Opinions Sought- the .260 Remington

[4Truck]

I was in the market for a 7mm-08, but have found a .260 for a pretty good price, I was wondering if any of you have any experience with this caliber.

It will be used on Va whitetails and the occasional coyote.

So tell me what ya think, and be honest

 

[marineman227]

Not sure

I'm not sure about the .260 but i know my winchester .270 is perfect on wisconsin whitetails. The places that i hunt i wouldn't be able to take a shot at anything that's out of the range of it because of brush and such. It has enough power for the deer and also is not so highly powered that it has an enormous kick. I imagine a .260 wouldn't be a whole lot different. Pretty nice flat shot and decent power. Sounds like a good choice but that's judging my .270 i've never actually shot a .260 so you're on your own there

 

[Slingster]

The .260 Rem should be perfect for whitetails and coyotes. I just used mine to take two good-sized does with handloads featuring 125-grain Nosler Partitions at 2700 fps muzzle velocity and shots at 20 and 35 yards. Minimal meat damage, and one dropped where it stood, while the other ran about 30 yards beofre expiring.

 

[TX65]

260 Remington is a great cartridge. Originally known as the 6.5-08, it is used competitively out to 1,000 yards and has been used to win a highpower world championship or two.

As far as a hunting round, Nosler 125 Partition for Deer, Nosler 140 Partition for heavier game. For coyotes, Nosler 100 grain ballistic tip or Hornady 95 VMAX.

Overall, the 260 Remington is very similar to the 6.5x55.

 

[JohnMc]

The 6.5x55 Swede is considered a "magical" cartridge because it works so well. Europeans use it on their moose, which I gather is an elk, more or less.
The 6.5/.260 bullet is so good because of it's sectional density; they're long for their weight. That translates into a nice wound channel. The SD of a 129 grain .260 bullet is about that of a 180 gr .308 bullet. Scott Meyer of American Rifleman waxed philisophic about the Swede a year or two ago.

The .260 Rem is loaded to higher pressures (at least in the US) so it's faster and it'll fit on short actions. Same "magical" bullet, going faster, with a lighter rifle. How can ya beat it?

The drawback: the ammo is relatively rare with poor selection at most stores. Reloading may be necessary.

JohnMc

 

[Harold Mayo]

Check out the Ghost Dancer project over at www.snipershide.com

 

[JohnKSa]

The people I know who have hunted with the round have been very impressed with it's ability to drop game.

Accuracy is generally exceptional, and recoil is minimal.

 

[Zak Smith]

260Rem is also a good choice for an AR10. It provides the smallest diameter bullet that can "make Major" (340PF in rifles) for IPSC-style 3Gun.

-z

 

[Dave R]

Shoots those "magic" 6.5mm bullets, so it must be good.

I have read nothing but positive comments about it.

 

[Sparky]

Loaned my 260 to my nephew for a morning hunt. The kid killed a 9 point at 135yds. with the first shot fired in "anger" so to speak. He fell in love with it so I let him let him buy it off me. Don't think you'll go wrong!
ps
the load was a Remington 120gr. factory round. Did a solid job on a 185-200lb. buck.

 

[only1asterisk]

The only real advantage to the 260 over the 7-08 is that most .264 bullets are designed to work well at that velocity. Bullet makers don't have to worry about them being used in 7mm STW and Ultra mags and the like. That said, I like the 260 better for your intended use.


David

 

[4Truck]

Well, I appreciate all of the reviews and opinions I have recieved, I did not go to get the .260, as I was waiting to see what the gun show had. I happened to be at the Bealeton gun show today, and a Remington Model 7 Stainless in 7mm-08 followed me home.

After reading all the good reviews, I may just have to get a .260 as well.....but thats another thread

 

[Coot]

I used to have a stainless M7 in 7mm08; one of the nicest rifles I've ever carried!

Sadly, my 13 year old who had borrowed it shot an eight pointer, so I gave it to him.

I miss it dearly...he occasionally allows me to shoot it.

 

[CB900F]

4Truck;

Good job! I simply regard the .260 Remington as another answer to a question that wasn't asked.

