If you can't have the 260 in the rifle you want...the 6.5 Swede is always an option..especially in a T3 Tikka...the factory 8 twist Sako built barrel handles 100-140 gr boolits just fine...although I have not tested the 160s yet...but 120s w/Varget and 130s & 140s with RE22 or 4831sc really shoot well..I have a bunch of Rem 120 & 140 CLs for plinker/practice loads...I prefer Lapua 6.5x55 brass for the larger (.479") head diameter and longer brass life & more consistant brass...here's three shots from early load development @ 100...

I've never been a small bore guy for hunting rifles, but I did have a 260ai made up in a target rifle & I like it so much I would consider making up a hunting rifle. For deer & antelope it would be almost perfect.

quote:

Do others use the slower powders in the .260? Merg

Nosler Partition 125 grains
Win 7-08 case FL resized in 260 die
Fed GM 210 primer
48.5 grains H-4831
Everything shot with this load ( Whitetail's Mule Deer and one Black Bear) Dropped at the shot, so far so good . Accuracy has been typically under 1" for three shot groups.

I am going to start working on a load with the 140 partition soon. I think I am going to try IMR 7828 and H-1000 along with H-4831. The most accurate powder will win out for a hunting load, I am hoping though I can get in the 2800 fps range with good groups consistantly.

I have the exact same rifle and it is a joy to carry has light recoil and puts game down. I can't really expect much more.

I do not like the .243 as 95-100 grain bullets is about I am aware you can shoot from it. As a small bore the 260 with the right barrel could shoot up to 160 grain bullet. A 1-8 twisted barrel with a longer throat maybe? Now here is where I get into trouble...what is the difference in killing power between a .260 shooting a 140 grain Barnes bullet and a 338 federal shooting a 180 or a 30-06 shooting a 165 grain barnes bullet on deer, pigs or bear? I say none.

After waiting a little over 4 months I got my shelin 260 barrel (1:8 twist,26in.)tuesday got it put on a short action savage but won't get to try it out till next week.
The bottom rifle is a rem BDL 260.


The target shows a 7 shot group shot with the rem BDL at 100 yds.The fartherest I have taken a deer was 442 yds with the BDL.

I went through the 6.5 craze many years ago..From a 6.5x308 or 6.5x53 MS to the mighty 6.5 Gibbs to the .264...After a few years I decided my hunting rifles need more cross section to get good blood trials and better kills...

I like a bigger bore, particularly 30 calibers for big game, the .270, 280 and 7x57 being the exceptions, excluding deer and about any caliber will make a decent enough deer rifle.

Interesting, I'd put a properly loaded 6.5 right next to a 270/7x57/-280 class round in killing power if loaded with a 140-160, or perhaps a good 120x, 130 AB, 125 PT, and maybe a 129 SP.

Rather have a larger bore if a Griz were charging but I don't hunt around any....

I have a tikka T3 hunter{wood stock}. so far it shoots 140 and 156gr. norma ammo to 1" at 100 yds......try the heavier bullets in the tikkas with 1:8 twist...would never part with the rifle......bearit....

Owensby's 260 w/ 120 gr Sierra PH's target looks very familiar out of my Swede T3 Hunter Grade...only with a 46gr RL19 charge. Boringly accurate. I'm looking forward to getting into the 130gr AB's I got last month from the blem store for way less than I thought they'd be too. Found some Santa Fe Springs Sierra 100gr BTHPs at an estate sale to play with...but the Swede is gonna be puttin a hurt on my 270 time at the range.
FWIW last time I looked couple weeks ago Graf's was selling Swede 100ct Lapau brass for $57.99? or sumthing real close to that with a couple bux order fee and freight paid.
Ron

quote:

Originally posted by merganser1:

...Do others use the slower powders in the .260? Merg

Hornady 129gr SP
48.0 gr H4831SC
Fed 210 Primers
Remington Brass
Medium crimp w/ Lee FCD

Works exceptionally well in my Kimber 84C .260 Rem with 1/9" barrel.

As with all handloads, start ~5% lower and work up slowly.

My Tikka (22.5") drives the 130 Accubond at 2850fps with 50 grains of H4831sc. Same load gives 2950fps in my friends 24" rifle. No pressure worries with either. H414 also works very well with 120, 130 and 140 grain projectiles.

full length resize .243 brass with a case lube on the case and a little inside the neck on a cotton bud,I use a lee full length die, works great,no probs.

