260 Rem.

Weiserbucks

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Im considering purchasing a .260 Rem. Not sure of the brand or model as of yet , but looking for something light weight . All my other rifles are big , heavy magnums and Im getting tired of lugging them around the mountains . Anyone have any experience with the .260 ? Talk me into or out of it !
 
I agree!
The 6.5 is a great caliber and the 260 is a fine cartridge. I don't own one but have shot one a few times. They are low recoiling rifles and the ballistics should be great for deer/antelope size critters. You could even hunt elk with it providing you used an appropriate bullet and limited your angles and ranges.

What's not to love about a previously wildcat-cartridge based on the 308 Win case?

I'm in the process of building a 6.5 wildcat (shortened 6.5X284 Lapua)... just because I can! It should be a tad hotter than the 260 but not enough to worry about all the fuss I'm going through to build brass. (I don't watch TV so I have time to play around with it)

Good luck. Now go get one and have some fun!

Zeke
 
Thanks for the input , I would love a Kimber but don't see any of their rifles available in 260 , at least not on their site . Im also considering a Remington model 7 , I own a handful of model 700s and all have been great, never owned a Model 7 . Any opinions ?
 
Model 7 is very nice. I know Remington just came out with a ss sps in 260 with 8 twist barrel. Should be a great rifle.
 
im playing w a savage light weigh hunter now. i had good groups w bergers at 100, but wasnt impressed at 500. trying some ballistic tips and SSTs next. its super light and will be awesome if the rifle can utilize the cartridge potential. youtube has some videos of 1000yd + shots w/ a .260rem and one of a guy putting a lot of shots into one hole at 100 with a heavy barreled savage. a gal just won one of the military 600 yard competitions w/ a 260 as well. it should be the cats meow if can get the accuracy out of light weight model...
 
A good friend of mine has a lot of magnum caliber guns and recently had a .260 Rem built. He absolutely loves it. It is deadly accurate, flat shooting and has very little recoil.
 
Ask yourself why would Lapua start making brass for it if it was not a nice popular round. .308 boltface, short action, high BC 6.5 bullets, what's not to like? ce61
 
tell us why is never became popular 440.


i just shot a 4.5" group at 500 out a savage. its gaining my popularity as i type.
 
It isn't and will never be very popular. it offers nothing other more popular round don't already do better.

Short action, ok it has that over the 25-06 or 270 . so what. if you're hung up on the short action get a short mag and have some energy in your 500 yard group.

What does it do better than a bunch common cartridges ? faster? more accurate? more versitile? better bullet and ammo selection? you tell me .

That's why it will never be very popular.













Stay thirsty my friends
 
Never will be popular ? Most arms manufacturers chamber multiple models for it and 6.5mm bullet selection is surpassed by very few other calibers . Not applicable to hunting but the long range/''tactical''/target guys are using the 260 extensively , and they are obsessed with down range ballistics and accuracy . Sure its no short mag. , it wasn't intended to be . Most people don't care for the recoil of a 6lb magnum . The 260 piqued my interest due to its combination of mild recoil , light weight rifles and fine performance on deer sized game . I started this thread to stir up some healthy conversation as well as to gain insight on a potential rifle purchase , keep the replies coming !
 
Sounds like you are looking for confirmation of your choice more than input.

One of my favorite rounds is a 6.5, the 264 win mag. it's been around since 1960 and still isn't very popular . because the 7mm mag is more versatile mostly. american buyers just never found the need for a .264 bullet when you have more popular .257 and .277 or even .284 to select from. the long range crowd may have been what saved the caliber from the dead, but the 260 is not a long range round.

If you want a 260 knock yourself out , I'm just stating the facts.













Stay thirsty my friends
 
440 , the only thing im trying to confirm is what would be a good choice for my application . You mentioned the .284 bullet selection which I agree with 100% . 7mm-08 is on my list for all the same reasons as any mild 6.5 would be , mild recoil , light weight with adequate power
 
I think a 260 would be awesome to have. I'm looking into a 6.5 CM myself, but have looked into the 260 a bit.

I've heard a big reason why the 260 didn't become insanely popular was due to Remington not offering a very good selection of ammunition for it when it was initially created. I know that handloaders got around that obstacle, but that left people who didn't reload with ammunition that didn't fit applications outside of hunting. In that sense, I can see why people chose other cartridges over a 260 Rem. That being said, I really don't have any idea on what kind of readily available factory loads are being offered at this time.

Personally, I think you'd enjoy the 260. There's great brass being produced for it, you can make brass if you need to, excellent bullet selection, and mild recoil.

