I see a few guys mentioned the .260 Rem in the discussion about the .300WSM vs the 30-06.
My brother just bought a savage 110 in .260 and I will be reloading for it. He will be useing it mostly for white tails in PA. and also black bear. I am leaning towards Nosler Partitions in 140 grain. Any thoughts?

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Don Nelson
Sw. PA.

I'd look at the 125gr Nosler partition first, it's a better all around bullet for whitetale. Also the 129gr hornady interlock is a real good bullet.

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Thanks, Mark G

"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything." Genesis 9:3

You may also want to check out the 120 Barnes X. I use it for caribou. 51 grains of RL19 giving 3100 FPS from my 24" barrel.

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AlleninAlaska

I agree with both posts - I'd look to the 120 grain range with this cartridge, especially for deer. If you are willing to put the time in to make them shoot and are willing to thoroughly and frequently clean his barrel for him, you can't beat the 120 grain X bullet. The ability of this bullet, in this weight, to penetrate is incredible.

In the 260 an similar similar capacity 6.5 mm cartidges, the overall kenetic energy of the 120 grain bullets will be higher than the 140 grain bullets out to longer than he'll be shooting.

I'm with Mark G on this one. We've take 13 deer in the last two years with our 6.5x55s and the 125 Nosler. Check out the photos.

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Mark
http://communities.msn.com/20012002HuntingSeasoninAlabama/homepage

[This message has been edited by mark65x55 (edited 05-15-2002).]

Thanks guys. looks like I will be trying the 125 partitions. Barnes are out as my brother is on a very limited budget. Anyone have a favorite load?

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Don Nelson
Sw. PA.

The 129 grain Hornady SST should prove out to be a damn fine pill for this and the other 6.5s.
Dave

I shoot the Swede a bit and use 129 Hornady's and 140 Sierra's. Have used the Noz Pt's as well but at the speeds of the 260 and the Swede I see no reason to go with the Noz unless one just wants to.

I'd say save your money and go with the 129 Hornady.

Just my thoughts.

'GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

There is general agreement here that maximum impact velocities for premium bullets should not exceed 2,900 fps and 2,700 fps for standard bullets. With that in mind and the chance that a shot close to the muzzle is possible I would try to slow down the velocity with a heavier bullet.

I had a light bullet blow up on a small whitetail at close range once from my 7mm Rem Mag. The deer did fall and expire right away but I would not use that bullet again.

I think that the light bullets would bag the deer most of the time but a large bear has very heavy bones.

And a comment about the Barnes X bullets and "taking the time to get them too shoot" I have seen Barnes X bullets fail by loosing all of their petals. The diamater of the bullet was a small fraction of a regular bullet. Also the Barnes X bullets fouled my nice barrels so bad that I would not use them if they were free. But I welcome Barnes to get the product right. Perhaps the new XLC style is that product. I hope it is as if it works right it will be a major advance in bullets. An X bullet that expands correctly is very impressive with it's 100% weight retention.

To edit this post I thought that the cartridge was the .264 Win Mag!(I have been thinking of putting a .264 bbl back on one of my M-70's). I see that the .260 can't even reach 2,900 with the 125 gr bullet so a premium bullet would be better for bear. For deer it won't matter much.

[This message has been edited by Don Martin29 (edited 05-15-2002).]

Hmmm.

Whitetails in PA. Sounds like a medium range thing? If it is, I would just use some regular bullets, and load them to about 2500 fps. Cheaper to shoot, less recoil, and very dead deer. You will also have considerably less meat damage. 2500 fps would still give a point blank range (7") of over 250 yards with the 140 gr. Hor. That's quite a ways out there.

As far a premiums, you can load that Nosler Partition to 4,000 fps and not blow it up any farther than wiping off the nose. I've run X's up to 3300 fps impact, and not lost petals. Premiums have their place but it sounds to me, this isn't it. JMO, Dutch.

