I am interested in info regarding cuality and performance of rifles in 260rem including the Remington Mountain rifle, Kimber 84 classic and the new Sako.
Is there any other manufacturer that chamber for this caliber?
I will appreciate your inputs before I purchase the rifle

Good choice, Ruger makes it in the compact model.

Hi Grimel,

Ruger stop making the 260, $ 700 is chiken feed if you like the game!!!

I might like the .260Rem. Ballistically it's similar to the 6.5x55 of which I have 4. Recoil is moderate, accuracy is reportedly quite good. I can see where the manufacturers may fall short in several areas. This is not a barn burner cartridge. 2800fps with a 120gr. bullet will be about normal. There's not much point in making this caliber with a 20" barrel as it would be taking away velocity you might need. Also puting this caliber is a light rifle will just increase the felt recoil. I'd like to see weight kept to 7 or 7 1/2lbs to make the rifle even more pleasant to shoot. Barrel twist should be 1 in 8" in order to handle the 140gr. bullets. I belierve Ruger uses this twist. Yet, someone will produce this rifle with a 1 in 9" twist which won't stabilize most 140gr. bullets. This is potentially a good cartridge. Lets hope it doesn't get screwed up in the manufacturing process. Just one mans opinion. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

The 260 is becoming a very popular cartridge for some Long Range target shooters. There are quite a few using it in F Class Matches with 26 - 29" barrels. It is VERY close to the 6.5 x 284 but in a smaller more efficient case. My personal choice would be a short action Savage and build it up with an after market stock, barrel 1 in 8 twist (Hart or Lothar Walther) a SSS (Sharp Shooters Supply) trigger and have the action trued by Fred at SSS. My current rig for competition is a built up Savage 10FP in .308, honest .4" at 100yds & 1.75 @ 300. I have no complaints with Savage Firearms to me they are the best kept secret and will out shoot any Rugemchester out of the box and by adding a couple of items you are still in the out the door price range of the others.

Also, I can switch barrels whenever I desire and don't have the expence of having multiple rifles, just barrels. It also gives me a reason to go to the range, "Honey, I had to change my barrel for the trip, I need to go to the range to make sure its sighted in." Works every time as she would not want me to "wound and have the animal suffer!"

The 260 is a very good cartridge that is capable of bench rest accuracy in a sporting gun. It is indeed very close to the 6.5x284 in performance as it is close to the 6.5x55 or the 6.5x06. If you go to the 260 Reloading Data you will see some real good loads and groups. I think that the 700 remington action is the best for a custom gun and the 700 is probably the best production rifle. The barrel twist should be 1-8 if you can find it in a production gun. I own four 260s, about a dozen 6.5x55s and two 6.5x06s.
The 260 is a very fine choice. Oh, Montana Rifle makes their 1999 barreled action in 260.
Ed

For me the 270 has long been King, capable of taking all game we would find in Arizona. I still use an aging M70 FW and enjoy the lines and heft of this fine rifle. But the "go to" rifle now is a Kimber in 260 Remington.

The M84 Select was ordered awhile back, comes with a 22" tube and has exceptional figure in the stock. I ordered the Kimber bases because the receiver is tapped for 6-40, something other manufacturers should be doing due to the added strength. The rifle weighs 6lbs 8oz with scope! Without much tweaking, the rifle delivers sub MOA with most bullet weights, some groups consistently hovering in the .5MOA range.

The 260 is surprising in many respects. Its a great varmint round with the 75gr bullets and has taken a several coyotes and two bobcats, albeit with some noticeable pelt damage. The 120gr bullets are my preferred game getters and exit the 22" tube right at 3,000fps. So far, it has taken a nice mulie buck and will be with me when we go after Mr. Coues soon. I have no doubt it will do fine on elk with the Barnes TSX since I have taken two nice bulls with the 100gr TSX in 25-06.

I am using a Remington Model 7 that shoots great and is a joy to carry in the Wisconsin woods. It's accurate, relatively cheap, and I'd never hesitate to buy one again. As an interesting aside -- one of my favor rifles is my Remington 722 BDL in 257 Roberts. I find that the Model 7 stock is a very close comparison to the 722. They both come up to the shoulder pointing where you want to shoot.
What more could you want??
Dave

Balaso,

The .260 Remington is an excellent all around cartridge. It's based on the .308 case so there's plenty of brass around if you handload. The .308 case is one of the mose efficent and inherently accurate cartridges out there. This carries on to the 7mm-08, the .243 Win and the 260 Rem. The .264 bullets available have some of the best ballistic coefficents out there(.432 for the 107 gr to an outstanding .595 for 142 gr Sierra Match Kings, .485 for the 129 gr. Hornady SST). Tough to beat. This a a round that can easily be used for varmints to deer and maybe even elk in a pinch, though I'd personally rather have something at least .30 cal. for somthing that size.

The round offers low recoil, efficent design, and it can be had in some nice rifles. Another nice thing about this caliber is that it doesn't burn out barrels as quickly as the 6.5X284 and the .243 Win. I was really looking at this caliber hard when I was sidetracked by a great deal on a used .300 Ultra (I know that it's on the other end of the spectrum). I can think of many lesser calibers and few that are better. I think that Remington, Ruger , Kimber, and Savage all make rifles in .260. Good luck on your selection.

My friend has a Savage in .260, he really likes it. And he has had any easy time finder multiple loads that shoot very well (under 1") in it.

I have a 6.5 x55 Swede I really like, but if I did not have it I would get me a.260 Rem for a nice light recoiling, accurate and with enough knockdown power for any medium size deer. As for the mfg...hmmm. I would have to take a close look at the Savage with an Accutrigger. And besides, I've never owned a Savage.

Here's a .260 to get excited about

If you're into this type of gun. I hope I am, I just bought it's little brother in .243. I haven't held it yet, but my Father-in-Law says it's just sweet. The previous owner got 3/4 inch 5 shot groups at 100 yards with it so I'm certainly exicted about going after some of the critters up here in Alaska with it.

Alaska,
I am thinking about one of that type in .204 Ruger for extended p-dog shooting. I hear that the barrels are able to withstand much more heat than what we put on our bolt actions-is that true? I was told that the barrels are lined with something that enables them to withstand the great temps created by rapid semi auto fire or full-auto fire.

Alaska, I've been drooling over the DPMS LR260-L for a while! I was quoted a price of $1250 at a couple places but I think I might be able to do better at some others. And now they have a LR338 too ...

I have the Ruger 77 Compact in .260 and really like it. Very handy in the woods or in a stand. Now I want some thing in .260 with a longer barrel to stretch it out some.

SwampFox wrote:

I think that the 700 remington action is the best for a custom gun and the 700 is probably the best production rifle.

I used to think that. I build a lot of my own rifles. I have built on Remington actions and Mauser actions. Then I bought a Savage. Without a doubt, I think the Savage is the best action for an easy, accurate build. If you can change the oil in your car, you can build a custom rifle on the Savage bolt action without incurring the cost of a gunsmith. That's probably why you don't see a lot of gunsmiths recommending them. Blueprinting a Remington action is a total pain, roughly twice the hours it takes for a Mauser or a Savage.

The Remington bolt guns have a faster lock time and a better trigger. There is not a whole lot you can do about a Savage lock time, but there are several vendors of aftermarket triggers for the Savage, and if you like to fiddle like I do, you can tune a factory Savage trigger pretty nice. And lately, they have been putting the Accu-Trigger on thier rifles which is pretty darned good the way it comes out of the box.

Compared to a Remington, Savages are kind of ugly, though.