260 Rem in hunting applications?

[Hookturnr]

I'm looking for some guidance on a starting point.
The wife bought me a Browning A-Bolt in 260 the other day....I gotta love that!.....but I have no experience with this caliber.
I've done a ton of reading and found a metric shittton of info on the 260 in a match rifle. That's great but doesn't help with the purpose I'm looking at. I figure this will make for a nice handy, lightweight carry rifle for deer and whatnot.

I'll be handloading from day one so that opens up a world of components, what has worked well for you guys?

 

[BoilerUP]

39.3gr Varget with a 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip - very effective on deer but a bit slow (2800fps from 22" barrel).

 

[bkw1911]

Depends what you're hunting but my dad and brother shot their whitetail this year with the berger 140 gr vld and h1000. It's pretty good on deer. My wife shot a 300+ lb black bear with a Hornady 140 gr bthp with h4350 at 450yds and dropped it. I shot several deer and coyotes this last 2 years with the 140 amax and h4350. I would probably only go to a different non match bullet for elk. Other than that, I'll take an accurate match bullet and put it in the kill zone.

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[Kebo57]

I'm running a 6.5 Creedmoor....ballistics about the same. I use 140 AMAXs. Over the past 2 years have taken 4 antelope with it. Bullet performance was super. I think it would do the trick on white tails as well.

 

[gafferq2xl]

Mine was built with the intention of hunting with it. 140gr AMax over 46gr of 4831sc, Lapua brass, CCI 200 igniter's out of a 24" 1-8 tube around 2750. Not advertised as a hunting bullet but I've had excellent results in terminal performance on deer in 30 cal.

 

[boonewsm]

I've had very good luck with the 140 berger hunting vlds and H4350. About 2900 out of a 26 inch barrel. Shot pigs, coyotes and deer.


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[slm9s]

139 scenars shot very very well in my tactical 260, but if I were hunting, I'd run Berger VLD hunting bullets. my $0.02.

 

[Hookturnr]

I have yet to confirm it, but from what I'm gathering, it's a 1-10" twist so that may be a limiting factor as to going into the heavier bullets.
As for what I'll be hunting..whitetail, antelope, coyote. Already have sticks with more horsepower for elk n bear..

I'll be picking up some lapua brass(provided it's not annealed in unicorn vaginas...as there is a shortage of unicorns lately) and dies this week. I'm wanting to stick in the 140gr. range for the bullet....just have to see what I can find and see if this thing will stabilize them....

Anyone have anything that hasn't worked out? Any unusual pitfalls to avoid with these?

Thanks for the info so far!

 

[Huckleberry75]

With a 10tw, you might look at lighter bullets such 120 nosler Bt's, 130vlds or even the 123 AMAX would be an excellent option as well.

 

[RyeDaddy]

I had a 1:9" twist 260 that wouldn't stabilize 140's when it got cold, so I would stick with 120's for a 10 twist. Nosler BT's shoot well and will do the job easily on deer and antelope.

 

[Hookturnr]

I suppose I will be looking for some 120's then.... any other positive or negative experiences?

 

[ptaylortx]

I've had good luck with 130 SGK BTHP and 44.0 grains of H4831sc.

 

[Graywolf.260]

120 gr ttsx or if it will stabilize 127 gr LRX, both are great hunting bullets for deer

 

[shoots100]

43.0 grns of IMR 4350, 210 Fed LRP, 140 grn Horn SST. This pill puts deer to sleep.

 

[ARSniper]

I've had good success with these bullets on whitetail from a 260:

- 100g Nosler Partition (3,275fps)
- Sierra 120g Prohunter (2,955fps)
- 120g Nosler BT (2,850fps)

I've read the 100g BT works great (most of weight in jacket) but I've not yet tried it.

 

[pinhead]

I've been using a Rem Model 7 in .260 for 15+ years on whitetail. I have been using 120g Nosler BT with great results. Can't say how many whitetails I've taken, but it's a lot! If I have to walk anywhere, its my go-to gun.

