I've gotten interested in the .260 rem due to its good ballistics and low recoil. I know this is a tough question to answer, but where would you draw the line in hunting with this round? I know it would be fine for whitetails at 200yds, but would it be fine for an elk at 400 yds? I know shot placement has everything to do with it, but everything has a breaking point where it becomes almost unethical to hunt this animal at that range sort of thing. Where would you draw the line with the .260 rem shooting a 140gr bullet? Should you base the answer on energy in ft/lbs? Thanks.
Hunting & Fishing Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
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Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DocGlenn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've gotten interested in the .260 rem due to its good ballistics and low recoil. I know this is a tough question to answer, but where would you draw the line in hunting with this round? I know it would be fine for whitetails at 200yds, but would it be fine for an elk at 400 yds? I know shot placement has everything to do with it, but everything has a breaking point where it becomes almost unethical to hunt this animal at that range sort of thing. Where would you draw the line with the .260 rem shooting a 140gr bullet? Should you base the answer on energy in ft/lbs? Thanks.
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Doc,
Work up your load or decide on the factory ammo you'll be shooting. Take that velocity and plug it in the an external balistics program. Look at the energy and decide how much you want the projectile to have at impact. For whitetail we like 1,000 Ft. Lbs at impact. If you take the above as a guide line the 140 Game King at 2,750fps will give you an effective range of 575 yards with 1,007 Ft. Lbs of energy at impact. Will it kill past that, absolutly but you'll have to be the judge as to how much farther you'd push it.
The 140 Berger VLD at 2,800fps has 1,030 Ft. Lbs at 750 yards and I know there have been numerous Elk Kills at that distance and further with that bullet shot from a 6.5x284.
For Elk, with prpoerly placed hits, I'd say the 140 SGK at 450 yards and in all day long. The 140 Berger, 600 yards and in with ease.
Good luck
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DocGlenn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've gotten interested in the .260 rem due to its good ballistics and low recoil. I know this is a tough question to answer, but where would you draw the line in hunting with this round? I know it would be fine for whitetails at 200yds, but would it be fine for an elk at 400 yds? I know shot placement has everything to do with it, but everything has a breaking point where it becomes almost unethical to hunt this animal at that range sort of thing. Where would you draw the line with the .260 rem shooting a 140gr bullet? Should you base the answer on energy in ft/lbs? Thanks.
</div></div>
Doc,
Work up your load or decide on the factory ammo you'll be shooting. Take that velocity and plug it in the an external balistics program. Look at the energy and decide how much you want the projectile to have at impact. For whitetail we like 1,000 Ft. Lbs at impact. If you take the above as a guide line the 140 Game King at 2,750fps will give you an effective range of 575 yards with 1,007 Ft. Lbs of energy at impact. Will it kill past that, absolutly but you'll have to be the judge as to how much farther you'd push it.
The 140 Berger VLD at 2,800fps has 1,030 Ft. Lbs at 750 yards and I know there have been numerous Elk Kills at that distance and further with that bullet shot from a 6.5x284.
For Elk, with prpoerly placed hits, I'd say the 140 SGK at 450 yards and in all day long. The 140 Berger, 600 yards and in with ease.
Good luck
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
this was my triplet daughter's first deer at around 265yd with another hide members .260.....and she never shot before
pretty sure this was a 140 berger
this was my triplet daughter's first deer at around 265yd with another hide members .260.....and she never shot before
pretty sure this was a 140 berger
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
Wow! that's some damage from the 140 Berger. Thanks for the feedback!
Wow! that's some damage from the 140 Berger. Thanks for the feedback!
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
The problem of asking this question is it always turns into a shit storm of guys saying you can kill elk with a 22LR arguing with guys saying you need a 470 nitro for elk and everything in between.
