.260?

[sbhooper]

I have two, .260s and they are great rifles. I have killed gobs of deer and some antelope with them using Hornady 129 Interlocks at 3000 fps. If you prefer the heavy bullets, the Creed is easier to deal with, as it fits the magazine better. You can get a bit more velocity from the .260 and if you do not mind compressing the loads quite a bit, it will shoot the heavies well, also. You can easily make the .260 brass, by running .308 brass through the die. That was my initial motivation for building one. I was also impressed with how well my buddy's .260 did on deer.

I also have two Creedmoors and I like them better for the heavy bullets. I pretty much stick to the 130-class of bullets in the .260s. If you want a bit more speed, you can do the .260 AI, but in reality, it is not very much more.

I have killed deer and antelope at 400-430 yards with both cartridges and both light and heavy bullets.

 

[tzone]

Thinking about retiring my old .257 Roberts - .260 seems like a nice flat shooting caliber.
Any thots or suggestions?

It's a great round. Not anymore "flat shooting" than your .257 Roberts though. If you get one with a fast twist barrel you can shoot heavier bullets than the standard 140's. But if you're shooting antelope, deer, and even elk...there sure isn't anything wrong with 120-140gr bullets. And now there a bunch to choose from. If you're not a reloader, I'd skip it and get a .243, 6.5CM, or a .308Win.

 

[tzone]

I do handload.

Skip that question I aske then, sorry...

You're good to go then. I think you'd really like it.

 

[JBS]

I love my 260 it is pleasant to shoot and keeps a lot of energy downrange. I also have a 6.5 creed and enjoy the factory offerings. I have 100 or so Hunting Shack munitions (HSM) factory 130 grain Berger hunter loaded shells that I shot prior to having some 143 eldx handloaded. I think I have a few partial boxes of other factory offerings I shot to find a load. If you are interested in any of these let me know I will see if I can make you a deal.
JBS

 

[Mike Taylor]

The .260Rem is an excellent cartridge! It has a slight velocity edge over the 6.5CM, but the 6.5CM handles today’s long bullets a little better while staying at magazine length. It’s really close to a 257Rob in terms of case capacity to bore ratio, but 6.5 bullets come in much higher weights. To match the flatness of your .257Rob you could stick to 120’s, or up your game a little. In a short action I would lean toward a .260AI, otherwise I would lead more toward a 6.5x55, 6.5-284 or 6.5-06. If not interested in a long action or an AI, and the AI is a little more hassle and expense, then I’d lean 6.5CM if buying new or .260Rem if looking for a deal on a used rig.

Thanks for the thots. the 6.5x55 has always interested me from times way back watching a friend silhouette shooting.

 

[Mike Taylor]

Because “honey, it’s worn out. I need a new gun”?

Love it!!

 

[Mike Taylor]

I'm still scratching my head wondering why anyone would retire their 257 Roberts???

"Most useful round ever devised".

Long story short on the Roberts - My Dad had it custom made for him in 1950. Short barrel, beautiful walnut stock on a Mauser action. He gave it to me when I turned 13 and I’ve killed all of my game over the years with it except elk, although I did take one elk with it just cause I thot it would do the job.
Went on a tough hunt this fall with one of my boys and it was an emotional hunt and a great success. Just felt like I could hang the old work horse on the wall and get something new to pass on to my boy in addition to the Roberts. I have to agree that there’s not much better than a .257 Roberts!!

 

[Mike Taylor]

Skip that question I aske then, sorry...

You're good to go then. I think you'd really like it.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[std7mag]

Long story short on the Roberts - My Dad had it custom made for him in 1950. Short barrel, beautiful walnut stock on a Mauser action. He gave it to me when I turned 13 and I’ve killed all of my game over the years with it except elk, although I did take one elk with it just cause I thot it would do the job.
Went on a tough hunt this fall with one of my boys and it was an emotional hunt and a great success. Just felt like I could hang the old work horse on the wall and get something new to pass on to my boy in addition to the Roberts. I have to agree that there’s not much better than a .257 Roberts!!

Can't/won't argue with that!

 

[1eyedshooter]

I have the 6.5x284 Norma in a Savage 116 weather warrior, a great combo sub-moa with what ever you feed it !!!!

 

[N2TRKYS]

Just get a 7-08.

 

[Dougfirtree]

Originally I was reaming out a barrel chambered as a Creedmoor. The barrel had other issues so we scrapped it. I had already bought everything so I am going to stay with a AI.

In my creedmoor I was running a 140 Accubond at 2950 with Rl26. By going 260 AI I can mimic that without such a compressed load.

That seems really fast. Was your barrel like 4 feet long?! Or, were you just way the heck over max pressure?

 

[Addicting]

That seems really fast. Was your barrel like 4 feet long?! Or, were you just way the heck over max pressure?

RL26 is made up of fairy wings and unicorn hooves. 48g is slight compressed and sends heavy bullets fast. I didn’t have any pressure marks. I got swipe marks at 49g. It was a 24” tube, my new 260ai will have a 26” and I’m itching to try RL26 in it.

 

[Dougfirtree]

RL26 is made up of fairy wings and unicorn hooves. 48g is slight compressed and sends heavy bullets fast. I didn’t have any pressure marks. I got swipe marks at 49g. It was a 24” tube, my new 260ai will have a 26” and I’m itching to try RL26 in it.

Wow. I had no idea there was a powder that could do that!

 

[choc dogs]

Ok, smart ass answers aside, I've inherited my late Father's 260, or rather when he built it it was a 6.5x308, and been playing with it. I've got a crapton of 120's on the bench so that's what it's gonna eat, until they're gone. Velocities don't seem too much different from the 117's out of the 257 roberts, so it seems like a wash to me. I've decided the 140's seem to require deep seating to fit in the magazine, so maybe 130's will be the final solution, until I figure out what the solution is, I'll keep on tinkering.

 

[Addicting]

Wow. I had no idea there was a powder that could do that!

Don’t waste your money on trying 130s or below with RL26 in the Creedmoor, you run out of case capacity. 140s and above shine, it’s quite amazing.

 

[tikkaman]

My Tikka 260 shoots 140 grain Federal BTSP in one hole . Really like this round for deer .

 

[mdhunter]

I have a Remington.260 that was made fifteen or more years ago when the round first came out. About five years ago I switched to a 6.5 x .284 and I love that rifle. What a tack driver.

 

[sbhooper]

The last few days, I have been playing with the Sta Bal 6.5 powder in my rifles. I got pretty good results with the 129 Interlock in my .260, but had powder space left. I think that the Sta Bal might be the ticket for heavy bullets in the .260, as you don't even have to crunch the load much. I am not going to try it with heavies, as I have Creeds for the heavies and they love that powder.

 

[Big Ed]

both of my 260 rems,tikka superlite stainless and a ruger predator,like the 120 ballistic tip..................the whitetail deer not so much. you could load for the 260 rem and never load a 140 grain and have a heckofa deer rifle imho. stay with nosler 120 bt,130 ab and 125 partition or even the good ole 129 interlock and you will have all you will ever need for the deer woods. i wanted to go with the 260 rem as i like my cartridges not so mainstream where maybe i'm the only guy in camp that has said chambering. guess thats why i like the 260 rem,6.5x55 se and the 257 bee among other more popular favs as the 7mm-08 rem still busting 120 bt's.
good luck,
Big Ed