I decided to hunt with my brothers Savage 110 this year that is chambered in .260. He bought it some time ago but couldn't hunt this year. It never shot as good as I would like so I borrowed it and played with it some. Found it liked Hornaday 129 grain bullets over IMR 7828 believe it or not. The way it put the doe I shot with it in the dirt made a believer out of me. I had faith in it because I like the 6.5 bullets but after hunting with it I like it even more. I have quite a bunch of .308 brass so I am necking some down for it just to save from buying more .260 brass.

I'd like to see this round become more commonly chambered by BrownRemChesteRuger. I bought my 260 Rem700 about a decade ago not long after it came out. I read way too many gun rags and had never heard of it before the day I bought it. I owned a couple of .30s and wanted something a bit smaller for the Mrs. to shoot. Something between a .243 and a .308. I walked into a gun store and told the man what I wanted and he made me a scorching good deal on that Rem700.

I've been delighted ever since. I roll my own ammo, so factory stuff is not an issue. Factory ammo availability seems to follow widespread production of guns, so maybe it will become more common off the shelf soon.

I like the 125 NPT and the 129gr Hornady bullets for Whitetails. 87gr speer hollowpoints are a blast to shoot at the range or at varmints.

There isn't enough real difference on deer between a 7-08 and a 260 to mention, but the 260 does better with bullets lighter than whats normally available in 7mm

quote:

what is the difference in killing power between a .260 shooting a 140 grain Barnes bullet and a 338 federal shooting a 180 or a 30-06 shooting a 165 grain barnes bullet on deer, pigs or bear? I say none.

Since you asked the question:

.260- 140gr. bullet = 2338 ft.lbs. of energy

.338- 180gr. bullet = 2850 ft.lbs. of energy

30-06- 165gr. bullet = 3100 ft.lbs. of energy

Off hand it looks like quite a difference. roger

Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..

Bartsche, not to argue with your numbers, not sure what speeds you are using there, but there are a plethora of highly successful hunting reports stating great success with 6.5mm's i.e. 260 and Swede, to ignore the combo of shot placement, deep penetrating bullets that expand at speeds used in those rounds, and the success cannot be ignored. No doubt, if I were going after elk, I'd rather a 338 Federal, but would not hesitate to use a known 6.5 bullet with proven penetrating qualities. I'd reckon an elk might go a little further than if punched with a heavier larger bullet, but I think it would go down in short order, given proper placement with proper projectile. Just my .02 of course. I think the 120 barnes, 130 AB, and 125 PT might be the best all around as I would have to see actual ballistic tests on expansion to feel comfortable shooting the 140s mono bullets at longer range, expecting sufficient expansion, I don't know. The time proven 129 is always hard to beat and would also do well, in std. SP form.

We must be careful in correlating ft. lbs w/killing power. I hit a deer at 400 yds w/105 amax, 2840 mv from a 6mmBR and that deer looked like a 270 hit when it impacted, as I watched it at 24x.......1000 lbs remaining was plenty!

That said, I will not argue that there is something to be said for more mass, all else equal, but no absolutes nor science here, and when it gets down to it, regardless of what the bullet does or looks like when it's finished, if an animal dies in short order, then I say it is a success. Certainly on dangerous game you want as high a probability of DRT as possible.

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:

quote:

what is the difference in killing power between a .260 shooting a 140 grain Barnes bullet and a 338 federal shooting a 180 or a 30-06 shooting a 165 grain barnes bullet on deer, pigs or bear? I say none.

Since you asked the question:

.260- 140gr. bullet = 2338 ft.lbs. of energy

.338- 180gr. bullet = 2850 ft.lbs. of energy

30-06- 165gr. bullet = 3100 ft.lbs. of energy

Off hand it looks like quite a difference. roger

I think Bartsche's numbers are probably close to right. But the deer's vitals don't know the difference between 2300ft/lbs and 3100 ft/lbs. They turn to jelly in either case.

I don't think I'd hesitate to shoot an elk with a good 140-160gr 6.5mm bullet if the shot was within 200 yards. After all the Swedes shoot moose with their 6.5 Swedes and those moose fall dead too.

quote:

Originally posted by leoparddog:

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:

quote:

what is the difference in killing power between a .260 shooting a 140 grain Barnes bullet and a 338 federal shooting a 180 or a 30-06 shooting a 165 grain barnes bullet on deer, pigs or bear? I say none.

Since you asked the question:

.260- 140gr. bullet = 2338 ft.lbs. of energy

.338- 180gr. bullet = 2850 ft.lbs. of energy

30-06- 165gr. bullet = 3100 ft.lbs. of energy

Off hand it looks like quite a difference. roger

I think Bartsche's numbers are probably close to right. But the deer's vitals don't know the difference between 2300ft/lbs and 3100 ft/lbs. They turn to jelly in either case.

