My Kimber Montana in .260 is showing some potential. It's sporting a Nikon Monarch 2-7 and tips the scales at a hair over 6 lbs! I am looking to make it my "go to" rifle for deer and coyotes. I am getting sub MOA 3 shot groups with 123gr. Lapua Scenars (decidedly "not" a "hunting" bullet! ) and VVN160 and Lapua .243 brass sized up.
Originally was thinking about a 95gr (Speer TNT?) load for coyotes and then a 120 or heavier pill for deer, but I'm thinking maybe I need a "one bullet" solution...I'm not a fur hunter on the coyote side and all whitetail shots would be less than 200 yds, most less than 100.
I'd appreciate any ideas/thoughts/comments from all you cybersages.....
Posts: 648 | Location: Huskerville | Registered: 22 December 2001
since your range is short,..I would suggest strongly seeing if the 140gr SST will fly correctly out of your rig. That provides plenty of deer dropping power at even 300yds from your 260rem and coyotes won't stand a chance.
If it won't fly correctly,..take a look at the 120gr Nosler BT. I am not a fan of large frontal area's and small weights for caliber,..so the bullets under 100gr I would not even bother with,..but then that is just MHO.
Posts: 1496 | Location: behind the crosshairs | Registered: 01 August 2002
ROGER, I have been expermenting with a .260 for a couple of years. and a ruger m-77 with a 22 in. barrel. and stainless steel. I shoot 41.0 grains of RL-15 with cci 250 primer. This shoots about 2940 fps and less than 1 in. at 100 meters. speed shot over a crony.
Posts: 1137 | Location: SouthCarolina | Registered: 07 July 2004
125 grain Nosler Partition? Might be a little ugly on coyotes, but since you're using a 6.5 I'm assuming you're not overly interested in saving fur. The Partition would work well for both.
Posts: 3309 | Location: Southern NM USA | Registered: 01 October 2002
Since you're looking at a 2600-2800fps velocity, it would seem any STANDARD bullet would work well. Core lokt, hornady, speer, sierra, et al. Game bullets, of course. That is the prime operating velocity of those bullets. I would let the rifle decide which one it likes best. Also, as I am a "work up a good load and use it on everything" guy, I would opt for the 140gr bullets.
Sounds like a neat rig.
Posts: 2037 | Location: frametown west virginia usa | Registered: 14 October 2001
Good point! I dropped many a deer with good ol' Green and Yellow box Remington core-lokts out of my trusty 270. They are a lot cheaper than all those designer bullets!
Posts: 648 | Location: Huskerville | Registered: 22 December 2001
I'd say either try the Lapua 123gr Scenar as is, or try a 120gr Sierra GameKing or 129gr Hornady SST. I honestly feel the .260 Rem aka 6.5-08 is better served by the higher B.C. 120-130gr bullets at a reasonable velocity than a 140+gr bullet putzing along much slower. Downrange ballistics work out about the same, w/ less recoil in that light rifle of yours.
YMMV, but that's my thoughts on it.
HTH,
Monte
Posts: 341 | Location: Wenatchee, WA | Registered: 27 February 2002
I'd second that, but I would say the 100 grain partition would be a better choice. It will work well on Montana deer, even big upper midwest whitetails.
Since it will ONE bullet I am guess you would buy bulk and use this for everything from range time to big game...
My dealer carries the Remington 140g 6.5mm PSPCL for less then 11 cents each in bulk (250, 500, 1000). If your rifle likes them and shots them well should work great for what you are after.
Posts: 25 | Location: Reeders, PA | Registered: 14 September 2002
I am about to order a Howa Lightning in 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser, and a friend recommended the 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip as a good "do anything" bullet. Loaded to max velocity, it should do a number on coyotes, loaded down a bit, it should do a fine job on deer within 200 to 250 yards. Since the rifle is intended for my two younger boys, I plan to load the 100 gr nosler light to start with, and as they become more accustomed to the muzzle blast and recoil, will try some heavier bullets and loads. Then again, if the Nosler 100 gr Ballistic Tip works as well as my friend claims, we may just load that and call it good!
Posts: 515 | Location: kennewick, wa | Registered: 18 May 2004
I use the Nosler 120 BT in my 6.5-300Wby with great accuracy (.3-.4moa) up to 3,500 fps.
Remington loads the same bullet in their .260 factory load and we use it in my wife's .260 with fairly good accuracy - 1-1/2" groups in her unmodified rifle and a 6x scope. With the average bedding improvements and load selection, I'd expect to cut that in half easily.
