OT-Another caliber obsession in my head: .260 Rem

[awp101]

Went to a funshow for the first time in almost 6 months today. Ran across a Remington Model Seven in .260 Rem. As I understand it, the .260 Rem is essentially the short action version of the 6.5x55 and it's equivalent until you start using over 140g bullets. After that the Swede has the advantage.

I didn't have the sellers $479 asking price (and wouldn't have paid that anyway. At least probably wouldn't have. Maybe.) for the little Remington but it did get the interest flowing again for the .260.

Anyone here use/have experience with the .260 Rem? I might hit Academy and see if they have any of those Stevens 200 in a short action. An easy barrel swap and bolt head replacement would get me on the road for probably less than they wanted for that Model Seven.

[BenT]

It interests me but not sure what I need it for. Depending on the package it would be a toss up between the 260 and the 6.5 swede. For instance if it is in a Tikka then I would go with the 6.5 swede , Remington then the 260. Can't go wrong with rebarreling a savage or stevens either. That sounded like a good price on a Remington. My friend wanted one last year for deer hunting. He ended up paying almost seven for his.

[awp101]

It may have been a good price. I checked after I got home and Remington lists the MSRP for the CDL version as $820. One thing I noticed was the one I saw was marked "Model Seven" in script but I see them listed in descriptions as the "Model 7". Not sure if this is a difference in early/later models or if the "Model 7" is a different, newer model.

Another thing I wasn't sure about was the 20" barrel. I know it's standard on the Seven and I really love my carbines but I'm not sure of the performance out of that shorter tube.

Yeah, I already have a Swede but I'm long past "need" anymore...

[earlmck]

The 260 is mighty fine: you'll like it. Got mine via re-barrel of Savage 99 that had been a 308. Do something like that and you won't have to be OT! But it'll cost a little more than the bolt, unless you already have the 99 sitting around. Can't see there's a dimes worth of difference between the 260 and the 6.5X55.

So now the 260 is my main go-to gun for open country deer or the elk (when I can get drawn for a danged tag here in the wonnerful state of Oregone).

[jhrosier]

Seems like brass would be easier to get for the .260.

Jack

[86er]

I like the .260 and have seen it perform admirably on deer sized critter and smaller. Might work good on bigger stuff as I didn't pay attention to the loads available. The package that I liked was the Ruger Frontier Rifle, a 16" bbl short stock rifle with regular integral scope mounts and scout scope mounts too. I've always thought it would be a lightweight compact rifle for high country deer and antelope. In the Savage, get a 7mm-08 and a 260 barrel. You can change the barrel and not mess with anything else.

[Old Savage]

A friend who owns the local gun shop, his son and grandson seem to be using this for deer and antelope almost exclusively. Very good results.

[L_Kilkenny]

If I had to pick on cartridge to do everything I wanted it would either be a 7mm-08 or the .260. Not even a question in my mind that those are the front runners.

As for the M7, that price sounds pretty good to me and IMO the it's is one of the best bolt actions ever produced. A .260 M7 is about as close to heaven as a bolt gun can get me.

LK

[Old Savage]

M7 in 7-08, this is a dandy rig. Shoots all weights very well. Light, handy, stainless.

[Rube Burrows]

I built a rifle in in .260 a while back. Great shooting guns. Basically you get 300 Win Mag ballistics but in a short action and with much less recoil.

Another round to take a look at is the 6.5 creedmoor which is essentially the same round but with backing from Hornady therefore factory ammo may be easier to find.

I know a guy who is sponsored by Hornady and shoots a 6.5 creedmoor and has won several 1,000 yard competitions with his rifle.

[6pt-sika]

I have a stainless synthetic Model 7 in 260 REM I bought when the cartridge first hit the market !

Matter of fact my rifle went back to the factory because they thought they had sent some out with the wrong twist for the 140 grain bullets they were factory loading !

When the rifle came back I don't know if it had a new barrel or the same old one . I do know however that everything I loaded for it shot well from 85 grains to 160 grains !

