.260 Ackley Hunting Bullet Recommendation

[Legionnaire]

Devil of a time deciding which forum I should ask this in: Rifle Country, Hunting, Reloading ... but here I am.

I want to develop a medium/large game (whitetail, mule deer, etc.) hunting load for a .260 Ackley Improved with a 22-inch 9-twist barrel. Had I built from scratch, I'd have opted for an 8 or 8.5 twist, but this is a re-chambered factory barrel. I'm thinking that something in the 140 grain class might be a bit heavy for the 9 twist so something 120-130 might suit, but I'm happy to be enlightened. What bullets do y'all recommend I take a look at?

 

[troy fairweather]

the sierra pro hunter looks nice in 6.5. i use them in 7mm and love them. i use the 140s

 

[JimKirk]

The Barnes 120 grain TTSX ... pushed as hard as the 260AI will shove it ... this bullet will equal regular cup/core bullets of 140 grain .... the TTSX will penetrate on bigger deer ... again drive them fast ...

JBM calculator says they will stabilize in a 1/9" at 2900+ fps ...

 

[jmr40]

It is bullet length that determines twist, not necessarily weight. The newer high BC 140-147 gr bullets are a lot longer than many 140 gr bullets designed for hunting. I'd not be surprised if a 140 gr Partition or something similar from other bullet makers do just fine.

Even Bergers 140 gr hunting bullet is considered marginal in a 9 twist. They say that it may be accurate, but the BC is going to be off by about 8%. Unless you're trying to shoot at extreme range I think 140's will work for hunting.

Of course the 120 gr Barnes bullets are good too. But remember, it is bullet length, not weight that determines twist. Copper bullets are longer than lead of the same weight. A 120gr copper bullet may be as long, or longer, than a 140 gr lead bullet.

 

[Blue68f100]

I contacted Sierra about their new 130gr HPBT GK on whether they would work on a 260Rem 1:9 twist? ( will have to look at my notes to confirm the twist rate). They said the GK would work with no problems. They were right, I had no problem getting real tight groups out of the little Rem Mod 7 w/syn stock, light weight gun. They did start to open up after 3 rounds as the barrel got warm. The newer HPBT seam to have better accuracy potential over their std soft point.

 

[LoonWulf]

Those 130 SGKs look pretty good for slow twist 6.5/264s.
Might consider the 129/130 class bondeds also, better BCs and all the bonded goodness. A 1-9 should stabilize those ok.

 

[Bfh_auto]

My wife runs a 100 amax in a 20" 260 at 2900fps. I use a 129 sst in 6.5x55.

 

[Legionnaire]

Thanks for the input. The Ackley can push a bit harder than the standard .260 Rem, so I might be able to get to the 140s. But I'm not looking to hunt at 600 yards, so something between 120 and 130 should be plenty.

I forgot about the JBM calculator. Thanks for the reminder of that, too.

 

[JimKirk]

The only bad thing about JBM Stability Calculator is that you need the length of the plastic tip ...that is not hard to measure if you have a bullet in hand ...but if it is a bullet on the "I think it would work" list ... and you do not have an bullet to measure ...then it is a guess .... unless some on the THR would measure one ...

Many bullet length are in JBM "length" list ...just not the tip part ...

 

[Legionnaire]

That is correct. However, you can "guesstimate" the length by doing a visual proportion based on a photo of the bullet. And you can also run a couple of different calculations with guesstimated measurements that bracket the actual length. If all your calculations are good, should be good to go. That said, I'm not interested in running something close to the edge; if the numbers aren't solid, not going to make the attempt given other good options.

 

[horsey300]

You haven't stated your normal practical hunting ranges or whether you like a bone wrecking bullet or prefer something softer and more explosive. So I'll throw this in and hope it helps, unless you're pushing 400+yd shots, the pro hunters will stabilize nicely, are dead on accurate, and will expand well while still penetrating anything a deer can carry. If you're wanting more grenading in the chest cavity, a flat based sst will stabilize and liquify but I wouldn't rely on it for full penetration. Tougher or longer range bullets can be utilized with Barnes/partitions/bonded bullets being tougher, and bonded/gamekings/btips getting better performance at longer ranges, weights under 140 would be fine for your stated quarry. Good luck to you!

 

[GooseGestapo]

My Rem-Mod7 .260Rem by actually measuring has a 1/11” twist.
It shoots “patterns” with a 129gr SST, and won’t consistently hit the 100yd berm with a 140gr SST.

However, it shoots the 129gr Interlok and Speer 140gr HotCor under 1moa (5-shots). I’ve gotten 5-shot groups with the discontinued Sierra 160gr RN running just ove 1/2” at 100yds.
Having bought a significant quantity of 140 Speers on clearance, I doubt I’ll ever try anymore loads. With the 140’s over RL22 I’m getting 2,700fps and would likely take anything in N.America.
I’ve never recovered a 140, and only one 120gr. It was lodged against the pelvis on a 200lb whitetail after 24”+ penetration and looked like a Speer advertising pic.
A 1/9” should stabilize any plastic tip non-VLD bullet up to 140gr.
I wouldn’t expect much from a 143gr+ ELD Or such.

For anything up to 300lb mule deer, the 125gr Nosler, and 129gr AB would easily stabilize in the 1/9” twist barrel. For elk, the 140gr Partition or Swift A-frame will do anything you need to do. Not to mention the 140gr Speer.
Even PPU 139gr BT SemiPtd soft points shoot 1.75moa.
Oddly enough the PPU 120gr BTHP Match is the most accurate bullet I’ve shot. Gave me a .50” 5-shot group with 43.5gr H4350. 2,870fps from 20”bbl. I also got excellent accuracy and game performance from a Remington 120gr Accutip blem, which were in actuality a Hornady 120gr SST. It and the 123gr A-max (ELD) as well as the Nosler 120gr B.T. If you want real splat!

 

[rayatphonix]

I use 129 gn Interlocks and 120 gn Nosler BTs. I have both a rifle and pistol in 260 Rem. 16” barrel for the pistol and 24” for the rifle.

 

[Mykey]

My daughter had a Rem model 7 in .260 with the 1-9 twist 20" barrel and she took quite a few deer with the Sierra 120gr Pro Hunter. We had no problem getting it to shoot with H4350 and IMR4320 was also very accurate. We honestly never even tried any other weight in that rifle as the 120gr performed excellent on deer for her. I don't think you'll have any problems getting the 120's to shoot.