Would you get a .260 if you already have a .243?
- Thread starter Craiger12
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The .243 doesn't have bullets over 100 grains. The 260 will shoot bullets of 140-150 grains if your rifling is 1 in 8" twist. There is a big difference in the take-down power of a 150 and a 100 grain slug.
NCsmitty
Member
Although the 260 Rem has a better BC than the 243, they are fairly close in performance, seeing that they are based on the same case.
The 243 with a good bullet like one of the bonded Noslers or Hornady, will kill like the 260 out to 300yds, but you have to hit the vitals with either one to do it.
NCsmitty
The 243 with a good bullet like one of the bonded Noslers or Hornady, will kill like the 260 out to 300yds, but you have to hit the vitals with either one to do it.
NCsmitty
BrocLuno
Member
No.
Gordon
Member
No because my .243 (1955 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight) has a 12x Leupold target scope on it and is set up to shoot 1" 200 yard groups with Sierra 85 HPBT grain bullets. But my 1960 Winchester Westerner .264 has a useful 3.5-10x scope and is sighted to put 140 grain Sierras dead on at 300 yards (a 5" group).Just to justify my 6.5 Bullet mold I have a semi Bubba Swedish Engineer's Carbine that is sighted a 100 yards and allthough the sights are crude, the little cannon is damn accurate! I also have a 6 mm/ .223 improved little Sako Vixen my Wife calls her deer gun, those 85 grain HPBT Game King Sierra's again!
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Gdbyrd
Member
Yes. 260's a great caliber. I shot 243 for a few years, nothing wrong with it. But it's always nice to try out other things. 260 would be a perfect thing to move up to from that.
If you wouldnt use the .243 for some things and WOULD use the .260, then id say yes. I am looking at getting one myself (i do have a .243), as a lite rifle for deer. My girlfriend has taken possession of my .243, but i wanted to be able to use slightly heavier bullets at around the same velocity. The only other rounds that are available in the rifle and power ranges im looking at are the 6.5 creedmoor, and the 7-08.
montanaoffroader
Member
I'm with ugaarguy - if you like it, get it. No real reason not to, it's a perfectly good round that would serve you well for deer hunting, etc.
I have 6mmBR and 260 Rem so with 243 yes get one! It has ballistics of 300WM and sectional density of 140 gr bullet is just like 190 gr 30 caliber bullet, but with very light recoil, plus those 140 gr bullets have ballistic coefficient like 0.600, with 6 mm you will never get such BC, 30 caliber will match them with 200 gr bullets. Just an advise in case you decide to go with 6.5mm barrel, if you really want all the benefits of 6.5 mm bullet get yourself 260 AI or even better match chambered 6.5x55 
Sav .250
Member
To answer your question............No.
Geckgo
Member
If I were "stepping up", I would go with a 30 cal bullet, but that's just me.
sansone
Member
I like the .260rem but having a .243 it seems like too much caliber overlap to me. Actually I like the .260 a little more because of the 6.5 diam pill, same case. The only downside is the factory loaded ammo is double the cost of .243, but I reload so it can be overlooked
GooseGestapo
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Well, I'm going to suggest you look seriously at the .260Rem.
I've had both. The .243's are gone, and the .260 is definitely a keeper.
Just yesterday morning, I took out my .260 for the first time.
Not only was I favorably impressed with the performance, the rifle is "lucky" too.
I had been sitting in my favorite hunting spot at the airport where I keep my plane, and am allowed to "thin the deer head" to reduce a/c-deer collisions. (retired game warden and active flight instructor put me in a favorable position).
I'd been sitting for ~45min. The county had parked their tractors/bush-hogs overnight and weren't finished with last grass cutting. About 8:15am, they cranked up the tractors and proceeded to start cutting the far side of the runway. I decided to pick up my folding chair and move into an adjacent cut-over area. I had stopped momentarily at the edge of the woods and looked across the runway to see which way the tractors were heading. At that time, an 160lb 8pt buck (weighed) started galloping across the runway headed straight towards me! I dropped the chair, swung the rifle on him and watched him through the scope. About the time he crossed the near taxiway about 60yds in front of me I fired the first shot. I didn't lead enough and hit him behind the rib-cage and knocked him down. He jumped up and kept heading towards me, to my right. Second shot took him through the mid-rib area, but at the time I thought I'd missed. As he reached the edge of the wood line, he hesitated and I shot a third time and took him through the shoulder just under the spine. This shot blew a mist out the far side and dropped him where he stood.
The first shot hit the edge of the inside of the pelvis (hip bone) and was lodged just under the hide on the cheek of the rump. (Speer 120gr Hot-Core at 2,850fps; 47.0gr of RL22). The second and third shots completely penetrated and were not retrieveable.
Recovered bullet weighs 77.4grs and looks like a "hot-core" advertisement. Perfect mushroom. Wound tracks were narrower than with a 7mm-.30cal but about what I expected given that the 6.5's are intended to exhibit superior penetration as they are likely to be used on larger game and through such as the .264Win mag.
I've had numerous bullet failures and lost deer with the .243. I don't currently own one, and don't anticipate ever owning another. For varmint and even deer for that matter, I find the .22's such as the .22-250 perform better for me than the .243. Just my experience.......
