So I am looking at reloading so lighter loads for my young daughter. I have a 260 rem with a +/- 17" barrel and am looking at loading so lighter loads with H4895. I am wondering if it makes sense to go with ABLR or ELD-X with the slower velocity and having added bullet weight? Would be for hunting both deer and elk. Yes it is a 1-8 twist. Any thoughts?
260 Rem reduced loads and ABLR?
- Thread starter Slimfinn
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DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
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- 5,978
Welcome aboard. Great question, and I'm sure it will generate some pronounced opinions. I like for newer bullets for a variety of reasons, but when you're thinking of reduced recoil, I would avoid the extra weight, opting instead for lighter bullets. I loaded 120 grain Sierra GKs in the 260 Rem for my grandson when he was younger. I cautioned him that accuracy was a greater determinate for effective kills than was bullet weight. The 129 grain ABLR would be acceptable, but perhaps some other choices would make for a lighter recoil. For a lighter bullet that should maintain integrity for elk, I would consider a 120 grain TSX, a 125 grain Partition, a 120 grain A-Frame or even a 130 grain Scirocco. That is my opinion, and its worth about what you paid for it. Again, welcome aboard. Let us know what you settle on.
I have a long history with Nosler bullets, I use partitions in pretty much every rifle I own, AB in a few, I ran LRAB in a 6.5......I won’t again. These are made for extreme long ranges, expending at slow speeds, at an average distance they can explode and get zero penetration.
I shot a goat on kodiak at 300 yards, the first round hit the shoulder blade, not the bone, did not penetrate into the virals. He ran uphill, and if you know anything about goats that’s a bad sign. I got another shot at 420 in the high shoulder, he then turned at me and I put one right in the brisket. If it wouldn’t have been for a couple of openings in the brush I’m sure I would have lost this goat.
Upon opening him, the first shot was completely stopped by the scapula, zero vitals penetration. The second shot was on a moving animal and I’ll accept responsibility for the hit, it was high above the vitals, so not lethal. The third in the brisket was lethal. After talking to 2 guys that shot 2 Dall sheep with 6.5 CM in LRAB, they had the same issue, giant explosions at both 150 and 400 yards.
I did research after I got back and I thought the LRAB was a regular AccuBond just modified for better BC. I was wrong, the large hollow cavity behind the tip cause catastrophic explosions at high speeds.
So if you are loading the 260 down to 2400 FPS and shooting fairly close, i would say they are ok, if you are high 2000’s and shooting close, it could be questionable. Did we lose our animals? No. But very easily could have, and I think making sure of a clean kill for a young hunter is important to keep them interested so I would encourage a bit stronger bullet, AB or even Partitions.
In the end it is your decision, good luck and enjoy the time with your young ones,
Coop
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I shot a goat on kodiak at 300 yards, the first round hit the shoulder blade, not the bone, did not penetrate into the virals. He ran uphill, and if you know anything about goats that’s a bad sign. I got another shot at 420 in the high shoulder, he then turned at me and I put one right in the brisket. If it wouldn’t have been for a couple of openings in the brush I’m sure I would have lost this goat.
Upon opening him, the first shot was completely stopped by the scapula, zero vitals penetration. The second shot was on a moving animal and I’ll accept responsibility for the hit, it was high above the vitals, so not lethal. The third in the brisket was lethal. After talking to 2 guys that shot 2 Dall sheep with 6.5 CM in LRAB, they had the same issue, giant explosions at both 150 and 400 yards.
I did research after I got back and I thought the LRAB was a regular AccuBond just modified for better BC. I was wrong, the large hollow cavity behind the tip cause catastrophic explosions at high speeds.
So if you are loading the 260 down to 2400 FPS and shooting fairly close, i would say they are ok, if you are high 2000’s and shooting close, it could be questionable. Did we lose our animals? No. But very easily could have, and I think making sure of a clean kill for a young hunter is important to keep them interested so I would encourage a bit stronger bullet, AB or even Partitions.
In the end it is your decision, good luck and enjoy the time with your young ones,
Coop
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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- #5
It all depends on how much you reduce your velocity. If you start the 129 AccuBond out around 2400 to 2500 fps it will be almost perfect for your intended purpose out to around 300 yards on deer and 200 on elk. This is in the velocity range that people are running it in the 6.5 Grendel and it really does a great job. Other bullets to run are the 100 and 120 ballistic tips or Hornady 123 SST. One bullet that I ran this year in my 6.5 Grendel that did an awesome job on the one deer I shot was the 120 Speer Gold Dot that I was running 2550 fps. This bullet is unique and I have never had any other bullet exabit it's terminal performance and I have shot hundreds of deer with all sorts of calibers and makes of bullets. This bullet exhibited the same performance in the deer I shot as the gel test that I have seen. It expands fully upon impact with 5 peddles and creates a huge hydrostatic effect that goes for 6 or 7 inches but the bullet is a bonded bullet so it holds together and cuts a pretty large permanent wound track and penetrates around 18 inches. In the deer I shot at 111 yards that was facing me and shot in the center of the chest when I pulled the hide down over it's front shoulders when dressing it the heart and lungs were turned into pulp and the hydrostatic effect had shredded the tissue between the ribs for about 6 inches and this pulp just gushed out. The first 2 to 3 ribs on both sides were broken and the left scapula was broken causing the left leg to just flap. The bullet held together and penetrated on through the gut and exited about 6 inches from the crotch out of the belly leaving a thumb size hole. Deer dropped at the shot and did a little break dance and was dead. Just another bullet to contemplate.