If you're not sold on the idea after a while, I'd look into the 280 AI. Basically the performance of a 7 RM without the recoil. That's a round that's caught my eye lately.... it's too bad my Sendero 7RM shoots so well or that's the route I'd be going.
 
ive have/had ultra mags, lapua mag, and short mags as well as the classic -06. agree the .260 will not outperform any of the above. but it does appear to nicely fill a low recoil, lightweight rifle niche. sure, it may not have elk/moose knock down power at 500, but if it retains enough energy to kill deer/lope/sheep out to 5 or 600, there will be times when id gladly trade energy for 3-4 lbs of rifle weight. the ballistics of the 6.5mm in 130-140g are enticing.
 
Lip_curl , you nailed it . I have enough magnums , ultra mags and such to sink a small boat and I love them . they are great for moderate to easy terrain hunts where long shots are likely . However I am finding myself hunting further from civilization and trying to trim a few pounds off my rifle/scope combo . I like to shoot my rifles ALOT , sometimes 1-200 rounds per session and recoil gets old quick . Heavy , muzzle braked rifles eliminate most recoil , but light weight high performance rifles only make things worse in that respect . Im all ears , open to other suggestions , what are you guys using for your light weight mid power rifles/scopes ?
 
First off, i've no experience with the 260 Rem. I did though, go over the ballistic tables with a fine tooth comb when it first came out and was not very impressed. One of my Best friends and long time hunting pards had a party for me while i was down on a visit to my home town. His little Brother had just bought a 260 and was all fired up about how great of a cartridge it is and so on. I told him it didn't do much for me, i thought that there were other cartridges that were maybe better for the kind of hunting we all did down there and outa state. Talk about pissed off! He kept coming back at me all night, just couldn't see why i didn't love his 260.

If i were to go smaller but big enough, I'd go 7mm-08. Hornady puts out a factory loading, 140 gr bullet at very near 3000 FPS. That my friends will kill stuff!

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-29-14 AT 07:24PM (MST)[p]splitting hairs...

the hornady sst 7mm-08 has a bc of .486 coming out of the barrel at 2950. the 260 gets a bc of .520 but only comes out at 2750. at 600 yards the velocity difference is ~100fps. based on my experience, the higher bc is more valuable than the 100fps.

ill bet you cash money right now, the 260 will kill stuff just as dead as your 7mm 08, actually more deader...cuz you will actually be able to hit where you want with the better bc.
 
Lip-curl, so you all butt hurt too? lol

2750FPS at the muzzel just does not impress me.

I shoot a 270WSM 140 at 3300FPS, compare that at 400 or 500 yards, don't shoot anything other than occasional targets at 600 plus?

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"
 
no, my sphinctoral integrity is still in tact.

up until now, my 270wsm was my go to gun, but i do believe i just shot the throat out. i only started looking around because it wont be an option this fall. as good as a .270wsm is, it still doesnt compete with my ultra mag in regards to accuracy or energy, thus i have some overlap.

btw..the 270 really shines with the 150g bullets, shot last years buck at 580yards. i found the 140s only grouped out to ~400.
 
My efforts to get the 150 LR Accubonds to group in my 270WSM did not go well. I could get them moving well enough but to shoot tight groups, not so good. That regular 140gr Accubond at near 3300 is heap strong medicine but that's another thread.

I was wondering what factory loading that you had a 6.5 140gr bullet BC out at 520?

My Pard hunted a 6.5X55imp for years and it was a killer sure enough. Seems that there are more 6.5 cartridges out there than a guy would think. My thoughts were that the 260 Rem, just doesn't do much that the others won't do and in several cases, it does less.

Again, i got nothing really against the smaller cased 6.5's, i do love a rifle with mild recoil. I'm just not too impressed with that particular 6.5.

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"
 
its not a factory load...re19 and 140g sst's.

i had no luck w/ 150 ABLRs either...but then again...i think my throat is gone. when new, i would get a 4-5" group at 500 w/ either remington accutip factory (SSTs) and later hand loaded bergers. my gun didnt dislike the 140s, but the 150s were sweeeeet. whacked a lope at 500yards, 2 deer, mtn, goat and lope at 350yards, and all time best was the buck at 580. my only complaint is the big taxidermy bills.

i liked that the .260 isnt a barrel burner, isnt a tapered case like the creedmore and brass could made from .308 if need be.
 
I own a Remington 700 chambered in .260. I reload my own bullets, and have always been very happy with the out-of-the-box accuracy and power. Mostly, I use the 120 grain balistic tips for deer, and they have been a great success for me. It's a fun caliber, but I don't think it's that different than the 7mm-.08. If you aren't going to reload, I would go with the 7mm-.08 since it may be easier to find ammo.

