Wildcatting: Split Personality

A cartridge that transcends both varmint and deer use makes for a valuable and viable tool as it offers versatility to us hunters that may encounter both deer species and foxes or vermin.  Finding that perfect blend of bullet/calibre is another matter how ever. Enter the .260 Remington cartridge loosely based on the .308 Winchester which we know as a good all-rounder, the .260 is another .308 based wildcat of yester year.

The .308 has many forms achieved by necking the case up and down. Going down to .224 and .243” and you have the .224 Cheetah and the venerable .243 Winchester! If you want a 7mm then you can have the 7mm-08 Rem. Little wonder then that this small case size, short action usage round would be necked down to 6.5mm or .264 calibre eventually. Originally called the 6.5mm Panther and I am sure countless other names by other wildcatters it achieved legitimacy by Remington in 2001.

USE AND VIABILITY

There are many instances where people say a .243 is to small and where a .308 is too large, the .260 sits some where in the middle and should be just the ticket. Today we now have quite an array of 6.5mm/.264 calibres, the newest being the 6.5x47Lapua, 6.5mm Rapier, 6.5x47 Swiss Match and of course the excellent new 6.5 Creedmoor or even smaller 6.5 Grendel, so is the older .260 still viable?

With the wide choice of 6.5mm bullets and good case capacity you have the ability by reloading to tailor the cartridge for any quarry. To go from the wary crow to wily fox right through to the small deer species of Muntjac and Roe right up to Fallow and Red.

Stalkers have long known the ballistic capabilities of the slender and long 6.5mm bullet as a deep penetrating accurate projectile, whilst foxers appreciate the down range performance of the lighter hollow point designs. The fact that it can be loaded in a short action rifle due to its cartridge overall length (COL)  of 2.80” makes it a good candidate for rebarreling a shot out .243 or .308 rifle and breath new life into it.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!

The range of bullet weights commonly start at 85- grains and covers most bases right up to 150/160-grains. Though for deer the most popular are the 140s! So something for everyone and every quarry species. Rifling twist is commonly 1 in 8” although some factory rifles show 1 in 9”, so all these bullet weights should be stabilised. Performance is surprising as the .260 is a mild kicking round allowing its usage in lighter rifles and is easily moderated and inherently very accurate.

Factory ammunition can be scarce with Remington offering 120 Accutip and 140-grain Core Lokt options, Federal also producing 120 Ballistic Tips and 140 grain loads sporting the excellent Sierra GameKing. Whilst newer Nosler ammo of 100-grain Partitions or Ballistic Tips and 125 Partitions and a130 Accubonds are also available.

FACTORY LOADS

I only had Remington factory ammunition in 120 Accutip and 140-grain Core Lokt variety. I used a nice older Remington 700 Mountain rifle for the tests and later a Steyr ProHunter. The 140s are designed to expand reliably on deer sized game and exhibit a muzzle velocity of 2618fps and 2131ft/lbs energy from my 22” barrel. Accuracy was adequate as three shots grouped into 1.5-1.75” at 100 yards, this is fine for deer but really good for medium-range foxes despite its slightly inconsistent performance.

The 120-grain AccuTip was really good on Roe, expanding dependably without too much rapid expansion likely to cause carcass damage with a 2798 fps velocity and 2087ft/lbs energy. Accuracy as with the 140s was fine at 1.0-1.25” for three rounds at 100 yards and this would make a great longer range fox round, being able to buck the wind with those long slim bullets.

Down range performance is equally good, the 6.5mm calibre is in that sweet spot of good bullet weights to diameter. This transcends into high Ballistic Coefficients (BC) meaning that these 6.5mm pills flight through the air are less retarded than bullets with lower BC`s. Zeroed at 100 yards a 120-grainer travelling at about 2800 fps velocity will be 3.2” low at 200 yards and 12” low at 300 compared to a 125-grain 308 at the same velocity that drops 4.2” and 14.6 “ respectively.

RELOADS – WHERE IT’S AT!

