260 Remington for Whitetail Deer. Max Range

[hafejd30]

For those of you who shoot the 260 Remington what is the longest range you have shot a whitetail, or similar size animal, with success. Looked on the internet trying to compare the 260 to the 308 Winchester. Finding a lot of info that a 260 outshoots a 308 but I'm wondering at what range does a 308 benifit, if any, for hunting. I'm confident my 308 can do the job to 800 yds, but can a 260 do the same thing but better? Thinking in terms of barrel swaps. Not trying to start an "what is an ethical shot in terms of long range thread" only the shooter can decide that based on his skill level.

[Westcliffe01]

At point blank range, a 308 will be better. If you shoot the 140's from the 260 then at 600 yards wind drift is about half compared to a heavy 308 (175 SMK or eq). Beyond 600 yards, then the 140 is winning in wind drift and available bullet energy. If one was to make the comparison fo a light (150gr) hunting bullet in the 308 then the data would even be more skewed in favor of the 260 Rem.

So, at short range, either is fine. Past 300, wind drift on the 308 is going to make your life hard, even with heavy for caliber bullets. You will be glad to be shooting the 260 at that point, but be sure to be shooting 140's to get the full advantage. Go too light on the 260 or a crappy BC bullet and there might not be any benefit other than reduced recoil.

[stomp442]

The .260 has a much higher sectional density providing better penetration than the .308 as well. Unless you plan on shooting high bc heavy bullets in the .308 like Berger 210s the .260 is going to walk all over it in wind drift, trajectory and long range energy. I have killed deer past 1000 yards with a .260 and 140vlds and never even had a second thought about not bringing enough gun. In fact just last month I was helping a friend and his wife fill a deer tag and she shot a buck at 681 yards with a 120 Amax and it was a bang flop. The .260 and 6.5s in general are very lethal killers, more so than they are given credit for.

[BoilerUP]

Google "Pat Sinclair 260"....

Any medium game animal that can be killed with a 308 can be killed just as dead with a 260.

Shot placement and bullet selection matter WAY more than bullet diameter and weight.

[yobuck]

well im not here to argue although at times it no doubt appears that is the case.
the question was asked about using a 308 or a 260 for long range whitetails.
first ive been hunting long range exclusivly for whitetails in n c pa since the late 60s.
prior to that starting in 1947 i hunted in the traditional ways. there are lots of long range
hunters in pa and especially the area i hunt. theres no doubt i personaly know over 100 of them.
if we were to go back 50 years the most popular long range gun in america would have been
the 6.5x300 weatherby wildcat. reason being the best long range bullet at that time was the 139 gr
norma match bullet. i no doubt knew a dozen guys who used that cartridge.
today there are far more long range hunters than there were then.
that being said i know no one today using "any" 6.5 cartridge for long range deer hunting in my area.
ditto the 308. im not here saying it cant be done but im saying for 1000 yd hunting its not a good choice.
a good solid hit in a good spot will do it with any of them. but thats no guarantee at long ranges at least for most of us.
watching well over 100 of them get hit tends to change opinions on whats enough gun. 650 yds is one thing,
1000 is quite another. i have a good friend with a 6.5x47 super accurate custom gun. first year he killed an
antelope at 800 and some change. he was estatic over the gun and couldnt wait to try it on pa whitetails.
pm me and ill give you his email so you can ask him personaly what he thinks now.

[thermaler]

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[yobuck]

have you ever heard the cliche, "were most afraid of the things we know the least about" ?
well im affraid that is what is going on in your mind over long range hunting in pa or anywhere for that matter.
there is no such thing as "scoping" things out for example. only traditional hunters do that sort of thing.
in pa we must count points on a buck before shooting, and we can even at extreme distances.
were the ones who get to watch other guys make fools of themselves.

[LoneWolf]

This conversation will definitely get interesting. I agreenthat the 260 probably isn't the best option. Most companies building custom long range hunting rigs start their rifles chambered in 6.5x284 and move right up to 7RemMag from their. I don't have personal experience, but have read a lot. It's something I'd like to get into. I think for long range whitetail out to 1000 the 6.5-284 would be a stellar performer, but from everything I've read or heard the 7mm family is much more effective for hunting.

To answer the op, I believe the 260 Remington shooter dependent probably ok for 600-800yds. You don't see to many 1000yds F-Class guys using 260's to shoot the 5" x ring. Once they move away from 308 and F T/R they usually move to the best performing round they can and again lately it has been the 6.5x284.

[stoky]

...........and after they shoot out the barrel in one season they go to 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5 x 47 or .260.