I'm sure with perfect shot placement you can kill an elk easily with a lot of calibers even smaller than the 260 at 400 yards. 1000 ft/lbs is common recommendation for deer, for elk I usually see 1500 ft/lbs listed as a good minimum. One has to remember a big bull elk can be 4x the weight of a big mule deer, hide, shoulder and rib bones are all significantly thicker as well. Using that stat the 260 rem appears to be under 1500 ft/lbs by around 250 yards. By comparison even a 180gr nosler partition in a .308 is around 1500 ft/lbs at 400 yards. Most don't consider the .308 ideal for elk either and it has significantly more hitting power than the .260 does.
That said, I have no doubt a 140gr round with 1000 ft/lbs at 400 yards will get the job done when placed exactly where it needs to be and I certainly would not call it unethical, but it wouldn't be in my top 10 caliber choices for elk hunting either and I wouldn't want to try and put one through both shoulders.
Most likely past 400 yards the biggest limitation is the guy pulling the trigger to ensure it is a perfect shot. So you really need to sit down with yourself and consider if you can make a perfect shot reliably in field conditions at 400+ yards, many think they can, many can on the range in a controlled setting all day, but in true field conditions out hunting it's much harder. If you're confident in all situations, variable wind, your HR pounding, up and downhill shots, tired from a days hike (and days of hiking before it), in the cold and wind, with less than ideal shooting positions and a less than solid rest, you can 100% of the time hit a 8" circle at 400-500 yards then it should be fine.
The problem of asking this question is it always turns into a shit storm of guys saying you can kill elk with a 22LR arguing with guys saying you need a 470 nitro for elk and everything in between.
I'm sure with perfect shot placement you can kill an elk easily with a lot of calibers even smaller than the 260 at 400 yards. 1000 ft/lbs is common recommendation for deer, for elk I usually see 1500 ft/lbs listed as a good minimum. One has to remember a big bull elk can be 4x the weight of a big mule deer, hide, shoulder and rib bones are all significantly thicker as well. Using that stat the 260 rem appears to be under 1500 ft/lbs by around 250 yards. By comparison even a 180gr nosler partition in a .308 is around 1500 ft/lbs at 400 yards. Most don't consider the .308 ideal for elk either and it has significantly more hitting power than the .260 does.
That said, I have no doubt a 140gr round with 1000 ft/lbs at 400 yards will get the job done when placed exactly where it needs to be and I certainly would not call it unethical, but it wouldn't be in my top 10 caliber choices for elk hunting either and I wouldn't want to try and put one through both shoulders.
Most likely past 400 yards the biggest limitation is the guy pulling the trigger to ensure it is a perfect shot. So you really need to sit down with yourself and consider if you can make a perfect shot reliably in field conditions at 400+ yards, many think they can, many can on the range in a controlled setting all day, but in true field conditions out hunting it's much harder. If you're confident in all situations, variable wind, your HR pounding, up and downhill shots, tired from a days hike (and days of hiking before it), in the cold and wind, with less than ideal shooting positions and a less than solid rest, you can 100% of the time hit a 8" circle at 400-500 yards then it should be fine.
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
Look at it this way. The .260 is a new(ish) 6.5 based on the .308's case capacity.
Assume it performs slightly better than the .308 at distance, and roughly the same as the 6.5x55. However well they perform, and where their limits fall, are good yardsticks against which to compare the .260 as a hunting round.
I think the .260 can be judged in a positive light regarding its game taking potential. I would be using the 129gr SST at shorter distances and 140gr SST further out.
Greg
Look at it this way. The .260 is a new(ish) 6.5 based on the .308's case capacity.
Assume it performs slightly better than the .308 at distance, and roughly the same as the 6.5x55. However well they perform, and where their limits fall, are good yardsticks against which to compare the .260 as a hunting round.
I think the .260 can be judged in a positive light regarding its game taking potential. I would be using the 129gr SST at shorter distances and 140gr SST further out.
Greg
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
If you go by 1500 ft/lbs of energy for elk, then the 120 grain Barnes TSX BT is good to 250 yards and 130 grain Barnes TSX FB is good to 300 yards. I would think a 260 would do it, but I would be more comfortable with a larger caliber going faster. The last thing I want to do is track an elk through the forest, whether lethal hit and still going, or wounded. I shoot the Berger 140's (match VLD), and they have explosive fragmentation. I would not recommend these on large game due to lack of penetration. The hunting VLD's I have not played with them enough to know they performance on game.
