I have long thought that Remington's launch of the 260 would be an interesting Harvard Business Review case study on how not to launch a new cartridge. ... I don't claim any particular expertise in marketing, but I have to wonder if the 260 would have had more success if Remington had initially offered a 100 grain bullet at 3,200 fps and a 120 grain bullet at 3,000 fps instead of, or in addition to, the relatively slow 140 grain load that they chose to launch with. In addition to the handicap of limited factory ammo options, Remington never cataloged the 260 in three of their best selling CF hunting rifles, the 700 ADL, 700 BDL, and 7600, which seems like a clear signal of their lack of support/commitment.
Making the standard load 140 grains made it hard to distinguish the 260 from the 7mm-08, which also uses 140 as the standard load. It's great to have 140 grain 260 loads as an option, but making 120 the standard load would have given the 260 a clear niche between the 243 at 100 grains and the 7mm-08 at 140.
Twist rates and magazine lengths may sell cartridges to rifle aficionados, but the lack of a clear identity made it hard to sell to ordinary hunters. Believe me, I tried.
