Which bullet do you prefer in the 260 Remington on medium size whitetails, out to about 200 yards?

I have used both 140 and 129. Both worked great. The .260 is a great round. I prefer the 140. But best accuracy was with the 129. I shoot IMR 4831 and Hornady bullets. Low recoil and equals or exceeds a .270

I've settled on the 125-grain Nosler Partition at around 2700 fps out of a Model Seven's 20" barrel. Should do about 100 fps faster out of my Encore's 24" barrel.

I believe this depends on your intended use (other than the whitetails mentioned). The best all-rounder is the 140 gr. of preference. The best deer only is probably the 120 or 129 gr. bullets (again, considering personal prejudice). I don't believe that "premium" bullets are necessary but some feel a lot more comfortable with their favorite brand. Nothing wrong with that!

I've had very good luck with the Hornady 129 across a variety of mid-power 6.5s. Accuracy has typically been better than other candidates, especially with H414. I've also had good results with the Speer 140 and the Sierra 140 BT. Oddly, I've found the Sierra to be the most fragile of these bullets, which makes for reliable expansion at the ranges and implied velocities you describe. I'd use the 125 Nosler, but I am too cheap and I like to practice a lot; I highly doubt it's necessary for the shots and game you describe.

9.3

I had to go look in my papers, I load 46 grains IMR4831 with the 129 Hornady and 45 with the 140 hornady. The 140 hits about 2750 out of my Remington. very acurate as is the 129. I thing I learned from this round is it very accurate and a pleasure to shoot.

Thanks, Gents. I won this rifle, a Remington Model 7, in a raffle a few years ago, and I want to set it up for my daughter for deer hunting. I've only shot half a box of factory 140's, and now it's time to work up a load or two. Looks like I can't go wrong with the 120 - 140 bullets.

Kudu... all the load data that I have found shows 46gr of 4831 to be about 3 grains over max... So If any one is uses your load I would sugest dropping it down at least 6 grains to start.

I have had good luck with the 129s and the 140s as well. Both are one shot stops on whitetails.

I've done well with the 120 grain Sierra. I've only shot at two deer with this rifle. Both died literially on the spot. Can't ask for more than that.

Bob257

My ten year old son has a .260 Rem. Mount. Rifle that I load down for him. He will get to use it for the first time deer hunting in a year and a half. For him I will use a reduced load of RL-15 behind a Nosler 125 gr. Partition and for me I use a full dose of RL-15 behind a Hornady 140 SST for max accuracy and decent performance of plains deer.

I would think a 120 to 125 grain bullet is all you need in that 260 for whitetail deer, especially with your daughter the shooter. I agree with one of the earlier posters, give her something that wont tear her shoulder off. Just use a decent bullet, corelok, Hornady Interlock, Hornaday Interbond, Partition, etc.

John,
Since the rifle is for your daughter, and the intended range is 200 yds, take a look at trajectory tables.

Most 6.5 hunting bullets are designed to open at velocities that get pretty low, based on the old 6.5 x 52s, 6.5 x 53s, 6.5 x 54s, and 6.5 x 55s.

With a 120, 129 or 140 grain bullet, if it is zeroed 3.5 inches high at 100 yrds, and has a muzzle velocity of 2300 fps it will be dead on at 200 yds. Low velocity will exclude the Nosler partitions to reliably expand. However, the ballistic tip etc will do just fine.

Remember the 6.5 bullets are very aero dynamic, have high BCs and high sectional density. So that translates into flat shooting and deep penetration.

Look up mild load data for a 6.5 x 54 at 2250 to 2300 fps. and zero 3 inches high at 100 yds. If she can put the cross hairs on fur at 200 yrds, and hold steady she will hit her target.
The bullet will do its job. There are not really any bad 6.5 bullets to my knowledge. Recoil will be more along the lines of a mild 30/30 or a 22/250 or so.
Since 99 % of all deer are taken at under 200 yds, why have a 300 yd load, with the added recoil for your daughter? It really gains nothing positive and the recoil increase will actually probably serve a negative instead of a positive lesson.

