The New .260 AR

[WildRose]

Well here it is. About two years ago I made up my mind I was going to get a .260 and settle on an AR Pattern Rifle.

Both the upper and Lower are DPMS, and both are custom. I put the lower together myself one piece at a time and just through dumb luck found a very nice custom upper that was almost exactly what I wanted, but at about half the price of the one I was going to have built.

It has a full bull 24" Krieger with an 8 twist and a JP trigger unit. IOR Valdada tactical 4-14x50mm on top and Leupold Mark IV rings.

I'm still going to do some tweaking and tuning on it before I'm done but basically it's the rifle I've wanted for a very long time.

Had a few issues with it at first but a little lapping and junking the factory DPMS magazines I'd bought and replacing them with Magpul Magazines solved them.

Tried several kinds of ammo in it but for now have settled on the Federal Fusion 120gr.

It had been doing a great job for me out to 800yds, but I switched scopes and had to zero this one. Thought I'd actually put it on paper for a change and see how it looked.

I set this target up at 250yds, backed the scope off 3.5MOA and shot a full magazine 20rds in about 2 minutes. Seems to hold up pretty well even when it gets hot.

Apparently it's a keeper... .

Next we'll try some 125gr Swift Scirocco's and 123gr Lapua Senars. If it gets any better I'll be delerious.

It also seems to do the job pretty well on Coyotes as shortly after I finished target shooting the opportunity presented itself. Always nice when a new rifle gets to draw first blood.

Hope ya'll like the fancy custom shooting bench... HA! gun)

 

[the shotty]

That is an awesome set up, Now go get some blood on it!

 

[captacademy]

Wow, pretty impressive for factory ammo, it's a shooter!

 

[Korhil78]

Nice rifle! Just about the same setup as my 6.5 Grendel except I have a 20" barrel. Looks like it shoots great.

 

[Sendero_Man]

nice setup and shooting !

what do you mean you backed the scope off 3.5 MOA ? Was that high after mounting new scope ?

 

[Sully2]

I FINALLY got my own 260 outside to see daylight.......this past Tuesday. Trued up M700; Brux barrel; EGQ 15 MOS rail and a 6.5-20 Zeiss on it.

I had some minor difficulty getting it zero'd in the beginning....that rail was throwing me??? Once I finally did I started at 50 yds and did a 3 shot cloverleaf....sort of an exaggerated 1 hole shot ( But it was only 50 yards too). At the 100 yd mark I had 3 shot that had enough paper between the holes to state it was 1 large hole!!

For an old 1 eyed fat man.......it wasnt too bad but I was down to 2 rounds left so I called it "good enough " at that point.

As soon as the weather allows Ive got a haevy barreled .243 to run thru the wringer too...without a rail on it....but a 4-14 Zeiss on it.

BTW...I was shooting 38.0 gr of Varget behind a 120 gr Hornady SPBT and it sure seemed to do its part for me???

 

[WildRose]

nice setup and shooting !

what do you mean you backed the scope off 3.5 MOA ? Was that high after mounting new scope ?

I have my zero set for 350 so my "come up" is -3.5MOA at 250yds.

Thanks I'm having fun with it.

 

[WildRose]

That is an awesome set up, Now go get some blood on it!

Thanks. I already did. A coyote comitted suicide about an hour after I got done with the paper targets.

 

[WildRose]

Nice rifle! Just about the same setup as my 6.5 Grendel except I have a 20" barrel. Looks like it shoots great.

Well I may very well go ahead next year and do a grendel build.

I built this one specifically as an LR rig, but since my buddy ran off with my 6.8 Mini 14 I'm now short one handy "truck gun" to ride along next to my seat.

The overall quality and accuracy of the AR platform has come so far in the last twenty years it's hard to even imagine.

Carl at Accuracy Systems Inc also makes them in .204 and .220swift so I may well go that way instead. The primary use of my every day carry gun is for quick action on predators and hogs and the mini 14 worked great for that, but what the hell everyone needs at least 2 "Big Black Rifles" don't we?

 

[the shotty]

Very nice! I wish I had the abundance of game you guys do down there!

 

[Korhil78]

Can't argue about the .204 or the 220 swift as they are both great cartridges. I have a Sendero VSSF II in 220 swift and it flat out shoots. I have killed a ton of coyotes with it. I love that gun but I think that the 6.5 Grendel AR that I have is a more efficient killer at range because of the wind bucking abilities of that high BC 6.5mm bullet. Here in Southern New Mexico as you well know, the wind can get pretty crazy out of the blue. I shot a coyote in the front of the chest with it the other day and all I could hear when I picked the coyote up by its hind legs was that sloshing sound from everything being tore up inside. Those 100 gr ballistic tips do a number on coyotes for sure. The other good thing about the grendel is that a pound of powder lasts a long time when you are only dumping 29.5 grains or so into each case!

 

[Sully2]

Can't argue about the .204 or the 220 swift as they are both great cartridges. I have a Sendero VSSF II in 220 swift and it flat out shoots. I have killed a ton of coyotes with it. I love that gun but I think that the 6.5 Grendel AR that I have is a more efficient killer at range because of the wind bucking abilities of that high BC 6.5mm bullet. Here in Southern New Mexico as you well know, the wind can get pretty crazy out of the blue. I shot a coyote in the front of the chest with it the other day and all I could hear when I picked the coyote up by its hind legs was that sloshing sound from everything being tore up inside. Those 100 gr ballistic tips do a number on coyotes for sure. The other good thing about the grendel is that a pound of powder lasts a long time when you are only dumping 29.5 grains or so into each case!

Without a doubt. I wouldnt trade my VLS 22-250 for anything...but when a "7 point".."milk jug" rears its head up...WAAAAYYYYYY out there....the 6mm / 6.5mm comes out of the case and gets used

 

[WildRose]

Yep I agree. For pure varmint rifle the 220 Swift or 22-250 are just flat hard to beat. I've now got a .220Swift in a Remington VS SF that's terrific.


In the wind however or for a round you can also take hogs and deer with the .260 or 6.5's win every time.

I really fretted for a long time trying to decide between the Grendel and the 6.8spc and went with the 6.8 mainly because of the hogs. It is however just too slow for coyotes and bobcats that have to be shot on the run.

I definitely see the 6.5 Grendel as most likely being my next project. It doesn't quite get to the velocities of the .260, but for long range work it beats it hands down and does still have the velocity needed to reach out and touch the runners.

 

[Tnwhip]

Well I may very well go ahead next year and do a grendel build.

I built this one specifically as an LR rig, but since my buddy ran off wity my 8.9 Mini 14 I'm now short one handy "truck gun" to ride along next to my seat.

The overall quality and accuracy of the AR platform has come so far in the last twenty years it's hard to even imagine.

Carl at Accuracy Systems Inc also makes them in .204 and .220swift so I may well go that way instead. The primary use of my every day carry gun is for quick action on predators and hogs and the mini 14 worked great for that, but what the hell everyone needs at least 2 "Big Black Rifles" don't we?

8.9 Mini ? You mean 6.8 ?