243 vs 260 vs 270 for longrange small/medium game hunting in south africa

[pietskiet]

hi. I am looking for a longrange springbuk/blessbuck/varmint cartridge. Here in SA we have though firearm laws so i am basicaly restricted to 3 rifles. I curently have a .303 that i load whith 215gr rhino bullets at 2200fps for bushveld hunting and 174 gr sierra spbt at 2500 for semi savana and farm sd. I am going to have a .375h&h built and load it whith 350gr rhino softs and solids for bushveld big game and 260gr btsp's for longrang gemsbuck/kudu/eland. I want a smaller caliber flat shooter for those longrange springbuck. I am a handloader so ammo availibilaty doensnt bother me. The 243 is a verry popular springbuck caliber here. The 260 is basicaly unknown here and i think the 270 is to much gun for the task at hand.. I am worryd about wind drift in the 243 and the 260's lack of velocity? Wat should i get?

[sc928porsche]

the 25-06 would be much better suited for the purpose that you are looking for.

[mpd61]

the Ballistic Coefficient and Sectional Density 0f .260's are superior to .243 and .270
6.5x55 swede is considered mid velocity, and .264 Win Mag will reach out past a .270! I would think the .260 remington would be a great load for you.

[olyinaz]

.25-06 and .257 Weatherby Magnum sound like reasonable choices to me. I very much like .257 Weatherby and am considering getting one myself.

Regards,
Oly

[pietskiet]

i forgot to add barrel life. It should have a long barrel life

[Pathfinder45]

I'm not in Africa so I don't need a .375 but it makes sense for you. I vote that the other two would be .22 long-rifle and, yes, absolutely, .270 Winchester. 90-110 grain bullets for varmints; 130's will do for both varmints and medium game; and with Nosler's 150 Partition for big game you're not gonna need anything bigger until you really need the .375.

[olyinaz]

I'm sure both .257 Weatherby and .264 Win Mag can be barrel eaters but honestly if you're a handloader I don't see that being so much of a concern.

You came in talking about the .243 Win and .260 Rem and what's not to like about either of them? They're great cartridges! Just a bit less smoke on 'em than the above.

Finally there's .257 Roberts which was once very popular in the U.S. It's a fine cartridge, has some history (which is always nice) and busts you in the shoulder less than all the above except the .243.

I'd pick between the .243 Winchester and the .257 Weatherby depending upon what you want to do with it and where it fits into your gun set.

The .257 Weatherby was named one of the 10 best magnum cartridges of all time in Guns & Ammo this month. Not that we should give too much weight to gun writers but it's nice to know that the cartridge is well thought of.

Cheers,
Oly

[Waterengineer]

I was going to say .257 Roberts but Oly beat me to it. I like that cartridge very much. The .257 Weatherby is a hotter version and may be much easier to come by in your part of the world.

[Longdayjake]

Nothing beats the 6.5 bullet when it comes to BC. The .260 is perfect for long range varmint hunting as well as heavier bullets for bigger game.

[Hello123]

Out of what you mentioned, .270 is a no brainer. .260 is a sweet round, but if I am going to Africa, I would want something that I could acquire extra ammo over there. The .25-06 is more rare, and has the exact ballistics as the .270. .257 weatherby is an awesome round. The .243 is nice, but gives up a little to the .243. What you have not mentioned is the .30-06, which is available over there, and in a 150 grain barnes or 165 ballistic tip is fairly awesome. Out of what you mentioned, an accubond or partition in a .270 is a sweet round. Or how about the old 7 or .300 win mag?

[trooper3385]

It doesn't take much too kill a springbuck, but there alot like the pronghorn in the U.S. You can pretty much count on 300 plus yard shots on them. My PH in Africa hunted everything with a 30-06. He was waiting to get a permit for a 375, but he had already been waiting for 2 yrs. Another PH that hunted with us used a 7mm for pretty much everything. With the 3 gun limit and abundance of animals of different sizes in S. Africa, you need a real versitable rifle. I would look into the 270, 7mm, 30-06, 300. Those are all flat shooting and hit hard. I used a 300 win mag for everything while I was there. While it was an overkill for the impala, blesbok, and some other smaller sized animals, with 180 gr bullet it didn't blow them up bad at all. It also did great on the larger animals like kudu and gemsbok. For the guys that didn't bring there own rifle, the outfitter let them borrow rifles that were 308, 270, and 7mm. All Sako's by the way. He said they use those guns every week during the hunting seaons for everything up to dangerous game.

