What bullet for a .260 Remington?

Jrb572

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  • Dec 7, 2008
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    I am new to the .260 Remington. I just picked up an 1/8 26" barrel from Dave Tooley for my AXMC and have purchased some 260 Lapua brass. I see prime is using a 130 otm Berger and on here people using 140s. What would be a good bullet to select? I plan on using it for tactical competitions out to 1250 yards. I do reload. So that's not a problem.
     
    Honestly in these days you will be hard pressed to make a bad decision without a conscious effort to do so. Any high quality bullet will do great. I would say if you have a bunch of shots above 1k then the 140 class may have the edge but if the majority are closer than the 130 would fit the bill better.

    RDF, ELD, OTM, MK you have pick of the litter. Maybe call Tooley up and see if he optimized your chamber for one or another. If not go with what you can get cheaper as that allows you to get more of them.
     
    Pick your poison but the 140 class will do a better job in the wind and there's always the wind....I shoot the Berger 140 hybrids, they cut the wind amazingly well.
     
    Concur on the 140 class.
    In my case, I tried all the usual suspects (Sierra, Hornady, Berger) with pretty dismal results. In desperation, I tried Lapua 139-gr Scenars and chopped my groups from 1+ MOA to .5 MOA. Expensive, but they work for me.

    As an aside, I also tried the 123-gr Scenars with horrible results. Back to the 140-gr class.

    Richard
     
    Sound advice here already. I utilise Berger 130gn OTMs out of a 20" CTR to a 1000m (1093yds) but I am not pushing them too fast (2605fts)
     
    You might want to look at the new Nosler RDF 140gn pills
    Im considering switching to them from the 142 gn Match King, which is a great bullet, based on reports from some fellow shooters.
     
    Prime 260 ammo uses the 130 Norma Golden Target bullet (Norma's Diamond Line is same bullet, but Moly coated). I shoot that bullet in my custom 260 Rem and it is an excellent bullet. I tried several in the 140 class, but my rifle has a short(er) throat, so settled on the 130. Have found the loads are very similar to the 130 Berger VLD, but not exact (usually w/in a couple tenths of a grain). The Berger 130s also shot extremely well for me, but the Normas are significantly less expensive, and slightly higher BC. I have not tried them on game, but all reports are the Normas do not perform well. Will probably look to the AR Hybrid for a hunting load. Hope this helps.
     
    My 260 w a 1/8 26" barrel got better results w 139 gn scenars vs 140 Berger hybrids. The 123gn scenars also shot extremely tight groups bit I think the heavier 139s will be a big advantage over 1000 yards.
     
    I like the Berger 140 hybrids, I've used them exclusively in my Tikka ctr 260. I'm waiting on some Nosler 140 rdf and Hornady140 eldm to try out. If I can get the same or better results with these other bullets I'll more than likely switch as they are a bit cheaper.
     
    I like the Berger 140 hybrids, I've used them exclusively in my Tikka ctr 260. I'm waiting on some Nosler 140 rdf and Hornady140 eldm to try out. If I can get the same or better results with these other bullets I'll more than likely switch as they are a bit cheaper.
    They are much cheaper I want to try the hornady

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

     
    OzTRG,

    What's your load data? I'm shooting the 139 Scenars as well but I'm getting 2,754 out of my stainless CTR. Loading 43.9gr. of H4350. Been as high as 44.5 grains but I got better SD's and spread at the 43.9. Don't want to hijack the thraed. you can PM me.
     
    136g Lapua Scenar Ls over 41.8g H4350 for 2800 fps and single digit SD, in a 26" Rock Creek barrel. I could push them faster, but this is a stable node and I will always choose consistency and a medium speed wide node over barrel burning speed and brass bending pressure.
     
    Rifle: Armalite AR-10, Krieger 8-twist 26" barrel, shot suppressed (TBAC)

    Cartridges loaded to magazine length.

    139 Scenar, 42.0 gr H4350, Federal GM Match, ES=48, SD=18, Mean=2781 for 5 shots.

    Powder charges from an RCBS Charge Master 1500.

    I may play with the components a bit to see if I can reduce the extreme spread and standard deviation, although they aren't horrible. Also will test with the 136-gr Scenar-L I have.

    Richard
     
    I can honestly say that I have tried all but the Bergers in my KMW 260, but NOTHING was more accurate than the 139 Scenar.. It doesn't have the highest BC in its class, but who cares.. It absolutely shoots tiny.. In unsuccessful efforts to find H4350, I use 38.5 Varget for an average velocity of 2740 (10 shots), with an SD of 4.4

    My barrel is 1-8 Krieger @ 24"
     
    The best four choices out there in in a target bullet in no particular order are:
    1. 140 hybrid (Berger)
    2. 140 ELD (Hornady)
    3. 140 RDF (Nosler)
    4. 139 Scenar (Lapua)

    The lapua is probably the easiest to get to shoot well but has the lowest BC. If your gun likes any of the others, they'll out shoot the Scenar past 1k.
     
    I can honestly say that I have tried all but the Bergers in my KMW 260, but NOTHING was more accurate than the 139 Scenar.. It doesn't have the highest BC in its class, but who cares.. It absolutely shoots tiny.. In unsuccessful efforts to find H4350, I use 38.5 Varget for an average velocity of 2740 (10 shots), with an SD of 4.4

    My barrel is 1-8 Krieger @ 24"

    Interesting, I have a 1-8 Krieger 5R @24 and did a quick test load of 42grs of H4350 with the Lapua 139 and a Berger 140 (loaded to 2.800). Each shot .5MOA with the Lapua @ 2846 (SD 8) and the Barnes at 2815 with a SD of 9. I'm going to tweak each to see what I might be able to improve.

    Lapua on top and the Barnes below.

    [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/img.photobucket.com\/albums\/v501\/defender3va\/M5%20Lapua%20139%20%20Barnes%20140%2042gr%20H4350_zpsb7fxy8km.jpg"}[/IMG2]
     
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