Remington 260...The new Sniper rifle?

[Buffalobob]

Where I live (sea level) you have to turn cartwheels to get any of the 308win based cartridges to still be supersonic at 1k. And the bullets it takes to stretch them out that far are not hunting bullets.

In F-T/R you are only allowed to shoot either 223 or 308. The elevation at Quantico Marine Base is about 50' MSL.

Here is a couple of videos of my kids shooting a 308 at 800, 900 and 1000 yds without turning cartwheels. Bullet being used is the old reliable 175 SMK.


YouTube - Microcystis's Channel


YouTube - Microcystis's Channel


Here are a few pictures of animals killed with the same rifle and the same 175 SMK

I will admit that I have never shot the 308 at 1000 yards in California so there maybe something in the air or drinking water that causes instability that we do not experience here on the east coast.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Hey everyone,
I have been doing some research on the Remington 260 and from what I have seen it is a pretty impressive round.
Here is a article I read on it-
The Case for .260 Remington: A Better Cartridge For Practical Long-Range Shooting
It seams like this would be a great overall round to use for Competition/Hunting/recreational shooting.
So what is the over all opinion on this round? I am seriously considering converting my Rem 700 243 to this caliber. Please give me all the info/opinions you have on this caliber so I can make an educated decision.
Thanks in advance for all your help,
Porter lightbulb

I kinda think of it this way: if a .260 or a .243 were really fantastic(?), then just think how much better the round would be off a 57mm Mauser case instead! In OTW a 6mm Remington or a 6.5x57 with a better designed case. Or even a well built 6.5x55 would be better
gary

 

[Trickymissfit]

Ive got nothing against the .260rem, but some here need to stop calling this Civic a Corvette. Its a good round, so is the .308win, hell throw the 7mm08 into this group for kicks and see what can of worms that opens. The fact of the matter is, the case is the limiting factor here, regardless of what bullet it is spitting out. IMHO there isnt any cartridge i would use to launch a 6.5mm bullet at an elk at 700yrds+. I wouldnt be comfortable with anything sub .284. Sure i can knock a man down with a golf ball if i throw it fast enough, but id sure as **** rather throw a bowling ball at him.

everything I've read says go out and buy a 300 Weatherby mag, and be done with all the though process. Even a .338-06 will put you out front
gary

 

[pressman]

i have a MAK custom built 260 and i use and my gun loves the 140 vld hunting bullets. and the bc is .612. i prefer it over the 308 for this reason only. any bullet shot out of the 308 will not out compete the 140 vld 260 bullets in wind drift in my opinion i want to shoot the bullet that helps me make more hits in the kills zone. even if it is just 3" better sometimes a well place shot is a lot better then a gut shot. And the 140 vld bullet put down my mule deer last year at 550 yards with one shot and you would not believe the damage.. bullet choice is way more important
so most errors in shooting is reading the wind correctly. everything else can be figured out fairly easy. so in n caliber. but that is just my opinion.

 

[Camshaft]

In F-T/R you are only allowed to shoot either 223 or 308. The elevation at Quantico Marine Base is about 50' MSL.

Here is a couple of videos of my kids shooting a 308 at 800, 900 and 1000 yds without turning cartwheels. Bullet being used is the old reliable 175 SMK.


YouTube - Microcystis's Channel


YouTube - Microcystis's Channel


Here are a few pictures of animals killed with the same rifle and the same 175 SMK

I will admit that I have never shot the 308 at 1000 yards in California so there maybe something in the air or drinking water that causes instability that we do not experience here on the east coast.

Sorry I should clarify first off that my experience is pretty limited to short factory barrels that just don't hardly give the velocities needed to reach out. It can be done sure. But just because the bullet gets to the target doesn't mean its going to have the energy to do the job, or the speed to expand.

 

[rscott5028]

[...]my gun loves the 140 vld hunting bullets. and the bc is .612. i prefer it over the 308 for this reason only. any bullet shot out of the 308 will not out compete the 140 vld 260 bullets in wind drift[...]

Not even the .308 240gr SMK with a BC of .711?

 

[pressman]

nope, how fast can you push that .7 200+ grain bullet? 2500 maybe to 2600 at best. run the numbers my 140 vld at 2750 will buck the wind better

 

[rscott5028]

nope, how fast can you push that .7 200+ grain bullet? 2500 maybe to 2600 at best. run the numbers my 140 vld at 2750 will buck the wind better

I don't have any 308 data. So, I ran it through Nightforce with the lower number that you gave. ...and, I don't even know if 2500 fps is attainable from a 308 with the 240 SMK.

Wind @ 10mph from 3 o'clock

140 vld @ 2750
1k: windage 70", vel 1488, energy 688
2k: windage 349", vel 932, energy 270

240 smk @ 2500
1k: windage 67", vel 1457, energy 1131
2k: windage 319", vel 961, energy 492

looks pretty even on paper...