[yobuck]

i wish i could post pictures because it would be easier to make my points.
i have lots of them taken during hunting/shooting situations that would
help show what im talking about. its not that im claiming a 6.5 is a poor
long range cartridge, im claiming its not a good choice for 1000 yds or further.
neither is a 7 rem mag for that matter. now if where you hunt there is a wall
at 1000yds beyond which you cant shoot thats one thing. but if you can see for 1000
chances are you can see further. you tell me what your gonna do "if" one shows up at 1150?
theres where the trouble begins with having marginal guns for long range hunting.
they all cost about the same to buy or build. best to be over gunned than under gunned.

no different than hauling your small boat or small camper with your beloved nice riding small pickup.
when you get the idea you want to move up to a much larger one better get another truck also.
other wise you could become a statistic. animals become statistics also.

[thermaler]

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[yobuck]

to ease your mind a bit there is no record of any accidents attributed to long range hunting in pa ever.
rest assured there have been and continuue to be those who object to this form of hunting.
if there were a schred of evidence that it was unsafe it would have been used many years ago.
it is in fact the safest form of hunting. there is another cliche that is a pa dutch expression you should consider.
it goes as follows, "ve get too soon old und too late schmart".
you being a new hunter living in a mountainous state should think about that.

[stomp442]

Im not going to say that there are not better options for long range hunting but I am going to say that the 260 is more than capable. Deer are not hard to kill. The important thing is putting the bullet where it belongs and the 6.5s allow this to happen much easier in my opinion. I have been a long range hunter all my life and have plenty of experience taking animals out to 1000 yards and beyond with various 6.5 cartridges. Never have I been disspleased with the performance or wished that I had been shooting some head ringing shoulder killing magnum. Dead is dead and this is what matters. People always say we owe it to the animals to use enough gun and this is true but what I think we owe the animals is practice and time behind the trigger to make the kill ethically by hitting the animal cleanly in the vitals for a quick kill using what ever rifle we are the most proficient with.

[Hammer]

.

Never felt over-gunned.

But have brought down antelope with a 460 Weatherby using bonded-core partitions for the first shot and solids in the magazine for backup.


.

[wbm]

im claiming its not a good choice for 1000 yds or further.neither is a 7 rem mag for that matter.

Go hunting white tail deer with the 260. It will get the job done at long range.

The 260 shooting a 139gr Scenar with a G7 BC of .290 at 2800fps will have a velocity of 1400fps at 1000 and retain over 600ftlbs of energy. Why would that not be "a good choice" at 1000 yards?

My Savage CBI barreled 7MM Magnum will shoot a 180gr Berger with a G7 BC of .345 at 2800fps. At 1000 yards it is still moving at 1600fps and retains over 1000ftlbs of energy. Why would that not be "a good choice" at 1000 yards?

[yobuck]

Go hunting white tail deer with the 260. It will get the job done at long range.

The 260 shooting a 139gr Scenar with a G7 BC of .290 at 2800fps will have a velocity of 1400fps at 1000 and retain over 600ftlbs of energy. Why would that not be "a good choice" at 1000 yards?

My Savage CBI barreled 7MM Magnum will shoot a 180gr Berger with a G7 BC of .345 at 2800fps. At 1000 yards it is still moving at 1600fps and retains over 1000ftlbs of energy. Why would that not be "a good choice" at 1000 yards?

well ill simply let you answer you when you ask yourself the question. "have i ever done it or watched somebody else do it"?
till you have your just quoting others or information youve gotten from some source.
so far theres been one person here who claims to have done so. i dont question that he has and i dont question there could be others.
what you wont hear from most people is any failures theyve had. rest assured there have been some we will never hear about.
the chance of that happening will be less with bigger bullets with more energy. whats to even argue about that?

you might have a favorite guy you know who in an m d also. but when you find out its all on the line would you be questioning his
credentials? dammed right you would youd want the best wouldnt you? so again, wheres the argument?

[thermaler]

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[stomp442]

Well like I've said I have done it and never had a problem. Using 140 Bergers and 140 Amax bullets has produced very quick clean kills at 1000 and beyond. I have yet to have a deer take more than three steps and most of the time they drop like they been hit by lightning.

[wbm]

Well like I've said I have done it and never had a problem.

That makes two of us. Some people just don't want to be taught anything.

[yobuck]

That makes two of us. Some people just don't want to be taught anything.

like i said the 6.5x300 weatherby was the most popular long range gun 50 years ago.
i knew lots of guys who owned them and today none of them do. one is a guy by name of frank weber who was
a world record holder for 1000yd group. check williamsport statistics and you will find he is still a record holder there.
go back to the late 60s you will find he held an unofficial record with the 6.5x300. unofficial because official records werent being kept yet. guys like that dont need to be taught anything, they were the teachers.
the 6.5 is a good long range bullet. but there are others that are better, far better.
now if your going to invest in a gun and a scope. then take the time to go sit and look for an animal at long range.
does it not make sence to have a better gun than a 6.5? i personaly dont know anybody who dosent think so.
obviously you guys are very good shots and always hit your animals in the right spot.
im personaly not that good and i dont know anybody who is. that includes a few record holders besides frank weber.

