Remington's Model 700 Quicker Twister 260 Remington Part I

It took quite some time to become a 260 Remington fan and that status came as a result of a tangential efforts that began with the .264 Winchester Magnum and concluded with the 6.5x55mm Swede. The .264 Winchester Magnum was great fun, shooting and handloading, but too much of a barn burner for frequent firing line appearances or hunting the type of game that is indigenous to the New England woods.

The 6.5×55 Swede is a terrific cartridge; handloading, shooting and absolutely suitable for woodland hunting or long range hunting. Ammunition and reloading components are readily available and the fact that the cartridge’s 3.150″ maximum length requires  standard length action can be a plus for the handloader. My Swede is a CZ550 medium full stock. While accurate and rock solid reliable, it is much too pretty to take brush thrashing in the Maine woods and it’s relatively short barrel reduced the round’s long range potential.

What got me to the .260 Remington is its availability from a greater number of manufacturers’ basic bolt action rifles, its fit in AR10 types where the 6.5x55mm cartridge is too long and its demonstrated long range potential. The 260 Remington’s ballistics are bit deceiving. Relatively modest in muzzle velocity with heavy for bore bullets, its retained velocity way down range is exceptional. Loaded with a 140 grain Berger VLD to a modest 2750 fps muzzle velocity, at 1000 yards the bullet is stable and still  traveling well into super sonic velocity.

Most of my 260 Remington shooting has been done with a Remington Model Seven. It is light, fast handling and a good looking firearm and has proven effective for deer and hog hunting as well as local varmint control. Recoil is light, report from the 20″ barrel is a bit sharp, but overall it has been a terrific hunting and range rifle. The subject Model 700 SPS differs from my Model Seven in two important ways. The first is its 24″ barrel which should boost 260 Remington velocity. The second is an 8″ rather than 9″ rifling twist which should be more effective in stabilizing relatively heavy bullets.

This 260 Remington is based on a Model 700 short action. If there was a concern with the use of the short action and the 260 Remington, it was the possibility that long, heavy bullets would seat deeply and diminish case capacity. Subsequently, selecting bullets and checking each to identify maximum cartridge overall length was placed at the front end of the project.  Bullets 0.264″ in diameter are commonly available in weights between 85 and 160 grains. With larger varmint and deer size game in mind for an application, bullet weight was kept between 100 and 140 grains as the most useful range to exploit.

This is the point where some folks jump in and suggest that if this has been a standard length action rifle, there would have been a much longer allowable length… which is not correct. There is plenty of bolt stroke and magazine length is a short action to clear a longer overall length cartridge, The maximum overall length of a cartridge is limited by either seating depth sufficient to retain a bullet, usually the equivalent of the caliber, or by a bullet coming into contact with a firearm’s rifling. This rifle’s standard freebore, the space between the rifle’s chamber and onset of rifling, measured 0.230″ which limited the longest round to 2.800″… which just happens to be the specification for a maximum length 260 Remington cartridge and inside the length capacity of the magazine and bolt throw.

A little theoretically wandering to put the whole short action / long action debate into context – Going to a standard length action and machining, throating, the barrel to allow greater bullet extension would permit a cartridge overall length of 3.075″ with the Nosler Competition bullet. This would reduce seating depth to approximately 1 caliber, 0.264″ and increase net case capacity to 50.0 grains of H2O, for a nearly 4 grain pickup. That capacity would permit a safe charge of 49.0 grains of Re22 and an approximate muzzle velocity of 2880 fps. Loaded to the original short action 2.800″ COL, reduced case capacity would dictate a change to faster burning Re19 and a 44.5 grain powder charge to arrive at the same pressure. Resulting muzzle velocity would be 2805 fps, or 75 fps less.

On a 200 yard zero, the custom standard length action and 75 fps advantage would result in a 300 yard trajectory drop of 7.0″ rather than 7.5″ with the short action set up. Optimizing zero to a maximum 3″ ordinate would yield a 288 yard point blank range for the standard length action rig, compared to 281 yards for the short action set up. A 7 yard gain in point blank range for the added trouble and significant expense, a rifle that would no longer handle light weight bullet well and a cartridge that would not fit factory 260 Remington bolt action or autoloading rifles. 

The Remington Model 700 SPS…

I have mixed emotions about the this firearm. Functionally it is a solid rifle and as strong as more expensive grade Model 700 rifles. The rifle has the slick X-Mark pro adjustable pull trigger, hinged floorplate and sling studs as part of the package. The recoil pad is of good quality, with good structure and good shock absorbing qualities. The lowering in cost and subsequent price stems from the use of an injection molded stock and lack of finesse finishing touches which combine to give the rifle a look of utility. For the modern hunter, I’d guess that is about right.

In any event, a Burris scope was mounted, handloads are in process and we’ll be back with live fire results and impressions.

Remington’s Model 700 Quicker Twister 260 Remington Part I
Remington’s Model 700 Quicker Twister 260 Remington Part II