Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 1:9 Twist for 260 Rem?

I have fallen in love with the 6.5 ! I bought a Winchester FWT in 6.5x55 and now have the fever for a 260. I found a rifle for a great deal but its a 1:9 twist. This rifle will be for deer, hogs, maybe even elk. Will the 140 grain bullets work well with this twist rate? I have read that the 120 to 130 grain bullets do really well with this twist rate but the 140's not so much. I do not plan on shooting anything over 140 grains.
Thanks for any and all help

4B

Shoot it and find out, only way to know. 123 Scenar worth a thunk.

My Remington .260 is a 1/9 twist and will handle a 140 flat base just fine, 140 CoreLokts, 140 Hornady SP and 140 Partitions all shot good from mine.


I stick with 120-130gr bullets because I have a bunch.

Depends on the bullet and the rifle unfortunately. Something shorter like a 140 Corelokt or Partition I wouldn't anticipate problems with, but 140 Berger's or something that length may have trouble.

My 1:9 260 would shoot 140 Bergers fine in the summer time, but I found out when it got to freezing temps the groups opened up considerably which I attribute to less stability. Velocity was 2710 FPS when chrono'd in warm weather. You'll have to try it and see.

IMO 1:9 is marginal for 140's but depending on the velocity it CAN work.

If you like the rifle and want to hunt with it, there's not much difference between a 120 or 125 grain 6.5 and a 140 grain bullet on game.

My gunsmith built one with a 9 twist Douglas barrel. Shoots the 130 Accubond into tiny groups, accounted for a mule deer and a pronghorn this fall.

Sounds like you are on the right track, and have gotten some good advice already. The longer 140's will likely be a problem and I also had a bit of trouble with the 130 gr TSX when I had a 1 in 9 twist 260 Rem.

Should add my gunsmiths was a 6.5x55 built on a Mauser action, don't know what OAL he loaded to...

I had a 1-9" .260 Rem. 700. It shot 140 "normal" bullets just fine and 130 TSX were fantastic. If you can't do it with the 130 TSX, the .260 can't do it. If it's a good deal, go for it, you won't be sorry. All that being said, my current .260s are 1-8" twists - Ruger and an MGM Encore barrel. They shoot good too.

I would not go faster than 1:9" for a 6.5 short action, assuming you'll not want to go heavier than 140 grains.