260 remington worth going to?

[Patton243]

I have an R-700 243 Winchester with a Shilen target barrel right now. The barrel is 26 inches and it's too heavy. The gun shoots good, but I want a lighter barrel on the gun. I was looking at a Brux Light target or Remington varmint type barrel which would lighten the gun up a pound or more. I'm currently shooting 105 Amax out of my 243 and they're coming out around 3050 FPS.

I've been contemplating on dumping the 243 and going to a 260. Is it worth it? Mind you I have a bunch of rifles including a 22-250, (2) 308s, a 7mm mag, 300 WSM, 280 AI, and a 30-06 all setup for short, mid, to long range shooting. If I were to go 260 I was thinking of shooting bullets between 123-130 ish. I do notice the 243 doesn't handle the wind as good as some of my other rifles. Either way the barrel is getting replaced end of the year most likely to one of these calibers. The rifle is used mainly for shooting pests out in the farm such as crows, woodchucks, coons, foxes, and deer during the season. Thanks for your opinions.

Chris

 

[284winner]

The 260 definitely is a step up from the 243. A fast twist 243 will run 115 bullets in 243 well and will handle some of that wind better. That said, your still not going to beat the 260 BC with 140-143 bullets today. If your going to compare the 120-130gr bullet in a 6.5 to a 115 gr in a 243, you may want to stick with the 243. You'd need to run the heavier 6.5 bullets to deal with the windier days. This all depends on your range as well. Under 500 yard shooting and the 120-130 bullets are no issue in some wind. For the pest control and deer the 260 will do it very well also with the 123-130 bullets. Seems like the 243 is perfect for your needs. Tough to beat that 260 tho for what's on your menu. I have a 25" varmint contour barrel in a 260. The weight is around 9lbs scoped. Recoil is mild and it shoots very well and not picky with loads. I shoot 120, 123 and 140 Amax bullets and they shoot great. Also 130 and 140 Berger's shoot very well also. I've never shot lighter than 120s so can't say how they do. Don't really have any need to shoot lighter. I use the 140 Amax and 140 Berger's for ground hogs and the lighter stuff for coyotes. Killed a few deer with the 140 Amax with great results. Good luck in your decision. You've got a great gun in that 243 currently.

 

[Patton243]

Thanks for the input. Yeah, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the rifle except I want the gun lighter. I carry these rifles around the field a lot and in the woods too. The other concern I had about the 243 was the barrel life. This is the 2nd barrel In a 243 I put on and I feel the 260 could do better in that category. The first barrel started throwing flyers around the 1200 mark and I ended up replacing it under 1500. This barrel has about 500 right now and shoots good. I'm guessing the 260 could get another 500 rounds or so.

 

[284winner]

Depending on how hot you plan on running the loads. I run 140s with 46.5 grains of 4831sc. Gives me around 2860. Kinda warm but I've got roughly 1500 RDS thru this tube and it's still giving me .3 accuracy. Pretty easy to manage weight with the varmint/sendero contour barrel. Muzzle is .870. I have a 29" 6.5-284 that's just about an inch at muzzle. That's an anchor. I still hunt the gun but I have to sling it on my back for the trips in and out of my areas. Too much gun weight to carry, at least for my walk in areas.

 

[dskogman]

If you are reloading it's easy to neck up the 243 brass. If not, its difficult to find decent 260 ammo unlike 243.

 

[284winner]

Run the 260 around 2750-2800 and you'll get much better barrel life than you think. My sons 260 had over 2000 rounds thru it and it's in great shape. He runs nosler partitions in 125 or 140 for deer around 2700-2750. No need to heat up them flat base bullets for shorter ranges. His shots are always under 300 yards and both those bullets are superb deer bullets at those ranges. I'd bet he'll get another 500-1000 rounds with that barrel if not more. You'll certainly love the 260. Many guys on this site love the 6.5 creedmore. I had one but feel I can get better results (personally) with my 260s. The creedmore is definitely another great option tho.

 

[284winner]

Ya 260 ammo isn't abundant. There are a few companies like Nosler, HSM and Corbon that does build good stuff but at a premium cost. Reloading is the answer. I'm assuming anybody that's building or just replacing a barrel is generally a reloader. If not, there's no better time to begin than with a new barrel.

 

[Patton243]

I considered the 6.5 Creedmoor as stated above, but I like the fact that Lapua makes brass for the 260. I do reload, so that wont be an issue either. Thanks for all the information so far. All my guns pretty much have a Remington varmint contour and this one being the exception. It probably weighs about 13 pounds in contrast to most of my other rifles weighing 9-11 pounds total.

 

[284winner]

I'll show my backside here and say the 260 is the superior round. Back in the mid 80s when the 260 was wildcatted and came in production, bullet selection was terrible for it. The creedmore is the new kid on the block being developed in 2007 by Hornady so of course is getting many followers in match shooting due to several manufacturers building the creedmore and match ammo readily available for it. I owned and loaded for IT and the 260 side by side. They both are awesome cartridges. Just have to say that the 260 has the edge in performance and in my case accuracy. I never had the dreaded donut issues of the 260 and all my accuracy was superior to my creedmore. I since let the 6.5 Creed go down the road and own two 260 guns. Again, the difference is so close but in my experience the 260 rose above the creedmore. Couldn't go wrong with either cartridges tho.

 

[HTSmith]

I've been contemplating on dumping the 243 and going to a 260. Is it worth it?

Chris

I think so. Better barrel life. More capable on deer. Personally I've had better luck getting them to shoot than 243's.

 

[P72]

The .260 is a great common sense round. Using 100 gr. Amax's at 3200 plus or various 140 - 143 at 2650. Make ammo from reformed .243 or 7mm 08, then turn necks. Use wide range of powders. Not a magnum but offer great barrel life, and ability to easily get components for most applications. Practical .260 barrel life, about 1.75 more than .243. Those 100 gr. 6.5 Amax's shoot just like 87 gr. .243 Vmax's. A 130 or 140 6.5 would be superior to any .243 for beasts bigger than deer.

Any luck shopping for 6.5X47 Lapua brass lately?

 

[Patton243]

The .260 is a great common sense round. Using 100 gr. Amax's at 3200 plus or various 140 - 143 at 2650. Make ammo from reformed .243 or 7mm 08, then turn necks. Use wide range of powders. Not a magnum but offer great barrel life, and ability to easily get components for most applications. Practical .260 barrel life, about 1.75 more than .243. Those 100 gr. 6.5 Amax's shoot just like 87 gr. .243 Vmax's. A 130 or 140 6.5 would be superior to any .243 for beasts bigger than deer.

Any luck shopping for 6.5X47 Lapua brass lately?

The 6.5x47 doesn't fit my needs currently. I'm not a bench rest/competition shooter. I also like the fact you can take any 308 family brass and make 260 brass out of it if necessary. There's more aftermarket support with the 260 over the 6.5x47 too. (For the most part) If Lapua made 6.5 Creed brass I would pick that over a 260. I don't see it happening either because the Creedmoor is in direct competition with Lapua's 6.5x47.

 

[Liven The Dream]

One more thing to look at 6.5-.308 almost the same ? little better little more throat for 140 - 142 bullets.
This is what lead to the .260. Prone long Range Shooter loved it.
One very Famous Barrel Maker Boots Obermeyer Won Many a match.