So I already have a 308. She is a thing of beauty when the wind blows. If you read in the PNW hunting section I'll keep updates. But today in a very mild 10-15mph breeze I was doing some fine sniping of chiselers @ 500 yards.

I digress, So I would like to try a slightly smaller varmint gun. I loved my 264WM, but not exactly an all day varmint shooter. I also now have kids comming up, So would like to double as a toy for me, for now. And a first hunter type gun for them.
Being as I am a selfish pig, and am sweet on the 6.5's am considering the 260.

My question is, would I be better served to just get a 243, or build my 260?? The 260 would fight the air a little better, and should be just fine for the mulley's around here when the time to hunt comes. But will it buck just like the 308? If so, then why get a new gun, just use this one...


What do you think?

Check down at the bottom of the page and look at some of the similar threads.

I've never used a 260, but sure am happy with the 243 for coyotes and ground squirrels.

There are lots of good varmit bullets for the 243. I like the 55 grain Noslers at around 3900 fps. Pretty disruptive to yotes and the ground diggers. If the wind is blowing move up to some of the nice 85 grain hollow points they buck the wind pretty good.

I don't know what kind of varmits bullets are available for the 260, but It should make a dandy varmit rifle.

What's a Chiseler?


I'll take a poke at your question, just to be fair. Don't know how old, big, experienced your kids are. I'd lean towards the 243 for any young or new shooter. Which ya want worse, new toy for you, or one your kids can handle well?

I like the 243 better. If you're gonna go smaller, might's well go smaller. Haven't run the numbers, but I'd suspect the 243 makes up in velocity what it lacks in weight (to buck wind) out to 500. Definetly flatter and easier on the shoulder. Just more fun to shoot . For you and the wee ones.

Both good choices. You know's well as I do. Guesse another way to put it is, which is more important; lighter recoil or buckin the wind fractionaly better?

Luck. See question at top.

The 260 is a fine rifle for kids or adults it has less recoil than 308. It is very deadly with good quality 120-125 grain bullets on medium game and one can move up to 140g for larger animals . Bucking the wind is one of the 6.5s big merits as well as its flat efficent killing ability . Depending on how you reload it can affect recoil as it gets snappier with hot loads at higher grains in lightweight rifles.That said my girl did not have any problem with it and that is what I started her on in a model 7 remington. The 243 has less recoil than the 260 but I think the 260 can be counted on to be more terminal in a less than ideal situation for a beginner.I shoot 308, 260, for deer and 243 for varmits (want limited pass through of bullet). Between the two I do not think there is a wrong choice .
Hope it helps
Frank

I wouldn't say the .260 is the varmint cartridge that the .243 is, unless you are talking long range, long as in 400 yards and beyond. If you get a rifle with a 1-8" twist the .260 will easily shoot a lot flatter than a .308 or .243 using the long range bullets in the 123-140gr weight range. I can't see where a 100gr bullet from a .260 is going to have any more recoil than a 100gr bullet from a .243 for hunting, so I would discount the .243 if you want a round your kids can hunt with and you can play with at long range. I like the 6mm cartridges, but they lack the bullets with a BC of .5 and over for real long range shooting.

I just picked up a .260 Encore pistol barrel for target shooting at long range so I've done a bit of looking into what is available as far as bullets go.

The 260 is a fine rifle for kids or adults it has less recoil than 308. It is very deadly with good quality 120-125 grain bullets on medium game and one can move up to 140g for larger animals . Bucking the wind is one of the 6.5s big merits as well as its flat efficent killing ability . Depending on how you reload it can affect recoil as it gets snappier with hot loads at higher grains in lightweight rifles.That said my girl did not have any problem with it and that is what I started her on in a model 7 remington. The 243 has less recoil than the 260 but I think the 260 can be counted on to be more terminal in a less than ideal situation for a beginner.I shoot 308, 260, for deer and 243 for varmits (want limited pass through of bullet). Between the two I do not think there is a wrong choice .
Hope it helps
Frank

Well said. Better than I did.

Both are fine rounds but most of the really long range varminters I know of use the 243. If you're talking strictly a long range varmint round it is hard to beat. It does have less recoil energy than the 260 as well as a larger selection of varmint bullets. A quick check of the Hornady site shows it offers 8 different varmint bullets for the 243 from 58-87 grns while only offering 1 95 grain for the 260. Sierra shows a similar selection, offering 6 different varmint bullets compared to 2 for the 260.

I have to respectfully disagree with the 260 is "a lot" flatter than the 243, It's using the same case with a larger, heavier bullet. It just doesn't have the extra case capacity to be a lot flatter, despite BC's of .5-.55 for the 140 grn bullet. A comparison of Remington factory ammo ballistics shows that comparing the .243 95 grn Core Lokt to a 260 140 grn Core Lokt with a 200 yard zero shows the 260 is never more than 1.9" flatter at 300-500 yards. Comparing the 95 grn and 120 grn Accutips, the .243 is flatter, though they're close enough that for practical purposes, they're equal. Unless you are shooting off of a bench and are a good enough shooter to take advantage of these minute differences, they are irrelevant in the field. My vote is for the 243 for long range varminting.

Since you clearly stated that you want a varmint gun, the .243 is the winner. I have both the .243 and the .260, and while the .260 does great at long range, it's recoil even with 95-grain varmint bullets gets a bit much on an all-day shoot. Even those "light" bullets will rochochet off flat land, making this chambering less safe in some shooting areas.

The .243, especially with 55-grain bullets, is a great long range varmint killer. It shoots flatter than about any .22 centerfire, without the recoil of heavier bullet loads. As far as bucking the wind, here are 400 yard wind drift values from Federal's site:

.308/150BTip = 13.3"
.243/55BTip = 14.9"
.243/70BTip = 15.3"
.243/85HPBT = 15.5"

Uninformed shooters may repeat the worn-out phrase that heavier bullets work better in the wind, but that just isn't always the case. In this example, the 55-grain bullet has the same practical drift, shoots flatter and carries much higher velocity to 400 yards for better terminal effect and less chance of richochet. Plus the recoil of this load is much less than the others, meaning better field accuracy and more shooter comfort. To me there is no choice - get the .243 in the best rifle/scope combo you can afford. :)

"Uninformed shooters may repeat the worn-out phrase that heavier bullets work better in the wind, but that just isn't always the case."





That is one of those tidbits of information that is nearly impossible to convey those who choose to hold onto old myths......well said...............

You've already got a 308 for deer. The 260 begins and ends with deer. Of course you can shoot smaller stuff with it as well. For a varmint rig that'll also serve as your kids first hunting (hunting means deer to me) rifle. You can't beat the 243.

If you're like me, you get interested in a particular caliber and have to have it. Then another, and another. Sounds like you really want the 260. But then you want it for a step down. Shoot it a year, and you'll be ready for another step down.

264's offer better terminal performance on deer size game. 6mm's offer lighter recoil, flatter trajectories, and will kill deer. Have fun!

Soooo, somebody tell me what a chiseler is.