Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles The 260 is the next 30-06

I'm still trying to figure out how the "7-08 didn't make it" ?

I think I will, too...

Ought Six= Classic do it all North American cartridge
260= modern day 6.5x55...260 can be factory loaded to modern preasures while the 6.5x55 must be throttled back due to old/weak actions still out there.
7mm-08= modern 7x57...see above.
I own several 30.06's...as well as 243's, 6mm's, 257bob, 6.5x57's, 260, 270's, 7mm-08, etc. etc.
Who gives a damn which one is more popular and for what reason. There all great!

I'll believe you with that "next 30-06" statement when I can walk into a store in the middle of nowhere and find as much 260 ammo on the shelves as 30-06.

Good luck with that.

Pahntr760,

The 7MM-08 might just be the best short action cartridge to come down the pike since the .308 Win. I'd hate to have to choose between the two.

Any 7MM that approximates or better the 7x57 out of a short action rifle is a definite winner.

I love short action, fast handling rifles. We're I to start anew, I'd probably go .280 Rem, but I can easily see a 7MM-08 Rem instead.

A .284 160 grain bullet at better than 2700 FPS is meat in the freezer.

I own a 7MM Rem Mag, so I'd be hard pressed to buy another. But were I to come across a deal on a 7MM-08 Rem, I don't think I could pass it.

Out to 350 yards, what a 7MM Rem Mag will do so will a 7MM-08 Rem.

BTW, I know/knew a lot of 7MM Rem Mag users. I have known only one who used 175 grain bullets. Same with '06 users. I have never seen an '06 hunter use anything heavier than 180 grains. Therefore, I'll give up 80 FPS or so for a fast handling, short action .308 Win.

+1

All that matters is meat in the freezer.

I have a 260 reamer and a couple 260 rifles I have built.

It is a good cartridge, but not as good as the 7mmRemMag.

The only hope for the 260 to compete for hunting is as a very light rifle.

There are lots of guys competing at targets with heavy 260s. I am not interested in building those.

In my area I would guess 9 out of 10 hunters have never heard of a 260. I'd guess 1 out of 100 has ever actually held or shot one.

Neat cartridge. I plan to own one someday. That said I doubt it will ever crack the top 10 in popularity. Probably not even the top 25.

We talking firearms, or wimmin???

If buying factory ammo tho, be advised that up here, 7mm-08 and 260 ammo is about 50% more expensive than .243, .30-06, 7MM Mag or .300 Mag...

I'd venture to say that number is HIGH

That, and until you can tell anyone that hunts even a little and tell them you shoot a .260, and they know what that is it won't be a .30-06. Or until you can walk into any place that sells ammo, and buy .260 it won't be a .30-06.

Hell, the .270 WCF has been trying to be the next .30-06 for a lot longer and hasn't got the job done yet...

Have 2 6.5x55s, 1 6.5x57 and 1 6.5 JDJ. Sold off all but one of my 30-06s. The one left is a barrel for my Sauer 200, but the 6.5x57 is currently mounted up.

Shoot what you want, but don't tell me what I should be shooting...

I have never seen a rifle chambered in 260 nor have I seen a box of ammo in 260.

No it hasn't....it's been too busy being the 270 to worry much about being the 30/06. ......which (BTW)won't be replaced by the 260 anytime soon.

When it comes to shooting stuff,folks sometimes have such wonderful imaginations.

Pretty much agree on all points. I love the 7-08. Had one for my wife. She decided she wanted an AR, so we traded it. I WILL own another, and likely soon. But, with a 243 already and a 7 rm in the safe, it's hard to justify, other than "just cause"!

Entertaining.

06 = Yawn

Ballistics. Statistics.

In the end, they ALL are deadly, most beyond the limits of the masses that determine which are leading in sales.

MY choice is not dictated by the masses, as I am am a 'Looney'

Like Dan Adair, I built a 6.5-308 Win before Rem did a 260.

