.260 Rem for reloaders only...

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greenlion

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I keep looking at the ballistics of, and reading articles about, the .260 Remington cartridge and thinking I might get one at some point. I just looked through two ammunition catalogs I received in the mail, and while I found several loads for the 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x284, and 6.5 Swiss, I only saw ONE factory load for the .260 Rem. I checked their website and it was sold out. (It was Rem Core-Lokt, if anyone was curious). Too bad there is no factory ammo support for this great sounding little round.

I do reload, and am aware that there are components for reloading, but when I can't find ammo in the catalogs or on the shelves of my local gun store, I am a bit skiddish about investing in it. Guess I will just stick with my 7mm-08 for now.
 
like you I reload, but am still slightly unsettled with calibers that are not common. Partially because my brass is all from factory ammo that I shot.
In the past I noticed new brass cases are almost as costly as budget factory cartridges
 
all these companies make match-grade 260rem ammo

southwest ammo (note they can be extremely slow shipping, even for ammo listed in stock)
copper creek cartridge co
corbon
black hills
federal gold medal match
 
Brass for the 260 Remington is very cheap,just resize any of the 308 Winchester based caliber brass.
I mainly use 243 brass,and buy most of it used-once shot,$22 per hundred.

The only time I ever buy factory ammo is when it's cheap,and then it's only used for barrel break in ammo.
 
I just checked two companies that send out catalogs in addition to their web sites. One had 17 different loads in stock. The other had 8. Those were just the first two that came to mind.

You are correct that you don't often find ammo for it on the shelf.
 
I often seee .260 ammo at local GS's and even Gander.

I shoot a 6.5 x 55 because I believe for many reasons it is the "ideal" caliber. I don't let that fact that most chain retailers don't stock it bother me.

In the .260 genre also consider the ubiquitous 7mm 08. That is a fine caliber and it is EVERYWHERE.
 
Txhillbilly said:
Brass for the 260 Remington is very cheap,just resize any of the 308 Winchester based caliber brass.
I mainly use 243 brass,and buy most of it used-once shot,$22 per hundred.

The only time I ever buy factory ammo is when it's cheap,and then it's only used for barrel break in ammo.
Click to expand...
I never see once-fired 243 around here, if I did I wouldn't buy ANY factory cartridges
 
Ive reloaded some .260 for a friend of mine. Seems to be a great round. I only shoot my reloads through my various handguns and rifles, so I'm not aware of, nor do I care what the local shops carry.
 
I buy factory virgin brass, and take donations of brass from friends who don't reload. My .243 has seen one box of factory ammo in its life, and that was to zero the original scope.

A .260 or 7-08 wouldn't be any harder to feed, and I've thought about getting one, but I figure, what's the point, really, when I already have a .243 that I'm enjoying and my daughter shoots well.
 
Odds are pretty good you're never going to find 260 Remington ammo for sale at your local Wal-Mart...though you can typically find it at a good local gun shop or big-box outdoor store (Sportsmans Warehouse, Cabelas, Bass Pro, etc).

Hopefully though, as popular as the chambering has become due to precision/tactical shooters, more and more ammunition makers will produce it and it will become more accessible.

Federal's 142gr FGMM hasn't been released yet, and its priced too high IMO to be a big seller. Southwest and Copper Creek are both $30 per 20 rounds and an easy, affordable way to get quality ammo.
 
greenlion, I didn't post a link because I hadn't read the rules around here. Looks like telling it was midwayusa that claims 17 in stock is OK.

Here's a tip: If you need ammo, go to ammoseek or another site like it. I just checked it for .260. It returned 145 hits. Those are not all different loads. Most loads are listed more than once due to the variety of vendors. You can sort for price by box or round, etc. Many of the vendors listed also publish paper catalogs if you want them.
 
One trip to the range yielded 68 once fired .243 hulls. Using a die set like the Hornadys with a tapered expander, lubricating and expanding the necks from .243 to .264 for the .260 Remington is easy, and also cheap :).

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
all my 260 and 260AI brass is necked up from 243win.
 
As you can see from the other posts, there are numerous loads available. The only problem is they only make one run of the oddball calibers per year. When they are gone it may be several months before they become available again. You need to stock up when you can.

I have owned a 260. It is probably one of the best whitetail rounds out there. Very accurate, easy to reload and has low recoil.
 
Wow. I just browsed through Midway and checked prices. They have over 20 loads listed for the .243 Win for under 25 dollars a box. The 260 ammo has one box listed at 30.99 (with a rebate) and then jumps quickly up to 37 to 50 dollars a box for most other loads. Thats a big difference in price considering they both use the same .308 Win parent case and have half a millimeter size difference in bullets.

7mm-08 loads seem to be a lot cheaper too. Its a shame really. The 260 looks to have great ballistics. I guess the 6.5 is too european for Americans.
 
No question about it I am a diehard member of the 6.5mm cult, if not it's crazed leader, but if you already have a 7mm-08 that shoots good there is no big advantage to the 260 unless you are shooting crazy long range. Sure a 140gr VLD at max power out of a 260 will be better at 1,000yds then any 7mm-08 load, but shooting deer inside 400 they will never know the difference.
If you do want to join the cult break out the reloading set because all the 6.5s are hard to find except the 6.5x55, and even they are SOOOOO much better handloaded to modern pressures.
BTW I load the 7mm-08 too, great little gun no doubt about it, almost as nice as my Sweed :D
 
I have 2 260s; one long action and one short.

I never shot a single factory load through either one until I came across some Fed GMM a few months ago. I'll stick to reloading. It's the best way to get something tuned to the rifle, instead of the one size fits all approach.

That said, I have been curious try try some Rem Corelokt. Seems that stuff shoots pretty well in just about everything.

I have both Rem and Lapua cases. Some of my Lapua is on its 5th reloading cycle IIRC. It's very good brass, well worth the cost.

260 seems to be a "just right" caliber in many ways; low recoil, accurate, and capable game getter.
 
I have been intrigued by the 6.5 rifles for quite awhile, but realize that a 243 with a fast twist barrel will stabilize those longer projectiles available in that chambering, if I were to do any of that long range "sniper" type competition.
 
^ True enough the 243 can be loaded with some very high BC bullets, take the 115gr VLD for example. .545 BC but it takes a 1:7 twist to stabilize, you know how many rifle makers thread theirs with a 1:7? None to my knowledge, the tightest is a 1:9, so figure in a custom barrel into your project budget.
On the flip side the 140gr VLD for my 6.5x55 only needs a 1:8 twist which most 6.5x55 come with from the factory. Oh and it has a BC of .618! No contest there the 6.5mm is the better out of the box shooter.
 
The 260 looks like it sits in a sweet spot in the 308 winchester-case-based family. The 243 can shoot some fairly high bc bullets, but off the rack rifles won't stabilize bullets much above 105gr. The .308 has some high bc bullets, but when you get up into the 180 grain range, you are also looking at increased recoil. The 7mm-08 has some high bc bullets as well but runs out of steam a little faster trying to push them, as well as having more recoil than the 260.

I just wish I was as confident in factory ammo being available long-term. The 7mm-08 at least has its foot firmly in the door, and is increasing in popularity.
 
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