.260 Rem Hunting Bullet Recommendation

I've had great luck with the 143 ELDX out of my Tikka T3 260 Rem. With 45.5 gr
of RL22 muzzle velocity is 2740. At 400 yds it is still moving 2263 fps and 1629
Ft-lbs. At 300 yrds off the bench, it is .6 MOA (repeatable) when I do my part.

MarkA said:

What powder and charge weight range would it take to get the 110 Hammer to near 3200?? I am 22" 8 twist.....

Click to expand...

Hodgden data shows benchmark giving the best vel. I would start at 41g and max at 43g. H4350 should get close I'd you can get enough of it in. Start at 47g and max 50g.

Steve

RockyMtnMT said:

Hodgden data shows benchmark giving the best vel. I would start at 41g and max at 43g. H4350 should get close I'd you can get enough of it in. Start at 47g and max 50g.

Steve

Click to expand...

Have you had anyll luck with rl-17? For the 110 hammer?

westcoasthunter said:

Have you had anyll luck with rl-17? For the 110 hammer?

Click to expand...

I think that the rl-17 and 16 would also be good bets. May also have the issue of not enough case capacity. Varget has always been a great powder for us with the Creed. We do not have a 260 and have not had one for a cust. So no personal data.

Steve

RockyMtnMT said:

I think that the rl-17 and 16 would also be good bets. May also have the issue of not enough case capacity. Varget has always been a great powder for us with the Creed. We do not have a 260 and have not had one for a cust. So no personal data.

Steve

Click to expand...

Would rl-26 be good? I have a buddy with a 6.5 creed American predator he loves the rl26 . But also shooting the 143 eldx's so not sure if it would be good for a light bullet

westcoasthunter said:

Would rl-26 be good? I have a buddy with a 6.5 creed American predator he loves the rl26 . But also shooting the 143 eldx's so not sure if it would be good for a light bullet

Click to expand...

You can try it, but my first thought is that it would be too slow for a light 110 grain bullet. I have used varget in my .260 AI for fireforming loads and 85-100 grain bullets, and while they were mid range to lightish .260 loads, I got pretty steller velocity considering, and stupid good accuracy and e.s. for fireforming loads.

Like this 12 shot fireforming group had an e.s. of 9 fps, and I pulled a couple trying to shoot fast. Varget is the powder I would try if I was going with one of Steve's bullets in a .260

Legionnaire said:

If there is a hunting bullet that works as well beyond 400 as it does inside 400, I'm all ears.

Click to expand...

143 ELD-x I've shot deer at 50yds and 577yds bullet did great on both. The Hammers, and heavier bergers would no doubt work too.

I have to agree. The quality of bullets today is much better than it was even in recent past. Bullets as a whole are catching up to the higher launch vel that are available today and I think much more attention to terminal performance is being paid.

Steve

142 Nosler ABLR and RL26 has worked very well in my rifle.

Gonna be hard to beat the 110 Hammer. 22" Savage bone stock in youth stock. Should have added on photo Fed 215 Primer

Legionnaire said:

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?

Click to expand...

I built myself a 260 AI with a 1 in 8 twist so I could shoot everything from a 120 to a 147 grain bullet, and with my hunting range requirements I will try to use 130 grain bullets for best velocity and trajectory, If I decide to shoot over 5 or 600 yards I will go with the heavies. The 120 class of bullets perform well but the 130's are a compromise and with the AI will shoot at 120 grain velocities without excessive pressures.

For the distance you intend to shoot, i would recommend the 120's to 130's with the 260 case capacity for best all round performance.

J E CUSTOM

trebark said:

Given that your maximum range is 400 yards, velocity will be your friend. Look at the 120ish grain bullets and push them fast. Their speed will eclipse the superior BC of the bigger bullets in both drop and wind drift. Now, extend your range considerably and you'll want to consider the heavier bullets.

Click to expand...

I've been using the 123 SST @2988fps and it works great on deer sized game.

I'm getting under 0.5 MOA with my 260 shooting 143 eld-x at light loads for my son. 2605 FPS. 43.0 grains H4831SC, Rem 9.5 primers, Lapua brass, 24 inch 8.5 twist Chanlynn barrel. It shoots higher velocities well also and it likes the 140 HVLDs from Berger with H4350 even better but I stuck with the Hornady bullets for various reasons.

I'm paying attention to this thread as my wife would like me to switch to copper bullets for a variety of reasons (bird / scavenger health; kid's health,...). She supports my shooting and hunting and enjoys the meat for the family so who am I to complain about another load development project?

Any all-copper bullet recommendations for my 8.5 twist rate? When my son can hunt with it he'll be kept to 300 yard shots, though I'd like options to 500 yards with this rifle so long as velocity for expansion and energy are adequate for clean kills (and he'll be allowed to stretch distance as his skills and confidence grows). This is our antelope rifle for now but when he's old enough I'd like the load to work well for elk at shorter distances also if needed for him (I'd be using 300WM for elk when not muzzleloader hunting).

I would try hammer bullets. From what I've heard and seen they are by far the best all copper bullets around. There's a thread on this forum called " hammer bullets shoot" I would recommend reading it.