Youth - 260 Rem or 25.06??

[leo williams]

260. Start with some light handloads and work up. Wife has a 260 and has taken whitetails out to 500 yds

 

[Winnett1]

As the title suggests, which would you choose for a youth cartridge? I've found a savage in either option.

He's almost 9 and can technically hunt big game in two years when he's 10. He's made a very mature decision in asking for his first "big game" rifle for his birthday this year, in lieu of toys (I want to reward that). He wants time to practice.

My long term plan is for this to be converted into something with more oomph as he grows. I like the modularity of Savage. Big plans for an upgraded CF stock, premium barrel and quality scope.

With these two choices, assuming he will primarily be hunting mulies... what is your pick?originally I was going to get him a .243 but can't seem to find one.

Eventually he will get to hunt elk with me but I'm hesitant to say that I'd let him use either of these on an elk (but possibly under ideal circumstances).

Both are excellent choices. I have harvested game from Elk to Antelope with no regrets about either caliber.
The ONLY draw back to the 25-06 is heavier bullet selection.
For the 260 remington, one of my favorites. It will make most of the 6.5's ,other than the earsplittin loud boomers trying to catch up to it. It just didn't have the powerful advertising behind it when it was introduced.
There are better bullet weight choices.
Just my opinion of course. But Don't be afraid to check out the ballistics.
Winnett 1

 

[Buano]

I've had a Ruger M77 in 25-06 for about 40 years and love it to death, it is super accurate. I use Nosler 120 gr partitions for big game. However, I would give a youth a 243, which I just did for my grandson this past Christmas.

While I have MANY choices in the safe, my stainless Ruger .25-06 is definitely the most-used rifle I own for deer sized game. I love the cartridge, but I did put a Timney trigger in it.

 

[MontanaJack]

There are numerous 243's on GunBroker. Mail order while you can! Recoil can ruin a shooter. I shot competitive small bore in grade school and high school so I was a pretty good shooter. In my mid teens, I just had to carry dad's 7mm Rem Mag when big game hunting. I got clipped with the scope a few times and developed a flinch that temporarily ruined my competitive edge. I went back to a nice heavy pre-war model 70 30-06 shooting 150 gr bullets for big game hunting and shot lots of 22LR and 22-250. Eventually, I recovered from the flinch. In later years I went back to the magnums when I was ready for them. They're still not a round I want to shoot a lot. Shooting should be a joy not punishment. I don't have experience with the 260 but 25-06 is still my goto deer gun. Depending on the shooter's size, 25-06 may be too much for a 9 or 10 year old. Good Luck!! Great to have new shooters joining our sport!!!

 

[jimbires]

I played on quickload watching recoil for my girlfriends 7mm-08 . I duplicated the recoil from a 243 max load using 100 gr bullets , to the 7mm-08 . if you would want a starting point for a 260 , or a 25.06 let me know , I'll do what I can .

7mm-08 reduced load would be ;

rem brass , 39.0 H4895 , CCI200 , 120 gr nosler ballistic tip , 2.800" coal , 2716 FPS . shoots very nice in her X-bolt , and under an inch at 100 yards

 

[Ranger Rick]

The .260 Remington is an under the radar round that is a great call for hunting muleys in open country. With the 6.5 Creedmoor being so popular, the .260 is now getting the attention it deserves. I also like that a .264 caliber pill has the extra knock down bullet mass over a .257 (25-06). Plus with a .260 Remington Savage rifle you can add a 7mm-08 prefit barrel, and you can take on an elk with the added confidence that a 7mm brings.
.260 (6.5mm-08) + 7mm-08 = good hunting

 

[MontanaJack]

See a recoil table at: http://www.twoamendments.com/post/rifle-recoil-table-sortable that was originally posted on Chuck Hawks website:
243 Win weighing 7 1/4 lbs delivers 11 ft-lbs of recoil at a velocity of 9.9 ft/sec
260 Rem weighing 7 1/2 lbs delivers 13 ft-lbs of recoil energy at a velocity of 13.6 ft/sec
25-05 Rem weighing 8 lbs delivers 11 ft-lbs of recoil energy at a velocity of 9.4 ft/sec