[limige]

Yobuck I have yet to hear what you feel outshoots a 260 so vastly better? What bullets did your buddies use that failed? Because everything I've heard and seen about vlds shows they do the job long range. Frankly over 1000 yrds is really pushing it. There are too many factors against you and yes over 1000 yrds you need more bullet but on a deer sized animal it really isn't realistic for very many people to try. I think most of us are considering the 500-1000 yrds window. I would have to guess you would need something along the lines of a 338 Lapua at 1000-1500 yrds shots but I haven't researched shooting that far yet.


I agree with the majority . 260 rem or 6.5 creedmoor any day.

[new hunter]

This might help was given this to me so I will pass it down. QUOTE=big honkin jeep]Here's a pretty good article on maximum point blank range I thought you might appreciate. I may help answer the question of how high to sight your rifle in. I hope it helps BHJ http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_trajectory_table.htm[/QUOTE]

[yobuck]

Yobuck I have yet to hear what you feel outshoots a 260 so vastly better? What bullets did your buddies use that failed? Because everything I've heard and seen about vlds shows they do the job long range. Frankly over 1000 yrds is really pushing it. There are too many factors against you and yes over 1000 yrds you need more bullet but on a deer sized animal it really isn't realistic for very many people to try. I think most of us are considering the 500-1000 yrds window. I would have to guess you would need something along the lines of a 338 Lapua at 1000-1500 yrds shots but I haven't researched shooting that far yet.


I agree with the majority . 260 rem or 6.5 creedmoor any day.

since your asking me direct questions, consider my answers a direct responce.
ill tell you why i dissagree with the majority.
keep in mind my opinion comes from experiences, not from what i think or have been told.
let me again say i think the 6.5 is a very good bullet. for what your describing it should do well for you.
my reference to failure is with regard to wounded/unrecovered animals and not bullet failure per se.
that could largly be due to lack of energy on long shots especially with less than perfect hits.
a good hit in a vital area would of coarse change some of that even with marginal energy.
as for videos remember you only ever see the good parts. hunting isnt always pretty including long range.
my opinion of long range is anything from say 400 yds out to whatever. for some, 700 yds is very long and for others it isnt.

our camp is in n c pa where its very mountainous with the hills being fairly close together. therefore the vast majority of our shooting is ridge to ridge. from the front yard of our camp we can shoot at rocks from about 400 out to beyond 1 mile. some of the other places we
hunt nearby would offer similar oppurtunities. most of our shots at deer are under 1000yds. some might also be over 1500 yds.
this year we killed 4 bucks all being 8 pointers. we also missed 2. over the last 4 years weve killed 14 bucks including 1 year getting skunked. that covers the whole 2 week season. first week could see 6 to 8 and second week 2 to 4 hunters.
that is pretty much average for us. so multiply that over the last 40 years and you begin to see where im coming from on watching deer killed. its entirly possible to find a deer at say 650 and never have an oppurtunity for a shot till he's maybe 750 or even 800. so what might have been a fairly easy shot for your creedmore might now be a bit of a stretch and we havent even shot yet. dont forget those hills are tree covered and you cant shoot thru them. if he dosent stop in the right place you dont shoot. also when a bucks in rut which they are at that time of year they dont always cooperate very well. now if the scenario i just played out had started at 1000 yds it would be over for you before it even began. this is a real life situation ive described here. this stuff happens all the time for us. now i fully realize not all places are as ive described. but do you know that? what type situations could emerge where you will hunt?
shooting at distance at targets will sharpen your shooting skills. but thats where it ends because it does nothing to prepare you for hunting. this is part of the problem. guys buy guns and go shoot. since they hit the gong at 1000 they think their ready for anything.
now ill p--s some others off and answer another question for you. yes, for shots over 1000 larger guns are required. again, despite what
you might think there really arent alot of good choices. depends on how many guns you want. i have 3 with me all the time. i use what ever one fits. id be thinking hard about a 338 lapua. but while your at it you might just as well get a real 338. meaning 3000 fps or more with a 300 gr bullet. if you need to reduce bullet weight and therefore bc in order to achieve velocity, get a bigger gun.
by the way, "all of our shooting and that of all other pa long range hunters is done from a bench or a good rifle supporting tripod".
for that reason about 1/4 of our kills are by young kids or inexperienced adults. if you can shoot 1" at 100 "consistantly" you can kill
long range. let nobody tell you otherwise. right gun, right equiptment, and listen to what your told.

[stomp442]

Yobuck it sounds as though we hunt similar country except that mine is way to rugged and straight up and down to afford the luxury of a bench. We consider ourselves lucky if we can find a nice pile of rocks to prop our pack on to shoot from.

[wbm]

We consider ourselves lucky if we can find a nice pile of rocks to prop our pack on to shoot from.

LOL. Oh yeah! At least on the New Mexico side we have a pinyon or juniper to lean on....around where you are in Arizona that might be a luxury.