.260 Remington

centerfire_223

centerfire_223

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My dad left me a Browning A-bolt Medallion in a .260 Remington. Anyone have any thing to say about this caliber, it one I know nothing about.
 
Based on the same basic brass as the .243, 708, .308 it is an excellent choice for deer and antelope. Bullet weights run from 85 to 160 gr. And is comparable to 6.5x55 but fits in a short action. Factory ammo is kinda spotty....I have no clue a mine has never fired factory ammo. Had since 1997.
 
SKB described its lineage very well. It could be named the 6.5-08. I switched from .243 to .260 a few years ago for Pa. deer hunting when I got a .260 barrel for my Encore. I love it and wouldn't hesitate to hunt anything from groundhogs to bear with it. My son has a Savage in .260. It is a very accurate cartridge with little more recoil than the .243. A lot of long-range shooters use it for varmints and competition. Its near identical twin, the 6.5x55, has been popular in Europe for decades and has probably taken just about every game animal there is. I also have a 7mm-08 and IMO the .260 does everything that cartridge does with milder recoil and flatter trajectory. The only drawback, if you don't reload, is the limited offering in ammunition and the cost of factory ammo. Savage chambered several of its rifles again this year in .260 and the .260 is gaining popularity in the AR platform so I'm hoping that its popularity continues to increase in the US. You have a great rifle!
 
I got the Savage Lightweight Hunter last week and am in the process of working up loads for it. The photo shows my rifle on a scale with a Burris 4.5x-14x scope and check out the weight. This rifle is in 260 Rem. and is my new antelope rifle.
It weighs 6 pounds 14.4 ounces!
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Check and see which barrel twist you have and that will give you an idea of what bullet weight will work best for you.

The .260 is one of those "if you could have only one caliber" type bullets, theres not much it won't do.

I have two, the savage lwh and a lr tactical.
 
A friend of mine had his .308 sniper rifle rebarreled to .260 and it is impressive. I saw him shoot several deer with it on a damage hunt and it has little muzzle blast and recoil. The gun is super accurate and is much flatter-shooting than a .308 for distance shooting.
 
My Remington LSS Mtn. Rifle is an early one with a 9 twist and shoots the 140 gr Hornady SSTs very well. I believe the later Remingtons had an 8 twist which probably shoots the longer bullets better. Don't know what twists came with the Rugers or Savages.
 
I play around with the precision rifle game some and there are several guys running the 260. Good round to multi task with. Reloading is also easy
 


I use 708 brass as I like to get it headspaced correctly on the first loading. Generally its easier to find and there are more options to.
 
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I just took my newly completed 260 to the range today to do barrel break in. With a medium dose of Rel. 19 and a 129 Hornady Interlock the first 15 rounds went into just over an inch and I wasn't really trying for accuracy. I was cleaning after each round. Mine is an accurized 700 with a Shilen Select Match barrel, 1-8" twist.
 
I have done a google search but can't find out what twist barrel I have. Anyone got any ideas? It's a Browning A-Bolt.

Most likely the only thing I will ever hunt with it will be coyotes and occasionally a deer. So I was thinking of loading the lighter weight bullets in it. What would be a light bullet for this barrel? That is if I can figure out what twist it is.
 
If you try a 95-120 gr bullet like James suggests, I've had excellent results from the 100 gr Hornady AMAX bullets and H4350.

Matt
 
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