I don't think I'd hesitate to shoot an elk with a good 140-160gr 6.5mm bullet if the shot was within 200 yards. After all the Swedes shoot moose with their 6.5 Swedes and those moose fall dead too.

You may be right but at 200 yds I'm certainly not buying into your no difference theory. At least not today. By the by those Swedes are useing a far superior rifle than the ill designed .260. roger

I'm not trying to start an argument, but I just have to giggle uncontrollably when I read comments about the "magic" of the 6.5s on game. I've been listening to these comments for decades, some of them from hunters whom I respect highly. When I ask them for details, most cite "the legend of the Swede" as if that is justification enough. These same guys kill game with .257s, .270s and .30-06s, but they repeat the song that the 6.5 kills "all out of proportion to it's power" even though they've never shot anything larger than deer with them.

The reality is - there is no "magic". There is just 0.007" difference in diameter between the 6.5 Swede/.260 Rem and the .257 Roberts, and 100 or 120-grain bullets from either will cause identical reactions on game. This isn't opinion, it is fact. With old-tech bullets the 6.5 may have had a penetration advantage with its 160-grain bullets, but today's high-tech 140s do better. I've even put 120 X-bullets stem to stern on deer and caribou, so penetration is not an issue with the light bullets either.

I've loved my .260s, and I believe that the .260 is a very fine cartridge. But the 6.5s are not magic, and those who so imply are fooling themselves.


.

quote:

Do others use the slower powders in the .260? Merg

One of my favorite loads is 47.8gr H4831 behind the 129gr Hornady Interlock. Accurate and good velocity.

John

quote:

Originally posted by Hondo64d:

quote:

Do others use the slower powders in the .260? Merg

One of my favorite loads is 47.8gr H4831 behind the 129gr Hornady Interlock. Accurate and good velocity.

John

I prefer the mid range powders, but I shoot mainly 100 and 120 grain bullets in mine...

my favorite load with the 140 corelokts is 44 grains of IMR 4350 for an MV of 2750 fps out of a 22 inch barrel Model 77 Mk 2 Ruger..

The Kimber Montana in .260 keeps me pulling my wallet out of my pocket and then putting it back in. I know I should not be silly about this but I want to be able to shoot a plethora of bullet weights and I am not sure the 1-9 offered in the Kimber barrel would stabalize much over 140 grains!

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy P Coaltrain:
The Kimber Montana in .260 keeps me pulling my wallet out of my pocket and then putting it back in. I know I should not be silly about this but I want to be able to shoot a plethora of bullet weights and I am not sure the 1-9 offered in the Kimber barrel would stabalize much over 140 grains!

Can't use 1:9 twist rate for an excuse not to buy the Kimber any more JP...160gr. Rem. RN measures 1.241"....Were you planning on using a longer bullet?..

http://www.uslink.net/~tom1/twistrate.htm

TXnimrod, cannot disagree, no magic, just proven field success with 6.5's, much done on larger game was using very high SD bullets, a higher SD than what is often used in larger bores. If you stuffed 150-160 in 270's, 160-175's in 7mm's, and 200 and higher in 30 cal, etc. penetration and killing power on larger game, given like bullet construction and shot placement would likely be VERY similar, and certain, and yes, new high tech mono bullets do change the equation. Was not questioning the nubmers above, just seems the stouter 260 loads might have a tad higher ft. lbs. A better measure I think is first field results, secondly downrange retained numbers at distances game is normally taken.

I do agree to one above, a 6.5 is best with faster twist than Kimber's for using heavier bullets, some guys do well, others have not done as well, for me I can live with 130 AB's and 120 barnes, and the 125 pt/129 SP if my gun I am shooting has a 9 twist, 140's depending on bullet used must be tried.....but the heavier ones and perhaps 140 mono's likely will require an 8 twist, no absolutes, and MV affects twist rate needed.

NM deer taken with the 100 gr. HSP at 225 yds. Great caliber.

This was my daughter's first deer. She used the 120 TSX used on this one. But the TSX was before we found the 100 HSP.

Rifle is the .260 MR.

This is where I discovered the 100 gr HSP. Excellent performance as the photo below shows:

I'm a 6.5 convert as well. I've recently 'downsized' from 270 to 6.5x55Swede.

Ordered a barrel from PAC-NOR a few days ago.

Nice pics, congrats

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I went through the 6.5 craze many years ago...

Ray, After 114 years of use, one would not consider the 6.5x55 a craze