Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 243 Win vs 260 Rem

Got the bug for a Ruger M77 compact. Ok Ok I happen to like carbines so let's just let the rifle choice lay. They don't chamber it in 257 or that would be a good choice I think.

I have experience with the 243 and know what it will do. Have none with the 260 Rem ( 6.5- 08). I have some exp with the 7-08, good round.

Intended use is for Texas deer, hogs, limited varmit shooting.

So, friends, tell me about the Remmie 260. Pros and cons and which one of the two is, in your opinion, better. A few whys would be helpful too.


BCR

Go with the .260.

There is not anything that a .260 can't do as well , or better [wider range of options] than the .243

A .260 covers everthing from varmits to Moose, with equal recoil, and superior ballistics.

JMHO.

BCR:

What you describe is (by my definition at least) the crossover or dual purpose rifle. The up to 250 lb. medium stuff, and the occasional lazy jackrabbit or unwary 'yote. While you can't go wrong with anything on the 308 case, my take is that the most important thing is bullet selection.

MHO, is that the 6.5's are the best in the 24-26 range in this regard. There are nice 100's in the 24's, a couple of good 115's in the 25's but the 6.5's offer a quality bullet range from 100 - 140 (even heavier if you want). While good hunters and practiced shooters are often very successful with 100 gr. 243's, those rilfes (are) probably on the light side for medium game. There are also good varmint/plinker bullets in the 85 - 95 range for the 6.5's.

I have used 25's for this purpose for 20 years or more but have recently been seduced by the 6.5 bore. While the 243 is tremendously popular, I personally think the 6.5's are a better choice for this purpose.

two cents please........ <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

JimF

I'm sure the 260 is a great round, but the truth of the matter, at least in my area, is that its all but a dead cartridge. You would be hard pressed to find anyplace that carried any shells here, and if you did it would probably be one kind/weight and they'd be expensive. For whatever the reason this hasn't been the cae with the 7-08, but the 260 flopped. 243's, of course, are everywhere. And I honestly don't see it making a huge difference on deer. Some people claim it, but really I don't see a big difference between my 243 and my 270 even on deer...

BCR,



I think you should stick with the metric cartidges, like your 7.62x39mm, and find one chambered in 6.5x55mm. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If you have your heart set on the .257, Ruger does do their Ultralight in the .257 Roberts. It has a 20" barrel, any qualified gunsmith should be able to trim that back for you if you want the 16 1/2" barrell of the compacts.

Bogey, Have a Ruger 260 compact and Remington 600 in 6mm, which is just a 243 with a little attitude. Find I consistantly pick up the 260 to take hunting and the 6mm tends to stay home. Like someone else said. It will do anything the 243 will do and then a lot more. Especially on hogs, the 140 grainer should be bad juju. JMHO TM

I see no advantage and several disadvantages of going 243 over 260 for the deer and hogs you will be hunting. A 120 gr. 6.5mm bullet going the same speed as a 100 gr. 6mm is going to hit harder and kill better, no doubt, while recoil will be basically the same. And you have the option of loading 140 gr. bullets, which kill very well at their moderate velocity.



If you handload, go with the 260 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> It's very easy to load for and is my favorite centerfire round. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />



I've taken a few deer with my 260, ranging from small 120 lb whitetail at 40 yards, to a 275 lb mulie at 240 yards. All were shot with 140 gr. bullets @ 2600 fps, Nosler Partitions or Sierra GameKings. Works real well, seems to kill just as fast as my 7mm Rem Mag did <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I sold my .243 last year even though it worked well on a mule deer and two black bear. It was also successfully used on a couple of coyotes. My problems was that I have better choices of rifles to use on deer and hog sized animals and a heavy barrel .223 that was far superior on varmints. So the .243 fell in the hole between. I replaced my .243 with a light weight .284 and it is the rifle to own, IMHO. So Boggy, its only another half millimeter bigger so why not go there! The 140 gr. works great on coyotes through elk. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Also, you would then have a big enough difference in bore size to justify the .257 Bob! Now that's thinking ahead. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Boggy, I recall reading an article(but can't remember the author)on the .260Rem. when it first appeared in factory form. After considerable testing, the writer summarized by stating that the .260 is what the .243 should have been in the first place. RS

For those itty bitty TX deer, it is a toss up with the right bullet. However, when you add feral pork to the menu, I think that the 260 is a better choice for punching through the gristle shield that the bigger hogs tend to develope.

If you haven't shot a Ruger 77 Compact, you might want to find somebody who has one and fire a few rounds down range. I have been told that the muzzle blast takes some getting used to.

