.260 Rem?

J

JerryM

New member
Although I am past the point where I will hunt again I like to think of such things. I wonder how a .260 Rem would do for much of the hunting in the West for deer and antelope?

I would be interested in the chronographed results of someone who does have one, and the rifle and barrel lengths.
Thanks.
Jerry
 
Ideal for both. I love my .260. Mine is a short-barreled (18.5") Rem Model 7. My hunting buddy had one build with a 26" barrel for benchrest shooting. I only gave up a couple hundred FPS with the short barrel when compared to his long barrel. The 6.5mm bullet has great combination of BC and SD. Mine loves factory 140grn Fusions. The one handload I tried with it was with 128grn Hornady SPs with RL 17 powder. Accuracy was great but I never got to chrono it.

If I were going for the long-range shots you see out west, I'd probably want a 24" barrel. Not too long to carry around but long enough to get really great velocity. Down here, 100 yd shots are common and 300 are the exception so my short barrel doesn't hurt one bit.
 
I'll let you know.
I just got a savage 10 in 260 rem with 22" barrel.
I have an antelope tag I'm going to do my level best to fill it.
 
I really like this cartridge. It essentially mimics the ballistics of the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser in a short action cartridge. My next rifle will be in one of these two calibers depending on what rifle I find first! I have to say I am leaning towards a CZ-550 American in 6.5 Swedish Mauser, but would love to see them make one in .260 Rem.
 
The 6.5 x 55, 260, 7-08, and 7X57 are about as close to each other as you can get (all brothers from a different mother, if you get that) they will all do a number on Western antelope, mulies and even elk - depending on distance and hinting terrain. I have owned the 6.5 and 7-08 and have never felt undergunned with either for any lower 48 game at the appropriate distances
 
I've shot deer with several different cartridges including the 6.5x55, 7x57, and one I would add to this list, the 257 Roberts. The cleanest kill I ever got with a body shot was with the 6.5x55.
I wouldn't hesitate to try a 260 Remington on deer sized game but personally I'd opt for something with a bit more oomph for elk.
 
A friend of mine used to build custom rifles and so he was always hunting with the latest and greatest flat-shooting, elk-killing magnum cartridge on the market.

His teenaged son didn't care for recoil so my friend built him a rifle in .260Remington. He used to complain that the deer he shot with his magnum rifles always ran awhile before dying while the deer his son shot with the mild .260Rem always seemed to drop in their tracks.
 
Over the decades I've shot maybe 75 deer with a 35 Remington and maybe 200 or more with the 270 and now I'm using the 260. The 35 and the 270 are very effective on deer, though I'm of the opinion that the 270 had more DRT kills, but the 260 seems every bit as good as the 270. I've shot maybe 10 deer with the 260 and the Nosler 120 gr Ballistic Tip, and I've been very impressed with the caliber. Recoil from the 260 is much less than from the 270. My wife was shooting the 260 yesterday and didn't make even the slightest complaint about recoil. She won't shoot the 270. And the first rifle my grandson reaches for when he's here to hunt is the 260. Leaves his 308 in the safe, and I'm then forced to use the 270 (which isn't a bad thing at all).
 
I have used a .260 in a Browning LoWall for several years now. I hunt mostly antelope with it but will be using it for mule deer next year. I use a Barnes 120 X bullet. Gets close to 3000fps. for flat trajectory & good penetration.
 
The .260 would be an excellent choice for what you need.

I am a 6.5 Creedmoor guy and I would be remised not to suggest that you look into this round as well. The 6.5 Creedmoor Forum would supply you with a lot of information and answer any questions in regards to 6.5 Creedmoor performance.
 
Well...you guys call it a 6.5 Creedmore, but the real name should be the 6.5-250 Savage Ackley Improved. I guess Creedmore sounds cooler.
 
I am a HUGE 6.5mm fan, I personally think the 6.5 Creedmore is at least technically the best of them. Delivers true 260/6.5x55 performance out of a slightly smaller, it handles long VLD bullets as well as the Swede while fitting into a short action like the 260, simply put it is 6.5mm perfection. They appear to be shockingly accurate because of the uniform factory specs. Don't own one myself (yet) but I want one real bad. Gatta have another 6.5 to keep my Swede company :D Several companies chamber it but the Savage would be my first pick.
 
Kachok, I don't think the 6.5 Creedmore will shoot the same weight bullet out as fast as the .260 Remington at the same peak pressure with the same bore and groove dimensions. It's got a smaller case. Compare both in the following from SAAMI:

http://www.saami.org/specifications_and_information/specifications/Velocity_Pressure_CfR.pdf

Of course, if one shoots the 6.5 at higher pressures than the .260, then the playing field's no longer level. Doing so, a .308 Win. will shoot bullets faster than the .30-06.
 
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Slightly higher pressure vs slightly higher case capacity (60k vs 62kpsi). Nosler has the 6.5 Creedmore faster in most bullet weights, both in 24" barrles, so I think it is safe to say the Creedmore is every bit as fast as the Remington. If you push the real pressure limit the Remington will pull ahead, but then again pushing real safe pressure limits the Swede makes both of the short actions look silly, I have a friend shooting 142gr out of his Swede at 2,900fps!
 
I,ve got to agree with you there, too many equate the Swede with the limitations of the old M96 actioned rifles. In a modern action, it is more versatile
and more efficient than any other 6.5, due to ideal case capacity. Don't get me wrong, the others are fine cartridges but the SE Swede can be loaded safely to almost .270 specs ie.
120gr @ 3027fps with 50gr of N160 vs 130gr @ 3098fps with 58gr of N160 for the .270. It can stabilize bullets from 85 t0 160gr & can be loaded down to .260 or Creedmoor ballistics if required. These are real results, not what is printed on the packet.
 
Pushing 120gr Ballistic Tips with a stout load of RL19, I call it the 270 Lite because it shoot an identical trajectory with less recoil. Those Ballistic Tips hit deer very hard.
 
Also less powder & noise, yes the 120s are devistating on deer.
The flat trajectory is a real asset when shooting across moutain valleys.:)
 
I shoot a Ruger M77 MkII in 260 Rem. It has a 22" barrel. I have taken a number of deer with it, with none going more than 25 yards. I can't speak about performance on elk, since I have never used it for that. However, with a premium bullet, I would not be at all afraid to use it on elk. I loaded up a nice, easy shooting load for whitetail. I used Hornady 129grn Interlocks over Reloader 19. Shot over the Chrony and was 2,775 fps. This is not the max load. It is just an easy shooting, accurate load for my Ruger.
 
6.5x51........ .264x308...........260 Remington. Cartridge has been around for a long time. Great deer rifle, mild recoil and good downrange energy. Forget the 243.
 
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