Don't get me wrong. I think 260 Rem is great. But, it's just one of many options.

 

[Trickymissfit]

nope, how fast can you push that .7 200+ grain bullet? 2500 maybe to 2600 at best. run the numbers my 140 vld at 2750 will buck the wind better

200 grain bullet in a .308 is maxed out at slightly over 2300fps, but in a 30-06 it will go out to about 2600fps. Better yet would be a .308 Norma mag at 3000fps, or a .300 WSM at nearly the same velocity
gary

 

[Stgraves260]

Hay Boss Hoss. I agree with you. Field test is the best thing to do. I shoot 5" balloons at 600yrds with my AR 223. Rain or shin I dont care. I love to shoot long range. Espscialy in bad weather. I all so shoot balloons at 1k with my 260 rem 130grn vld Berger and my 7mm rem sendero 168grn vld Berger. The balloons are about 5 - 6" big around. I believe in lots and lots of practice. I place these balloons all over my friends property In west Texas. Im trying to help him out too. When I poped a coyote at 700yrds with my 260 I thought he was going to faint. He asked me to please help him shoot like that. When I got my 260 I bought it for my Texas hunts. Deer are not that big up here 100lbs - 150 lbs if your lucky. I take my 7mm mag sendero out of state and 260 for back up. My 260 is a 1000 + yrd deer rifle but only a 800yrd elk rifle. I know what it can do. But I would use my 7mm on elk first. The 7mm would be more forgiving at longer range. My 260 has taken deer at over 800yrds in Texas. Even at that range I get good kills. And no they dont walk 500yrds away either. They drop within 50yrds or less. Ive only had 1 that went around 125yrds. I know I can shoot cause I practice on coyotes and hogs all the time. Deer are taller and much easyer to hit at those ranges. Hope everyone has a great day!!!! Gone shootin!!!

 

[Bart B]

It seams like this would be a great overall round to use for Competition/Hunting/recreational shooting. So what is the over all opinion on this round?

When Sierra Bullets finally was able to get jacket material good enough to make long, heavy 6.5mm match bullets, a few National Rifle Champions started using this round's parent case, the 6.5x.308. It was an instant success. It wasn't long before records previously held by the .308 Win. were soon trounced by this very accurate cartridge. It still excells in competition and is only bested by a couple of the 6mm cartridges in cases a bit smaller.

Why? These cartridges recoil less when fired. Barrels move less off from where aimed when the shot was fired and the recoil that moves the barrel axis as the bullet goes down the barrel. This advantage only counts when punching holes in paper counts.

But the .308 Win. shooting 240 or 250 bullets out at 2150 fps may work better when the wind's blowing. While 200's can leave a .308 barrel at 2450 fps at normal max pressures, they don't buck the wind better than the 240 or 250 grain slugs. Note that a given bullet from a .30-06 only gets about 100 fps more speed out the barrel than the .308 with equal peak pressures and bore/groove dimensioins. Differences greater than this indicates something else ain't the same between the barrels.

So much for accuracy on paper. Suitability on game will no doubt be a different issue.

 

[406pat]

Whidden Shares Championship Secrets within AccurateShooter.com

Nothing wrong at all with the .243 that you've got for 1000 yards punching paper, assuming the barrel is the right twist to drive the heavy bullets. There's many a deer and a few elk that met their end thanks to the old 6 mm too.

I would say the problem with finding one round to do it all is that it does it all mediocre.

Is your priority hunting or targets? If the priority is hunting, I'd go with the one that makes the bigger hole and make it work at range. If the priority is targets, I'd go with the one with more forgiving ballistics and limit my shots on game.

Just my .02

 

[Stgraves260]

Bart B good morning. 2450fps sound about right. From a 26" - 27" barrel. Nothing wrong with that. I do believe the 308 will outperform the 260 at close range. It takes 2000fps for a 210grn vld to mushroom. It does that at 400yrds with 1800ft-lbs of energy. The 260 130grn vld only has 1600ft-lbs but at 2400fps. The 260 only needs 1600fps for the bullet to mushroom. It still has that at 1000yrds along with 700ft-lbs of energy. A gentelman on here wanted to know what gun to buy out of a 308 or a 260 for deer at long range. I think he said 800yrds or so. He wanted to shoot coyotes with it too I think. The 260 can go to the 140grn vld's if he wants I just like the 130grn. It only take 600ft-lbs to be considered a deer rifle. From what ive read anyway. Well have a good day. Gone shootin.

 

[rscott5028]

It takes 2000fps for a 210grn vld to mushroom.
[...]
The 260 only needs 1600fps for the bullet to mushroom.
[...]
It only take 600ft-lbs to be considered a deer rifle.

Where are these "facts" coming from?