I am building a rem 260 varmint using Berger's 140 grain VLD. What length barrel would net me the optimum velocity for this bullet weight and caliber.
Thanks in advance.
Dave

Wild guess, probably about 26-28". Why the .260 for varmints?

Yeah, how big are the varmints you plan on getting.....a tad much isn't it?

The 140 grain should dispatch the wind rather well and could also be used for whitetails.
It may be a tad much but better to have to much than not enough. Coyote hunting too whcih would require a bit heavier bullet. It will be primarily a 250 yard rifle.
Thanks for your advice.
Dave

[ 11-26-2003, 05:25: Message edited by: daveosok ]

The gain or loss of velocity should be 20-25 fps per inch of barrel. So you pay your money and carry what you want.

Unless the rifle were for some special competition I would think 24"-26" would be good. I expect that your getting a 1-8 twist.

If your that concerned about velocity there are larger 6.5 mm cartridges.

I just got a 260 lightweight. It shoots the 95 gr Vax at 3250 fps from a 22" barrel. That is a nice coyote load. I expect that it will range well beyond 250 yds also. I would not count on a target bullet to expand on a small animal.

26" Fat bbl or a 24" thin would depend if you box hunt or walk???

I have two 260's one a 1000 yard F class rifle the other built for hunting. If you are going to carry the rifle I would trim the tube to 24" if mostly a stand rifle go with 26 like the other post indicated. By all means use a 1 in 8 twist barrel for the Berger 140 VLD. I have a 1 in 8 twist on my hunting 260 and it shoots anything from a 90 gr. Speer TNT to the 142 Sierra MK suberbly. I don't know what kind of varmints you are shooting but the 90 gr. TNT turns coyotes to mush, and is a legitmate 300 yard coyote rifle.

Shoot Safe, Straight.......RiverRat

The .260 is a great varmint round it is hard to beat the 6.5 cal bullets for in close or long varmint work.I have taken many a Coyote with the 95 gr V-Max but I shoot a 6.5-284,Accuracy wise the 140-142gr bullet performs best around 2850fps You don't need 28" of barrel to get that vel.
I shoot a 1-9 twist(Schnieder)Spelling?,And the 95's hold 2 1/2@600yrds and on a good calm day the 142gr Sierra's hold 7"-8" @1011yrds....If you are bulding a custom rifle and are leaning to a 6.5 I would opt for the 6.5-284 if you are purchaseing a factory rifle then the .260 is the way to go.I'm going to give the 6mm with the heavies a try on my next project.

Good Luck.
Alpine.

I appreciate all the responses, ordered a Pac-nor Polygonal 1:8 twist to finish at 24 inches picked the in between 22" and 26".
Thanks for all your help.
6.5 WSM may be the next rifle down the road.
Dave

Dave:

Alpine and R Rat have given you the correct scoop. Glad to see you ordered a PacNor with a one in 8 twist. It will be a good rifle for sure. Welcome to the 6.5 club also.

After playing with the 260 a while on the reload bench, I think you will be impressed on what it can do.

As far as the 6.5/WSM, I looked into it. I also looked at playing with the 6.5/284 and the 6.5/06. As a handloader, what I found out is that those cartridges do not gain much velocity on the 260, 6.5 x 55 and 6.5 x 57, but burn a lot more powder to do so. Result is quicker throat erosion. etc.

Although the 6.5 WSM and the 6.5/284 are more efficient than the 264 Mag ( Incoming!!!) I did not conclude the gains were worth the cost in fps..

Just passing on some experiences of my own in playing with the 6.5 bore, which has become a favorite of mine.

The Swedes seemed to have got it right when they came out with the old 6.5 x 55 back in the 1890s.
The 260 is ballistically its little brother. You can get a little more out of a handloaded 260, but looking on a trajectory chart, not much.

The 6.5 bullets are so aerodynamically efficient, that a lot of extra velocity does not really flatten trajectories all that much. Heck a 140 grain Berger is almost half as long as a new pencil!

Good luck tho with the project.
Post your results!

I'll agree with the 260 rem. Have a pistol and a rifle in 260. Pistol 14" 1-8" SS Shilen hasn't drawn blood yet. Rifle 1-8" SS Shilen 26" Ratchet rifle. Only load so far is 120 gr Nosler BT. With 46gr RL 19 and 6x scope wicked accurate. .4" groups. Will soon be putting my Nikon UCC 4-12 on it for longer shots. Have been using remington brass no problems but was wondering if you guys use Laupa or Norma and neck up or down to 260. Any advatage? Thanks.

