In this episode we run a full load development on the .260 Remington and then take it to the range. The article on this rifle is in Handloader Issue No. 338
Now that is a very positive attitude to have and I couldn't agree more! I have been tinkering with a lot of the newer bullets in 260 Remington with great results. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
I would love to have a 260 or even a 243, but I bought a 308 when I got out of the army in 1971 and I just can't see buying another rifle. It don't matter anyway because in my 57 years of deer hunting I've done almost all of it with a 30-30.
They are fun cartridges to tinker with but the 308 Winchester is a very versatile cartridge and it's performance is hard to argue with! I think there are a whole lot of folks that can say the same thing about the 30-30 Winchester. Thanks so much for watching and for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
Hi Joshua , great vidéo, I can say the 260 Remington is a great caliber, I 've à Tikka t3 Hunter, and I shoot à lot of game with, fox ,wildboar, roedeer, and more. Every range, of course, with my reloading ammo , Hornady 140 grains Eld.M and interbond, with Vihtavuori N160 , I love this. 3 news rifles at home, 3 Tikka T3, 300wsm and 300wm, and 243 ,I love Tikka rifles, I proud owner of 7 Tikka, to be continued . God bless you.
Glad you enjoyed the video thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! Those Tikka rifles are nice I like them a lot as well. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience I think that is what the comments section is all about! --Jeremiah
The first rifle I built was a 260 Remington, I too have a soft spot for the cartridge. Mine is a 22" and I run it suppressed. I've taken multiple deer with it and the 120 TTSX. Great caliber and very mild recoil. Getting ready to finish another one to push the 140 VLD or 143 ELD-Xs. Thank you for making this video!
I do love the 260 Remington and I think in a way it paved the way for the popularity of 6.5mm cartridges in the united states. I too love the 120 grain TTSX. Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
The marketing of the cartridge certainly played a big roll in the .260 Rem and it's history, along with the twist rate. All in all the two cartridges really are quite similar though! Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
.260 is great. Mine is a Savage with a 1:8 Shilen barrel I put together many years ago. I haven't seen enough difference at the ranges I shoot at to bother with the 6.5CM. My 6.5x55 is also great.
I do enjoy the cartridge! I have been thinking of putting a Shilen 1:8 twist barrel on my own .260 Rem! Having messed with both cartridges I would have to agree with you, especially if you have a 1:8 twist barrel. I do like the 6.5x55 as well that cartridge has enough of a difference to make it worthwhile in my humble opinion. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
Top video mate, very good background and history. I got a lot out of your presentation. I appreciated you mentioning reloading at an early age with your father. You are doing him proud!
Thank you very much for the kind words and feedback it is always nice to hear what others think of the videos as we are always looking to improve! I am glad you learned something that is what we are all about! This rifle is a little more meaningful to me since it was my first one and also the first cartridge I loaded for. I certainly hope so, I get to work with him every day and for that I am thankful. We are still a small family owned and operated business and I for one can really appreciate that these days. Just as he passed on his knowledge to me now I can pass on my knowledge to others albeit I still have a lot to learn myself! Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
I've been shooting a 260ai for about 7 years, with the 143 ELDX I'm around 2900 fps using RL26. out of a 24" barrel. Been very happy with on game and on target performance. Wish it was a more popular round but glad Lapua makes brass for it.
Eventually I would love to re-chamber this rifle to the .260 AI, I think that would be a lot of fun to tinker with! I certainly want a longer barrel on this guy at some point! I agree in full I wish it was more popular as well. The Lapua cases are of outstanding quality! Thank you for watching and taking the time to share your experience with everyone! --Jeremiah
I have a soft spot for the .260 Remington, I really like it as well it was the first cartridge I handloaded for and I am still doing it to this day although not as much as I may like. Thanks for sharing and taking the time to watch! --Jeremiah
I hope you enjoy it there will be a lot of crossover with the video but I think you'll still enjoy the article if you can get through my rough writing skills! I have come close to selling this rifle a few times but I never could do it. I have a very hard time parting with guns, it is also probably why I am broke once they send them to me I buy them! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment the longstanding support is greatly appreciated! --Jeremiah
I believe that 3 shot groups are the ideal way to go for checking accuracy on a deer hunting rifle,just shoot say three 3 shot groups to confirm when you think you have landed on your load and let the barrel cool completely between those groups.Hopefully the first shot is all you need anyway.
I hear both sides, some folks say 3 shots, some say 5, some say 10. We thought 5 is a good number and if you wanted to just count the first 3 shots as the group we show them for a reason you could easily cut them out and even measure them yourselves these days with apps and stuff like that you can get pretty dang close. Any more than that and the video gets really long and shooter fatigue becomes an issue when you are testing hundreds of loads in a day. We do let the barrel cool between each group while testing to help with consistency and give the rifle a fair shake if not I will mention that. Great comment thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
I had posted a three shot group once on a Facebook group . It was a "do you want shoot this" and I used his ammo. I got blasted for not shooting more than three shots. My reply was the rifle was a hunting rifle chambered in .243 Win. If you can't hit your game with one of the first three shots, the other 7 rounds in a 10 shot mag are probably not going to be that important. I like hunting with single shot rifles so where the first shot goes is the important one for me.
The groups definitely opened up with the 4th and 5th shots and that thin barrel heating up, did very well though. I've been shooting a 260 Rem since 1997 when it was released and love it. I have had a few 260's and they all did well but my current gun (and the one that is staying) is a LH stainless Tikka T3 that shoots pretty much everything very well. In the past my favorite bullet was the 140 gr Speer G.S. need to try it in this gun. Those G.S. bullets have accounted for a lot of deer and some black bear's in the 260 and 6.5x55. The 130 gr Accubond and 140 gr Ballistic Tip are favorites too. I'm loading up some 156 gr Norma Vulkan's for black bear in the next few weeks! Thanks for the video.
