cougar loads

[jakk280rem]

iwas going to post this in the reloading section, but i thought hunters might have a better handle on the question. i'm using a 260 rem to hunt cougar and was looking for any sugestion for bullet selection. the 140gr factory loads are to stout and do too much damage. any sugestions?

 

[BlindJustice]

Is .260 Rem a typo? I'll Assume you meant to type .280 Rem.
and the 140 gr. is probably designed for whtietail, but it begs the
question how can a bullet be too destrictive when dealing with
a predator?

In .357 Magnum I would use a
Honrday XTP 180 gr. @ 1,225 FPS

 

[Clipper]

Blind,
What makes you think it's a typo? .260 Rem is available with up to 160gr bullets, and as far as destructiveness, I wouldn't care for a rug with a huge bullet rip repair in it either.

Jakk, I doubt if you're going to find a factory load that's really right, but I'd think that the 160 grain bullets, since they're made more for deep penetration on elk-size critters, might be more likely to pass through without much expansion than lighter, faster bullets. Of course, you could use the lack of suitable factory rounds to justify that reloading setup...

 

[ArmedBear]

Of course, you could use the lack of suitable factory rounds to justify that reloading setup...

That's probably the right line of thinking.

 

[BlindJustice]

I haven't kept up with the newer long gun rounds and in the last
two years got back into Hand guns ... thanks learned sumpin
today but yeah the heavier bullet will be less
destructuve to the pelt

I sometimes 'hunt' heh heh the two legged female Cougars
around here, bagged a few over the years....

YCougMV

 

[K.L.O.sako]

there are 120gr. loads at about 2900 fps for the .260 rem. if you reload, why not get some 120 barnes x's or solids of some sort. they should pencil right through a cat.

 

[jakk280rem]

no blindjustice, 260 rem in not a typo. i use 280 rem for elk and bear and my 260 rem for deer and smaller. perhaps i should have asked the right question. would i want a highly expancive lighter bullet or a big low expansion bullet to "pencil through". and i could also look at the lack of suitable factory ammo as an excuse to purchase a new rifle. maybe a 243 or 22-250 or....

 

[koja48]

excuse to purchase a new rifle . . .

I gotta respect a shrewd man! Heavier if you use the .260 & want a rug. The few I harvested were taken with a .357 & one with a .223 . . . all were quick, clean kills.

 

[BlindJustice]

Hey Koja48 - I'd like to buy yah a beverage after a session at
the indoor range at Lewiston sometime.

 

[sumpnz]

Well, my CZ 550 in 6.5x55 (a ballistic sibling of the .260) shoots 120gr Cor-lokt's really well with a light, 40.0gr charge of IMR4831. I haven't chrono'd that load, but I'd guess it's only around 2500fps or so. The same charge in your .260 should give 2600ish. Step the bullet up to 140gr and back off a touch on the powder, and you could get a nice light shooting load at around 24-2500fps. Good chance of no exit wound, unless you're pretty close, and if there is it shouldn't be too bad on the pelt. A tumbling solid would be at least as bad for the pelt on the exit.

 

[koja48]

Hey Koja48

I may take you up on that if I ever get over that way . . . I'm in the TriCities, but coyote safaris take me all over the state (s).