Anyone using a 260 Rem for black bear?
- Thread starter BobbyinBC
- Start date
I reload 130 grain Barnes TSX for my daughter's Tikka T3 in 260 Remington.
She killed one spring black bear at 150 yards - dead right there, and one fall bear at 80 yards that only made it 60 yards into the bush.
The 260 Remington is a good black bear and deer gun.
She killed one spring black bear at 150 yards - dead right there, and one fall bear at 80 yards that only made it 60 yards into the bush.
The 260 Remington is a good black bear and deer gun.
139 grain Hornady SST Interlock over 44 grains of H414/W760, over CCI250 primers will give you 2700+fps out of a 22 inch barrel and if you do your part right with an accurate rifle, is very good Black Bear medicine.
I've taken several Black Bears, including a couple over 6 feet, from ranges of ten feet to 300 yards.
The 6ft 4 inch (tip of nose to base of tail) bear was shot at a distance of ten feet. It was a large male, in aggressive/curious mode shot on an alfalfa covered side road. He just wouldn't go away. I already had another smaller Brown phase Black Bear down and was heading back for the quad to haul it out of the bush. I didn't really want this particular Bear or need the meat but it was better than becoming the meat.
The rifle I used for this hunt was a Remington 700 bdl long action, chambered for the 260 Rem in a 22in bbl. I chose the long action because I could seat the heavier bullets at "one" caliber contact depth, without taking up powder space.
I shot both bears that morning with that rifle, shooting that load. The first Bear (5 feet) was shot across a clear cut at just over 200 yds, while it grazed on Dandelion s and the second was only ten feet away. That's about as good a test as you can get for a particular load, with a particular bullet.
Both animals only required one shot to put them down and stay down.
The smaller Bear was shot just under the spine, just on top of the lungs. The bullet took out an angled rib on the way in, ripped the tops of both lungs and severed the two arteries under the spine. It dropped appx 10 yards from where it was shot. The bullet went through the offside, between the ribs and exited the hide, leaving a 3/4 in hole.
The large/aggressive/curious Bear was shot at point blank range. The bullet entered the top of the neck about 3 inches behind the skull/spine juncture, took out a vertebrae/spinal cord and broke up, leaving bits of bone and bullet fragments through the throat/lungs and esophagus. The base of the jacket was found in the right lung. Being a spinal shot, which also took out an artery, the animal dropped on the spot, coughing up blood. The sparkle went out of his eyes before I could put a coup de gras shot into his brain. That skull is looking at me from a book shelf right now.
A flat base Hornady 139 grain Interlock would work every bit as well, but may be a hair less accurate at longer ranges. The flat base would allow more powder room in the cartridge, which might be handy if your rifle has a short action, which limits the length it can be loaded to.
As shotcup says, the 260Rem is a good cartridge for Bears but it's also good for Deer and Moose if the shooter does their part to place the bullet properly.
I've taken several Black Bears, including a couple over 6 feet, from ranges of ten feet to 300 yards.
The 6ft 4 inch (tip of nose to base of tail) bear was shot at a distance of ten feet. It was a large male, in aggressive/curious mode shot on an alfalfa covered side road. He just wouldn't go away. I already had another smaller Brown phase Black Bear down and was heading back for the quad to haul it out of the bush. I didn't really want this particular Bear or need the meat but it was better than becoming the meat.
The rifle I used for this hunt was a Remington 700 bdl long action, chambered for the 260 Rem in a 22in bbl. I chose the long action because I could seat the heavier bullets at "one" caliber contact depth, without taking up powder space.
I shot both bears that morning with that rifle, shooting that load. The first Bear (5 feet) was shot across a clear cut at just over 200 yds, while it grazed on Dandelion s and the second was only ten feet away. That's about as good a test as you can get for a particular load, with a particular bullet.
Both animals only required one shot to put them down and stay down.
The smaller Bear was shot just under the spine, just on top of the lungs. The bullet took out an angled rib on the way in, ripped the tops of both lungs and severed the two arteries under the spine. It dropped appx 10 yards from where it was shot. The bullet went through the offside, between the ribs and exited the hide, leaving a 3/4 in hole.
