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It looks like this may well be a well dead thread - but hey I'll try.

I am in the process of deciding on a caliber to hunt elk on Afognak Island in Alaska - and the big choice is between .260 Rem and 308 win. Afognak Elk are Roosevelt Elk and larger than Rocky Mountain elk, and the ones from Afognak Island are even abnormally large for Roosevelt elk. I've see bull elk from Afognak that weighed 1400 pounds - even shot one myself that weighed around 1300 pounds.

Anyway, I have done a lot of elk hunting and all of my elk have been shot with a 300 win mag. But the thing weighs a ton and I don't think I shoot it all that well. And it's not just me. In fact I looked at our group elk hunt statistics and over the years we've shot 15 elk. Non magnum rounds (.308, 270 and 30-06) are 8 for 8. No one has ever failed to kill an elk on our hunts when using a non-magnum. And 4 different people have shot elk with a non-magnum.

With the magnum rounds (300 win mag, 338 win - and also 4 different shooters) the success rate is WAY lower - like 7 out of 15 tries. And only one of those was a wounded animal that got away (A shoulder shot at 50 yards!). All the rest of the failed elk were complete misses or branches etc. And in my defense I was 5 for 5 with elk with the 300 win mag before I had 3 bad shots in a row. And this is why I am dropping the 300 WM.

Anyhow, I own a 270 win and 308 win and 260 rem (in addition to the 300 WM) and am thinking of taking the 260 into the field this year. But it just seems so small. But hard to argue with stats too.

My big worry is long shots. Sometimes on Afognak Island you just can't get any closer when the bulls are out in the middle of a big alpine bowl. Another consideration is weight and compactness. My old 300 WM is a beast. And I am sick of carrying it thru the brush, and up the mountains. On Afognak we generally carry our camp on our backs for 60 miles or so (in 2012 we GPS'd our route as 65 miles). So light and compact means a great deal.

Anyhow, I looked at the ballistics and noted that the 260 seems to carry the punch a bit further downrange than the 308 (I use 140g bullets Sierra Gameking in the 260 and 180g Federal soft point in the 308). Also the 260 has a far higher sectional density. So the 260 is what I am going to go with for elk out to 300 yards - thoughts?

Finally, I will add that I've shot almost 40 sitka blacktail deer, mountain goats, and one reindeer with my 260. I know it well and it seems to drop animals quite decisively out to 400 yards. I like the rifle -only I guess I still don't quite trust it for elk! And finally my 270 has a very long barrel and no ballistic reticule - so I'd prefer to use the short action 308 or 260.

Patrick

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I can guarantee you a Rem 725 rebarreled to .260 with 140 gr. Corelokts will kill a cow elk at @ 150 yds drt, wolf at 40 drt, and several caribou drt at 200 - 400 yds.

Unless you pecker shoot one first. But that WILL slow 'em down! smile

Allow for windage....not to mention remembering to use the range-finder... smile


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Seems like our moose hunting brothers across the Atlantic made a pretty good run of killing moose on driven hunts and other woodsie type hunting scenario's with the 6.5x55.. There are a slew of great bullets for the 260/6.5 Swede.

Did you use the 140 Sierra for all of the deer and other animals you shot with the 260?

I'd think with a good bullet, it'll work. You shooting it well is probably 95% of the hunt anyhow.

Good luck and take lots of pictures. They are some BIG elk. Never shot a Roosevelt, but I'd love to get into them sometime.


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All of them were with Remington factory 140 gr. Corelokts, which is the most accurate factory round I've found for my rifle to date. MOA or less. Haven't done any reloading yet.

Yeah, I know...no animal dies unless it's done with.a Premium ......


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What rarely gets discussed, is that the 6.5 rounds seem to kill way better than they should if you judge them by the paper ballistics. I believe that it is that long bullet spinning extremely rapidly that imparts a very killing impact on an animal. If defies its size.


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Donner,

I have no actual knowledge of a .260 Rem. I'm going to guess that it's close enough to a 6.5 Swede to be its twin. About two decades ago a Finnish dude told me that he and other Scandinavians hunt HUGE Scandinavians moose with the 6.5 Swede, so a .260 Rem ought to work on elk.


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I was going to take my 260 on my Kodiak deer hunt with Art. I was talked out of it. I ended up taking my 300 H&H. It worked fine. The concern was bears. Is it ideal for elk? I don't think it is but will certainly work just fine. My preferred bullet for big game with my 260 is the 140 Sierra game king. Seems to really thrive at this velocity!