If you go by 1500 ft/lbs of energy for elk, then the 120 grain Barnes TSX BT is good to 250 yards and 130 grain Barnes TSX FB is good to 300 yards. I would think a 260 would do it, but I would be more comfortable with a larger caliber going faster. The last thing I want to do is track an elk through the forest, whether lethal hit and still going, or wounded. I shoot the Berger 140's (match VLD), and they have explosive fragmentation. I would not recommend these on large game due to lack of penetration. The hunting VLD's I have not played with them enough to know they performance on game.
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
This is from a 140gr Berger VLD with a muzzle velocity of 2820fps. The deer was quartering towards me at 395 yards. The bullet entered in front of the leg and blew up both lungs pretty good. With the Bergers I would say 1000 ft/lbs or 1800 fps what ever came first.
This is from a 140gr Berger VLD with a muzzle velocity of 2820fps. The deer was quartering towards me at 395 yards. The bullet entered in front of the leg and blew up both lungs pretty good. With the Bergers I would say 1000 ft/lbs or 1800 fps what ever came first.
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
wow! i got a 260 project in the works at least i know that i can hunt good with it.
thnx guys keep it up
wow! i got a 260 project in the works at least i know that i can hunt good with it.
thnx guys keep it up
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BOLTRIPPER</div><div class="ubbcode-body">this was my triplet daughter's first deer at around 265yd with another hide members .260.....and she never shot before
pretty sure this was a 140 berger
</div></div>
You skin that thing with a tomahawk?
.....
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BOLTRIPPER</div><div class="ubbcode-body">this was my triplet daughter's first deer at around 265yd with another hide members .260.....and she never shot before
pretty sure this was a 140 berger
You skin that thing with a tomahawk?
.....Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
You can't use deer as an analog on how a bullet is going to perform on elk. It's the same as using a bullets performance on large coyotes to evaluate how it's going to perform on a deer.
A bull elk is 4-5x the weight of a large buck, probably 12" thicker in the chest from shoulder to shoulder, heavier bone, muscle, fat, much thicker hide. My bull elk's neck was bigger around than the second deer posted is at the widest point in the chest.
I'm not saying the bullet/caliber in question won't perform on elk, just that using how well it works on an animal that is 1/4 the size/weight is a poor idea to evaluate it for elk.
You can't use deer as an analog on how a bullet is going to perform on elk. It's the same as using a bullets performance on large coyotes to evaluate how it's going to perform on a deer.
A bull elk is 4-5x the weight of a large buck, probably 12" thicker in the chest from shoulder to shoulder, heavier bone, muscle, fat, much thicker hide. My bull elk's neck was bigger around than the second deer posted is at the widest point in the chest.
I'm not saying the bullet/caliber in question won't perform on elk, just that using how well it works on an animal that is 1/4 the size/weight is a poor idea to evaluate it for elk.
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big game?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SMACK</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BOLTRIPPER</div><div class="ubbcode-body">this was my triplet daughter's first deer at around 265yd with another hide members .260.....and she never shot before
pretty sure this was a 140 berger
</div></div>
You skin that thing with a tomahawk?..... </div></div>
I was thinking Freddy Krueger may have been involved!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SMACK</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BOLTRIPPER</div><div class="ubbcode-body">this was my triplet daughter's first deer at around 265yd with another hide members .260.....and she never shot before
pretty sure this was a 140 berger
You skin that thing with a tomahawk?
..... </div></div>I was thinking Freddy Krueger may have been involved!
Re: Limits of the .260 rem for long range, big gam
+1 on the tomahawk comment lol.
I have 2 rifle chambered in 260rem and have no moral issued with taking a 1000yrd shot on a whitetail with the 140g Breger. I would hold high shoulder.
+1 on the tomahawk comment lol.
I have 2 rifle chambered in 260rem and have no moral issued with taking a 1000yrd shot on a whitetail with the 140g Breger. I would hold high shoulder.
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