260, 6.5x55Swede 0r 7mm08 ??

[270fan]

Please share your experiences and/or thoughts.

I am getting another rifle and can't decide which caliber to get. I am considring the 260, 6.5x55 Sweede or a 7mm08... I have used a bolt action Win 70 and a BAR both in 270 for the last 30 years. I want another caliber for ..... well just to have something different and to start my grand sons with. My shooting is about 75% range, 20% deer and 5% miscellaneous on such as crows (which is hard to do any more with the urbanization we are getting), turltles off the stumps on the farm ponds way out in the country, etc. Most of my hunting is whitetail. I even considered a 243. I had a Rem Mod 7 in 243 when my son was young many years ago.

I looked at a Savage 12F ... 26" barrell at 8.75 pounds ... that I can get in 243 for about $450 but the 243 caliber is last on my list right now and the weight wouldn't really be good for the grand kids. I load all of my ammo. I do; however, already have dies, brass etc. for a 243.

Any experiences and/or thoughts you could share on this would be appreciated. I thought I posted this earlier but apparently it didn't go through.[/b]

 

[Ol` Joe]

[/quote]I am getting another rifle and can't decide which caliber to get. I am considring the 260, 6.5x55 Sweede or a 7mm08...


That`s a tough question to answer. I`ve got all three in the safe. Two of them 260s, and at one time had 3 Swedes, two 708s and a 260 begging for range time.
I have come to prefer the 260 here for deer although I have also used the Swede and found it to be the same thing as the 260, both in game dropping ability and accuracy on paper. Light recoil and good bullet performance with non premium bullets at the normal velocities of these two makes for a nice combination. The 7-08 is very similar to the 270 you already have in recoil and hunting performance.
There is no bad choice between any of them. The 260 is a better pick if you reload, as ammo isn`t available everywhere. The Swede also is better handloaded to 260 velocities. The factory stuff is a bit anemic. I found the 708 to be a great hunting cartridge and boringly accurate on paper. I used it for ~10 yr on whitetails and never had a failure to have them drop at the shot.

 

[LoneStar]

Since the vast majority of you shooting will be at the range, accuracy and recoil will be the two most important factors. All three cartridges work equally well on deer. My M700 VLS in .260 is really a target/varmint rifle, but I most enjoy shooting either the Nosler 100 BTips or Sierra 107 HPBTs at 3200 fps. Both will agg in the .5s and the recoil in the heavy rifle is light. The Hornady 95 VMax bullet shoots almost as well and is pretty explosive on larger varmints. Recoil is minimized with these lighter bullets, and I know from experience that the Nosler kills whitetail-sized deer very well.

The 6.5x55 handloaded is a virtual performance clone of the .260, but it will not fit in the smaller actions that the .260 will, without deep seating the bullets.

The 7-08 has more recoil than the others, although that is mostly driven by the slightly higher bullet weights usually shot in the larger bore.

Accuracy is a complete wash - the rifle will determine accuracy, not the cartridge.



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[honkeetonkin]

270fan, I think it depends on the size of your grandsons. I've seed 16 year old boys way under 6ft that could shoot a 3006 well of hand . I have a 7/08 ruger 77 that i used to loan to people to shoot there first hog and things have always turned out well. I also have a 260 rem. in an encore pistol so I realy cant compare the two side by side . I would pick the 7/08 .

 

[Luns4d]

I know I'm a bit late responding on this, but I had to weigh in on the 260. It has the lightest recoil of the bunch (only a little lighter than the sweede) and I have killed everything from coyote to Elk with mine very effectively. 100g partitions will kill whitetail quickly, 120g Ballistic tips will kill Whitetail quickly, and Barnes 130g X bullets will kill wild boar and Elk quickly. Nosler just introduced a 130g AccuBond that will likely be a perfect all around slug for the 260.

One Boar was 386 yards away and he only took three steps after the shoot. I've also shot Deer as close as 40 yards with excellent results (no blood shot meat)

I shoot a model 7 with a 23 inch barrel, which is a light weight rig that can shoot in close or out as far as you want to shoot at animals.

As a statement of accuracy, the silhoette shooters are using the 260 a lot now days.

My only concern is that my kids are going to find out about this gun some day and then I'm going to have to make a decision. :lol:

 

[nomosendero]

Since the vast majority of you shooting will be at the range, accuracy and recoil will be the two most important factors. All three cartridges work equally well on deer. My M700 VLS in .260 is really a target/varmint rifle, but I most enjoy shooting either the Nosler 100 BTips or Sierra 107 HPBTs at 3200 fps. Both will agg in the .5s and the recoil in the heavy rifle is light. The Hornady 95 VMax bullet shoots almost as well and is pretty explosive on larger varmints. Recoil is minimized with these lighter bullets, and I know from experience that the Nosler kills whitetail-sized deer very well.

The 6.5x55 handloaded is a virtual performance clone of the .260, but it will not fit in the smaller actions that the .260 will, without deep seating the bullets.

The 7-08 has more recoil than the others, although that is mostly driven by the slightly higher bullet weights usually shot in the larger bore.

Accuracy is a complete wash - the rifle will determine accuracy, not the cartridge.



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Lonestar, did you buy your VLS & then install your barrel or was this a special run than Rem. did?

 

[7mmfan]

For young hunters in factory guise, the 260 is better. For the reloader it's a toss-up. All are very accurate and capable rounds. For me, the 7mm-08, bigger bullet for first-time hunters in case it goes in the wrong spot.

 

[FOTIS]

7mm-08. More versatile than the others and can eventually handle big game better.

Launch a 175 Partition (or a 160 for that matter) at 2500 fps or better and no elk or moose can take that within 250 yards or so.

 

[Eagle Eye]

While my preference would be toward the 7mm-08, any of the three would be a great deer rig for you. The 260 is an excellent whitetail caliber but I hear rumblings that it will soon disappear due to a lack of demand. The Swede is also superb but not in huge demand here in North America. Hence, rifles and ammo are not as easy to come by.

As for the rifle choice, I would lean towards a Remington Model 7 or a Remington 700 Mountain Rifle. Both can be had in 7mm-08. There are several versions of each available, including stainless steel. I prefer the Mountain rifle because it has a 22" barrel as oppsoed to the Model 7's 20" tube. The 22' balances better in my opinion. Mated to a reasonably compact scope, either one makes a great carry all day setup that is fast, accurate and deadly. At the same time, recoil should not be too high for a younger shooter and if it was an issue, you can buy recoil reduced factory ammo for it. Why Remington you may ask....I have owned so many I have lost count over the years and I have never had a single issue with any of them. They always shoot well for me, are solid performers in the field or at the range and are reasonably priced. Many custom rifles use the Remington action...that says a lot about their accuracy.

Hope this helps.