I am in the midst of a rifle crisis and need advice. I was having a 260 rem built, that has fallen thru. I have a new barrel, brass and bullets but no gun. It looks like this is not going to happen right away. I wanted a rifle to practice long range shooting along with my 300 win. I wanted something that would have long barrel life and that the barrel wouldn't heat up like the 300 win. Now that I am in CO I was thinking of maybe scrapping the 260 deal, selling the barrel and getting a prairie dog rifle that would accomplish the same thing. What do you guys think? What caliber? Thanks

.223 roger

sorry the 260 didn't work out,how about a fast twist 22-250? 1-7 twist for shooting 75grain and up bullets. they would match your 300's match bullets at long range and are lite on the shoulder to boot.regards

I am not to familiar with the small bores. I want something to reach out, so I can practice at longer ranges. The barrel on the 300 win gets hot pretty quick. I should get alot of practice on prairie dogs while I am here in the west. I guess at home I can use it on coyotes and crows maybe. Thanks, Which is easier on the barrel 223 or 22-250 ? Downrange performance to 600? Beyond? Thanks

I'd build the 260 anyway. The lighter .264" bullets will do well in the wind and are great long range numbers where varmints are concerned. My second choice would be in 6m/m Remington for the above mentioned reasons.

I'm a big fan of 22 center fires, but they probably aren't the answer if the only other long range rifle you have is a 300 magnum. Even if you bought a 22 calibre varminter, between the rifle & scope you'd have a grand into it anyway, so go on with your 260 project and get-r-done.

Having said that, if I were to get a big 22 in a bolt action, it would be a 22-250, or 220 Swift. For a gas gun I'd choose the ubiquitous AR in 223. Last, but not least, as an avid hand loader I much prefer the larger 22's.

are you liveing in colorado now??
if so i can refer you to one heck of a g-smith. let me know and i'll e-mail this info to you!!!!.buckshot has a great point maybe you still can get your 260 built by another smith!!! rember you have the parts less waiteing.regards

PM'ed you Thanks

answered you also.

Look in the current issue of American Rilfleman and it give you step by step on how to build a supurb long range and accurate rifle for under $3000. It is on my "to do" list. It is a logical choice for "ground dogs" "prariie squirrels" and other such varments.

The barrel on a 22-250 is gonna get hot quick too. Especially with some hot dog twist. Simply stated, you ain't gonna have the best of two worlds. Why not press on with the .260 project? Get some 2nd hand .243 action and stick the .260 barrel on it. Use the old .243 barrel as a tomato stake. It'll be a step up for it and you'll end up with a really good combo varmint/deer/antelope rifle. I've heard but don't know that the .260 ain't too shabby at long range itself.

Chain,

I agree with everyone that says to finish the .260 project. There is no rule that says you can't use it on a prairie dog anyway. If you want to be able to see the impact of the round you will need to invest in a muzzle brake to get the recoil to the bare minimum to prevent the muzzle from jumping.

You will need to invest in more than one rifle as well for prairie dog shooting, as on a good day there will be more shots on dogs than one rifle can take without over heating the barrel. I usually take a .22 WMR, .223, and .243 when I expect to spend all day in a dog town. I shoot everything I can with the rim fire and work my way out to .243 range.

When you get that rifle built I'd work up a varmint load using 85 grain Sierra Varminter, 90 grain Speer TNT or 95 grain Hornady V-Max bullets. These should provide quite explosive kills on prairie dogs with the .260 Rem. The .260 would make one hell of a long range Coyote and Pronghorn gun as well.

BTW what part of CO are you in?

I read an article a while back about the 260 Ackley Improved that made it sound like a good proposition. Think it would make a neat round for a custom build. I have shot groundhogs with 223, 243, 22-250 and 308, but still like the 25-06 most for varmints.

Sounds good. I think I will stick with the 260 project or at least something 6.5 Thanks. I am actually living in Loveland, working in Denver.

I've got an Aunt & Uncle up in Loveland, it's a pretty nice town. Sure better than living in the Metro area of Denver.

What action were you thinking of using on this build?

I was going to put it on a mauser.But I think I am going to stick it on a savage. I have a savage 300 win that shoots pretty good. I don't mind Loveland I just wish I didn't have to drive to the Pawnee Grasslands to shoot. I am going tomorrow maybe I will see a coyote.

If you are going to use a Savage action why not buy a Stevens 200 short action and re-barrel it? It will require less work than your .300 Win to make into a .260. On your Savage, and I'm no gunsmith, the feed rails are opened up to feed the larger case of the .300 Win so you may have problems there getting the cartridge to properly feed all of the time. You will have to change the bolt face as well as the .300 Win has a larger rim diameter than the .260 does. If you don't want to keep the .300 Win sell it here in the classifieds, I'll bet you will pretty much cover most of the cost of the new Stevens rifle for the donor action.

I feel your pain about driving to shoot, my regular stomping grounds for shooting prairie dogs and coyotes is 85 miles one way. With $3 dollar gas it kind of puts a damper on my time spent hunting varmints. Oh well I guess it is just the price I'll have to pay.

That is what I am probably going to do. I won't use my 300 win, I will probably bu ya Stevens or look for a used Savage. I have had good luck with Savages being accurate.

If you can find a used model 700 in .243 at the right price it would be a straight-out swap.

If you are talking Stevens get the .223. For having a so-so not too great trigger , a flexable Tupper Ware stock,fairly good accuracy and a barrel you can get a lot of cleaning experience on get it. The price reflects all that. I've learned to enjoy mine, but it took an attitude adjustment. roger

Good luck on whatever you decide for an action. I sent you a PM.

Got it Thanks