Indeed I am certain barrel heat played a factor in shooting this rifle, It does have a fairly thin profile barrel. All in all I am happy with the groups though for a factory rifle and it being my first rifle I think it does okay! That is really neat and it's great to hear your personal experience with the cartridge and rifle as well! I think that is what the comments section is all about sharing information with others. They can scroll down and view hundreds of years of combined experience from many different shooters and get a better idea as to what the cartridge is capable of. So thank you for adding to that and taking the time to watch! --Jeremiah
Skip the wasted time and money on the 156 gr Norma. Any of the other bullets you mentioned are superior and will be more than sufficient for any black bear. I know from years of experience with 6.5 Swede. Black bears are not hard to kill and any premium bullet in 120-140 gr range will do anything that one could ask of a 6.5 caliber cartridge.
Speer black box disappointed me the old yellow Box works boattail s work black box there flat base don’t fly worth a hoot g s are like rem core locts they work and fly ok but the only speer are the g s and the boattail s for me
I have a 260 rem mountain rifle with a stainless steel barrel ,it’s the first rifle I reloaded for . I don’t know why exactly but I shot my best group at a 100 yards 3 shots through one jagged hole. Probably a little bit of luck. But I love that gun.
This rifle has never been the most accurate rifle I own but it was my first centerfire rifle and the first cartridge I reloaded for as well. I really like the rifle and it certainly performs better with 3 shot groups. And it has always been more than adequate for hunting purposes and that rifle has taken a lot of game! Thanks for sharing your experience and taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
Don’t have a 260 but have been shooting a Swed for years. It and 140gr bullets at about 2600 fps are just down right mean and dependable. 4350 is my powder of choice. It and the Swed, 6.5 creed and 260 are all about the same…they just work well.
I would love to do a comparision video of the 6.5x55 Swede, .260 Rem and 6.5 Creedmoor one day. I do personally like the 6.5x55 as well and I do like 4350 as well. Thanks for taking the time to comment and watch the video! --Jeremiah
We don't have a Join button on RU-vid to support the channel monetarily, but you can certainly hit the subscribe button and the bell icon. We greatly appreciate the kind words and feedback on the video thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
Great video! I have a treasured copy of Ken Water's work-up for the .263 Express in Handloader Magazine . . . LONG before the 6.5-308 wildcat was standardized to the .260 Rem by SAAMI. The Swift 130 gr 0.264" Scirocco II (B.C. 0.571) is a marriage made in heaven for the .260 Rem. I have a Leupold VX5-HD 3-15x44mm with the matched trajectory turret that takes me out to 500 yards. Charles Newton considered the 130 gr was optimal for the .256 Newton bore (6.5mm grooves). I have a 1:8" twist (Savage M11 sporter weight barrel) and for whitetail in the areas I hunt with shots from 10 yards out to 400 yards it is perfect. Would not choose it for elk; though I guess it would do with careful shot placement at sensible ranges.
I was just chatting with another viewer about the .263 Express and Ken Waters, that man is a legend when it comes to handloading and shooting. That sounds like an excellent match for the .260 Rem and I love your optic choice as well I just mounted up that same scope on a .308 for a future video! It would not be my first choice for elk now but as an 11 year old boy only shooting out to 200 yards max it was more than capable. I think what you stated is key as well careful shot placement at sensible ranges is key when hunting large game with this cartridge. I appreciate you taking the time to share your personal thoughts and experience with the cartridge. I feel it brings a lot of value to the video when folks like you share that information with everyone in the comments! --Jeremiah
I have a Mod 7 stainless in 308. My main hunting load is a 165 gr Nosler Partition at 2650 f/s, driven with 46.5 gr of Varget. I get similar groups at 100 yards. It takes deer down rite smartly. I like an SD of .25 min for large game, and we do have sizable black bear around here, so - 165's. I sight 2 3/4" hi at 100, hold dead on to 250. My favorite woods gun. I also use the speer 125 TNT's with 46 of IMR 4895 (because I had some) at 2777 f/s, which shoots to the very same 100 yd point of impact as the 165 loads for plinking and that occasional man-eating woodchuck horibilus. ES and SD's run
I appreciate you taking the time to share your load data and personal experience with others! I think that is what the comments section is all about! People can come here and hear from hundreds of others and their experience with the rifles and cartridges in discussion. You gotta watch out for those vicious man eating woodchucks, I consider it a public service to sit and wait for them to crawl out from their evil lairs and sit on the rocks and pop them before they get their next victim! 🤣 Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
@@HandloaderTV Welll... Actually I have only done a couple of them with the 308 TNT's woods walking. I mostly use my old 700BDL 222 rem for them, in the thousands, most with hor 55 spires, as I found them to be the best killers, least cripples. Also used a 6mm with mostly sierra 85 HP's, but too much noise around the cows - sold it. I wouldnt use the 308 around farm land for the same reason. That old 222 just works and without too much noise. I now use the Hor Vmax 50 gr as they are less prone to ricochet as the farm lands get more and more built up. BTW, I have been getting Handloader and Rifle mags since they started. Jerry
@@iamnobody9542 That is okay, it's still nice to hear your experience and for others to get to compare and contrast it with theirs and others who comment. I do like the .222 Remington as well, I have shot the .223 quite extensively as well over the years and I am long overdue to make a video on that cartridge. It is going to be hard to do that cartridge justice in just a single video! I too am a big fan of the Hornady V-max bullets they just plain work well. I have taken a lot of coyotes over the years with them. Thank you very much for your support over the many many years. It is because of good folks like you that these videos are even possible, so thank you! --Jeremiah
I feel like they don't get enough love especially with flat base bullets they work very well! I love the seating window I think it is a great design! It does jump pretty good I probably should consider adding a brake or something as I do like the short barrel it makes it very handy especially when on the back of a horse. Certainly something to look into! Thanks for jumping on and watching the video so quickly and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
Indeed the 129 Hornady SP is a great bullet, there was quite a few more bullets I would have loved to showcase in this video but sadly we didn't have time. You can always check out our sister website LoadData though and see all the testing we have conducted here and in the magazines. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
I have lusted over the .260 for many years. I agree the 6.5 Creedmore has stolen it's thunder. I make .243 brass from 762.51 brass so getting brass should not be an issue.
