I'm looking for a light weight deer rifle and these two calibers seem to be the best bet for me. Any observations as to performance differences out to 350yds? Ease of handloading? Best barrel length?

Again, this is mostly for whitetails, occasional mulies. I have other rifles for larger game. I do have a .308, but want a lighter weight rifle.

If you reload and already have a .308, I'd say go with the 260 Remington.

I'm having a 260 put togther just now. I've got an old 722 action, have a CM pac-nor barrel in the 700 "mountain rifle" contour (very thin) with a 8.6" twist. My idea too is to use it for whitetails and mulies. I'm thinking the 100 partititon and the 120 Speer are the first two bullets I am going to work with. I'm going to go with a 22.5" barrel.

I would go with the .260 in a 22" barrel with 8.5-9" twist so you could shoot long heavy bullets for the occasional rogue cow or horse. Light bullets will work for varmints and the mid range will be devastating on any deer you might encounter at any reasonable range. Plateau Hunter

Unless you want to shoot elk, the .260 will do whatever the 7/08 will do with a little less recoil. Really, it doesn't matter much--both are great deer cartridges.

Years ago I built a pair of rifles: 6.5-'06 for hunting; .280 Rem for metallic silhouette. Both are 9" twist.

Today if I built a similar pair, I would reverse the roles: 6.5 mm for target and 7 mm for hunting. Bullet weights will be very similar unless you go with faster twist and the heavier bullets (160 gr in 6.5 and 175 in 7 mm). The cross-sectional area of the 7 mm gives you a bit more killing power, but obviously both are going to work.

The .260 Rem or 6.5-'08 A-Square got its notice as a great wildcat from target shooting; lower recoil than the bigger cartridge (.308 Win) and great accuracy with good bullets.

jim

If you're after a truly light weight go for the .260. The lighter rifles with short barrels seem to dish out more felt recoil and aren't as pleasant to shoot. The 7/08 is so close to the .308 you wouldn't have gained much but a new toy. Nate

The 7/08 with bullets from 140 grains up to 175 grains have higher BC then the 308. It will keep its velocity, and will dropp less then the 308. But if you keep all your shots within 250 yards, you will hardly notice it..

I'm very much biased toward the 7mm-08 as I have 2, But in your case, I would go for the 260.

Kimber 84M chambered in .260 Rem. Lightweight rifle and a good round.

Westernmassman,

The first new Kimber that I bought a few years ago was a 84M Classic in 260 Rem. I wanted a lighter rifle that I could use for deer and maybe even varmints. I shot it for a few years and it was a good gun as long as you handload. There is very little 260 Rem . factory ammo available and the choices are slim.

Then I thought about hunting in VT where the bear season opens on the first of September and goes well into November. What the heck do I want a little bullet for when I am a big guy who can at least shoot a 308?

About this time the Montana models came out by Kimber and I got a 308. That's a really useful rifle and it's recoil is nominal what with the outstanding stock and pad that they use.

We have a 7mm-08 too and thats a good round also and popular.

With the bullet selection, for a handloader, I'd pick the 260.. IN fact, I have already done that...
owning 3 rifles chambered in that caliber...

Go with a one in 8 twist tho.. or the rifle will be limited to 129 grain bullets and under....

100 grain bullets can actually be very deadly in the 260, being able to be pushed to 3350 fps out of a 22 inch barrel.. yet the recoil is light enough that I can see the bullet strike the target and never loose sight picture via the scope...

It will equal a 25/06 any day of the week....

However, as pointed out above.. If you don't handload.... ammo availability and price is a lot better with the 7/08...

And a 260 with a 140 grain bullet is plenty good enough for Elk, despite what those that carry bigger calibers tell ya...

I never warmed up to the 308, but I love the 6mm, 6.5mm and 7mm versions of it...and think they are some of the most practical rounds out there...

cheers
seafire

quote:

Originally posted by Fireform:
Unless you want to shoot elk, the .260 will do whatever the 7/08 will do with a little less recoil. Really, it doesn't matter much--both are great deer cartridges.

Very well said.

I suspect a 260 Rem with either a 120 or 130 grain TSX, or a 125 partition, inside 200 yards, is enough for Elk. I wouldnt pack it intentionally for said use, but others have had success that way. If it was intentionally to be used often for Elk, and you are very recoil sensitive, pack a 7mm-08, but the 260 Rem in my view is a very unique cartridge, much better than the ballistics reviel about it. Remember, the 6.5 mm bullet gives up velocity begrudingly, has that reputation. Plus, because it is based on the 308 cartridge, it is extreamly accurate, so's the 7mm-08.

Thanks for the advice. I guess I will look closely at the .260. For Elk and up I have a 35 whelan, a 358 lever, and a 7mmag. Just looking for a light handy 350 yd rifle.

When your in a gunshop look for the 260 Rem ammo. All I see is the 140 gr Remington so right off your very limited in bullet selection if you don't handload. Then there have been reports of very low velocities with those specific Remington 140's.

Not only that but the Kimber 260's have a 1-9" twist and that may limit you, if you have a 1-9" twist, on some of the longer bullets and what with the all copper bullets out there and the other longer premium bullets I would rather have a faster twist for the modest velocity that the 260 can give heavier bullets.

With one of the new softer pads the recoil of a 7mm-08 or 308 will be nominal and they are very popular cartridges. It seems that the 260 has been a flop in the market and will go the way of the 6.5 Rem Mag.

No savage, I think because of the .260 ability on deer size game, it will be around awhile. It is a handloaders round for sure, but then you should be handloading anyway to get the best out of your rifle. Either .260 or 7-08 are good rounds. As a deer/antelope round I would lean to a .260, especially if you want a real light wt. rig w/ litle recoil.

I have a Howa 7/08 blue synthetic fired 20-30 rounds just to sight in.

It is as new in box, rings/bases and Nikko 3-9x scope.

Shipped to lower 48 USA for $349 if you want something light, accurate, effective......you can't beat it.

For loaded ammo http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/browse?TabID=3&Cat...ystring=653***690***

The best part of shooting is reloading. It is fun, and allows you to load custom ammo for your particular rifle. Most people begin reloading to save money, but progress to much further. The thing about guys that reload their own ammo, they tend to shoot alot more than the 1-2 box a year common hunter. The reloaders know where their rounds hit for distance because they shoot alot, and get very proficent with their hunting rifles. That alone should be enough to sell you on why you need to take up reloading.

The 260 is a reloaders cartridge, but I think you can argue so is the 7mm-08 if you really want to ensure you are getting max velocity out of the cartridge.