IF the 260 were to supplant the Springfield, then the Swede which was developed in 1891 would have done so, as it had a 15 year head start.

What I do see is a good trend by those shooting Tactical matches switching from 308 to 260. Far more 260 shooters than 7/08s, and more 6.5 Creedmoor shooters and 6.5x47 Lapua users than 7/08s.

The 260 and other 6.5s will likely remain dominant in that sport IMHO over the 7/08 b/c of the obsession w/BC. In the hunting world, much easier to get ammo and rifles in 7/08.

IF the military ever DID choose a 260 for it's advantages over the 308 in LR shooting, than PERHAPS the use of the 6.5-08 will grow substantially. I think the 7.62 is a Nato round and that might be a challenge. No doubt the Creedmoor and 47 Lapua has the goods as well from a ballistics standpoint, but I think the large primer of 2 would edge out the 47 SHOULD the US military change to a short 6.5mm.

It's a great round, but as stated, ALL WORK and are SHOOTER Dependent on results.

Personally I hate the 06 based on recoil vs benefit. I don't NEED that level of power for 99% of what I do. For the 1%, A 338 OR 9.3 bore gets my goat. I see THEM as being SUPERIOR in killing power at common ranges, over an '06, and quick kills and stopping power is more an interest than trajectory if I am hunting something with teeth, claws, or weighs as much as a small car

MY furthest deer kill to date was in a field that had been pre-LRF'd at 400 yds, and it was at the very edge, when it took a 6BR/105 Amax at 2850.

Contrarian, perhaps I am, but its not the very extreme of a minimalist. (Think 17s, 20s, and 22s). It does show that whether you tote a 243, 250, 260, or anything larger, you are well armed if your chamber is loaded w/proper ammo to spec, good bullets placed well will punch a tag everytime

Choose what you like, forget what the masses use. Their '06/corelokts are a tool, and miss out on the enjoyment of realizing sometimes less is more, LESS RECOIL, LESS BLAST, etc. etc. Fact is many 260 and other small cartridge shooters may own an 06 is larger, yet spend more time putting lead/copper downrange w/their smaller rounds.

I laugh at SOOO many guys that show up at the range who flinch using rifles in 06, and various Magnums. Such has become the 'American way' - LARGER guns, Larger scopes, Larger SUVs, Larger 4 wheelers, etc. etc. Bigger is intriguing, but not always more satisfying or effective.

Think of a surgeon, does he use a machete or chainsaw? No, a precise Scalpel.

That said, even a Looney like me, would be LOONEY Not to use an '06 IF Forced to use only one rifle. (Not that the 06 will kill any better for the bulk of what and how I hunt). So far, that's never happened, and I don't look for it to become the case - and that's a good thing, for me.

Whoever has yet to try something in a short action small bore might just try one before knocking them, as you just might discover more fun, and afterall, isn't that what this is all about?

Good/safe shooting and hunting all.

If forced to use one rifle, mine would be the 7x57, and not the 30-06. blasphemy, i know.

I don't know if the military will ever adopt a 6.5 across the force for many reasons. one may be the resultant loss of barrel life... (think machine guns and barrel changes). Seems to me the 308 is more forgiving in that regard.

the local gunshop has a left-handed walnut Hawkeye in 308 and boy is it a sweetie. if it were right-handed, and in 260, I would be all over it.

Many folks may not "need" the incredible versatility and power of the 30/06 for their own limited requirements;just because we don't need those thngs does not mean they don't exist.And there is no doubt the 260 is a great cartridge for many uses,as folks on here have shown.

But I can't imagine Phil Shoemaker wading into the alders after an Alaskan Brown bear with a 260 when there is a 30/06 to be had.

The next 30-06, in what way?

That it's pass�?

That it's too boring to bother with?

That it engenders envy from partisans of other cartridges?

That we've all run out of stuff to say about it?

That no one asks you any questions about it when you show up in hunting camp?

That it's as exciting as unflavored yogurt?

All of the above?

FC