Simply because Remington wanted a short-action 6.5 Swede isn't justification, in my book, for trying to foist off another highly suspect cartridge on the shooting public. If you go 6.5, and you should, go with the original 6.5 X 55 Swedish Mauser. Several modern domestic rifle makers, other than Remington, will be glad to accomodate your desire.

900F

 

[JShirley]

What a tease- I was just getting into the Ghost Dancer story...it's not complete...

 

[wanderinwalker]

Good job! I simply regard the .260 Remington as another answer to a question that wasn't asked.

Simply because Remington wanted a short-action 6.5 Swede isn't justification, in my book, for trying to foist off another highly suspect cartridge on the shooting public. If you go 6.5, and you should, go with the original 6.5 X 55 Swedish Mauser. Several modern domestic rifle makers, other than Remington, will be glad to accomodate your desire.

The .260 Remington is merely the commercial equivalent of a 6.5-308 wildcat. This round was developed for target shooting at extended ranges. A 6.5mm bullet of 140-150 grains generally has a higher BC than a 7mm bullet of equal weight, and most of the data I have on hand shows the .260 as having a velocity advantage over the 7-08 with 140 grain bullets. Translation: The "little" 6.5mm will beat the "manly" 7mm (tongue in cheek here folks, don't get too wound up please! ) in wind at range.

The .260 is a dandy little cartridge, and I feel that many shooters are doing themselves a disservice overlooking it just because it's only a 6.5mm. (Yes, I like mine and won't trade it for anything.)

 

[CB900F]

Wanderin;

If you choose to believe that Remington put all the money into cartridge & firearm development to satisfy the long-range target shooting community, you're welcome to do so.

I just didn't realize what a huge market segment that was/is. Ah well, you learn something new every day.

900F

 

[wanderinwalker]

900F,

Remington merely legitimized the cartridge after Carmichael demonstrated it in a 1000 yard benchrest shoot. The bulk of the development work was already done. It is simply a necked down .308, just as the 7mm-08 and .243 Win are, so the overall cost of tooling was probably negligible to Remington.

BTW, do you have a CB900 in your garage?

 

[James Bondrock]

"I was in the market for a 7mm-08, but have found a .260 for a pretty good price, I was wondering if any of you have any experience with this caliber.

It will be used on Va whitetails and the occasional coyote.

So tell me what ya think, and be honest"



No direct experience. If cost and availability of ammo does not bother you, or if you handload anyway, I would hit it. It will have plenty of power for deer-sized game. What kind of rifle? Intermediate-powered cartridges like the .260 and 7-08 strike me as ideal for the lightweight, short/skinny barrel rifles -- less proportionate velocity loss and recoil.

 

[Gewehr98]

If I remember correctly...

G. David Tubb did a wonderful job with an AR-10 variant chambered in 6.5-08, aka .260 Remington, out at the 1000 yard range. And I felt I was hitting houseflies with a cannon using my 6.5-06 after competing against a Remington 700PSS rebarreled to .260 Rem, the guy had no trouble hitting targets accurately from 400-1000 yards.

It's funny that a measly 0.5 mm makes such a big difference in ballistic coefficient between the 6.5mm and 7mm bullets. The 6.5mm Lapua 123gr and 139gr bullets, at 0.547 and 0.615 BC respectively, should force the folks who make 7mm match bullets sit up and take notice...

Little-known-secret, but Remington was gearing up to offer the 6.5-06 as a commercial product, too. It would have spanned the gap between their .280 Remington and .25-06 Remington, since Winchester aced them with the .270 Winchester. A few years back, Art Alphin at A-Square took the wind out of their sails (sales?) by offering it as a standard chambering in his rifle lineup, complete with factory headstamp brass.

The .260 Remington does indeed take a bite out of 7mm-08 sales. If you're already a 6.5mm disciple, like I most blatantly am, then it's just another reason to get or build one. Matter of fact, I'm already building a .260 lightweight woods-walker on a Model 7 action.

 

[CB900F]

Wanderin;

Yes, but not exactly. It started out life as a CB900F. It wound up a little bit larger and an AMA legal 1025 superbike. Send me an e-mail if you want to talk bikes, we'll get shut down here if it's not firearms related. And how 'bout those ASP conversions on the Smith model 39's?

Hah! 900F