Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 100 grain .260 loads

Earlier this year, I bought a Savage 11 FCNS in .260 Remington. This is my first year as a Wyoming resident and I hope to use it for antelope, whitetail, mule deer, and black bear. I have a .30-06 for elk although the .260 sounds quite promising with certain bullets. The .260 is definitely a reloader's round and I have tried loads with 100, 120, 125 PT, and 140 grain bullets.

For antelope in particular, I have tried the 100 grain Hornady Interlock and the 100 ballistic tip, both with H414. I have trouble even hitting the same target with the 100s as the 120-140 stuff, and when I do, the 100s shoot like poop with 3-4" groups typically. I also have some 100 Partitions but want to get the other 100s to shoot well first.

The 120 TSX, 125 and 140 PT, and 140 BT are all pretty accurate in my .260 with its 1-8" twist. My .30-06 is too easy to reload for...the 150 PT and 168 TSX are very impressive for my shooting ability. Maybe I should stick to the 120's and up in the .260? I appreciate any info, thanks!

I don't believe it's an Interlock.

With 100's I would look at Varget, Big Game, RL 15 and any of the 4350's. H 4350 and H 4831 sc have done very well for me in the past with 120 gr and heavier bullets. From your list of bullets the 125 gr Pt and 140 gr Bt would be the ones I would look at if the 100's don't work. I have a LH Predator Max 1 on order in 260 Rem to replace my old gun, hope it comes in soon.

If you're going light, like the 95 to 107 gr bullets, you should be going to a faster powder. I used IMR 8208 XBR VERY successfully with the 100 gr Partition. Fast, accurate, and low ES/SD's.

Alan

I agree with this. My .260 didn't perform like it should with reloading manual 100 grain powders (Varget, RL-15, Big Game, etc.). Once I lit it with H4895, Benchmark, etc. it started to perk. 8208 would be a good one too I bet.

There is only one way to determine what your rifle likes or doesn't like -

JMO,I shoot a Cmoor and with the 95gr. bt. I use IMR4064 and it works very well. With the 120 gr. it's H4350.....later

my 260 with 110 AB loves H414/W760

I had excellent luck getting the 100-grain Ballistic Tip to shoot in my first .260 with H4350, RL-15 and Varget--and those were all the powders I tried.

I have had pretty good luck with Benchmark and 4064 shooting 95 VMAX and 100 BT's.

Hodgdon Benchmark worked well for me with 100 grain ballistic tips. I believe the final load was just over 40.0 grains with a CCI 34 arsenal primer. It shot very well, and averaged a little over 3100 FPS in a 24" barrel. I've also used Varget behind the 100 grain BT's as a fireform load for the .260AI, with excellent accuracy potential. Good Luck!

Thanks for the replies. I picked up a pound of Varget yesterday. I also have TAC which I like for 5.56 but have never found any .260 data for it. H4350 is one I like for .30-06 and made a good group for the .260/120 TSX.

My chrony should be here Monday...hoping for some nice velocities too.

The 100 Hornady says "Interlock" on the box. I've heard this is a decent bullet for deer as well as antelope.

One of you mentioned a "110 Accubond" in .264...I only know of the 130 and the 140 that just came out. Could be another brand new one?

Once you find a good load with the Hornady, switch to the 100 TTSX for hunting. Same powder shold do well with accuracy and velocity. You just have to find the OAL your gun likes. Performace on game will be outstanding.

Good advice, if you have some IMR 4064 I'd try some. 4350 is a staple for many bullets in the 260. Varget shot great in a former 7/08 w/100s, as well as 120 and 140s, may well be a good one also.

4895, RL15, and Benchmark mentioned above also good ones.

If me, I'd settle on a 120 BT for Antelope and deer if you want one bullet, but rather a 125 Partition, a 140 of your choice, or a 120 Barnes on Bear, the 129 SP is a great all around bullet as well.

I think better accuracy would give the heavier bullets my choice, not changing POI for other game. If you have 100s now try the above powders.

The Barnes are great bullets, but if you shoot far out w/a mono bullet, the expansion may not be best on a small animal like antelope IMO. I'd go for shoulder shots if you do.

FWIW, the 130 AB is my go to for everything in 260, I'd shoot Mice to Moose w/it

Is it SKU 2610? The Hornady website has it as a varmint bullet, and it isn't cross listed as an Interlock.

Yes, SKU 2610. The "Interlock" might be a misprint on the box then. I think I'll pass on big game use, even for antelope.

So many 6.5 bullets to choose from...I wound up with all of the BT and Partition weights. I like the overall numbers you can get with the 120s, need to work with the BT more.

The 120 Bal Tips work great on deer. My friend's Browning Low Wall likes H4350 with those.

I like the 100 grain Partition for shooting medium game with most of my 260s. I use, mostly, H4350, H4831, and H4895 with Winchester/Olin cases and Remington primers. I start with H4831, using a drop tube, and if it doesn't work with loads that have proven reliable in other 260s, I try 1 of the other powders before changing other variables. If I have a 260 that won't shoot, I try the 129 grain Hornady SpirePoint with either H4350 or H4831 in Winchester/Olin cases, as this bullet has been excellent in almost every 6.5mm application that I've tried. The only time I haven't used it in a 6.5mm rifle is in long throated 6.5x55 military barrels.

Jeff

Seafire on here has used the 100 Hornady's very succesfully on deer, he might chime in.

You have good friends mathman, a 260? Win has 6.5x55 in the LW.

BTW, the '96/'94 Swedes do fine w/129s Even seen them wad up 85ers tight. Even w/long jump.

Yes, a 260.

Here's the story. My friend was just getting into rifle hunting and he'd been talking to "experienced guys" who basically told him to get a 300 mag and he'd be ready for anything. He had visions of elk hunting with a brother in law, so he bought into it. The right sale came around and lo and behold, he had himself a lightweight Mk.V in 300 Weatherby.

After a few range trips with Kong, and figuring out his hunting would 99% be for deer, he was in the market for a deer rifle.

Time passes, and we're at a gun show. I was cash strapped at the time, so I was mainly picking up a few reloading supplies and secondarily acting as a rifle guide. Rounding the end of an aisle, I spot this Low Wall. I'd seen them before, but in cartridges that didn't interest me, so I wasn't immediately excited. But hey, why not give the pretty little thing a look? Heck, the asking price was something like $650.

I had it in my hands about two whole seconds before I told the guy to consider it sold. My friend didn't take long to see me trying to get his attention. When he walked up I said "buy this", and I guess he trusted me. Even though he had no prior knowledge of that kind of rifle, he bought it then and there.

The timing was good too. While he filled out the paperwork, another guy who had looked at the rifle earlier tried to buy it out from under my friend by offering the dealer cash well above the asking price.

So yes, he is a good friend. If he wasn't, I'd have bought it myself and figured out how to pay the light bill later.

When son was 8 he put a 100gr Hornady out of a Rem 7 SS .260 thru both shoulder bones of a 120lb doe and it exited. He was sitting on my lap and the deer was about 30 FEET away from the shooting house. Load was not near max but I'll have to look it up. Wouldn't hesitate at all to use that bullet on any deer.