260 Remington Cartridge

ernierod · #1 02-20-2010, 04:59 PM

Am in process of gathering info for my 1st Long Range rifle. Will be doing some bench rest shooting/development and paper punching up to and occasionally 1,000 yards. Was going towards the 308 Winchester but was advised to consider the 260 Remington also. Could use some good advice/opinions quickly.Tnx

loaders_loft · #2 02-20-2010, 06:09 PM

I chose 260rem for a full custom target rifle. Everything at the smith now, in fact. I'll be shooting the tactical style matches also. Its a very good choice. Lots of great match bullets to choose from, with BC as high or higher than you'll find for a .308... I'll be using the 139 scenar.

loaders_loft · #3 02-20-2010, 06:14 PM

by the way, for target shooting, the 260 rem outperforms the 308 easily, and less recoil (lighter bullets). I chose a 26" #10MTU 1:8 SS from Brux, a surgeon rsr action and badger bottom metal, jewel trigger, mcmillan A3-5 adjustable, ken farrel rings and nightforce 5.5-22x56 npr1. Had to sell my ATV to buy the components, but I found all the best I could get. If you have any questions about these components or whatever else, fire away...

Michael Eichele · #4 02-20-2010, 06:53 PM

The difference between the 260 and the 308 is very little as far as 1K wind is concerned. The 260 will drift 5" less than the 308 in a 10 MPH wind at 1K using 142 SMK's versus the 190 VLD running at top end velocities. The 260 will recoil alot less than the 308. The 308 barrel will last much longer. Using the 208 versus the 140 VLD and the difference is less than 3" of difference. Does the 260 beat the 308? Or does the 308 beat the 260? It depends on what qualities are important to you.

The bottom line is that you cannot dramatically beat the 308 by sticking a smaller bullet in the same case.

Now if you want to have a very happy medium between recoil and barrel life and have the least drift, then the 7mm08 running 162 AMAX's or 168 VLD's could be a good way to go. The 162 AMAX will drift 10" less at 1K than the 308's 190 VLD top end for top end. The 208 versus the 162 is about 5" of difference.

Using 140 class (260), 160 class (7mm), and 190 class (308) bullets at up to 600 yards, there is not enough difference ballisticaly (except for energy) between the 3 to even remotely matter.

The link below is a good read.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/arti...nchester-1.php

loaders_loft · #5 02-20-2010, 07:44 PM

most guys I've seen are shooting 175 or 155 smk's in their 308's. Maybe the ones shooting 190 vld's aren't talking about it, who knows...

trebark · #6 02-20-2010, 09:20 PM

260 shoots faster and flatter than the 308 and generally with higher BC bullets. My current custom build in the works is a 260.

Bart B · #7 02-21-2010, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loaders_loft

most guys I've seen are shooting 175 or 155 smk's in their 308's. Maybe the ones shooting 190 vld's aren't talking about it, who knows...

Sierra's 190 HPMK was a favorite for 1000 yard matches in the .308 Win. It won a lot of matches at 600 through 1000 yards and set some records along the way. These bullets would leave about 2550 to 2600 fps from 26 inch barrels.

But after Sierra came out with their 155-gr. Palma bullet, shot it in 30 inch barrels faster than 3000 fps, it out performed Sierra's 190. Bucked the wind for all practical purposes just as good as the 190. And Sierra's new 155-gr. Palma bullet's got a higher BC than their original one.

I wouldn't get impressed by the "VLD" claim for some bullets. A test was made some years ago shooting Sierra 190 HPMK's and Berger 185 VLD's out of the same barrel through chronographs at the firing line and 1000 yards down range. When both bullets left at the same muzzel velocity, the Sierra's went through the 1000-yard chrono over 50 fps faster than the Bergers. So the Berger's were really "ND" or normal drag bullets; probably about the same as Sierra 180 HPMK's.