I wouldn't worry as much about barrel length as I would about twist. I have a Remington Classic in 6.5x55 with a 1 in 9" twist, and it doesn't shoot 140gr. bullets worth a damn. It's an accurate bugger with anyhing lighter. I don't know why Remington did this. A 1 in 8" twist makes a lot more sense. This is probably also true with your .260Rem. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I have always been a "smaller is better" type of Varminter. For at least 30 years I have shied away from even the 25 calibers as "way to much" gun for my Varminting needs. But as of this past year and a half I have undertaken both a new 25/06 and a 260 Remington mostly for Varminting. I still prefer the 17 through 24 calibers for most of my Varminting especially the higher volume shooting situations. But with todays wonderful selection of accurate and explosive Varmint bullets in the larger calibers I am renewing my interests with the larger calibers.
My factory stock 260 Varminter is a limited edition Remington 700 VLS with the 26" barrel and laminated stock. It weighs 11 pounds 9 ounces with the Leupold 6.5X20 variable scope. Recoil is very mild. I just love this rig and the only modification I have done to it is a trigger job. It shoots in the mid to high 4's consistently at 100 yards. I use the nifty Nosler 100 gr. Ballistic Tips and IMR 4064 for this very pleasing accuracy.
I have seen some real boomers out in Colony Varmint fields including all manner of magnums right up to bolt action 50 BMG's! Not for me though. I am recoil sensitive and easily develop poor trigger habits (flinches). Even when just sight checking my 7mm Remington Magnum Elk/Bear Rifle.
One other troubling thought that sticks with me when I think about the real large calibers being used in the Varminting fileds is the ricochet factor. The larger the caliber the more likely lead will continue far past the intended target!
My good friend in Miles City uses a custom 30-378 Weatherby on Coyotes and his rationale is that he can hold on fur clear out to 400 yards with his loads! He holds a bit low in the fur on the "close" ones and a bit high in the fur on the "far" ones! He and his partner came in second in a month (February) long Coyote shooting contest
with a score of 105 dead Coyotes! The thought of shooting that Rifle of his even 50 times in one month gives me a headache AND a toothache!
To each their own. I have been right along side these Rifles built on the 378 Weatherby cases out Hunting and when fired the pain to ones ears alone gives me tunnel vision for several seconds. Not my bag for sure.
I also plan on using my new Remington 700 Sendero in 270 Winchester this month on Coyotes here on the high plains of Montana. It is all sighted in and was recently bloodied here in our Big Game season that ended yesterday. I plan on robbing the scope off of it before Colony Varmint season arrives next spring so I better get after them Coyotes ASAP.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VarmintGuy:

Richocets are a legitimate concern. Try the 90 gr. Speer TNT seated on top of some IMR 4064 ignited by a Federal 210M and I'm certain you wont have to worry about it, it is very explosive. I have a load for my hunting 260 using the above compents that develops 3465 fps from the 24" Krieger tube. It turns coyotes into mush. Got the load straight out of the 5th edition Sierra manual. Since the load was developed with their 85 gr. Varminter bullet and a Remington primer, I just backed off to 44.0 grain and started working up at 45.1 gr. it hit and shoots in the .4's or less. I had one bughole that measured .191 for five shots. Just thought you might want to try that with low recoil and low chance of richocet.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.........RiverRat

[ 12-02-2003, 07:17: Message edited by: RiverRat ]

MauserKid

Sorry it took me so long to get back with you. Been working LONG HOURS the past week. Depends on shot placement. Double lung hits exit about the size of softball. I hit one coyote just behind the last rib as he stood behind a tree. Exit hole the entire off side from hip to the last rib. With the stomach contents blown 10 feet away. Hit one in the ass as he was going away from me, that one didn't exit. When I picked up the coyote it sounded like a 5 gallon cooler that was half empty. Every thing was slushing around. Shortest shot 71 steps, longest a lasered 183 yards. The only thing more devestating that I have seen are the 270 and 300 WSM's, now that is total devestation, trust me.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight........RiverRat

I guess 90 grain TNT is not a pelt load.