In retrospect, the .260 dosen't perform (at least with the 120gr Speer) noticebly different than my .257Roberts or .257wby at longer distances. But, the absolutely delightful little Remington Mod7 is a real keeper.... I shoot left handed, but I can't even remember working the bolt x2.... Or even having to re-aquire a sight picture. Almost like I was shooting a semi-auto... But then, I've been hunting with b/a rifles for over 40yrs.....
The next deer will likely fall to a Hornady 129gr Interlok, just to see how it performs.... Then, later this season I'm scheduled to go on an east Texas deer/pig hunt.... There, I'll try some 139 and 140gr bullets.....
However, based on an example of one, I'll give the decided advantage to the 7mm08. It makes the deer flinch a bit more with a similar hit.... And with a 150gr bullet, the bullet I recovered would have exited the deer..... The friend I'm going to Texas with, used my 7mm08 in '05 to take a very large 6x6 bull elk in Colorado.... 3 of 4rds he hit the elk with likewise completely penetrated the chest broadside, with Nosler 140gr Partitions, and a single 140gr Sierra Pro-Hunter busted both shoulders and lodged under the hide. It too exhibited textbook expansion and weighed ~98.0gr expanded.
So, I'd be inclined to pair your .243 with a 7mm08. For practical purposes, I can't tell the difference between the 7mm08 and the .30/06......
But, if you're looking at a particular .260 I'd be tempted (I was, and bit.... and not sorry I did).
I've had both. The .243's are gone, and the .260 is definitely a keeper.
Just yesterday morning, I took out my .260 for the first time.
Not only was I favorably impressed with the performance, the rifle is "lucky" too.
I had been sitting in my favorite hunting spot at the airport where I keep my plane, and am allowed to "thin the deer head" to reduce a/c-deer collisions. (retired game warden and active flight instructor put me in a favorable position).
I'd been sitting for ~45min. The county had parked their tractors/bush-hogs overnight and weren't finished with last grass cutting. About 8:15am, they cranked up the tractors and proceeded to start cutting the far side of the runway. I decided to pick up my folding chair and move into an adjacent cut-over area. I had stopped momentarily at the edge of the woods and looked across the runway to see which way the tractors were heading. At that time, an 160lb 8pt buck (weighed) started galloping across the runway headed straight towards me! I dropped the chair, swung the rifle on him and watched him through the scope. About the time he crossed the near taxiway about 60yds in front of me I fired the first shot. I didn't lead enough and hit him behind the rib-cage and knocked him down. He jumped up and kept heading towards me, to my right. Second shot took him through the mid-rib area, but at the time I thought I'd missed. As he reached the edge of the wood line, he hesitated and I shot a third time and took him through the shoulder just under the spine. This shot blew a mist out the far side and dropped him where he stood.
The first shot hit the edge of the inside of the pelvis (hip bone) and was lodged just under the hide on the cheek of the rump. (Speer 120gr Hot-Core at 2,850fps; 47.0gr of RL22). The second and third shots completely penetrated and were not retrieveable.
Recovered bullet weighs 77.4grs and looks like a "hot-core" advertisement. Perfect mushroom. Wound tracks were narrower than with a 7mm-.30cal but about what I expected given that the 6.5's are intended to exhibit superior penetration as they are likely to be used on larger game and through such as the .264Win mag.
I've had numerous bullet failures and lost deer with the .243. I don't currently own one, and don't anticipate ever owning another. For varmint and even deer for that matter, I find the .22's such as the .22-250 perform better for me than the .243. Just my experience.......
In retrospect, the .260 dosen't perform (at least with the 120gr Speer) noticebly different than my .257Roberts or .257wby at longer distances. But, the absolutely delightful little Remington Mod7 is a real keeper.... I shoot left handed, but I can't even remember working the bolt x2.... Or even having to re-aquire a sight picture. Almost like I was shooting a semi-auto... But then, I've been hunting with b/a rifles for over 40yrs.....
The next deer will likely fall to a Hornady 129gr Interlok, just to see how it performs.... Then, later this season I'm scheduled to go on an east Texas deer/pig hunt.... There, I'll try some 139 and 140gr bullets.....
However, based on an example of one, I'll give the decided advantage to the 7mm08. It makes the deer flinch a bit more with a similar hit.... And with a 150gr bullet, the bullet I recovered would have exited the deer..... The friend I'm going to Texas with, used my 7mm08 in '05 to take a very large 6x6 bull elk in Colorado.... 3 of 4rds he hit the elk with likewise completely penetrated the chest broadside, with Nosler 140gr Partitions, and a single 140gr Sierra Pro-Hunter busted both shoulders and lodged under the hide. It too exhibited textbook expansion and weighed ~98.0gr expanded.
So, I'd be inclined to pair your .243 with a 7mm08. For practical purposes, I can't tell the difference between the 7mm08 and the .30/06......
But, if you're looking at a particular .260 I'd be tempted (I was, and bit.... and not sorry I did).
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sansone
Member
thanks goose ^^
RevGeo
Member
Answering your question, I'd say yeah. I don't need a reason to get a new gun. Wanting one is enough justification for me.
George
George
reloader-1
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Yes, I would. Actually, not only would I, but I actually did just that a couple months ago, and now have a nice .260 in the safe next to my .243.
As to the 6.5x55 - ballistically, pretty much the same thing as the .260, except in a longer action. I don't see the point....
As to the 6.5x55 - ballistically, pretty much the same thing as the .260, except in a longer action. I don't see the point....
Says who ?
http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/52...ition-243-winchester-115-grain-dtac-box-of-20
And to answer the OP, YES, yes I would.
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