The first year I had it I used the Nosler 120 BT in a handload . My load was worked up before they had any printed data so I was over by 2 or 3 grains what the manuals say is max now . Anyway I killed three bucks with that rifle the first year as well as several slicks .

Later I went to the Nosler 125 Partition in the little rifle and it seemed to kill somewhat better . FWIW , I shot 3 shot groups at 100 yards with the little rifle when I first got it with the 120 BT that were right at 1/2 an inch . After the first hunting season I did load development in earnest with the little rifle . I still have groups I shot using the Nosler 125 and 140 Partition that are very close to 1/4 inch at 100 yards . Now granted that isn't an everyday thing . But when I first got it the little rifle would do it's job if I held it in the bags . Since then my logbook shows I have shot arounf 550-600 test rounds thru the little gun !

I also had a 700BDL stainless synthetic with a detachable magazine and 24" barrel in 260 . This one shot almost as well as the Model 7 but not quite ! Later I got a Svage Striker in 260 and later yet a Remington XP-100R . Both of the pistols shot way better then I could hold them .

I've since sold the BDL and both pistols , but that little Model 7 will be one I carry to the grave !

I failed to mention earlier !
My game ledger tells me I've killed more deer with the 260 then any other cartridge . My total for deer with 260's is at 33 !

So you might say I like the 260 quite a bit !

[6pt-sika]

M7 in 7-08, this is a dandy rig. Shoots all weights very well. Light, handy, stainless.

My little 260 Model 7 is just like this 7mm-08 except I have a Swarovski 3-9 on top .

[rock-steady]

I got a Rem 700 BDL in .260 the first year they hit the market, around '94 or '95, if I recollect. I was looking to downsize my deer rifle from 30/06 to a 250 Savage or a 257 Roberts just to be different from all my 270 Winchester fanatic friends. I have a Leupold 6x42 mounted on it and have handloaded the 120gr ballistic tip, then on to the 125gr partition. Both loads shot very well and worked fine on whitetail deer. Now I load the 140gr Hornady Interlock SP. The heavier bullet is just as accurate and seems to work better on deer. If I ever have a custom rifle built, it will be a .260 rem or maybe even 6.5/06.

[RSY]

If Remington made a lefty Model 7, I would have had one a long time ago. And, there is just something about the .260 that has its hooks in me, as well. Maybe it's the old Marine in me: Doing the most with the least.

Scott

[Noah Zark]

. . .Can't see there's a dimes worth of difference between the 260 and the 6.5X55.

Me either. That's why I stuck with the 6.5 Swede when confronted with the option to purchase a boltgun in .260 Rem.

Noah

[6pt-sika]

If I ever have a custom rifle built, it will be a .260 rem or maybe even 6.5/06.

I've already gone the 6.5-06 route a year or so ago !

A friend made me a 98 Mauser with a Shilen carbon steel barrel in 6.5-06 . Used it during the 2009 deer season here in Virginia . Shot it 4 times that year and killed 4 deer . On paper with the Hornady 129 SST and H4831 I was keeping 3 shots in about half an inch on a good day .

To be honest that rifle was so easy to shoot well I lost intrest in it and sold it this past fall !
But about the same time I picked up a then brand new Ruger #1B in 264 WIN MAG that shoots just about as well for me with the same Hornady 129 SST !

[Malamute]

I have a short action Ruger 77 tang safety that was rebarreled in 260. It's at the gunsmiths getting set up for switch barrel, like a savage. Would like a 308, and maybe 358 barrel for it, probably the only calibers I'd ever want on it besides 260, tho a 375-284 might be interesting. Will probably keep it around 20" for a handy carry gun.

[olyinaz]

If I were lookin at an AR-10 I'd be thinking about it (and I am), but in a bolt gun I say just stick with the 6.5mm Krag. (What's this "Swede" business???)

Oly (Olson, not Krag)

[Les Staley]

My third grandson will start hunting deer in Idaho next fall.. with a 6.5 X 55 Adams and Bennet barrel on a turk 98 mauser I'm putting together for him.. just got the barrel yesterday and the reamer and headspace gauge soon to follow,,(back-ordered).. should have it together in time for better weather here in Wyoming.. to try her out... Les