Indeed it has and while it is a bit sad it does also confirm how good the .260 Rem is as there is very little difference between the two. Indeed a major positive to the .260 Rem is how easily brass can be formed! Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
My first-ever big-game rifle was a Rem Mod 725 cal.243 Win. in the early 60's. I was misadvised by a neighbor that the .243 was some sort of brand new "miracle, do- everything" cartridge. When I got into handloading, I discovered the truth and upgraded to a Browning cal .270 Win, with which I took immense amounts of deer and elk ove the next 50-plus yrs. I then had my old Mod 725 rebarreled to what ultimately became the .260 Rem and handed it down to my oldest grandson. I've always reloaded it for him with 120 gr bullets. My chronograph revealed that the .260 loaded with 120 gr bullets essentially duplicated the ballestics of the .270 Win with only 10 gr less lead, and a lighter, short-action rifle. I've never undersstood why the factories want to load the .260 with 140 gr bullets!!!
That is really cool! I think those are super cool as well and one day I would love to get my hands on one and tinker around with it as well! I love the .270 Win as well a great cartridge! That is a very cool story thank you for sharing! I don't understand why folks want these big heavy bullets I think because of the hype over ballistic coefficients. I use a 120-130 grain bullets and I think that is where the cartridge really starts to shine! I have had great success with bullets in that weight range and they have long been my go to for hunting! Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment!! --Jeremiah
I never could understand that crap either I think the 1,000 meter thing is why ? Same w the Swede 120 pro hunters and it’s a one hole rifle out to 100 all day
I thankfully don't have any issues with the magazine length but the throat is short so my bullets are jamming the lands before I even get close to loading magazine length. I wonder if this is something unique to my particular rifle or if it is more common. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
Don't own a 260 Rem but I do shoot the 6.5 Swedish mauser in the model 96 military rifle. My personal favorite is the 7mm-08 Remington, another derivative of the 308 Winchester. It has soft recoil and really good ballistics with 140 grain bullets. In the Rem XP-100 pistol, it does buck a little with max loads, but it is manageable. And those Turkeys and Rams fall on the silhouette range. Good video, as usual. Thanks.
The 6.5x55 Swede is a great cartridge and I would love to get a nice Mauser chambered in just such cartridge! I am currently working on getting my hands on a 7mm-08 and run a full load development on it as well. I think that is a cool and interesting cartridge and in my mind it makes a lot of sense! Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
I also had an XP100 in 7mm08 and after using factory ammo at my first match, they banned me for overly dimpling the chickens. I reloaded down a bit and all was fine. Never used factory ammo after that. I used 139gr Hornady bullets for all animals. I have a Howa 260 Rem that has a Douglas bbl and a bedded stock. So far I haven't loaded for it but will soon. Your video has me excited to try some different powders and bullets. I have Norma cases ready to go and a good assortment of bullets, now I have to find more powders to try. Thanks for 260 Rem data.
@@NoKidding66 Ha ha it is amazing how much versatility you have when you begin handloading for cartridges it really does open up a whole new world! I have a Howa 1500 in 6.5 Creedmoor so similar to your rifle but it still have the factory barrel. I expect you'll get some really good results with yours! Norma makes really good cases as well and I think you'll have no issues working up some really good loads! Thank you for the kind words and sharing your experience here in the comments! --Jeremiah
260 in a long action would be idea to take advantage of the longer bullets. But if going that direction with a long action then it'd be a 6.5-284 for me..
I couldn't agree more with the long action in the 6.5-284 Norma, I think that is a fantastic cartridge and it does a lot of what the 6.5 PRC does but did it first. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
Another great video Jeremiah! You where talking about Barnes 120gr. TTSX hunting bullets. I love them!!! Shot 5 deer with them in the last 2yrs. every one of them dropped in their tracks. My rifle just a Savage 12, YES in 6.5 Creedmoor. She a track driver, I'm getting sub half MOA. groups. The load I worked up using 39.6grs. of Varget at 2850fps. Yah those5 shot group will get you every time, But they show you were the main group is!!! Really like all your videos you put out!!!
Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment on the videos we greatly appreciate it! The kind words and feedback is always appreciated. I agree in full with you the Barnes 120 TTSX is a great bullet, I've had great success with them as well it's always nice to know others share that experience! That sounds like a great load I have nothing against the 6.5 Creedmoor for what it is. I love seeing folks share their information with others here in the comments I think that is what it is all about! I agree 5 shots are really needed to be statistically significant when you are assessing the accuracy of a rifle. Thanks again for watching and taking the time to comment! It means a lot to me personally that folks enjoy what we are doing! --Jeremiah
The 6.5x55 Swede is a fantastic cartridge and in all honesty I would love to run a load development on one and maybe even do a comparison video on it as well. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
Excellent example pf why a 260 Remington can be your Go-to rifle. Mine is a Tikka T3, i hate the magazine because you cannot go past 2.78” setting your bullets, having said that, 140 Sierra boat tales will cloverleaf, most Hornadys under an inch. The worst were factory loads. H4831 and H4350 are my best powders, then IMR 7828, 4350, and lastly but still not terrible is Varget. My difficulty is the rifle is my most accurate at the range over sandbags but in the field, it it toolight and wobbly for offhand shooting. I have gone back to my Remington 700 BDL which is a 270, same bullet weights, but easier to shoot well in the field, if you can stand lugging it around all day.