IMHO, the 100 BT in this diameter is a little light for deer.
Posts: 588 | Location: Maryland | Registered: 08 April 2003
The 129 gr SST will not group well at all in my Kimber 260. I suspect that the 1-9 twist is a little slow for the 1.32" long bullet. However it seems the 123 Sencors at 1.306" shoot pretty well in your rifle.
Since my 260 shoots all other bullets from 95 thru 120 grs well I am looking at the lengths of the deer bullets also.
I called Nosler and they assured me that the 125 Partition would stabilize in a 1-9 twisted 260. The length of that bullet is 1.19".
I was talking about the 260 today with a friend who has been shooting deer with the 120 Ballistic Tip out of a M7 chambered for that cartridge. He shot 8 deer last year and said it really smacks them good but does not always exit. He said that even a shoulder hit on big deer gets in deep enough to drop them. However he is looking for a little more penetration and may try the 125 Partitions. He hunts all up and down the East coast shooting all year long what with crop damage and trophy hunting also. We discussed the Kimber 260 and it seems he is going to get one in the Montana model also.
Quote: 125 grain Nosler Partition? Might be a little ugly on coyotes, but since you're using a 6.5 I'm assuming you're not overly interested in saving fur. The Partition would work well for both.
This is the bullet I've settled on for my Remington Model Seven in .260 Rem. I think I've got it running at 2450 fps or thereabouts with MOA accuracy, and used it to cleanly drop two whitetail does last year. More than needed for coyote, but it seems well-balanced for deer, producing only modest amounts of blood-shot meat.
Posts: 1079 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 26 May 2002
Looking forward to your report on your .260 Remington. I will also be able to report on the Nosler Ballistic Tip 100 and 120 gr bullets once my boys' new rifle arrives with the dies. I will probably pick up some brass and bullets before then, just to be ready once it is here. I don't think there is that much difference between your .260 Rem and our new 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. What does remington use for a twist rate in the .260? How long is your barrel? The Howa Lightning 6.5x55 comes with a 22" barrel with a 1 in 9" twist. I hope it will stabilize the 140 gr bullets, just in case my boys decide they want to go after something bigger than deer down the road.
Posts: 515 | Location: kennewick, wa | Registered: 18 May 2004
Have taken quit a few deer with the 260 with 100,120,125 and 140 gr bullets.Have settled on the 120 speer spitzer in 120 gr now.It should work fine for coydogs and deer fine.The 100 gr BT is very accurate but I like the 120 gr better.Checkout these loads and you may want to give them a try.Just shot the 120 gr load yesterday to see what it would do in hot weather.Shot a 1.4 in grroup with it @200yds,have shot 3in or less groups @400 with it.
Posts: 508 | Location: Newton,NC,USA | Registered: 02 April 2001
R-West, You wouldn't happen to know the overall length of the Speer 120 grain spitzer flat base would you. My 264 mag has a 1 in 12 twist and it wil only stabilize bullets up to 1.2 inches long.
My one in 9 twist Rem VLS will stabilize bullets up to the 130 grain ones just fine. It gets iffy on the 140 and above.
However it stabilizes the 140 grain Corelokt, and the Sierra 140 Match just fine. The partition, Hornady and Speer 140s it will not stabilize very well.
Minus this Rem, all of my other 6.5 bores have a one in 8 twist. Nice thing with the 6.5 bore is that with a 0ne in 8, they will stabilize about anything.
I wouldn't worry if you have a one in 9 twist, because the 125 grain partition, the 120 grain bullets, the 129 hornady and the 100 grain bullets are all more than up to the task at hand.
Then if the game is real big, the 160 grain RN from Hornady stabilized in my 1 in 9 twist rifles. Within its range limits it makes a great Elk round.
Savage, I have not found any bullets that will not stabilize in a 1:9 barrel. I have found that the individual barrel makes a big difference. My 6.5x55 Douglas does not like anything under 129 grain, my 264 Win Mag Lilja doesn't like anything OVER 129 and my 6.5-284 Montana Rifleman barrel does not care, it likes them all and in 20" as well. They are all 1:9 and all shoot .5" or less with what they like and over an inch with what they don't.
Posts: 3942 | Location: Kansas USA | Registered: 04 February 2002
I agree that either something works or it doesn't. The cause of why some long bullets are not shooting all that well in a Kimber 260 is not certain at all. Keep in mind that the rifle shoots 1/2 MOA or better with short bullets!
) and VVN160 and Lapua .243 brass sized up. 
