 rems i've seen or read about has a 1-9 rate of twist. The shop guy couldn't tell me what this one had so i called browning and they said the rate of twist in this particular rifle was 1-10. Will the 1-10 twist be a good rate of twist for the 120-130gr bullets which is what i would want to shoot from this gun? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You! Mike

You should be fine w/ conventional 120-130gr bulets. I would want 1-9 or even 1-8 for 140gr.

There are good bullet choices in the 120 range and down... In my experience, I would suspect even a 125 grain Nosler might be risky to be stabilized with the one in 10 rate... who knows why Browning did that twist rate.. that was one of their more dumber decisions if true!

I agree, that twist might stabilize a 130 grn but I wouldn't plan on it. It should shoot well with 120's and maybe even a 125. You definitely want a 1:8 for 140's, so 1:10 might be a little slow for the 130's.

Mike if that is true and has a 1:10 maybe thats why its been there a couple years.If he is right and is a 1:10 I would let it sit there longer.You could take a cleaning rod and ruler and check it for yourself tho.
My rem bdl has a 1:9 and I am satisfied with it I shoot 85,100 and 120's in mine haven't even tried any 140's in it,100 and 120 is all needed for deer here.Had a rem mtn before I got the bdl and did shoot some 140's in it very good and a ruger with 1:8 twist that shot the 140's good.But a 1:10 don't think I would want.
Haven't anything bad to say about a browning,I have and have had several calibers and all were great shooters out of the box.
Still have an eye open for you a BDL but they are so hard to come by,found 2 new in the box but the owners won't part with them.

You can check to see if the twist will stabilize your choice of bullet by useing the "Greenhill" formula. It states the bullet lenght in calibers times the twist rate in calibers should equal 150.
This is found useing "T=150/lenght. The number will come out as twist per caliber and needs to be multiplied by the cal (.264, ect) and the final number is the twist needed to stabilize that lenght bullet. Remember a bullets lenght can vary depending on its geometery so wgt isn`t always a good indicator.

I ran the numbers with a 6.5mm Nosler 140 gr Partition and came up with the following.
T = 4.87 (1.285" OAL for the bullet divided by .264 to get calibers)

150 divided by 4.87 = 30.80 (twist needed in calibers) = 1 in 8.13" twist needed for this bullet when multiplied by .264.

The formula listed above is useful within a range, but it doesn't give you the true answer, which would be the RPM needed to stabilize the bullet.

As I remember, the greenhill formula had several assumptions built in, search as a specific gravity (density if you will) of somewhere around 10. This was used assuming a typical jacketed, lead core bullet of the day. It also does not take into account the velocity the bullet exits the muzzle at (again if I remember correctly). If you have enough powder space to increase the muzzle velocity, a slower twist can stabilize a longer bullet.

Does anyone know of a table or spreadsheet that would take into account the above variables? With TSX bullets all the rage these days, it would be nice to better understand what would be appropriate for a given twist, muzzle velocity, bullet density, and bullet length.

By the way, I would assume to use the density of copper for a TSX, Barnes X, etc. The MXR are probably significantly denser than a standard lead core bullet, so that would affect the value in the opposite direction.

There is a useful tool on this page for calculating twist, bullet length and so on. It is in the right hand column, five items down. You can use standard models or input a custom specific gravity. Use 8.95 for solid copper bullets.

Personally, I'd hold out for the 1-9" twist.

I had a 1 in 11.5 and it wouldent shoot anything over 100 gr. accuratly but it was a tack driver with 85 gr bullets and deadly on chucks and fox to 600 yds.

Thanks for all the imput, i really appreciate it. After reading the feedback i've recieved here and from a couple other guns forums i've decided not to buy the Browning. I like the gun but i'm a little afraid of the 1:10 twist for that caliber. I think i'm going to go with the Rem Mtn rifle 260 cal with the 1:9 twist. Again Thank You! Mike

And, of course, the level you plan to load them at will also be a consideration. For highest velocity with 120-125 gr. bullets consistently used, 1 in 10 might be worth considering. 1 in 9 is used to work well across the range of available bullet weights.

I have a Kimber 84 in .260 Rem with a 1:9 twist. It groups 129gr Hornadys handloads fine, but 140gr factory loads suck hind tit. A 140 grainer handload, if pushed hard, may have grouped better than the factory fodder, but I don't like to push my luck with "redline" loads. Stick to a 1:9, or preferably faster, twist rate in 6.5s.