260 Rem at 1500 yards & 1 mile, which bullet?

[jimbo88mm]

I have an opportunity to shoot out to a mile coming up in a couple of months. Debating if I should stick with my goto 1000 yard load or develop a new load. I usually stick with the cheaper bullets since I don't compete but I'm willing to pony up if it will make a difference.

The hornady 147gr eld and the nosler 140 rdf look very good on paper.

Does anyone have real world experience comparing these to offerings by Berger, Lapua, or Sierra in a 260 (or x47, 6.5CM)?

Which would you choose?

I have a pretty good load worked up with the 147gr eld, getting 2800 fps. Plugging that into the ballistic calculator shows that it's much better than some of the more expensive bullets. Will it fly true beyond 1000 yards?

 

[VaRandy]

Your 147 ELD will do it fine to about 2k, but the Berger 140 Hybrid would likely be more accurate in case you care about that as well as getting that far.If you use the Bergers, use H4350 powder and test it off the lands from 10-70 to find the sweet spot.

 

[Ringostar]

You might be pushing it too far. Will you be able to maintain enough velocity all the way to the target. I tried a 260 at 1200yds several years ago. Even with a 20moa scope rail, I didn't have enough elevation.

 

[CharlieNC]

I shot the 140eld at 1 mile in 6.5x47; took a few spotters to dial in the hit and the accuracy was consistent. Dropping to subsonic, the bullet was stable. Currently evaluating the 140ref with unreal bc, ready for 1000yd this week. Your 260 should do fine with either.

 

[jimbo88mm]

You might be pushing it too far. Will you be able to maintain enough velocity all the way to the target. I tried a 260 at 1200yds several years ago. Even with a 20moa scope rail, I didn't have enough elevation.

According to JBM ballistics, the 147 eld @ 2800fps at an altitude of 5500' is still super sonic at one mile.

I figure I need 60-65 moa of elevation. My scope has a total of 70 moa. I currently have a 20 moa base but I can pick up a 30 moa base. With that 30 moa base I should have just enough. The scopes reticle is pretty good, if I have to hold over a couple moa that shouldn't be an issue.

 

[22BRGUY]

Sounds like a fun experiment...please let us know the results.

 

[Sniper338]

I havent got rhe chace to ahoot my 260 over 850 yards. I shoot beger 140 vlds. It had a LOT left in it at 850 though... i forgot how many mils up i went but it wasnt much

 

[284winner]

Amax, Berger or Scenar in the 140 range. They all work at that range. With the new 140 nosler RDF and 147 eld-m , it's gonna be interesting at those longer ranges. They bring higher ballistic numbers to the bench.

 

[T 700]

I have shot my 260 out to a mile with 130gr HVLD'S with no problems, I'm running them at 2,883 fps.

 

[Eric Leonard]

it may just be luck or whatever but it seems I get better accuracy from the Scenars when trying to shoot farther than they will stay supersonic,,could just be the wind wasnt as bad at the times I was shooting but the Scenars seem to me to stay on target better when the impact velocity is below 1300 fps,,

I have not shot the new heavy Hornady or Nosler bullets though,,

 

[Scarface26]

Pretty good article on the Hide about Warner Flatlines in a .308. Definitely not cheap, but what we do isn't either. If they don't make a 6.5 bullet Berger can probably steer you in the right direction. I called them up on an unrelated topic and they were very helpful even after they found out I wasn't' ordering at the time.

Good luck with your shoot. I hope you hit one out of the park. So to speak.

God bless America

 

[Iowa Fox]

According to JBM ballistics, the 147 eld @ 2800fps at an altitude of 5500' is still super sonic at one mile.

I figure I need 60-65 moa of elevation. My scope has a total of 70 moa. I currently have a 20 moa base but I can pick up a 30 moa base. With that 30 moa base I should have just enough. The scopes reticle is pretty good, if I have to hold over a couple moa that shouldn't be an issue.