Reloading is really where the .260 really shines, enabling the reloader to unlock its full performance potential. As usual the Quickload and Quick Target ballistic program was a godsend at establishing some initial loads and predicting down range performance.

The 85-grain Sierra Hollow points loaded with 48-grains of Hodgdons H4350 powder sped along at 3105 fps/1820 ft/lbs from a 22-inch barrel. This is a great fox load, zeroed at 100 yards it goes -2.6” low at 200 and only -11” at 300. It is very accurate with sub 1” groups and has a very fast expansion of the bullet. Hornady 95-grain V –MAX is a cracker also, with 41-grains of RL15 powder I had 3098 fps for 2025 ft/lbs and good accuracy too.

Hornady and Nosler both make a 100-grain bullet, the former a soft point, and the later a Ballistic tip and Berger a 100-grain Match. They can be pushed at about 3150 fps/2204ft/lbs and again make a great fox or small species deer load. The Nosler Partition of the same weight can even be used for larger deer if the shot placement is good. My favourite is 43.5- grains of Vit N140 that gives a healthy 2926 fps, with the Nosler Partition. Or a 100-grain Berger at 3044 fps with a load of 44.5-grains of RL 17 powder.

I also use a Lapua 108-grain Scenar bullet regularly for fox work and a load of 46.5-grains of Vit N160 can achieve 2852fps which gives me superb 0.5” groups and confident shots out to 300 yards or more.

VERSATILE

Next in weight are the versatile 120-grain Nosler ballistic tips which are both good for foxes and deer use.  Travelling at 2750 fps/2099 ft/lbs this load is very flat shooting and mild recoiling. My recipe would be 43.5-grains of Alliant RL19 with Federal Match primers.

Another good and hard-hitter is the Hornady 129-grain SST. These offer a good blend of ballistics and predictable expansion and are best used for deer-sized game. Velocities can reach 2650fps with a healthy 2012 ft/lbs and this is probably my favourite all rounder for the .260 calibre. Again, Alliant RL19 is a good choice here with 43-grains achieving 2650 fps velocity from the 22” barrels.

However, to many the 140-grainer is the deer load with most of the major manufacturers producing bullet in this weight and achieving at least 2600 fps/2101 ft/lbs. Nosler make a good Partition in this weight as do Sierra with the accurate 140-grain GameKing, whilst Hornady offer their dependable SST bullet too. Watch out for slow expansion on smaller deer species though! My load is 42.5-grains of Alliant RL19 for 2668 fps with a 140 grain SST. A 24” barrel will obviously increase performance, equally the longer 26-30” varmint tubes offer some impressive figures, but their added length makes them less than truly practical!

IN THE FIELD

Immediately apparent when testing both rifles from the bench was the mild recoil despite their light weight Mountain rifle proportions. With an MAE 32mm muzzle can sound moderator fitted the report was really subdued. The recoil was further reduced to the point that with the lighter bullet weights some of the shots could be spotted by the shooter.

I used the Steyr for some early morning foxing and found the Lapua, Nosler and Sierra lighter bullets great performers with instant close or longer-range shots. I also had in the back of my mind that if Roe presented itself I could utilise the same load.

The Remington 700 plus older A-Tec moddy was loaded with deer loads of the factory 140 grain and Hornady SST 129-grain bullets and achieved perfectly placed flat shooting rounds on Roe and Fallow up to 250 yards. I was taken with the lack of meat damage yet hard hitting abilities of the slender .260 projerctile which certainly instilled a sense of confidence with the little round.

CONCLUSIONS

In Britain the .260 Remington has a loyal following amongst many stalkers and varminters.  It really is an accurate, light-recoiling, efficient little cartridge that would suit new, young or older shooters alike. It is a proficient hard hitting fox calibre and dependable flat shooting deer round. Will it take over from the .243 or .308 rounds? Probably not, and with more custom rifles being chambered in the newer 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5x47Lapua the .260 Rem still is an oddball but loveable none the less.