.260 Rem Hunting Bullet Recommendation

Legionnaire

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Central TX
I am going to start working up a hunting load for my .260 Rem Cooper 54 Excalibur with a 22-inch 1:8 twist barrel. Looking for a quality hunting bullet for pronghorn, whitetail, mule deer class game out to 400 yards. I'd like better than MOA accuracy. What has worked for you?
 
out to 400? check out the offerings from Hammer bullets. I'm running the sledgehammer in my 300wm this year. While the others kill ok, they tend to throw shrapnel into the critter, may compromise some meat if you're worried about that. They're all accurate, and they'll all kill, just a preference choice really.
 
The 124 Hammer shoots well in my .260. I'll probably change to the 130, or 139 Sledgehammer when this box is gone. 400 yards would be a stretch for how we typically hunt here, on balance we're way more likely to be under 200.

If you'll go to the Hog Hunting section, there are several video's by Zen Archery showing performance of the Hammer's.
 
They are custom made lathe turned copper bullets. Steve has done extensive research on game and media to find the best alloy for hunting bullets. I've had so-so results with barnes because they can be too hard at lower speeds or clog up and not open. I went with the sledge hammer bullet to ensure the best possible outcome at 95% of my hunting ranges. With the speed I run them, it's basically point and shoot to around 400, and I know they'll perform.
 
The 130 gr Berger hunting has worked great on deer size game for me. I can push them to 2980 fps out of my 6.5x47. I'd like to try some hammers but they're not available in Canada.
 
Broz tested the Berger 155s over on longrangeonly, and he was getting something like 2750 out of a 24" barrel with a 6.5CM (MAX load). His COAL was pretty long, so the OP's 22" Cooper might be more in the 2700 range. I think that leaves you plenty of velocity for reliable expansion at 400 yards.

That being said, I agree with trebark - inside 400 yards, impact velocity will be optimized by pushing a midweight bullet (120-130 grains) as fast as possible. Personally I would use the 123 ELD or the 130 Scirocco for that range.
 
I've used the 140NAB, 120NBT, 125NPT, 130SS, 129HIB and the 120TSX on VA whitetails. Of those the 120 TSX has been the best including 8 or 9 dropped where they stood only one that ran. Just hit em in the chest and see what happens.

The furthest distance was about 180 yards. I would imagine the Berger EH, CH or VLDH would hammer a whitetail but as stated would come into their own beyond your range.

Good luck and shoot straight
 
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