Good luck with her tho!
Hope she does well

I have shot three deer with my 260 Remington, and I have used the 140 gr. Nosler Partition twice, and this year used a 140 gr. Sierra GameKing BTSP. I found the Partition to give great performance, I lung shot both deer, one was a 8pt. whitetail @ 40 yards, the other was a 4x3 mulie @ 150 yards, both were killed very quickly, the whitetail dropped to the shot, the mulie made it 10 steps. I got exits on both deer. This year I tried the 140 gr. Sierra BTSP, and took a 5x5 mulie (275 lbs live) at 240 yards, spine shot, dropped him, but the bullet slipped it's core, and barely made it through the spine.



I think I am gonna go back to the 140 gr. Partition, I had a good accurate load made up with h4831sc, went 2600 fps, and shot well.



I'd think most any bullet from 120 gr.-140 gr. would work well on deer out to 200 yards in a 260.



Since it's a 200 yard deer load for a young shooter, I'd try loading 100 gr. Nosler Partitions to about 2700-2800 fps, they should work well with lower recoil.

Woodleigh have just released a 6.5 140gr PP bullet, for velocities between 1900-3000 fps. Should be good.

I have had great results from the 125 Partition. I run it at about 2725 for my sister, and the results are devastating. While she has never pushed the range very far, I have no doubts about expansion. Nosler claims that Partitions are reliable at expansion down to 1800 fps. I would believe that based on what the wounds look like at impact velocities in the lower 2000's.

Gabe

I agree with the posts above the 120 to 125 gr. bullet would be the best choice for your daughter to use on deer. I have a load using the 120 Sierra Pro Hunter seated on top of IMR 4064 that tops 3000 fps from my rifle and dropped the only deer I have shot with it in its tracks. I would load it down to 2700 fps like the some of the other posts suggest.

If your daughter is new to shooting, I might suggest you load some of either the Sierra 85 gr. or Speer 90 gr. TNT to around 3000 fps to get her acclimated to recoil and gradually work up to around 3300 fps. Then load the 120 gr. bullet 2600-2700 fps and she will notice very little difference in the recoil.

I did this with my wife, as she was very recoil sensitive I started her out with the 85 gr. and gradually increased the powder charge to 3300 fps, and then loaded some 120's to 2660 fps and slipped them in while she was shooting it and she never even noticed difference. She is now shooting the 120 gr. 3000 fps load with no problem. Hope this helps some.

May I be half the man my grandson thinks I am....RiverRat

I think I'll start with the 120 - 129 grain bullets. My daughter is an excellent shooter, competes (and wins) in smallbore and air rifle, and shoots some trap and skeet with no recoil complaints, so I don't forsee any real problems in that department. This is a light rifle, though, so warm weather practice in light clothes could be a surprise. Deer season in the Adirondacks usually means heavy coats, so recoil while hunting isn't a concern.

Now I just need to find a load that will meet her accuracy expectations. She can be fussy about that sort of thing.

That is good a discrimating young lady! You shouldn't have too much problem with meeting her accuracy expectations with a 120-129 gr. bullet. The 260 is an inherently accurate cartridge. I would try IMR 4064,H4350 EXT or RL-19 with the 120 to 129 gr. class bullets. All have show excellent accuracy potetinal in my 260's. I would look to H4350 EXT for a load since you are hunting in a very cold climate. H4350 EXT has shown to be very temperature stable. Actually H4350 EXT works great with a 90 gr. Speer TNT as well. At 49.1 gr. it gives sub .5 MOA accuracy in my hunting 260, and is hard on coyotes. Velocity runs 3255 from the 24" barrel. Another load that shoots in the .5 to .6 MOA range is 41.4 gr. of IMR 4064 @ 3467 fps with the 90 gr. TNT. That load is VERY hard on coyotes. Have fun working with your daughter. The time spent together will remembered by both of you for a lifetime.

May I be half the man my grandson thinks I am ....RiverRat