For reference, a 270 Win weighing 8 lbs delivers 16 ft-lbs of recoil energy
and a 30-06 weighing 8 lbs delivers 17.6 lbs of recoil energy at a velocity of 11.9 ft/sec
a 22-250 weighing 8 1/2 lbs delivers 3.1 ft-lbs of recoil energy at a velocity of 4 ft/sec

 

[orifdoc]

I have both. For a kid I'd favor the .260. As has been said, it's better if you're capable of reloading. Start with a lower weight bullet, especially if you're hunting deer or pronghorn. It's perfectly good for elk too, especially with a premium bullet. I killed my first dozen deer and antelope with a 25-06 though, so both are fine choices.

My kids have killed plenty of mulies with a .243 Tikka. Wonderful rifle. For elk, I'd favor a .308 or 7mm-08, but that's just me. Be careful though. I picked up a Wby vanguard youth model in 7mm-08 and that thing kicks like a mule. It's much worse than my .300 Win, so stock design, size, weight, and fit are incredibly important considerations for kids.

 

[DarryH]

In my part of the country, you never see .260 ammo. 25-06 is more common. Both great choices.

 

[Hespco]

I built a 6.5x308 ( AKA 260 ) in 1994. Using the Barnes 120grX bullet this rifle has harvested several elk. All one shot kills. As to recoil a 100gr bullet like the Barnes TTSx or Nosler 100gr partition will easily take the largest deer. Load this 100gr bullet to the same 3000fps as in a 243 & you have the exact same recoil. As the boy grows , bullet weight & velocity can be upped.To me an easy to understand way to go.

 

[Treeslug]

Honestly, if he's nine get the kid a 243. When he is 15 or 16 then get him a 260. The recoil difference between the two rounds is significant, and that is one of the top things that turns kids off to the sport, parents saddling them with too much gun.

Either way he is your kid. It's great he has an interest in hunting.

I beg to differ with your assessment on the statement that recoil is "one of the top things that turns kids off to the sport." While recoil may turn a kid off to one particular caliber/rifle, It has been my experience that a kid that likes, or wants, to hunt is more likely turned off to the sport by peer pressure from other kids and adults. Starting him/her out with a .243 vs. a .260 may well be a great idea, but keeping him around others that are hunters, fishermen and outdoors people will keep him/her in the hunting game. Just sayin'.

 

[akhtr]

I shoot both 260 and 25-06 I would say in a Savage 260 would be better the 1-8 twist over the 25-06 1-10 makes some not all 25-06 rifles not as accurate with bullets over 100 grain. Now if the barrel length on the 260 is less than 22" velocity will suffer.
All that being said hands down 7mm-08 is better than the other two. 1st easy to load with light bullets to get recoil down plus higher ability to down load for less recoil.
2nd if you look at velocity 120 he bullets are traveling the same speed as 25-06 120's. 3rd bullets above 120 ie 140-175.
Once croon graphed you won't see much difference between 7mm-08 and 270, 280,260 ect. In the 140 grain bullet range but you will feel it.

 

[260 rem]

I would go for the 260 wider bullet weight mild recoil and if you can't find 260 brass
Just put 243 brass threw your full length 260 sizing die and hey presto 260 brass
This is what I do

 

[dwinmeade]

The title of this post intrigued me to the point of opening my mouth...

It's not hard to tell that each opinion given has passion in it, mostly coming from their own experience. ADMIRABLE!

But we are talking about a 9 yr old boy (hard to think like a 9 yr old, ain't it?). His pappy was right to consider a 243 first, but since he can't find one at the moment, I would...look at the 6.5 Grendel. It compares to the 243 in ballistics, as a matter of fact, up to 500 yards, the Grendel stays right with a 308. While most of us wouldn't think twice of using a 308 on elk, we'd turn up our noses to using the Grendel.

He'd have a year of using the Grendel, and once he has it 'mastered' (like shooting the eye out of a woodchuck @ 100 yards), I wouldn't want to be an elk in his scope sights!

Besides, the Grendel won't break papa's bank account during his boy's 'mastering'.