Jeff

Boggy,
I'ved got a .260 in a Rem. Mtn. rifle, and really like the cal. I'm shooting the 95 gr. Vmax in it.
Also have a Ruger compact in .223 Neet little rifle, and the muzzle blast of the short barrel don't bother me.
Am thinking the compact in .260 would be "the cats whiskers"
These are great "packin" rifles!
Virgil B.

BCR,

243 - 100g bullet - 3,000fps
260 - 100g bullet - 3,300fps <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

260 - 120g bullet - 3,000fps
243 - <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

243 - 85g bullet - 3,350fps
260 - 85g bullet - 3,500fps <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

260 - 140g bullet - 2,800fps
243 - <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

No recoil to speak of with either. You just go bigger and faster with the 260 and still have bullets available for the light stuff. For 300+ yd shots, you will notice a difference with the 260. For hogs I would also lean toward the 260.

Can't think of anything the 7mm-08 can do that the 260 can't do equally. Some have a particular bullet they like to use that might sway them to 7mm-08 but the two are essentially peas in a pod. I went with the 260 (over the 7mm-08) as it had a better selection of lightweight bullets for coyote, crow, and plinking.

HogWild

260, The muzzle blast on mine is not bad at all, especially compared to something like a 7 mag, etc.. in a normal barrel length. You gain much and lose little but weight with the Ruger Compact. Of course that is just my opinion and I could be wrong. :-) TM

To me, the 243 is at its best as a dedicated coyote round. For a "dual purpose" round I'd go bigger. As much as I love the Roberts, I see the 260 as a "better 257 Roberts"... that's sayin' a lot!

I dislike Ruger 77 Mk IIs about as much as I like Ruger 77 tang safety rifles, so I can't picture myself owning another Ruger in 260, except for the rebored (from 243) 77 RSI that I currently have. I haven't shot a Ruger 77 Compact, but have been told that the muzzle blast took some getting used to. I have a couple of Remington XP100s in 260 and I did find that the muzzle blast from the gun that I have used was noticable when shooting called coyotes (without earplugs, that is).

Jeff

Thanks a bunch for all the help and advice guys. You're good people. Looks like the old 243 is not getting a lot of play. As stated I know what it will do and won't do. Just no experience at all with the 6.5-08.

So when and if I think that compact will be a 260 based on what you all have said.

Since I haven't bought a round of factory ammo save mil surp to feed my old war dogs in fifteen years or more the 260 will be handloaded for.

Glad to hear most saying the muzzle blast isn't all that bad. I have a Peruvian police carbine with a 16.5 inch barrel in 30-06. Believe me you know something has happened when you squeeze that one off. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Talk about dragon breath. Hog killing demon though and easy to handle on a 4 wheeler or around the dogs even if it does kick like a bay steer.

Again, thanks for the help boys, you're the best.



BCR

You're so right BCR.

This forum gets better all the time, with plenty of goodwill and sound advice.

scubie02:

You are absolutely correct, the 260 seems moribund. Like many "better" cartridges, sometimes you can't kill off the established leader.

Personally I think that the 6 rem, the "Bob" and the 260 are all "better" than the 243 for the various purposes intended. Yet, I'd guess that the 243 sells triple what the other three do combined.

For a handloader it doesn't matter. It's not likely there'll be a shortage of 308 cases anytime soon.

JimF

BCR,
Although I don't have any experience with 6.5 - 08, I would think it would be comparable to 6.5 - 06 or the .264 Win Mag. If I remember correctly, you reload, and ammo should not be a problem either and therefore, it would get my vote.

When I started looking around for an all purpose rifle, the .264 Win Mag was the best I could find, and not suffering from from any preconceived ideas about the round, I bought it from one of my relatives who was quite a hunter, after he suffered a catastrophic auto accident. I haven't done any hunting with the darn thing yet, but it is definitely a keeper and fits the niche between my .223 and my 30-06 very nicely. It also has more than enough power to kill most medium to large game animals, even if it is a bit much for littler varmints.

Another round you might want to consider is the .220 Swift, which was what I was going to buy if I couldn't get a hold of the ol' man's .264 Win Mag. It's not as potent on big game like deer, but will get the job done nicely with a little care being exercised to take game that size. Still, it's your money friend but mine would rest on something in the 6.5-08 or 6.5-06 range were it me.

Flower Child

PS I still think you NEED a .264 Win Mag in your rifle rack if for no other reason than to keep Winchester busy making brass for me to buy and to keep folks guessing what us ol' farts are carrying in the field.