Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rem Model 7 .260....which twist & bullet?

I've decided to start getting a deer rifle ready for my oldest son next year, and will likely let him use a .260 I have in a Remington Model 7. Its a wood stock/blued gun, with the 18.5" barrel. According to Remington, its a '97 model.

First question, and Remington was unable to answer this for me, but when was the cut off for the faster twist barrels? I know Rem had some initial issues with barrels that wouldn't stabilize some 140gr and up bullets, but when did they switch over?

Also, for a .260 with an 18.5" barrel, what bullet weight would you suggest for deer? Most average anywhere from 120-175lbs, with the occasional deer over 200lbs. Am I likely to see any real world difference between 120-140gr bullets out to 200 yards? I'm currently looking at Hornady Interlock 129's and Speer Hot-Cor 140s...but not sure if I will have enough velocity to get reliable expansion out of the 140s at longer distances.

Thanks!

My 260 Mountain Rifle is around the same vintage and it's a 1/9 twist. My rifle handles up to the 140 Amax just fine.


The 129 Hornady is fantastic in mine and it my go to for deer from it.

What is the two letter assembly code on the barrel? That will tell you when it was put together. 1997 = R.

Until recently, I believe that all Remington built 260s were cut with a 1-9" ROT. I've been shooting 260s since 10/97 and generally shoot 95 thru 130 grain bullets. Before the 130 grain AB was introduced, I used to shoot 140 grain Partitions and they shot fine in the 1-9" barrel, but I had to push them fast to get the best accuracy. For deer, I use 100 grain Partitions over a stout load of H4350 in some rifles and 129 grain Hornadys in other rifles. Both bullets repeatedly hit at, or near, the POA and tags get punched. If I was pushed to pick a single bullet for the medium size 6.5mm bore rifles, I'd probably go with the 129 grain Hornady.

100 grain or 120 grain Nosler Ballistic tip...

They are 9 twist and I'd shoot a 130 AB for everything.

I have a Model Seven that is a twin to the OP's. The only bullet that will shoot around 1.5" or less is the 140gr Speer over a max charge of IMR-4350.

It has been the most frustrating rifle I ever worked with. At one time or the other I tried virtually every 6.5 bullet from 100gr up to 140. I had it fiberglass bedded, re-crowned, etc. I ended up sticking it in the safe as a loaner. Then my SIL killed his buck three years in a row using it. This year I'm carrying it.

100 gr Barnes TTSX
Using H414 or H4350 @ 3100+
Very accurate in 1:9" 22", and quite effective.

Entrance on doe (98# on the scales) quartering away, distance 125 yards:



Exit as intended forward of the opposing shoulder:




Exit wound after leg removed, not too much damage. She fell DRT.



Feral pig, which has a much tougher and thicker hide, at 25 yards, which can cause bullets to fragment and not penetrate all the way through. Placement was farther back than I like, but he was moving and I did not have enough lead on him, but he still dropped instantly.

Entrance:



Exit:

I've got a Tikka CTR in 260 and my twist is different from yours but my preferred bullet was always the Sierra 140 SGK using 41 grains of powder. I wanted to try the newer Hornady eld X and h414 had always been my go to powder for this rifle but groups went from sub moa to 2 moa. Called Hornady and they suggested I try a load used on the 6.5 cm which was 42 grains of h4831 sc. I started at 40 and laddered up in 1 grain increments and the 42 grains of h4831 were giving me .269 groups all day long. At 300 yards 1.58 groups. I started dropping a lot of flyers after 500 yards so I am having to try new a ladder tests. The slower burning powder with heavier bullet done the trick for me. Imr 4350 kept moa but not as good as the h4831. Although a good BC the wind bucks these bullets at longer ranges but I wouldn't hesitate an ethical shot on low wind days out to 300 yards. I had purchased it as a bench rifle but decided to just use it doe hunting and for a youth rifle for your son the 260 is a great cartridge.

I hear the 120 Nosler Ballistic Tips and Nosler 125 grain Partitions shoot well in the 1/9 twist, no first hand experience.

For those shooting sub 20" barrels, what kind of velocity are you getting with 120-140gr bullets?

Jason,
With a child/young boy shooting, a short barrel, and 200 yards as the likely outer limit, why are you leaning to heavier bullets? Seems like indicators point to using lighter, which is why I suggested the 100 grainers. Nosler makes 100 Partitions if you don't like Barnes. The 100 NPT's will exceed 3200 in my 22" 1:9". Your 18" probably will be 100fps less, or maybe just a bit more. But for 200 and closer, less recoil will help a new shooter.

With a 100 yard zero, the 100 TTSX only drops 1 MOA at 200, so that also keeps things simple for him.

The 100 grain ballistic tip and H4895 were the best I used in mine, less blast and recoil and killed really well
I'm now running a 260AI and still using the same bullet, it is all you need for deer

To be honest, I prefer the heavier bullets in just about everything I shoot. Plus, if I wanted to stick with 100gr bullets, I would likely just let him shoot a 22" 700 in .243 I have....can't see where a 100gr .260 at 2900fps would be much different than a .243 at roughly the same velocity. In fact, the .243 100gr bullet has a much better SD than the Nosler 100gr out of a .260, so it may even penetrate better (velocities being similar).

At this point, I believe I am leaning more towards a Hornady Interlock 129gr bullet. Good SD, not too expensive, and should be more than accurate enough out to 100 yards (even though he likely won't shoot anything over 50 yards).

The 129 Interlock has been a good deer/hog bullet at my camp, from broadside shots at does to quartering on shots at "armored" boars.

Jason,

Heavier high bc bullets are my usual default as well.

Bullet design and construction matter far more than sectional density, which I now consider mostly meaningless.

Now that the distance under discussion is 50 yards, bullet construction becomes critical.

As for the 243, no flies on that. Always fascinates me that women and kids reliably and routinely kill with a 243, while grown men need more.

Shot placement and bullet construction are the top of the list for what matters.

Less recoil = more pleasant, easier to control and thus more likely to have good shot placement.

Keep things fun for the boy and he will have fun.

Fwiw - I've used 100's to 142's and in between. Inside of 200 yards, the 100 TTSX now is the one that goes hunting. Getting the velocity up yields results on the receiving end.

There is some good info in the .260 thread on reloading.

I just started working with my new .260. I am totally impressed with any load that I have tried. My selected bullet is the 129 Interlock.

My preferred load so far is 44 grains of Re17, for 3010 fps. You can do the math and figure out pretty close to where it will shoot in your rifle. This is a listed max load.

One other load that was super, was a 120 Speer over Varget. I did not chrono the load, but it shot really well. A 120-grain bullet might be a good choice for him.

I don't like the 140+ grain bullets, as I am not a super long range shooter and I like a little more velocity. My rifle shot the 143 ELDX, very well, though.

I have S/S model 7 .260. I use 120s @2900. Used both BTs, TTSX, and one 123 MK. Been used on deer, antelope and coyote.

I found out tonight that the 129 Interlocks work very well on small white-tails!

Very good bullet; one of Hornady's best plain ol' Interlocks if you ask me.

I just put a 129 through both shoulders of a four-year-old white-tail buck yesterday at about 200 yards. The bullet was under the skin on the off side and looked like it came from a Hornady ad. Perfect performance.

It retained 72 grains after all of that abuse.