I'm setting my 260rem magpul with 5r rifling... researching for a great scope 4it... when I tested loads for my 223... I loaded many different grains to get the 55gr bt spot on..also OAL was varied too...Will do the same for the 260rem..I will test with 143eldx and possible some 120gr projectiles...use here for foxes and wild hogs and hope some deer...New sub☺😃🇦🇺🇦🇺🦘🦘🦘
That sounds awesome! I am a big fan of both cartridges and am working on some interesting stuff chambered in .223 Wylde, hopefully will have a video out before the end of the year! Best of luck with you load development and thank you so much for subscribing we greatly appreciate the support! --Jeremiah
Jeremiah I really enjoyed this video on the 260 Remington, it’s one that’s been on my radar. Remington didn’t do this round the Justus it deserves, they brought it out as just a hunting round, which It does very well. Now if they had put in the model 700 with a 24 inch barrel, and a 1-8 twist rate there no telling where it would be today. This reminds me the blunder they did with the 244/6MM Remington.
@@czgunner was the 6.8 SPC the victim of a bad twist rate or bad marketing ? I know it was designed to replace the 5.56, but the military didn’t pick it up.
@@VitoBb1978 Remington screwed up the technical drawing resulting in the wrong chamber hence the whole SPC II thing. Also way underloaded the cartridges instead of fixing their problem. Not a fan of the Remidiots.
@@VitoBb1978 Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment on the video! I really enjoyed putting this one together and getting to talk about my childhood rifle was a real treat! I agree with you a large part of the failure of the .260 Rem was bad marketing and the wrong twist rate. It would have been interesting if they changed the standard twist rate from 1:9 to 1:8. Remington certainly does not have a good track record when it comes to introducing cartridges! --Jeremiah
Also I recently bought a 260 Remington Magpul and it has a 1:8 barrel. I'm shooting140 grain SSTs and 120 grain ttsx into the same hole with H4350 and Winchester 760.
Honestly that is where it is at I wish this rifle had a 1:8 twist rate at some point I think I am going to rebarrel it and put a higher quality barrel with a longer throat so I can shoot those longer bullets without having to seat them as deep as I did for this video. Hopefully one day! Thanks for the second comment the support is always appreciated! --Jeremiah
@@HandloaderTV This is what is behind most of these new calibers that are not a whole lot different than current offerings. The new ones have faster twist barrels. The 6.5 creedmore has no advantage over the 260 if the barrel twist is the same.
@@bryanshull372 I couldn't agree more there is nothing new under the sun to quote a ballistician friend of mine. If you have a .260 Remington, that is 1:8 twist with a little longer throat you have a cartridge that can do everything the 6.5 Creedmoor can do ballistically speaking they are extremely similar. Some people get very offended by this but it is true. Thanks for the extra comment always nice to hear from the viewers! --Jeremiah
@@bryanshull372 Indeed that is!! While I wish I could have known such a wise man I am not that old! A good friend of mine likes to use that quote for describing new cartridges that are very similar to old one. He is not as wise as King Solomon either but he's working on it as am I!! Comments like this make my day! 🤣 --Jeremiah
You can seat the bullet to the maximum magazine length then have the throat lengthened to match ! Or re barrel to a faster twist with a longer throat if you just have to shoot heavy bullets .
Yes you absolutely can have the throat lengthened, then it would not be a stock rifle this is exactly how I got the rifle from the factory so this is what you can expect out of the box with a factory made Remington Model 7 as stated in the video. If you want all that you can also buy a 6.5 Creedmoor. --Jeremiah
Love the way you talked about your first rifle. My son says I should have a new barrel put on my old Win. Why? It still shoots better than my old eyes see. 👴
Thank you for the feedback and the kind words I really appreciate it! Ha ha I keep thinking about putting a new barrel on this rifle but then again it has always been more than accurate for my needs! Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah
PTG makes a unithroat reamer to let you set the throat distance you want for any specific bullet. Looking at moving my .260 into a long action to push the bullets all the way out to the boat tail in the neck.
Yeah that would be interesting, or to avoid going to the long action you could use a Wyatt's extended magazine and get a little extra room for seating bullets longer. It won't be as much as a long action but it might be the best of both worlds. --Jeremiah
You're always gonna have "flyers," when your rifle has a drinking straw thin barrel. I've never saw an accurate .260 rifle. I guess my first comment caused Jeremiah to get sand in his virginia. He doesn't even brace the fore-arm when he shoots. Lack of experience ?
@@ricktaylor3748 I recommend you check out the Panhandle Precision channel on RU-vid. The gentleman there seems to find the .260 Remington very accurate.
@@8626John The term "very accurate" is different amongst shooters. His pencil barrel isn't conducive to inherent accuracy. If I buy a rifle that won't shoot ½ inch groups. I sell it ASAP. The pawn shops in my neck of the woods won't buy any rifle chambered in .260 Rem. Because they can't give em away, they call em "dust collectors." Jeremiah is wrong on so many levels.
@8626John I hate the flyers too but they certainly happen sometimes it's my fault and other times it's not! Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
We have plans to do a lot more 6.5mm cartridges in the future so keep an eye out for them! Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to watch the video! --Jeremiah
6.5 Weatherby RPM is my latest .26 caliber project. Still working up loads for it. Going to focus on Berger VLD hunting bullets. I don't have a great deal of accuracy success with them in my 6.5-284 Norma or my 6.5 Creedmo'. Hoping they will perform better over this next trial and development period.
