For the 260rem shooter out there. What made you decide on the 260rem over the 7mm-08?
I did for the .260's ability to shoot heavier-for-caliber bullets with good SD and BC.
The .260 is designed to function best with 100 - 140gr bullets...the 7mm-08 usually gets 120 - 150gr bullets, with the 140gr being by far the most popular. To match the 140gr 6.5mm bullet's SD in a 7mm bullet, you've got to all the way up to 160gr. That's askin' a lot from the little 7-08....
A quick check of factory ammo yields these results for the "standard" loads in each caliber:
.260: 120gr (SD
.246) @
2930 fps muzzle,
2026 fps @ 400 yards,
-21.9" @ 400 yards with 200-yard zero
7-08: 140gr (SD
.248) @
2820 fps muzzle,
1963 fps @ 400 yards,
-23.6" @ 400 yards with 200-yard zero
And for the "heavy" loads:
.260: 140gr (SD
.287) @
2700 fps muzzle,
1905 fps @ 400 yards,
-25.3" @ 400 yards with 200-yard zero
7-08: 150gr (SD
.266) @
2650 fps muzzle,
1859 fps @ 400 yards,
-26.5" @ 400 yards with 200-yard zero
The above examples show that shooting bullets of like SD and BC, the .260 is a bit flatter, stays a bit faster down range and delivers more energy to the target at all normal hunting distances than the 7mm-08. It recoils less, too. The same is true of heavier bullets, but the SD advantage clearly starts to go with the .260 in these loads.
I just like the range of bullet weights for the .260 better. Theoretically, they should give better ballistics
and penetration. Although, as usual, I highly doubt the animals hit with either will know the difference.