The large/aggressive/curious Bear was shot at point blank range. The bullet entered the top of the neck about 3 inches behind the skull/spine juncture, took out a vertebrae/spinal cord and broke up, leaving bits of bone and bullet fragments through the throat/lungs and esophagus. The base of the jacket was found in the right lung. Being a spinal shot, which also took out an artery, the animal dropped on the spot, coughing up blood. The sparkle went out of his eyes before I could put a coup de gras shot into his brain. That skull is looking at me from a book shelf right now.
A flat base Hornady 139 grain Interlock would work every bit as well, but may be a hair less accurate at longer ranges. The flat base would allow more powder room in the cartridge, which might be handy if your rifle has a short action, which limits the length it can be loaded to.
As shotcup says, the 260Rem is a good cartridge for Bears but it's also good for Deer and Moose if the shooter does their part to place the bullet properly.
I dont have a .260 but , I do have a 6.5CM.
Is that close enough and if I decide to go for a Spring bruin I'll be shooting 131grn Sellior & Bellot SP ammo.
Keep it within reasonable range and you'll do fine.
Good Hunting.
Rob
Is that close enough and if I decide to go for a Spring bruin I'll be shooting 131grn Sellior & Bellot SP ammo.
Keep it within reasonable range and you'll do fine.
Good Hunting.
Rob
Unfortunately I did not get out hunting with my 260 while I had it, but the Federal Premium 140 gr load would have been up to the task. (only sold it as it wasn't a LH rifle, and working with a variety of 6.5's at the time - 260, 6.5 CM, 6.5x55 and 6.5x284)
The 260's ballistic twins of the 6.5 CM and 6.5x55 have worked well for me on moose, caribou and elk, with 143 and 140 gr bullets, from 100 to 370 yards, so would perform equally well on black bears.
All of my black bears taken to date have been with larger calibers (prefer to use the handy lever actions such as 356/358 or 375 for following up wounded black bears in the thick bush, if needed, so have typically hunted with these for years), but I would not hesitate to use a 6.5 with 140 gr bullets on a black bear.
Will be trying the Federal 130 gr Terminal Ascent ammunition in my LH 6.5 CM this weekend, and am taking on my New Zealand hunt at the end of the month for red stag, fallow buck and arapawa ram. My wife and I will be sharing the one rifle on this hunt, so should be able to report on this bullets effectiveness first hand afterwards, on a variety of sized big game.
The 260's ballistic twins of the 6.5 CM and 6.5x55 have worked well for me on moose, caribou and elk, with 143 and 140 gr bullets, from 100 to 370 yards, so would perform equally well on black bears.
All of my black bears taken to date have been with larger calibers (prefer to use the handy lever actions such as 356/358 or 375 for following up wounded black bears in the thick bush, if needed, so have typically hunted with these for years), but I would not hesitate to use a 6.5 with 140 gr bullets on a black bear.
Will be trying the Federal 130 gr Terminal Ascent ammunition in my LH 6.5 CM this weekend, and am taking on my New Zealand hunt at the end of the month for red stag, fallow buck and arapawa ram. My wife and I will be sharing the one rifle on this hunt, so should be able to report on this bullets effectiveness first hand afterwards, on a variety of sized big game.
- Location
- West Central Alberta
That's what I would use in my 6.5 prc, they group the best out of my new Vangaurd S2
I’ve taken a few Black Bears with the 125gr Partitions out of my 260, the load is running just over 2,700fps with a 22”barrel, they went one/two strides each before collapsing on the lung/heart shots. 1 @ 170ish yards quartering away across a blueberry ridge, 1 @ 20 yards in thick raspberry cane on its Hind legs looking at me, 1 @ 80 yards coming into the cutover.
The 125 partitions did their job, as they do every time on deer as well, crazy how much though they’ve gone up in price,
The 125 partitions did their job, as they do every time on deer as well, crazy how much though they’ve gone up in price,