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Use a Partition and don't worry about the elk......
........can't speak for bears.......

Casey


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Having said that, MAGA.
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I know the 260 rem with 140 sierra gamekings is an excellent Kodiak deer and goat round. It has been my go to rifle for everything but elk until now. And even if it works for elk (hopefully I'll be able to let you know on that one) I do know I would not use it to hunt brown bear.

I carry pepper spray for the bears. Pepper spray works (I used it once) and I'm not sure if I would be able to kill a bear quick before the bear got to me (or even get a shot off) even if I had a 375 HH. So for me the 260 rem is fine.

And as I said I've learned that the 300 win mag or 338 isn't ideal for elk either. I'm hoping I'll actually kill better with the 260 because I'll shoot better with it.

But I have to admit those 260 cartridges just look so darn small. .. .

And finally I agree with las about the corelokts. I used them all the time until they stopped selling them here. VERY accurate in my 260.

I also think because the 260 has lower velocities that soft core and cup bullets work just fine. I know I have had no issues with bullet failure with almost 40 animals and counting. And I have had some catastrophic bullet failures with my 270 and 300 WM. I had to stop using sierra gamekings and ballistic tips in my 270 because at close range they did crazy things. I once blew a grapefruit sized hole in the shoulder of a deer with a 130g ballistic tip from the 270. It ran off and I had to kill it ugly. The same thing would not have happened if I had fired the same bullet at the lower velocities of the 260.

And thank you all for the advice, I now have the confidence to use the 260 rem on Afognak Elk. I'll let you know how it goes.


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Originally Posted by pgsalton


And as I said I've learned that the 300 win mag or 338 isn't ideal for elk either. I'm hoping I'll actually kill better with the 260 because I'll shoot better with it.







Not sure why you think the 300 and 338 aren't ideal for elk as I think they are. I have killed 11 or 12 bulls with a 300 Wby and found it never lacking. Most of those bulls were killed with 165 grain X bullets but I also used 200 grain Barnes originals, 200 grain hot cores and a 250 grain Barnes original. All were excellent bullets for elk. I never recovered an X bullet from an elk. I did recover a couple of the 200s in the far skin.

If recoil is your nemesis I can't understand that but it doesn't mean the 300s are not ideal for elk. The 260 is fine. The only other bullet I have used on really big stuff in the 260 is the 130 Accubond. It seemed to work fine on feral horses.


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I normally hunt with a 7mm Rem Mag loaded with Hornady SST or Swift Scirroco. I bought my wife a .260 based off the reviews on the recoil. I have killed everything from Southern white tail to rocky Mountain elk, to mulies with the same 150gr bullet pushing 3100fps put of my 7 mag.

Well, this year I want to use the .260 to prove it's worth to myself. I bought 2 boxes of ammo and am wondering, what would you use? I have a box of Barnes TTSX in 120gr and Federal premiums with sierra gamekings in 140gr. I saw the bullet results thread and darn near 100% weight retention in the barnes intrigues me, however I know the gameking is a proven killer. Help me choose because I keep teetering either way.

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Go Barnes.


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Charles Sheldon didn't think he was under gunned with his little .256 Mannlicher (6.5x54) whilst traipsing around Alaska and shot a fair bit of big critters:

".. I always had a .22 rifle to use for shooting grouse and small animals, but for large game my Mannlicher, .256 calibre, is the only rifle I have used in the North.�



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Another good thread from time past.

Nice reading words from nice people who haven't posted here in a good while.

Take care


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I have noticed that being full copper, the 120gr Barnes TTSX is every bit as long as the 140gr. SGK. I have yet to hit the range with this .260 Rem though so we will see which ones it spits out better.

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Just a sidenote, this is the thread that convinced me to buy a .260. I got a savage model 11 with the 1 in 8 twist. I'm working midnight shift right now but I am super excited to get it out to the range. It should be able to fill my idaho cow tag!

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I use my 260 a lot mostly with 120 BT or 120 TTSX. As much as I love it I wouldn't carry it on Afognac. Have hunted there 4 times and carried my .375 and never felt "overgunned"

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Welcome to the Campfire MachoKing.

I hope the fire is good to you.


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One of my hunting partners is seriously angry at me for wanting to hunt with the .260. He is saying he won't help me track an elk if I shoot it with a 260. Funny thing is, he never tracks or even packs out because he's a little primadonna baby. I have full faith a 120gr barnes ttsx will smoke a cow elk out to 300 yards no problems.

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time for a new primadonna, err, partner.....

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