Gangly

of the three (243, 25-06, and 260), which do you prefer for most north american game in the size range of coyote to white tails, and why do you prefer that one over the others. Although ballistics dont mean everything to me, which is better ballistically speaking?

rem 700

They're all in the same general range. All are known for their accuracy, and are relatively similar, ballistically speaking. You can't go wrong, but my vote is 25-06.

JagMagMan

I like the .243 because it is a short action cartridge, easy to find ammo for, ammo is a little cheaper and it does a great job on any deer that you'd shoot!

The 25-06 is a good cartridge too! My dislikes of it are: long action and it is really beyond the "varmint class."

As for the .260, I"ve never shot it. It is a short action cartridge and "on paper" it looks to be an ideal whitetail cartridge! As with the 25-06, the .260 isalso beyond the "varmint class." From what I can tell, the .260 has not caught on well with the shooters, so it is going to be hard to find ammo forunless you reload. Sadly, it looks like the .260 will go the way of the 6MM Rem. and the .257 Roberts! Good cartriges, that are dying from lack of popularity.
One good thing about the .260 is that if you do reload, you will always have a supply of brass from the .243, 7MM-08and .308if it does become commercially extinct!

My choice is the .243 because it is truly a dual purpose cartridge, that serves both sides well!

wjyarkiell

i think the 260 is one of the most underrated cartridges around. that 6.5 bullet that it shoots is a really good bullet, especially with the 140 grain bullets. a 140 grain 260 bullet will hit harder down range than a 150 308 bullet will because the 140 is a heavy for caliber bullet. but you can also shoot the lighter bullets at coyotes. my dad had a 260 and he shot a bunch of coyotes with it.

zrexpilot

.243 because of its accuracy. the others have never been known for competetion shooting but the .243 has, and a lot of other 6mm cartridges. something about that bullet i guess. Ammo is available everywhere in all sorts of brands and weights. 105 gr down to 55 gr. It will push a 55 gr to over 4000 fps second and a 100 gr to a little over 3100 fps. The sd and bc of the 100 gr is that of a 150 gr .308 caliber which makes it flatter shooting and bucks the wind better.

stalkingbear

I think you're forgetting about all the sillouette shooters that use the .260 Remington in matches-don't let them hear you say that.

herman

Below is a pic of my two 260 rem,the top is on a savage action with a shelin 1:8 twist.Working on this one for my 600 yd rifle so far it is shooting great at 300 yds,(thats as far as the range I use goes.)
The bottom is a rem BDL in 260.
The fartherest I have shot a deer with the BDL is 447 yds.I tried a 100 gr BT this year and dropped a 100 lb doe at 140 yds.
Have a tikka in 25/06 and it shoots great dropped a buck at 250 yds,both bang flops.Have a rem classic in 243 have taken more than a few deer with it 300+ yds.
For me the 260 is the best of the 3.The bdl you can shoot 85 to 142 gr bullets.
I tried 3 160 gr bullets in the savage with the 8 twist at 100 yd and all three went in one small hole.

Carpmaster

If you lean bigger game go 260. If mostly smaller go 243 if undecided go 25-06...hard to beat any of them for all around.

gregrn43

My vote is for the 25-06, I have one and I can tell the 06 isa fine round. The 25-06 makes a ok varmit rifle, a little heavy on recoil for a all day praire shoot, but a awesome yote round. Its a great round for deer flat shooting and with enough pop to take a big one down way out yonder. The longest shot I have ever made on a deer was 418 yards and that was with my 25-06. I have a little experience with the .243 win and my opion is if the shots are kept to broadside and 250 yards and under you should have no problem. Now im sure there are a ton of people who will disagree with me on that,but I have seen the .243 fail on two raking shots of adult deer.One was found a week later dead and the other had to be put down with a 30-06. If I was using a .243 I think I would load up some nosler partitions for it, that might make all thedifference.As for the .260 I have no experience with it. I have shot a .264 win mag before, it uses the 6.5mm bullet. That calibur is all but gone now.n the wind now.

Worc

I agree that the .260 rem is under rated but, is becoming more popular with target shooters.

The .243 win will have a little less recoil and ammo avaialibility is far greater than the .260 rem.

The 25-06 and .260 are so close it comes down to if you want a short or long action gun.