I still need to get my hands on one of those and cover it in a video! I think it is a pretty neat cartridge and I am a big fan of the .26 caliber options out there. I imagine you should have good success with those Berger bullets. I have noticed over the years they tend to like being closer to the lands than many other standard hunting bullets. It may be something worth looking into. Best of luck with you load development, if you think about it let me know how it goes! --Jeremiah
Nice history but he is wrong about the creedmoor being a better cartridge, creed is harder to feed than the 260 especially in semi auto and it also has less velocity and case capacity than the 260
I have an AR-10 in 6.5 Creedmoor and I don't have any feeding issues it runs quite reliably, in theory the .260 Remington could be easier to feed but I can't say that it is really an issue in all the rifles I've tried. Of course your mileage may vary. As for the velocity and the case capacity they are very similar in most instances case capacity is within a grain or so of water and varies from brand to brand. They are both very similar and that was my main point in this video not to say one is better than another. That is entirely personal preference in my opinion and so long as those opinions are based on facts that is A okay with me. One day I would like to compare the .260 Remington, 6.5x55, and 6.5 creedmoor. I think that would make an outstanding video. At any rate thank you for taking the time to watch and comment we greatly appreciate it! --Jeremiah
I really like your down to earth approach to your videos. While I don’t have any experience with the 260 Rem, I would gladly use a rifle with a 24” barrel chambered in 260 Rem shooting 120 Barnes TTSX to hunt pronghorn or mulies. Would you consider doing a video on the 280 Rem? It’s one of my favorite cartridges since I killed my first mulie and pronghorn with the cartridge. Thank you for sharing this video and best of luck in the field.
Thank you very much for the kind words and feedback it is greatly appreciated! I have had good success with the cartridge and honestly it is very similar to 6.5 Creedmoor. I would absolutely consider doing a video on the .280 Remington as well as the .280 Ackley improved! At this time I do not own a .280 Rem but I do have a .280 AI however I do know a guy who has a .280 Rem and I think I could get my hands on it for a video. Of course it would be some time before I can get my hands on the brass, and components I would need to do so. I do have plans to do it I just don't know when yet! You are most welcome, Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment, thank you and good hunting to you as well good sir! --Jeremiah
I can load to 100 fps of the .280 w the 7 mm08 and close enough to the .280 a i 120 130 is a ballistic match to the .270 120 s in a nosler bt bt which has a thicker aglive than 140 due to the 7 mm rem mag 120 s are fully capable wieght to exclude elk that Barnes ttx 120 good elk bullet
260 rules,barrel life is at least twice as many rounds as Creedmoor, Creedmoor just get more advertising I have SURGEON SCAPLE chambered in 260 with 26 " barrel IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER.
The 260 Remington certainly is a good cartridge I never understood why the 260 Remington wasn't more popular when it was introduced in 1997. I don't know about barrel life being twice as good having both .260 Remingtons and 6.5 Creedmoors it's hard to say which one eats barrels faster it greatly depends upon how hard you are on the barrels I think, it's a rather subjective topic. Either way though thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
Is the barrel free floated? If not that would cut your groups in half. Also try a limb saver vibration dampener on the barrel. They help tune your barrel harmonics for only about $10.
The Barrel is free floated, I have played around with the limb save vibration dampener on rifles and they do seem to work but I hate them for field use they always seem to hang up on my scabbards and this particular rifle is used a lot off of horseback and I feel like it would shift around more than it should. We try to showcase what folks can expect with basic load development from these rifles and present the results exactly as we get them. Thanks for watching and the advice, the feedback is always appreciated! --Jeremiah
Barrel twist was its big downfall. The 6.5 creedmoor is based on the .30 Thompson contender. The case is slightly larger in diameter as well. The .30 TC was developed to outperform the .30-06 in a short action even with 200+ gr bullets.
Indeed it was it's big downfall as with many cartridges of that era and before, the bullets just keep getting sleeker, longer and heavier. That is correct it is based off the .30 TC an interesting cartridge in and of itself. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah
Great video! Rookie reloader here. Do you clean the rifle when shooting different loads in the same session? What about day to day trips to the range? Thanks in advance.
Thank you for the kind word it is always appreciated! I do clean the rifle usually every 100-200 rounds depending on the cartridge regardless of loads tested. It really just depends on when the groups start to open up. This one was cleaned at about 125 rounds. When the groups start opening up I clean the rifle. It keeps things simple that way. Great question and thank you for taking the time to watch and to comment! --Jeremiah
I agree with you there, the 6.5 Creedmoor certainly dethroned the 260 Remington, they are both very similar cartridges. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah
Thank you for the kind words and for sharing your personal experience, it is always appreciated! The 6.5x55 is certainly a great cartridge and I think you could work up some great loads with the powders you have on hand! Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah
@@kencleg7721 I haven’t been able to to find many Alliant powders with any regularity in forever, ridiculous money when I do. I wonder what Western or IMR powders would be best for 130’s and up.
Slow maybe vittiouri ? 550n AA3100 I tried 4831 rl 22 seems to be optimum 7828 I bet that 6.5 stable might work if u can find it that s the problem know powder my 7 mm08 likes Varget w 120 4064 W 130 and 4350 140,rl19 145 rl 15 160 s go figure 3100 rl22 7828 a 1 “ group is unacceptable when u get used to this caliber cutting a ragged hole
I have a 2.60Imp that I succesfully shoot Bisley with. 139 Scenars at over 3 000 fps with 1/4 MOA is nothing to be snorted at. Using RL 16 and Staball 6.5
That sounds like a wonderful rifle I would love to rebarrel this over to .260 AI with a 1:8 twist rate! I think that would be a super cool cartridge to tinker with! Thank you for watching! --Jeremiah
I have been asking myself the same question for a very long time, I hope to get a .260 AI one day, I was going to convert this one but for sentimental reasons I always talk myself out of it. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
Rem 260 cases are out of site. Either not available or $1.20-1.40 each. So, I have a good stack of FC 243 once fired. I lube good, then run the 243 through the 260 full length die, then trim back to 260 case trim length. This is much preferred to downsizing a .308 or 7mm-08. Less wear and tear. I checked the final product against SAAMI dwg for Rem 260 and everything is close. Do you see any problems, so far? All I see is maybe a slightly thinner neck. I will seat the bullet to the 129 gr. HDY at 260 C.O.L.
A very good point and suggestion, these days components are not cheap and I don't see prices coming down anytime soon. If you are within the SAAMI tolerances for .260 Remington you should be good to go. I would suggest checking to make sure a doughnut hasn't formed but if it's clean I would say your good. A lot of folks prefer to neck up rather than neck down for various reasons. The neck may be slightly thinner but I don't think you should have any issues. Experimentation is key here put it to the test and see how it works for you. You can also easily neck 7mm-08 brass down to .260 Rem if you can find that for a more reasonable price. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah
Good video and good shooting the only thing that you could possibly try to change would be the trigger pull on your gun but with those results I would be very happy.
Thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to watch and comment! I would like to lower the trigger pull weight a bit, perhaps one day I will get around to it, I am not complaining, having shot this rifle for over a decade the accuracy has never been stellar but it has always have more than adequate for my needs. --Jeremiah
Excellent video.Have loaded for .260 Rem for several years but still learned something. Can you tell me the type of gun rest you are using in the opening couple of minutes of the video? It looks of real high quality and stability. Thanks.
Thank you very much for the kind words and the feedback! I greatly appreciate it! That is our goal to help others learn and offer honest information on the cartridges and firearms we are testing! Sure thing, it is a P3 Ultimate Shooting Rest from CTK precision. I must admit I have not shot off of it yet but I do use it to mount optics quite a bit and it works very well. It is a high quality product! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
I was using Alliant Reloader 19 with a 42.5 or 43.5 grain charge with a 130-grain Barnes TSX bullet, It has been a while since I used that load but it was worked up for hunting I took several deer and a Bull Elk with it early on it worked well at reasonably close ranges and the recoil was tolerable for me from a solid shooting position. Great question and great choice it is a rifle I still cherish to this day and shoot it quite frequently. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
I do believe you are thinking of the 6.5 PRC the 6.5 Cheetah is essentially a .270 WSM necked down to 6.5mm and the 6.5 Cheetah or 6.5 WSM is similar to the 6.5 PRC. Great question and thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
@@HandloaderTV nope actually I had the wrong cat. But, why don’t you check Ken Waters work on the 260 Remington to see that it was the 6.5 Panther that Jim Carmichael created that Ken credited with being the father of the 260 Remington. You are at least old enough to know who Ken was aren’t you? 😉
@@seanedmunds9219 I must admit to never getting to Meet Ken sadly but I have read many many Pet loads and have his book sitting on my shelf as I type this comment out! I am also familiar with Jim Carmichel as well, the former editor of outdoor life. If I am recalling that story correctly wasn't the 6.5 Panther Ken's name for the cartridge and he necked up .243 Winchester brass to for the cartridge or perhaps that was the .263 Express I am thinking of. while Jim used the .308 case to base his wildcat off of or perhaps it was the 7mm-08 he based it off of? It has been a while since I read that article so sadly I can not recall off of the top of my head! I must say though it is nice to meet a fellow handloader that is enthusiastic about these things as I am! --Jeremiah
@@HandloaderTV Jeremiah, according to Ken’s article on the 260 he attributes the Panther to Jim. Jim himself admits to using cat names for his cartridges. In my volume of Pet Loads the 260 is the last entry in that volume, and that is where I got my info.
@@seanedmunds9219 That makes sense I can recall reading about it but the details are a bit fuzzy sounds like it's time to reread it and freshen up the memory! I appreciate the clarification! --Jeremiah
I converted my ARMALITE AR10T in 260 REM with a custom 1/7 twist barrel back in late 90's for shooting CMP matches. Oh, and by the way, I have no problem seating high BC bullets either. I've even been loading Sierra's new 150gr bullets to the 2.800" OAL without the ogive secant going past the case mouth. I'm so tiered of people making the erroneous and misleading statement that the 260 REM bullet protrudes more into the powder collum than the CM when in reality it protrudes exactly the same, it's just that the 260 REM has more powder capacity due to the taller case, and therefore you have "extra" powder further up the base of the bullet. I still prefer the 260 REM over the CM because I can make brass out of 308, 243, 708 cases by simply running them through the full length sizing die. No additional work required, you're done. Not so simple with the CM.
I would love to get a custom barrel on my .260 Rem one that has a little longer throat to allow me to seat those longer bullets, I have tried running the 156 Berger and they simply jam into the lands or the ogive is seated past the case mouth. My .260 Rem has a rather short throat though. I don't find it erroneous, With the SAAMI chamber in my rifle the throat is rather short and therefore I run into that issue. If you have a little more freebore that issue becomes nonexistent. The 6.5 Creedmoor has a slightly longer neck only by .026" according to SAAMI Spec. You are really splitting hairs between the two cartridges. It seems to me the Creedmoor just standardized what folks were already doing to the .260 Rem essentially. With a faster twist and longer throat you can achieve everything that the Creedmoor can. In fact the two cartridges are so close I have used the same load data interchangeably with success. And I agree you have many more brass options when it comes to the .260 Rem over the Creedmoor. The Creedmoor case is slightly shorter approx. .115" but you also have to remember it has a slightly steeper shoulder angle as well which gives it slightly more case capacity if all else was equal. As far as case capacity goes I think the two are extremely similar but I would have to pull my notes out to provide any kind of numbers. At any rate I do appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment we greatly appreciate it and I feel it provides a lot of value to the comments section when others share their thoughts! --Jeremiah
@@HandloaderTV Since I'm limited to the standard 2.800" overall case length to fit in the detachable box magazine of the Armalite AR10T, therefore there's no need for long free bores, especially with modern high BC bullets using secant ogive instead of the older tangent ogive. But even at that, back in the 90's I was using Sierra's then available 155gr HPBTMK that used the older tangent ogive profile with no issues either because I was seating them to the standard 2.800" OAL. Sounds like what you're trying to do is seat the bullets beyond the 2.800 OAL. I suspect this is only possible with tangent ogive profile bullets like Sierra's new 150gr HPBTMK. regarding bullet protrusion into case, I mean it's the same distance from the bottom of the bullet to the bottom of the case case for both cartridges regardless when given the same bullet seated to the same AOL.
