Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 100 gr. in .260 Remington ?

Has any one tried the 100 gr. Hornady SP on deer?

I killed a few small deer with the old Winchester 87 gr. sp out of my .250 Savage at around 3,000 fps.

I figured the 100 gr. at 3,000 fps between the ribs should do O.K. ?

Thanks , Chrome

I don't know why it wouldnt work. I used the 100g Partition in my 260 AI last fall and took 1 deer with it. It made it about 70 yds after the shot. This load used 50.0g H-4350 and cronographed at 3,340 fps. The shot was 25 or 30 yds and of course the bullet exited.

You may not get an exit every time, depending on what you hit, but I imagine the 100g Hornady will work and have very low recoil.

I doubt you'd have any problems on average sized deer. My old Ruger 77 6.5 Rem. Mag. shoots the old Remington 100 gr. factory load a whole lot better than the 120's. I was leery of using them on deer but the ones I have shot with it yielded perfect results with exits. These loads were advertised at around 3400 fps so a 100 grainer at 3000 in the .260 should do fine, me thinks.

A nice hard 100gr bullet makes the mose sence to me in that chambering. I think a 100gr Ballistic Tip might do wonders, for the med to longer ranges.

Nut: Nice to see someone else enjoying a Ruger 6.5 Rem Mag. I really like mine and love that old style flat bolt handle.

As for 100 grain Hornady's in open country were you can pick your shot It should be fine. My favourite open country 6.5 bullet is the 120 Sierra and it isn't terribly tough, is super accurate, opens up and kills quickly.

In woods hunting were you can't pick your shot as well and need a blood trail what about the 100 BarnesX or 100 Nosler Partition? These little guys would be surer and in my experience open up as well or better at longer ranges than the Sierra.

I have used both on caribou at 3100-3200ft/sec and they work fine.

For varmints give the 95 VMax a go. They hum and can be loaded to the same POI as the 100 grain big game load. This to me is the big advantage of 100 grainers in 6.5.

Hey Takujualuk, I've read your experiences with the .350 Rem Mag. I've got a new Remington 673. I loaded some Rem 200 gr. Core-lokt at 2,775 fps. I'm getting 2.25" groups at 100 yards. Not the most accurate but not to bad for the first load I've tried.
This is my go to deer rifle. Do you think the Core-lokt will open up on 140 lb. deer ?

I hunt over a nice 200 yard food plot, so the deer are very com. I always take a few meat doe's every year. So I'll give the .260 Rem. with 100 gr. hornady's a try.
I've taken 10-15 deer with the 100 gr. Partitions (heart/lung shot) and the deer always seem to make a mad dash of 75-80 yards before crashing. Which is not that far. They open fine but I'm not sure of the shock value.
I know the Hornady is probably designed as a varmint bullet.
But if I stay away from the shoulder i should be O.K. ?

I think that I've loaded just about every 6.5mm bullet sold in the US into the 260 case and I would not recommend any 100 grain bullet as the best game bullet for medium to large deer, ie. any with a live weight of over 150 lbs. If you will compare the SD and BC numbers of the 100 grain 6.5mm bullets to those of the 120/125/129 grain range, you will see how superior the heavier bullets are. Although you can start the lighter bullet faster, its poorer BC numbers show it slowing down more quickly too.

I think that Charles Newton, father of the American 6.5 cartridges, had it right when he settled on the 130 grains as the weight that offered the best combinations of the attributes that you look for in a game bullet, maximum velocity and maximum penetration potential in the 6.5mm.

Although, for smaller deer, less than 150 lbs. live weight, in cases where you can pick your shots and pass on any that require more than about 6" of penetration, any bullet shot into the lungs or through the neck is deadly. I've shot a few meat does with the 95 grain VMax and none has gone over 60' from the POI when shot through the lungs.

Bottom line: Pick the bullet from the following 4 that shoots the best in your rifle and, if you do your part, these bullets will do their's:

120 grain Nosler BT, 125 grain Nosler Partitio, 129 grain Hornady Spire Point or SST.

Jeff

Jeff,

I agree with you. I've taken a few deer with the 6.5 Rem Mag. I had some major disapointments with the early batch of Nosler 120 gr. Ballistic tips. I have a couple of expanded jacket remains that showed total bullet failure on rib cage shots.
I have a new box of 120 gr. BT so I might give them a try ?
My .260 is a Steyr Pro-Hunter Mountain rifle with a 20" barrel so I was wonting to keep velocities in the 2900-3000 fps range.

I've also got a box of 129 Hornady SST but I'm not sure of the velocity out of the short barrel ? Maybe 2650 fps ?

I will test the 100 gr. Hornady's today in some wet phone books and see how they hold up.

More than likely I'll go back to the Ballistic Tips for another try.

Thanks for the info. Chrome

Chrome:

The 200 Rem and Hornady bullets are very similar to one another. They are actually pretty tough bullets and caribou shot through the chest usually do the dash and then pile up. Penetration is good and expansion fair. On a side shot on a 140 pound animal I would expect complete penetration and a moderate exit wound.

Try 60 grains of 4320 this is a moderate load that tends to group well with most 200 grainers. If it's fast kills you want try 225 FN's with the lightest jacket available from HAWK and stay away from max speed. Go to 2500 and stop. Explode like bombs but penetrate fairly well. The 200 Sierra RN also opens up fast and is accurate but of course runs out of steam at a distance due to a poor B.C. Both these bullets do amazing damage at 350 Rem speeds.

As for 100 Hornady's in 6.5 on a 140 pound deer I would expect you would get quick kills on a side chest shot but would be a bit worried about a shoulder impact. I haven't used this bullet for caribou but have used the 129 spire which is a fine long range bullet. The 100 is a non-interlock but they do list it for use on medium game. My guess is that on chest/neck shots on small deer you would get faster kills with this bullet than a heavier weighted and constructed one but you would need to be disciplined enough to not take a marginal shot as your penetration will likely be marginal. I'd use them on a meat hunt for caribou as I have a lot of choice and can wait for that perfect execution. This is harder to do in the woods with a fleeting target like a deer.

I am interested to find out how you make out.