Take a look at the Burris XTR Signature rings for 30mm. With the inserts packaged with the rings you can get up to 40MOA with inserts only. Its all I use anymore with a good std base. I hate 20 moa bases. If you need more than 40 MOA plus whatever your reticle has an adjustable base might be in order. Good adjustable bases have gotten hard to find these days as most of the people making them have quit. Some of the ones left don't work so well. Maybe some of the guys shooting milk jugs at a mile in Utah might see this and post as to what they use.

 

[jimbo88mm]

Take a look at the Burris XTR Signature rings for 30mm. With the inserts packaged with the rings you can get up to 40MOA with inserts only. Its all I use anymore with a good std base. I hate 20 moa bases. If you need more than 40 MOA plus whatever your reticle has an adjustable base might be in order. Good adjustable bases have gotten hard to find these days as most of the people making them have quit. Some of the ones left don't work so well. Maybe some of the guys shooting milk jugs at a mile in Utah might see this and post as to what they use.

I thought about those rings. I've read some reports of the inserts slipping. Maybe I'll give them another look. How long have you been using them?

 

[jghoghunter]

I thought about those rings. I've read some reports of the inserts slipping. Maybe I'll give them another look. How long have you been using them?

I have used the Burris rings, with the inserts exclusively for the past 15 years at least. If they are installed correctly I find it hard to believe that you could force a scope to move. We even have a NF BR scope on a bolt action Barrett 50 cal. That scope has never moved.

 

[Iowa Fox]

I thought about those rings. I've read some reports of the inserts slipping. Maybe I'll give them another look. How long have you been using them?

Two seasons on the XTR Signatures for long range. I have been using the Regular 1" & 30mm signatures since they were first introduced. The inserts on the XTR rings are different than the std Signature rings for sure. If you take the time to install the xtr inserts I cant imagine them moving. It takes a lot of time to mount a scope correctly, I use orange bailing twine hung from a ladder with a weight on it (Plumb Bob) to make sure it tracks straight up and down. You want to make sure if you dial 1 MOA thats what the scope tracks. I think to many guys just wing it and snug up the screws and call it good.

 

[jfseaman]

I thought about those rings. I've read some reports of the inserts slipping. Maybe I'll give them another look. How long have you been using them?

I haven't been using that long. There is a pair on my 50DTC. No issues.
There is a pair on my 338/300 Ultramag (338 Edge). Set with 40 additional MOA on a 20 MOA rail. No issues.

I put a little bit of rosin on the inserts, inside and out when I installed them scopes.

 

[Hoosier]

I have shot my 260 Rem. at 1260 yards. I hit a 30" x 48" target six out of seven times. My first shot was high, and the actual MOA was 41. I fired some 142gr SMKs and 139gr Lapuas. The Powder I use is IMR4350. The rifle has a 28"barrel. I believe it I was going to try a mile, I would load some 140 Hybrid Bergers. I am still working
on a load for them.​

 

[the_accuser]

What about trying Warner Tool new 121gr 6.5mm flatline bullet.

 

[hydrotherapy]

I shoot a 260AI with the 147 and 50 gr of rl26 at 3000 fps this is a hot load I think I'll go back to 49gr ,but to get to 1200 yards it takes 23moa,in a rem 700 with a 28" barrel. Hit a 10"x20" steel gong 3 out of 5 times with 7 moa of wind

 

[FeMan]

In my experience, the ELDMs are accurate at extreme ranges but their bc seems to drop off quite a bit when they go transonic. The Bergers and SMKs seem to hold their bcs a lot better through transonic. I have shot my pointed 140 Hybrids out to 2300 yards using a bs of 0.315 and they hit where the Kestrel says they will. The Hornady's require adding a mil or a little more at that range even though the bcs were validated at 1,000 on paper. My buddy shoots ELR and was trying to generate a special drop curve for the Hornadys but just gave since the SMKs and Bergers were no fuss and ended up with less come-ups than the ELDMs.