@@Oldhogleg While I have experimented with longer than 2.800" on my OAL, if you notice a lot of the loads I tested were below that figure, even with a standard 140 grain match king if I seat that to 2.800" in this rifle it is jamming into the lands and the bolt is hard to close. I just think my particular rifle has a short throat, the rifling is closer to the chamber than in your rifle. It supposedly has a SAAMI chamber in it but I have not had a chamber cast made up yet. Perhaps this is something I should look into though and compare it to the SAAMI chamber drawings. I agree with you in full my issue is that I have to seat them deeper into the case in order to close my bolt because the rifling is contacting the ogive of the bullet. This results in a shorter than 2.800" OAL and I my thinking is that is what everyone is complaining about with the .260 Rem. However now I am starting to wonder just how close my chamber and freebore is to the SAAMI spec. Perhaps my chamber is just shorter than what it should be and that is why I am running into these issues. Certainly something to consider. It is food for thought and worth further investigation especially considering you do not seem to have these issues. Perhaps that is just a result of your custom barrel though? At any rate I appreciate the fact that we can have these conversations here in the comments and learn more as we go that is what we are all about sharing information and providing honest and valuable info to the shooter and handloader! --Jeremiah
@@HandloaderTV Interesting, could be the chamber free bore is out of spec. There's one option you could try if you like short of recutting the free bore with a new chamber cutting tool is to fire lap the barrel; this will not only make the barrel more accurate, but it also adds a little bit to the free bore. I don't think my chamber is unique because I'm on my second custom 260REM barrel by two different people, and no free bore issues with either. Typically one would ram the greased lead slug through the bore to note the locations of tight spots in the bore, if any, before fire-lapping.
@@Oldhogleg Hmm that is very very interesting with your barrels, I have another .260 Rem and it is not nearly as short of a throat but I still run into slight issues with it as well. I know the rifle in this video seems to have a shorter throat and I think I stated that. I have fire lapped a couple of barrels with decent results. I never thought about doing it to increase free bore that is a pretty good idea! Certainly something that I will look into and I will also do some more digging on the chamber specs as well and see how close this one is to SAAMI spec and maybe even see how most barrel makers and cutting their chambers. I love the comments section for this reason it is a place where we can come and learn from one another and have these discussions. I think that adds a lot of value to the videos and I greatly appreciate your support and contribution. --Jeremiah
I have a Browning. 260 Abolt. With a 1in 10 twist. What would you recommend for a bullet and powder. It shoots factory Remington core-lokt 140 grain well.
@@bogaudette6227 As stated in the video that is the RCBS MatchMaster die set for 260 Remington, Frankford does make a similar universal seating die however neither one of these dies feature a crimp function built into the die. It would have to be performed as a separate step. This is also my recommendation for the sake of accuracy and consistency. As far as a good load for your 260 Rem if it shoots Remington Core-Lokt bullets well I would suggest a 140 grain Nosler partition they are very similar and with a good powder you should be able to duplicate factory load velocity and accuracy with relative ease. Sadly Remington does not offer the core-Lokt as a component bullet for handloading as far as I know. Great questions and thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
The action and recoil lug is bedded to the stock but the barrel is free floating. I probably should have mentioned that while talking about the rifle. Great question thank you for watching! --Jeremiah
You commented that you are using 2.700" OAL. I would like to know what your offset distance is from your lands. I am sure it changes with the bullet since most have different ogive shapes.
I assume you are wanting the distance to the lands with the load using the Alliant RL-15 powder and the 90 grain Speer TNT? That is the only load tested in the video that was at 2.700". If I recall correctly that was jumping to the lands about .080" due to the bullets short length, but don't quote me on that. It can vary quite a bit from bullet to bullet especially going from light for caliber to heavy for caliber bullets. Thanks for watching and great question! --Jeremiah
In most strings it was within 5 feet per second, I think the most extreme difference was 8 or 10 FPS if I recall correctly! Pretty interesting and a testament to the accuracy of both chronographs. I know the Oehler is pretty much the gold standard and with a hardware change is the most accurate chronograph on the market. I remember reading a paper on the military testing the Oehler equipment to their own and it was also within a few feet per second. It was very interesting. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! Excellent question! --Jeremiah
Nope not a whole lot of neck tension only .001" neck tension with these loads in some cases in may be .0015" neck tension I was struggling a little bit to get an accurate measurement on camera. I have found the best results with this rifle around this number though and have found nice low ES and SD as well. So I think it works well but by all means experiment with you neck tension and see what works best for your rifle and if you are using a semi auto I would recommend a lot more neck tension to prevent the bullet from moving under recoil and the cycling of the action. Thanks for watching and taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
It can happen with thicker brass in particular when forming cases from .308 Winchester. If you form from 7mm-08 that issue should be resolved. You can also neck brass down to 7mm then go to .260 Rem and that should help quite a bit. If you have already tried that let me know I would be more than happy to help out! Thanks for watching and for the great question!
The donut at the base of the neck is usually from using a sizing die with a separate neck sizing ring. There is a slight Gap between the bottom of the sizing ring and the top of the shoulder that causes it to form. It has nothing to do with a 30° shoulder or a 20° shoulder or any of that nonsense. today people think the 6.5 Creedmoor cures everything from making donuts to eating Donuts.
