Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 260 Update Mule Deer?

You mentioned earlier that you were going to use a 260 in a Tikka this season, how did it and the Weaver scope go?

Both worked well. Worked up an accurate load with 140 AccuBonds and RL-23 that got just under 2700 fps.

Was looking for a really big mule deer and only found a "good" one, with high 4x4 antlers spreading out to the tips of his ears, so passed. But did considerable shooting with the combination, and it consistently stayed on a 6-inch gong at 500. Took a doe pronghorn at 180 and of course that worked fine.

The Weaver 6x38 has above-average optics, and the adjustments were repeatable and accurate. However, did not use the adjustments when shooting at longer ranges, instead just using the reticle.

Should also mention that the rifle was a limited-run special from Whittaker Guns, a T3 Super Lite with a camo stock and fluted barrel that weighs 6 pounds 10 ounces with scope and the factory rings. The trigger pull out of the box was a very crisp 3 pounds, which I left alone.

Thanks for that John, I'm guessing you used a BDC type reticle if you were shooting to 500 yards, I wasn't aware that weaver made one.

Mule Deer- Thanks for the info on the Weaver scope. Thinking of putting one on a rifle for my 9yo. The price is VERY attractive...

Castle I believe the Weaver has a Plex like the original M-8 Leupold that they Royally botched in the FX series and have failed to return to the original "standard duplex" in all Fixed power matte scopes. Leupold has some management issues where they deny listening to their customers. Call it ignorance, perhaps greed to have folks get a custom shop retrofit, IDK. But to your point I think JB simply uses the lower juncture and the proper spacing to hold dope that he has worked out practicing on the range.

Good write up JB. Really ashame Remington missed the boat by a mile not making a plethora of higher quality Affordable 260 ammo, like Hornady did with their Creedmoor. None the less a properly handloaded 260 is highly capable in accuracy and performance. My custom shot 1/2" 3-shot groups at 200 yds. I bet a good T-3 will do at least .5-.7 MOA with good ammo and shooter.

I have a 6x38 Weaver on my sons M77 in 243 Winchester. IMO they are under rated and a great value.

Castle Rock,

6.5BR is correct--I used the scope's plex reticle for shooting to 500.

I started using the system back in the 1980's, long before we had laser range-finders and so many scopes with field-adjustable elevation turrets. Of course, shooters had been using multi-point reticles before longer-range shooting for decades, but for some reason they never had a big following among hunters. Instead most hunters used plains crosshairs and "guesstimated" range, a really inaccurate method.

But when plex-type reticles showed up, it occurred to a few hunters that they could be very handy in both estimating range, by comparing the "gap" in the reticle to animals of known size, and by using the gap for longer-range aiming. In the 80's I was doing a lot of longer-range shooting, especially on varmints, and also guiding pronghorn hunters, where actually knowing the approximate range rather than guesstimating it helped a lot--both for informing my clients of where to hold, and in having to finish off wounded antelope myself, which happened occasionally.

Using a plex reticle for both purposes works very well out to 450 yards even with relatively "slow" cartridges, but does OK even a little farther with some rounds. The farthest I ever finished off a wounded antelope was around 550 yards, and while it took two shots I had a good idea of where to hold and didn't miss the first shot by much. Killed several of my own animals over the years out to 500 with the first shot, using a plex reticle both to estimate range and for the hold.

Of course, an LRF and turret-scope are more accurate, especially beyond 450-500, but I still like to play around with all methods, partly because of readers.

Mule Deer,

How is the eye relief on that Weaver 6x38? How does it compare to other similarly priced scopes?

Thanks.

Eye relief can vary slightly, depending on the individual scope and how it's focused. I have two 6x38's, the other on T/C Venture Compact .308, and it measures right around 3" on one and 3-1/4" on the other. That's a little shorter than most other fixed 6x scopes, but the tube length between the bells is around 5-1/2", which is pretty long, providing some flexibility in mounting. Often they mount easiest on a short bolt action, but I had no difficulty with the T3. They weigh around 10 ounces, just about exactly the same as a 6x36 Leupold.

On my night-time chart test the optics rated a 7. Most modern multi-coated scopes below $500 rate a 6, so it's above average, and as good as some costing $800 or a little more.

So far the adjustments on both scopes have been consistent, and very close to the advertised 1/4" at 100 yards.

Thanks for the feeback!