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Need Lightweight Recommendation

I have one more question before heading out shopping if anyone cares to answer. I was looking at the Remington Model Seven .260. My concern is the barrel is 20" and the twist 9" Will that affect the ability to get great performance out of .260 handloads? Does the .260 need a longer barrel to shine?
 
My girlfriend shoots a youth Tikka t3 lite in 7-08, it is a sweet little rifle that will do more than you need. A 260 is a great choice also. We looked at the model seven 260, and ended up with the tikka 7-08. She liked the tikka better. I would check out the savages. They have some new models in 260 you chould check out. I think you would be happy with a 260, 7-08, or 308. I would check them out and buy wich ever one you like best. For light weight those tikkas are awfully tough to beat though.
 
a 260, 7mm-08 or 308 are all great choices, especialy if you are going to handload. Of all three rounds the .308 is the most verstile with the widest range of bullet weights(110 to 200) so you could duplicate anything the other rounds will do and more, and since your not shooting long range... ballistic coeficient is nill. BUT..of them all I love the 7mm-08 with a 140gn. bullet the best! Savage lightweight or Rem. Model 7 both rock!
 
I can't really offer a valid opinion regarding Rem Seven vs Tikka vs Savage. I think they could all be nice.

I would be less concerned about the 20" barrel. You may lose 25 to 50 fps per inch which isn't terrible if you're not shooting 1000 yds anyways.

I would be concerned about the 9 twist. That would be marginal at best for the 140's and I'd definitely want to have the 140's as an option even if you normally go with 130's.

That said, I'm sure that a 9 twist would still allow you to put a 140 in the kill zone of a cow elk at 200yds.

And, yes. I do like the 260 for this situation. My 18yo daughter shoots 6.5x284. But, it's a heavier Win 70 long action with a Kreiger medium palma barrel.

Best wishes with whatever you decide. All the ones discussed thus far will get the job done. So, pick one you like and enjoy!

Richard
 
Great info. I appreciate all the input. I am sure I will be researching and reading about load development soon! Thanks guys.
 
I would get a .270 just like your daughters to make reloading easier (same caliber). If you like how it feels then get the same rifle for yourself. A .270 has been taking game for a long time and will continue to do so probably past our lifetimes. You might get lucky and have both rifles shoot the same load in case one of you runs out the other one has more.
 
I would get a .270 just like your daughters to make reloading easier (same caliber). If you like how it feels then get the same rifle for yourself. A .270 has been taking game for a long time and will continue to do so probably past our lifetimes. You might get lucky and have both rifles shoot the same load in case one of you runs out the other one has more.

That sounds like great advice! You would only need to reload for one caliber and the .270 should meet all of your needs. Again, I am partial to my 7 rem mag and I do think the 7mm-08 is a great round, but getting another .270 would keep your life simpler...
 
How do you like her Tikka? If you like it, I wouldn't change manufacturers. I've got a Tikka in 270 it shoots great. I never get to use it anymore because the kid won't shoot anything else.
 
I just got her Leupold transferred over to the new rifle and have yet to sight it in. I think life would be too boring for us both to have the same caliber. I am leaning towards a .260 at the moment, but if I cannot find a rifle that feels good, then I will probably go with a Tikka in a 26.06 or 7mm mag. My love is antelope hunting, but will probably go on a few more cow elk hunts until my daughter goes away to college. By then, my younger daughter may be ready to rifle hunt!
 
My wife shoots a Kimber Montana in 280 AI. Weighs about 7 lbs fully scoped and loaded. Has some recoil being so light so I wouldn't recommend a super light rifle if you were leaning towards the 7 mag. Stay at 8 lbs for that guy. I shoot my 25-06 at antelope and have killed plenty of bucks and a handful of elk with it. The 115 Ballistic Tips are excellent on antelope and deer. I like the 110 Accubonds or 120 partitions for elk. On the high budget end the Springfield Waypoint and Barrett Fieldcraft are very accurate rifles out of the box and on the budget side the Tikka T3 or even cheaper the Ruger American Predator series in 6.5 Creed, 260 or 7mm-08 make some excellent shooting rifles. Our Kimber shoots ridiculous groups for a super lightweight rifle but I have heard they can be hit or miss. Control feed and 3 position model 70 clones always make me comfortable. You are in for a good time researching all these recommendations I promise you that. Have fun!
 



I have an older Ruger Compact M77 that is the bomb diggity but lots of manufacturers make the compact models
 

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