 

[XTREM HTR16]

130 grain Berger VLD and enough H4350 to get you over 2,800 will kill deer all day long...

 

[Hookturnr]

I'm leaning heavily toward a 120 at 2950 or so to have a stubby 25-06....kinda redundant as I already put together a stainless stalker with the BOSS in 25-06 for the wife a few years back.
I still want to try the heavier bullets until I run into stability issues though. I've got H4831, H1000, H4350 and Benchmark on hand, just waiting for the Brown truck to drop off some dies, brass n bullets to get started and picking up glass next week.

Lots of good info so far, thanks again guys.

Anybody else willing or wanting to chime, please do so!

 

[5RWill]

Killed two deer this year with my .260 running 130gr TSX at 2650fps if i had to roughly guess. Both of mine didn't move and it devastated the heart & lungs.

 

[punisher]

My first year hunting with a 260 but my results have been great so far. I'm running 140 Bergers with 43gr H-4350. First deer I shot it turned off all her switches. This is a hunt I actually got on video. Deer were taken at 280 yards
http://youtu.be/h1ND6kTW00g


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[Hookturnr]

That's the kind of performance I'm getting with the 25/06 and 115gr. Berger VLD's at 2930....just shuts 'em off right there. Hopefully this new 260 will do the same!

 

[DrillersGoDeeper]

I'm hunting with Ruger 77 compact in 260 Rem 16.5" 1:8 and shoots the 120 Remington Accutips pretty well. Just bought some of the 120 Barnes TTSX. Can't comment on those yet, but the 120 Accutips are pretty lethal on whitetail here in LA.

 

[EOD350]

I run 123 AMAX out of my .260. It is a deer hammer. Out of ten kills only two moved more than 6 ft. Send a P.M and I'll give you my data if you want it.

 

[6.5BR]

I believe Ruger uses 8 twist.

Browning, use a marked cleaning rod to measure twist, browning has had misprints in past on websites, as others, but verify. Heard the 129 and 130s shoot fine in the 1885 Low Wall they made in 260 FWIW.

 

[Hookturnr]

Well, Most everything is enroute except bullets, going to manually measure twist rate before ordering to confirm the 10TW that has been reported as Browning production. This gun was part of a special run done for Grice Gun Shop in central PA so it may be different. They get a few different custom runs from different manufacturers every year so you can get into some interesting cartridges in a factory rifle.

Thanks for all the input!

 

[6.5BR]

I am guessing it will measure from 9-10. If 9 it will handle thru 140s based on my experience in a Sako 75 w/9 twist.

If truly 10.0, you may be hard to find a bullet that does much better in accuracy or killing deer, than a 120 Ballistic Tip, even the 100 BT and Partition are deadly in the 260, so you have plenty of deer poison Again, a fellow had a Low Wall single shot they did, and it too was listed as a 10, but he got sub inch in actually 2 of those rifles, using Hornady 129 SP, the original, they are deadly, used them myself in the past. If me, I would start with 120 Ballistic Tips if possible.

Hope you are pleased, its a great round, Abolts are typically accurate in my experience. Keep us posted on results and good shooting.

 

[Hookturnr]

Thanks for all the input! I'll post back up after I get everything together and get a few rounds down range..

 

[Will Fennell]

I've been whacking stuff with the 260 for a few years now, and have had excellent results with 130gr Nosler Accubonds over H4350. Great accuracy, good BC( for a hunting bullet), they have always shown good expansion, and have always penetrated completely on the deer and hogs that I've used it on....11 deer and 8 hogs. No drama...just mild recoil, great accuracy, and plenty of killing performance.

Heading into next season, I plan on experimenting with the Barnes 127gr LRX and Nosler 129 LR Accubond.....just to see if I can extend the range that I will get good expansion.