120 s kill quicker it was fine just go kill with it 129s Hornady works like a champ a smith can length the throat and AI it and it’s better than the creed hands down
@@kencleg7721 I agree I am a big fan of the 120s and the 130s as well, I used a 130 grain TSX to take my first elk and now I shoot the 120 TTSX for hunting I am a big fan of both those bullet weights in this cartridge. I hope to compare the .260 rem, 6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor at some point. Then once I do that I think I might AI my .260 Rem. Thanks for watching and taking the time to share your personal experience! --Jeremiah
120s pro hunters 129 Hornady sp or sst. 140 s rl 22 is it 4350 or rl 17 for 120 will work also but the 140 156 160 the 160 imr 7828 @ I need to try some rl 23 it’s less powder same velocity for the 140
I was working the bolt several different ways and honestly that is one complaint I have with this rifle it is a little bit clunky working that bolt not terrible but noticeable. I am always looking to learn I would love to hear what you mean by that and why and which way of working the bolt you are referring to. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! --Jeremiah
@@Peter-od7op That would be awesome I know of 3 different ways to run the bolt specifically on Remington rifles and I know mine is a bit of a hybrid operation on this one. I always enjoy seeing what others are doing though and I am always looking to improve! --Jeremiah
Thanks I think... I am not sure what the last part of that comment says lol. At any rate we appreciate everyone watching and taking the time to comment. --Jeremiah
@@comodice905 I usually reccomend trying H4831 SC with lighter bullets and H-4350 with heavier bullets work up from the start load and find what works best in your rifle. We do have plans to cover the 30-06 in future videos. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah
I have tried it in the past with great results in both 6.5 Creedmoor and 260 Remington, sadly it is just a little hard to come by these days hopefully that changes in the future though! Thanks for the suggestion and taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
wow the 260 rem and 6.5 Creed BOTH COME IN THE SAME TWIST RATES lol. People repeat that twist rate nonsense constantly. The creed has no real world advantage in twist rate thats just made up silliness. My 260 Remington R25 g2 has a 1/8 twist the same as my creed. The 260 rem has more case capacity giving it more of a real world advantage to push my 120gr nosler faster. In this time of perpetual brass shortages i can make 260 Rem from 308 by first running through a 7mm08 dies then a 260 rem die.
That is true they are now available in the same twist rates, however when the .260 Rem was SAAMI approved, it has a standard of 1:9 for the twist rate as opposed to the 6.5 Creedmoor which has a 1:8 twist rate as standard. I think that hurt it's popularity when first starting out. I do agree with you though there is no practical difference or real world advantage to the 6.5 Creed over the .260 Rem. I can't comment to the case capacity too much as most of my .260 brass is Lapua and my 6.5 Creed brass is Starline so not really an apples to apples comparison there. I appreciate you taking the time to watch and to comment and share your personal experience and thoughts with others in the comments I think that is what it is all about and we really appreciate it! --Jeremiah
@@HandloaderTV the SAAMI spec twist does not effect actual real world twist rates. That's up to the manufacture and consumers to decide. You just regurgitated Hornady sales points. Whatever though people will repeat you as you have repeated others.
@@blackfam972 Perhaps I was not clear enough in the video or my original comment. I am not stating that the cartridges are at a disadvantage to one another when compared to twist rate. The twist rates are up to the manufacturer you are correct, many will go with the SAAMI standard twist rate but that is entirely up to them. You can get rifles chambered in .260 Rem with 1:8 twist barrels. I think the Hornady marketing of the 6.5 Creedmoor was much more successful than Remington marketing the .260 Rem. In all honesty I love both cartridges and I think they both have their place, my particular .260 has a short throat so I like to shoot lighter bullets through it. My 6.5 Creed has a little longer throat so I like to shoot heavier higher bc bullets with it. I don't have a problem with either cartridges and I use them both and like them both. I am not trying to promote one over the other and perhaps I did not make that clear enough in the video or my previous comment. --Jeremiah
May I ask what is wrong with using the word harvest in respect to killing and taking game? What would you prefer I say? I ask purely out of curiosity. I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah
Three shot groups for hunting rifles , their not target rifles their ( HUNTING RIFLES ) ! How often do you shoot 5 shots at a deer or elk ? The correct answer is 99% never !……
If I shoot 3 shot groups people complain, if I shoot 5 shot groups at least you can look at the first 3 and discount the next two shots, I agree you'll rarely if ever need more than 5 shots on game. However what is wrong with having more data and using 5 shots to stress test the rifle and work up a good load? --Jeremiah
@@HandloaderTV I agree , you can’t please everybody . There’s a big difference between a hunting rifle and a target rifle ! Your video was on a hunting rifle so 3 shot groups are all that is required for hunting. If you shoot 5 or 10 shot groups you are just wearing out the barrel !…… Thanks
@@thomasdaum1927 There is a big difference between a hunting rifle and a target rifle. I personally work up my own loads using 5 shot groups though I would rather have the extra data and velocity, ES and SD numbers to develop bullet drop data as well. I don't have a problem with 3 shot groups I just prefer 5 and for the most part that is what we do here if folks want 3 shot groups they can simply discount the last two shots fired. Believe me if I thought I could save the barrel wear and more importantly the components and use 3 shot groups I would. I would simply get too many complaints. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah
The .260 Remington was dead as a December cornfield, before it hit the shelf. The 6.5x.284 Norma is MUCH more accurate & powerful, and has twice the range. Also, you can't neck down the .308 case to 6.5 mm in one step. You have to neck it down gradually. First, you neck the .308. case down to 7mm, then to 6.5 mm. I see you deleted my first comment, which is very petty of you. Your Remington mod 7 is a kids rifle, just as the .260 cartridge. Btw, you need to hold down on the for-end of your little rifle. Your groups are all over the place. I was reloading before you were born.
@@8626John There's no hostility, just the truth. Remington stopped producing rifles chambered in the .260 in early 1999. It failed as a hunting cartridge.
@@8626John According to Jeremiah, the .260 is the best thing since sliced bread. The 100+ year old 6.5 x 55 Swede is by far more accurate, and designed for longer range. It kinda pissed me off, when he deleted my comment. He also said N-565 was relatively a new powder. It's been around since 1989. I've been reloading 36+ years.
I have been hunting and reloading for about 60 years now but who cares, Jeremiah is just showing what he learned from working with the 260 rem. So people are so busy telling people off and how much they know they fail to realize that there is something we can learn from everyone even if we don’t agree with them🤔😳thank you Jeremiah for taking the time to show us what you found from your testing
What makes you say that? Having worked with this rifle since I was 10 years old and taken game with this rifle since then I have had a lot of these loads and similar ones work quite well. --Jeremiah