Let me know if you have any other questions. It's a great gun and you will definitely enjoy it.
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-10-14 AT 11:28AM (MST)[p]The .260 is an excellent cartridge and makes a fine gun for any kid, woman or man because of it's low recoil but it's velocity is it's downside just like the .308. It never grew in popularity because many other cartridges had better velocity and shot heavier bullets. Marketing and hype dictate which cartridges survive in many cases. Look at the .280 for example thousands of them were sold and yet it never got it's due because of the .270 and the 7mm magnum and the old 06 and the .264 Winchester magnum.

Remington rebranded it several times and it never took off. Fact is if it had been launched before the .270 the .270 would have probably never existed. Jack O'Connor made the .270 and by most accounts it's been one of the best cartridges ever made and still is a big seller in standard calibers. Who can argue with 130 grain bullets flying at 31-3200 ft per second out of a standard chamber. Many companies tried and failed to unseat it. The .270 Wby. mag, .270 WSM all out perform it but they never outsold it and never will.

My point to this is with all of them you're splitting hairs and you have to buy what you want. Dead is dead but some cartridges will live on and many will be flashes in the pan. All the big powder super magnums guys are looking at smaller case cartridges now because of the trouble finding powder and components ( even though they'll never admit it). They don't like spending $100.00 a box for ammo and don't like loading all that costly powder into large cases to do the same job they can do with an accurate cartridge burning less powder and generating less recoil hence the increase in popularity of the 6.5 and there are some winners in there. Supply and demand has always driven the markets and go look in a few pawn shops at all those high powered flame throwers on the shelves. They're not bad calibers just expensive to shoot.

That .260 will do the job for you and so will the 7mm/o8 with an even better bullet selection and velocity advantage, but in reality it's very hard to beat the standard case cartridges because they offer the best of both worlds and are always on the shelves and they can be built in a good weight. They'll do the job and with the bullets and powders offered today there's little incentive to go the magnum route unless the size of the critter mandates it. Nobody's wrong on what they posted here because in reality they all work and will do the job, but you got some great feed back to help you decide.
 
The 260 rem never took off because there was no marketing behind it compared to the 7mag. It is the ballistic twin of the 6.5 swedish mauser. Which is a very popular round outside the US. It is also a very effective and efficient hunting round.

The 260rem has a cult following. The 264 bullet has great ballistics. The only reason I would dissuade someone from this cartridge is if they aren't a handloader. Factory ammo is limited in choice and obscure cartridges always cost more to buy factory ammo (economics of scale). If you reload I wouldn't hesitate to get a 260. Brass is easily formed and there is a great selection of bullets available.
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-12-14 AT 11:23PM (MST)[p]I'll likely ruffle some feathers here, so be it.. The 260 Rem is a shooters cartridge IMO, its a mild round that that offers Superior BC bullets that a guy will sit down and bang out 100+ rounds out of, a few times a week..How many of you guys are doing that??You dont get good by watching TV and thinking about it, most guys will try to start out LR with a big boomer,,you work up to that, not start there, I guarantee you even the pro's pop WAY more primers on smaller, more efficient carts than they are their Lapua or EDGE's..Rounds down range are what counts..Hopefully some are following along here.

Do you think these guys that are good at LR shooting are sitting down with a 30 or 338 mag to perfect their craft?? Hell no they arent. You need a mild cart, with high BC to get good at it, astute shooters have figured this out..

Although I prefer the 6.5 Creed or 6.5x47L over the 260, they are all in the same class..Moral of the story get a cart that you will shoot a few barrels out with, 260 fits that description as does a 7/08..

You ever wonder why there are those in our midst that will take a 260 or 7/08 after grizz? its because they have shot the da,mn thing so much that its like an arm to them..its all about the bullet and placement.There is NO magic in a head stamp.Its ALL about the bullet.
 
Dog, i don't think that you'll ruffle any feathers by what you said, not at all. As far as i could tell from your words, there is nothing remarkable in the cartridge other than it is plesent to shoot and will kill stuff. There is a big time plus 1 from me on that front but we do have choices within that nitch and the 260 Rem is just one of them.

This is a hunting Website. There are many here who don't want to shoot hundreds of rounds a week thru their/our deer rifle(s)... or need to, to remain proficient with them in the field.

More power to those that do though, my hats off to you as there are much worse thing to be doing in your spare time! :)

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"
 
I can relate to what REDDOG says. My .243 is getting a lot of work these days. Loves 95gr VLDs. The learning curve rolls right over when I grab the RUMs. I think any hunter would benefit from more shooting. Like REDDOG said, it doesn't have to be your primary hunting rifle. mtmuley
 

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