Fellas I've got a 13" heavy bull (.975 O.D.) Encore barrel chambered in .260 Rem. ordered from the TC Custom Shop that should be showing up any day now.

Like my 12 1/2" VVCG heavy bull (1.020 O.D.) barrel in 7mm08 the primary purpose in life for the .260 will be deer hunting and I'm begining to ponder bullet selection.

For powder and primers I'm going to try Varget and CCI BR-2's first, simply because they work extremely well in my 7-08.

I did confer via email with XPhunter (Ernie) because I recalled he'd purchased a MOA chambered in .260 and he said he'd had excellent results with 120gr Nosler BT's on deer but could not recomend the Hornady bullets (at the time I ask him about the 129gr Interlock) simply because he'd never tried them but later I recalled the Hornady SST line of bullets.

Anyway, none of the bullet mfgs. currently make a Single Shot Pistol Bullet in 6.5 / .284 dia. and I'm somewhat concerned about bullet performance on deer size game at the velocities I'll be able to safely generate from a 13" barrel.

I called Hornady a couple hours ago about their SST line of bullets and was told that the 129gr SST's were designed to preform at their optimum between 1400 and 3300fps, sounds like a pretty far spread to me but I'm not going to try and second guess Hornady's phone techs.

Has anyone onboard had any experience with the Hornady SST's, in any caliber, on deer size game from a handgun and if so how did it preform ?

Thanks for the input.

[ 03-26-2003, 02:48: Message edited by: IKE ]

Ike,
I am in the same boat as you but with a 15" TC Factory barrel. I am thinking about using the same bullet. Hopefully someone else on the board will have some info to help us out.

The 129 grain Hornady SST will work well, but there are better choices for the velocity range you'll be operating at. The Nosler 120 grain Ballistic Tip is the creme de la creme here and will give fantastic performance. I've used them in everything from a little 10" 6.5 TCU up through a 6.5x.308 (aka .260 Rem) in pistols and have been pleased with the results. They'll expand down to 1650 fps or so and, at the 26-2700 fps you may be operating at, will hold together and give excellent penetration -- and more than likely an exit on any broadside presentation.

The Hornady bullet is not a bad one, but I'd use the Speer 120 grain Hot Core spitzer as my second choice. If more penetration is needed (if you may pursue hogs, etc. in addition to deer), then the 125 grain Partition is the way to go.

By the way, the Hornady specs are generous. The SST will expand down to around 1700 or so (a little tempermental below 1900 fps, though), but unless heavy bone is struck, I don't believe you'll realize any significant expansion at the 1400 fps the tech quoted you.

Bobby,
Thanks for the info. Would you also recommend the same bullet for a rifle in 260. My wife has a browning a-bolt and I am looking for a load in that gun as well.

Actually, no, I wouldn't. That 120 grain BT is fantastic when launched up to 2700 fps or so. A rifle will add 200-225 fps to the equation. If you get a shot at close range, you may not be happy with the results -- and the mess. I suggest going with the 129 grain Hornady, or, better still, the 140 grain Speer Hot Core or the 140 grain Hornady SP or SST. Those long, slender 140s have a high SD and penetrate extremely well. In fact, a 140 grain, 6.5mm bullet at a modest velocity of 2650-2750 fps is, IMHO, the best medium game dropper I have ever used.

I failed to mention that you could load-down the 120 grain BT or 120 grain Speer to 2600-2700 fps or so, and your wife would have a terrific load that is truly easy on the shoulder. I helped work up a load for a friend in a 6.5x55 that launched a 120 grain BT at 2550 fps. She wasn''t going to be shooting deer much past 150 yards, and so this load works quite well. In fact, she has taken 2 nice bucks with it, and both went down on the spot.

[ 03-26-2003, 06:58: Message edited by: Bobby Tomek ]

Bobby and XPhunter thanks for the info and based on what you've both said it looks like I'll be using the 120gr Nosler BT's....it's good to get advice from folks who've "been there and done that."

Again I appreciate your help.

Ike

My experience has been if Bobby say's anything about the 6.5 it's true.

Steve E.........

Speaking of the Speer 120g bullet, did Speer change them recently? They use to run around $15-18/100. I see that they run $10/100 now.

Also, the old Nosler 120g solid base bullet works well on whitetail out of the 6.5JDJ. Not sure if you could find any but they have worked for me.

Contendernut-
As far as I know, they haven't changed the design at all. Perhaps your distributor/retailer is simply selling them cheaper. By the way, would you mind telling us where you get them for $10 per box? My last box shows a tag of 13.95.

By the way, the old solid base 120s are terrific for deer in any of the medium-velocity 6.5s. I still have a few boxes stashed away, but that supply is drying up. That's one bullet I would really like to see re-introduced.

Bobby,

Midsouth and Midway list them for 10.08 and 10.84.

I wish Nosler would reintroduce the solid base bullet. I called to ask but the guy said they had no plans of making them again.

Gary-
Thanks for the info on the low price. I appreciate it...

Also heads up regarding the Hornady bullets and their recommended uses/velocity range - This info is listed in Vol 2 of their current reloading manual.

They have bullets split into categories like 'varmint' 'target' 'medium game' (deer) 'large game' (elk) etc... Along with the recommended velocity band.

Very handy info and haven't seen much of that type of information readily available from the other manufacturers.

Take Hornady's info in the new manual with a grain of salt. It is filled with errors. Check out the velocity range listed for the 120 grain Single Shot Pistol bullet, for instance. We all know that's not right. Hornady also calls the 6.5-06 an improved cartridge, which it is not. I could go on and on, but this edition (or set, I should say) has errors all over the place. It's the worst effort Hornady has ever put forth, in my opinion. They need someone with actual firearms knowledge -- someone who knows the facts -- to do the editing. Grammatical and usage erros abound as well, but those can, to an extent, be overlooked. Errors in attempted deliverance of facts can not.

Ike,
When you get things up and running with those 120 NBT's let us know how they perform on paper, and of course how they do on game. I even used my 260 hunting load for the fly shoot. It did pretty good. Still haven't chronoed it yet.
Ernie

I am just beginning to experiment with my 15"260 encore barrel. Starting with 100gr bullets and imr4831.(hornady spire points and nosler ballistic tips)
The vvcg 14" 6.5 swede that I got last year did great with 120gr NBTs and Sierras ahesd of H4895. I haven't chronoed them yet but groups run consitantly under a half inch.
As the weather improves and I can get to the range I will let you know how they work.
Rick