bandgod

My brother is looking for a rifle that will fit my niece very well. He wants a gun that's light in nature, shoots flat and hits hard. He was looking at the .243 but would like to go with something just a little more beefy. He's also looked at the 7mm-.08 but hasn't really found anything he wants to buy for her. What gun would you go with, or is there something else we should look at? I would probably reload shells for him so bullet availability is not an issue.

frizzellr

The 243 Win, 260 Rem and 7mm-08 Rem are all fine deer cartridges. The 243 Win only shoots a 100 grain bullet which makes some a little uncomfortable, but ever deer I have shot with a 243 got real uncomfortable in a hurry. It is a devastating round when put on target. The 260 allows you to move up to a 120 and if I am not mistaken a 140 grain bullet. I would imagine the 120 working the best and if a 140 grain, or even a 160 grain bullet is called for then the 7mm-08 is your rifle. Recoil will go up slightly with the 260 and 7mm-08, but they are all light provided the shooter is not ultra sensitive. I think the 260 Rem would be a very good cartridge to start with although I love the 7mm-08 and 243. It sort of fills the gap so to speak. I just hope it catches on and stays with us.

Briman

From what I've heard, the .260 should almost equal the 6.5x55 Swedish round though I cannot say for sure. 6.5mm bullets have fairly unique property of having very high sectional densities especially for 140 and 160 gr. bullets, which make them better penetrators and performers than what would be expected of them. Spire point bullets of 129 and 140gr perform well at long ranges and retain energy better on average than most other calibers.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms... who's bringing the chips?

thndrchiken

If he can find one, even though it's for his daughter, he'll probably end up using it more is a 257 Roberts or a 6.5x55. Both are rounds that perform and are light in recoil. The swede will let you go up to 160 gr bullets.

halcon

thndrchiken the 6.5x55 Swede or the .257 Roberts are both faster rounds and they have very little recoil as you say ,But They are all .264 cal so if you can load 160gr in the 6.5x55 then you could load it for the 260 rem. Its one of those guns you wonder why they developed it ,when it is listed under everthing close to it .
To my way of thinking there aren't any advantages to it there are to many guns better than it is .

Edited by - halcon on 11/26/2002 20:56:11

eldeguello

The main advantage I see in the .260 is cartridge length, which is short enough to work well in a Model 7 Remington size action, permitting a very short, light rifle to be built for it. Of course, the same holds true for the 7mm/08 and .243 as well. One can also built a .257 Roberts on such an action, but bullets have to be seated very deeply for such a short magazine. The .264" (6.5mm) bore is pretty close to optimum for game no bigger than large mule deer, but the 7mm is also great! Either of these is a little bit more effective for all-around use than the .243.

Keep yore powder dry!!

thndrchiken

Halcon, while the 264WM, the 260 and the 6.5x55 are all .264" bullets the 257 Roberts is a 25 caliber. To be honest with you I would rather use the swede than it's more domestic counterparts, if for no other reason than to be different. As far as the 6.5x55 being only adequate up to mule deer, many Europeans would say different and have been for over a century now. The post only asked for suggestions on a caliber suitable for use by a girl.

seattlesetters

Girl, boy, man, woman, whatever. The .257 Roberts, the .260 Rem, the 6.5x55 Swedish are all perfect deer rounds. And they don't kick. If you are going to buy anything other than a 7mm-08, these are the very best choices.




Good Dogwork and Good Hunting

boltman

I think the .260 will be easier to find than the 6.5x55 or the .257 roberts.

The 6.5x55 is available in a lot of old milsurps, but few modern rifles are chambered for it. Ammo is purposefully loaded weak for it because of all of the old rifles out there. In factory form the .260 will outperform it. Handloaded they're virtually identical.

The .257 roberts is a wonderful old round, but scarce as hen's teeth. You'll play heck finding ammo for it and even fewer rifles are chambered for it.

If I were picking a rifle a child or woman I'd probably narrow it down to the 7mm-08 or .260. I'd rule out the .243 because it's a marginal deer round to begin with. The 6.5x55 and .257 roberts are too obscure. Personally I'd go with the .260. The remington M7 rifles are chambered in the .260 and are correct in size for a smaller person.

8mm/06

Ruger 77MKII Mark II -6.5 x 55, Sako 75 Finnlight- 6.5 x 55, Tikka Whitetail Hunter- 6.5 x 55, Steyr Mannlicher Pro Hunter- 6.5 x 55,
Steyr Mannlicher Pro Hunter Stainless- 6.5 x 55, Model 70 Winchester Classic Featherweight -6.5 x 55, and replacement barrels in the Sweede round are easy to come by........It's really not very obscure at all. I believe both Remington and Savage will chamber this in their custom shops......but of course that would be an extra expense. I believe Remington actually built a good number of rifles in this caliber but dropped it after introducing the .260............. too much competition.