What Would You Do

[BJB]

I need some help for a near future build. What I have is a Remington 700 in 260cal. Stock gun. I also have a 13yo boy that my wife and I just adopted. I took him to watch my (other) son in a bench rest competition and my 13yo fell in love. On the next shoot we let him shoot a stock Rem 700 243 and he took 3rd place in the stock level at 100yrds....... Now that is all I hear. I do not want to mess with his 243 as he will need it to hunt this year.

SO........SUGESTIONS PLEASE. What caliber would you build on, I know I want a heavy barrel and competition stock and know what I am going with. just torn between several calibers. I almost want to stick with the 260 caliber but he was rally sore after shooting 100 rounds in his stock gun so I want something that would be fun for him but yet accurate at 100 and 200 yards. whats your ideas. Thanks in advance Guys. bjb

[jon29253]

+1 to 308WIN. easy to shoot, common caliber, lots of options, know for accuracy.

[DaveTN]

He is shooting paper and needs to be practicing a lot. So unless you are independently wealthy I would suggest going with a 200 yard paper punching round, that is readily available at a reasonable cost. That would be the .223.

Beyond 200 yards I would go with .308 and get him a Past shoulder pad.

[bajabuc]

7.62x54r...mosin. get a Finn m39 ammo is cheap...accurate as all get out...reasonable kicker.

[Guest Aces&8s]

I think .223 would be a good chambering, as it is inexpensive with mild recoil, so he could shoot a lot. But then you might also look at .204 Ruger... if you zero it at 200 yards, you are looking at maybe a half-inch high at 100, and about a 4 to 5 inch drop at 300 yards, depending on load.

[Caster]

That .260 is tempting to work with. You could do a rebarrel to lots of different options. 6.5 Creedmoor is a hot ticket right now. You could easily set the threads back on the .260 barrel and rechamber it to the Creedmoor. I've never shot one, but the numbers are VERY impressive. If you want you could also do the same and go to a Grendel.

6.5's are VERY VERY impressive. They are just inherently tight group shooters. Go back a century and look at the 6.5 Swede. I'd bet anyone a dollar that the most accurate military bolt action in stock configuration would most likely be a 6.5 Swede.

All that aside.....What's wrong with the .260? That's a very good cartridge in and of itself????

You know if the .260 hurts his shoulder....a high quality brake would likely stop that.

[Guest mosinon]

you're geting a lot of advice about the gun but I'll break form and say congrats on the adoption, and good for you for doing it.

[Ramjo]

you're geting a lot of advice about the gun but I'll break form and say congrats on the adoption, and good for you for doing it.

+1

[BJB]

you're geting a lot of advice about the gun but I'll break form and say congrats on the adoption, and good for you for doing it.

Thanks Alot! I think its going to be a real good thing. he is a great kid.

Been studing up on the 260 (6.5) and the more I see the more I like.

[Caster]

The last edition of Handloader magazine has a great article on the .260

[1gewehr]

It's hard to beat the .260 for target shooting. If the .243 is beating up his shoulder, a .308 will be much worse, especially with 168gr and heavier loads needed for serious target shooting. The .260 is a bit stiffer recoil than the .243, but nowhere near as stiff as a .308. I'd stick with the .260 as a 13yo boy will quickly outgrow lighter rounds. for practice, he doesn't need to run thorugh 100rds each session. Get him to concentrate on each round and take his time. You will soon find that 40-50rds is a good range session. Especially if you use a .22 as a primary practice tool to start each session. A good butt pad will help tame the .260 recoil if it still bothers him.

[Guest GunTroll]

I'll also say congrats for doing the adoption! You sir are a hero and a roll model. And you like guns so it sounds like you are a candidate for dad of the year as far as I'm concerned.

I also have been thinking of 6.5 cartridges. I'm leaning 6.5x47 for a future bench gun build but 6.5-284 also is a strong candidate for me. Not sure how recoil is on a 6.5x47 or a 260 since I have never shot either. I can't imagine the 6.5x47 is that much less than a 260 however. I'm not quite sure what parameters you have to adhere to with your project for the class('s) he will be shooting in. As others have said smaller cartridges are great. Recoil pads, muzzle breaks, etc too. Sounds like you know what to do and I don't think any of us are telling you anything you don't already know.

Good job again! If you ever need any help with anything, I'd gladly step up for a dad.

[Caster]

Dang, all this talk almost makes me wanna have a kid.

...I said almost.

[peejman]

you're geting a lot of advice about the gun but I'll break form and say congrats on the adoption, and good for you for doing it.

+1

I wouldn't sweat the sore shoulder. My shoulder would certainly be sore after 100 rds of .243. It was sore after 60rds of .30-06 in a Garand. It doesn't take more than a couple shots where the rifle isn't pulled tight to end up with a nice bruise. If he shoots regularly, his technique will get better and he'll get used to it. Chamber it in whatever strikes the best balance of performance and cost.

[bajabuc]

If you're trying to instill care in his shooting...get a small caliber side lock blackpowder rifle. There's a lot of attention needed to get one to shoot...a lot of attention to get it ready for the next time.

[Caster]

If you're trying to instill care in his shooting...get a small caliber side lock blackpowder rifle. There's a lot of attention needed to get one to shoot...a lot of attention to get it ready for the next time.

...but if you're not careful you'll lose his attention due to the labor intensity.

[Guest Roadkill Bill]

The .260 is known for it's accuracy, and has less recoil than even the 7x57, or 7mm-08. It's right there with the 6.5x55 Swede of which it is the short action version. Anything less than the .243 (except for the prairie dog rounds mentioned) would be a .30-30! I'd stick with the .260. Pretty hard to beat.