Thanks for the advice so far. Yes Dutch the rifle will be for medium range on both deer and bear as well as groundhogs. That's about all we hunt other that turkey and some small game. Won't need the rifle for those. My biggest reason to want premium bullets is I have very little confidence with small bore rifles. I am a .30 or larger fan. My brother is recoil sensitive though and killed his first buck with a 6.5x55 so he felt good about buying the .260. Now I don't need to hear how well smaller bores work. I know that. I personally don't like them though.
I been trying to talk myself into a 25-06 for years and can not bring myself to do it. Part in fact because I had a bad experience with a .243 one year. Again I had a bad experiance and know that is not always the rule. But when the only deer you have ever lost to a rifle is with a light caliber it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Then bringing up the 7mm Mag. It seems I hear more horror stories of bullet failure from that cal. than any other. What is up with that? Not a rifle I ever felt a need for as I like the .300 mags. so much I see no need for a 7mm. But it seems I always hear someone say their bullet failed and it is almost always a 7mm mag. they were useing.

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Don Nelson
Sw. PA.

Jacobite, you know, it is still a free country. We're allowed to like whatever we want! I happen to agree with you, and I really like my Whelen. Used a 250 grain Hot Core at 2200 fps to shoot through my moose last year. Yeah, I know, could have got it up to 2400. Whoohoo. Still shot through a moose. Must not have had his Chrony turned on.......

As far as 7mags, I have shot a few elk and deer with it. Using either X's or G.S. customs, and not a problem. Still like my new Whelen better. On open country mulie hunts, the 7mag does come out with 130 gr. GS customs, cause I might need to reach out a little farther. Otherwise, I carry the Whelen.

Still, for deer and black bears, a 140 gr. Hornady at 2500 will punch right through, won't pre-process half the animal while doing it, and won't fragment if (when) you hit the shoulder. Promise. Actually, I have more faith in that 140-2500 combination than my 7 mag with 175 Gr. Win super-x's at 3,000. They leave a mess......

Of course, that's if you don't have a Whelen with Hot Cores at 2200...... JMO, Dutch.

Dutch,
The Whelen always sparked intrest in me but not enough to get one. I believe what ever gun works for a person and makes them happy is fine. Actually for where I hunt it is un needed. I only have the .300 mag. for the added power at longer range. I do hunt quite a bit of open ground and shots of 250+ are norm. Granted a 30-06 could have fit the bill but I figured get the .300 and I am covered for any thing I ever get to hunt.
My brother on the other hand should never need more than the .260. He knows long shots are out of his shooting ability.

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Don Nelson
Sw. PA.

Have some fun and make a 'ballistic bear!'

Decide what is the hardest part of the biggest animal he will shoot and replicate it with plywood and wet phonebook.

I did this when deciding on moose bullets. My ballistic moose consisted of 1" wet phonebook, 1.5" plywood, 13" wet phonebook (really sopping wet), 1.5" plywood and 1" wet phonebook. I reckon this was equivalent to hitting the shoulder of the biggest moose I ever would see.

My 140gr 6.5mm speer hot core made it 10" into the centre, not bad for a bullet which kills 35lb deer so quickly. My 286gr 9.3mm partition at 2,200fps broke the opposite shoulder - this makes me think that it was a tougher test than a real animal.

Have fun!

PS Real tough moose style bullets such as the Oryx and Swift were noted by my Swedish friends to take a little longer to kill Roe deer so don't overdo the penetration thing!

JACOBITE,
I've played with several 6.5s over the years, including a couple of wildcats. One of the wildcats was very close to what is now called the .260. My opinion is that the best all around bullet in any 6.5 bore is still the Nosler 125 grain Partition. I'm just not sure that a 6.5, with any case, is a good bear rifle. Black bears are not usually very large, although every once in a while a 500# or larger bear is taken, I don't think you get into a bear rifle until you reach the performance level of the 7mm-08 with a good 140 grain bullet. Just my opinion. If your brother does stay with the .260, you might want to take a look at Hodgdons' Varget powder. Good luck.

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BigBob

I shoot a .260 loaded with 129 hornady Interlocks,it's not a hot load (2700fps)and the Deer and feral hogs drop really well to it.