Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 260 vs 7MM08

If that's true, then it's also true about everything since the '06.

Actually, it's probably true about everything since the .30 Gov't, aka .30-40 Krag. Ballistically comparable to a .308 Win. in a MODERN rifle. If we're arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin... Of course, I sold my .30-06s but still have a pair of .260 Rems and .243 Wins - both provide solutions to my "problems".

Selmer, care to elaborate a bit on that.

Not Selmer, but I have a 260 and another on the way. I'm betting his only "problem" that needed to be solved was realizing he can kill anything he hunts with a .260 and it's a lot more pleasant to shoot that an '06 if you're the kind of guy who doesn't measure his yearly output in numbers of 20-round boxes of factory ammo. shot.

You're telling a guy with tens and tens of kills with the 243 105 VLD on both elk and deer that is irresponsible? Why, because it kills too quickly?

Seriously, how may elk do you shoot in NY?

They are not the same,same if you reload.

Or put a 140 Gr. partition in the 260 to have a fair comparison.

260 Rem or 7mm-08 flip a coin.

There are some very cool riflemen (routinely making good shots on game) out there that kill regularly with what many (including me) would consider marginal calibers. But probably more important than caliber (if a reasonable caliber is used) is the construction of the bullet.

I, for one, would not recommend marginal calibers for everyone, even if Jack O'Connor or any other shooting expert used it. A friend in AZ was stating that he was proud because he drew blood (did not find the elk cow). He followed the blood trail for a full day. I was ashamed for him - mostly for bragging what he did. Maybe he was a poor shot, but the rifle/bullet he was using was marginal in my opinion. Another example, my brother-in-law shot an elk with a 165 grain Sierra bullet in the lungs - the cartridge 300 Win Mag. He chased that elk for all that day following a lung blood trail. He never found that cow. My guess he might of ruined one lung and the bullet didn't make it to the other. Certainly a 300 Win Mag is more than sufficient for elk.

I'm in my middle 60's and shooting a 338 Win Mag is still my first go-to rifle for elk. But for some the 338 may not be the best. I aim for the opposite shoulder or the heart depending on the angle of the shot and desire the bullet to go all the way through. I like blood trails that are short and I hate to see an elk run down a ravine when I'm the one carrying out the meat, hide and antlers. Maybe when I get old I'll have the luxury to have horses to haul these items out...

I'd say that to each his own. My recommendation is if you can hit a 1/2 size pie plate every time at the maximum range your going to hunt, use the best caliber and bullet combination you can get a hold of. One wasted elk in a life time is one too many.

That's good advice. I grew up hunting in Florida and still do. We always use a grapefruit as our gauge.

Holes in the right place is what kills. Maybe a 243 is a big enough hole lol

Smokepole, Think you meant to say 6.5x55, it has a longer track record

MJ, a 243 thru vitals with a decent bullet is enough, proven. On large game I'd trust a tad more bullet to reach and punch those vitals from all average shot presentations, but would not hesitate any broadside elk to 300 yds with a good 243 load.

I started with a 308 and that was OK then and probably still is - I doubt that elk are tougher now. But I was young and climbing up and down mountains didn't bother me as much as it does now. I have never felt the recoil of a rifle when I shot at big game - so a 338 is as easy to shoot for me as a 7x57. I am now too over-weight, I have bad knees, and I'm afraid that if I hauled an elk up a steep mountain side it would take more than a day and I might end up in E.R.
Probably the choice of the bullet is more important than the caliber all the way from the 260 to a 375.
I started using Nosler partitions when they were made on screw machines. I still believe that a 260 Nosler partition bullet is better than a 30 caliber Sierra bullet designed for something other than Elk. Nosler partitions never let me down.
Using a varmint caliber though...

Well dammit some one run over to the "What rifles got toted in your elk camp?" thread and tell us how many 243's,260's and 7mm/08's are listed on there...and 358's!

That should give us a hint about how good these cartridges all are...

Depending on the camp, or course, such a survey might be more of an indication of what Field & Stream has been touting all these years.

and the Native Americans in Canada shoot wolves and polar bears with a .223 also, but that doesn't mean it's a better cartridge than a 30-06 or 300magnum for the job. for someone to claim otherwise shows they are off their meds. Thousands of deer have been killed with a 22LR, but does anyone think that is better than a centerfire for killing of deer?

AMEN BROTHER

Wonder if my Pocket Rocket slingshot will kill a deer?

Maybe if I use Buckshot??

Dead is dead doesn't matter what the head stamps says.

You're all over the place. You didn't say the rifle and cartridge he chooses is suboptimal in your opinion, you said it is irresponsible, and I called you out for your choice of words.

I also asked you to list how many deer and especially elk you have killed and to compare that to John's pile of animals killed with the 243/105 VLD. You are conjecturing, he is presenting evidence.

They are not even close to the same.

shooting elk at 600yds with cartridges much bigger than the 243 is pushing the limits of good ethics buy many people in the industry, so for someone to say the 243 [a deer cartridge] shooting a fragile bullet is a better killer than a gun DESIGNED to kill elk and other big animals is irresponsible, regardless of success. It promotes bad choices and bad decisions by people who don't have the knowledge or experience killing any big game animal.

Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done or promoted. To do so is irresponsible regardless of individual results. If he had said he "prefers" the 243 to the 358, that would be different than saying it was better than the 358.