[kiwi56]

Of the cartridges that you mentioned I would go with the 270 Winchester. Of the calibers that I do have I would go with the 25-06 Ackley, same velocities as the 257 Weatherby but just burning less powder and another that I don't own is the 6.5-06

[GeauxTide]

I am a crazed fan of the 6.5. I've a 6.5-06 and a 260. Forget about the tables, the 6.5 is a slayer! My 6.5-06 pushes 100gr NBT to 3400, 129gr Horn to 3070, and 140 Horn to 2935. It'll replace a 243, 25-06, and a 270!

[LanceOregon]

For your stated use of hunting Springbuck and varmints, the .243 Winchester would indeed be ideal. The .243 Winchester is very popular here in Western Oregon where we hunt Blacktail Deer, which are much bigger than your Springbucks.

I think that most of the people here don't have any idea of what a Springbuck is, and ignored the fact that you also said that you wanted to do some varmint hunting. I would thus recommend that you discount and ignore their advice. The .243 with a good 95 or 100 gr bullet would handle the Springbuck easily:




And it would clearly be far superior to reload for any type of varmint hunting as well.

Consider getting a CZ 550, or a Remington 700 CDL Both of these rifles are very accurate.



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[Firepower!]

Out of the choice in OP I would go with either 270 or 243. 260 is a useless in between. I personally like 243, but if you end up taking a long shot at bigger game then you are well of with the 270. I dont have a 270, but I am definately thinking about getting one.

[Picher]

Of the cartridges mentioned, the .270 Win is the hands-down winner. In most places, factory ammo is much more available than for the others. It can be handloaded loaded to very impressive velocities, like 3,200 fps with flat-shooting 130 grain Ballistic Tips or bonded core bullets, using Reloder 22.

I really like shooting 90 grain Sierra HPs with reduced charges of IMR 4895. They're not only very accurate range rounds, but explosive varmint rounds that print to the same point of impact as the heavier loads at 100 yards. Now that's versatility!

The .270 Win is known for printing several loads to the same POI. That's not too common among hunting cartridges. My 30-06 is not that flexible, printing 125 grain bullets about 2" off from the 150 grain zero at 100 yards. Accelerators (55 grain) were about 6" below the 125 grain POI.

[5RWill]

Considering calibers and long range .260 is superior in my eyes. I don't see how it's a useless in between because it's BC and retained velocity are better than both the .270 and .243. He said long range hunting in south africa so retained velocity is a factor in my opinion. I say .260 or any 6.5. Get tired of all the haters on the .260 it's rather annoying.

[GONIF]

only those who don't own or shoot the 260 or 6.5x55 ,would make a stupid statment like that regarding the preformance of the 260 or 6.5x55 . it is without a doubt one of the best choices avalible and won't burn out your barrel in a short time like a .243 . I cant think of anything I would rather have for your long range hunting than a 260 Rem or 6.5x55 . if you hand load the 6.5x55 is a dream come true.

[mpd61]

Out of the choice in OP I would go with either 270 or 243. 260 is a useless in between. I personally like 243, but if you end up taking a long shot at bigger game then you are well of with the 270. I dont have a 270, but I am definately thinking about getting one.
__________________

What an intelligent and scientific discourse; NOT!

1. you personally like the .243 but point out the .270 is better at longer shots at bigger game?
2. You don't have a .270?

Then shut the heck up and stop dissing 6.5's when you don't talk from experience!
:barf:

[Fat White Boy]

In Africa, you may be stalking some that a .243 or .270 will kill. The thing is, something that requires a .375 may be stalking you....

[olyinaz]

>>>The 260 is basicaly unknown here and I think the 270 is to much gun for the task at hand. I am worried about wind drift in the 243 and the 260's lack of velocity? What should I get?<<<

Getting back to the OP, I simply must return to .257 Weatherby. If that's too much heat then .257 Roberts is reportedly a handloader's delight. +P tables for it have been published and there's even an Ackley improved version of it.

Regards,
Oly

[Picher]

I'm still thinking that a .270 Win is close to perfect for what you want to do. There are reduced recoil loads that may mimic the 6.5 close enough, some regular deer loads that may be fine for most medium game, then there are premium rounds and hot handloads that will get the job done on heavier medium game.

Talking about a .257 Weatherby as being just right when a person thinks a .270 Win is too heavy is kinda nuts. The .257 Weatherby is very destructive on tissue, due to the higher velocity.

I say bring enough GUN, whatever you choose, and bring something you can get ammo for, should your ammo get lost, stolen, damaged or used up. I'd probably take a 30-06, but that's just me.

[LanceOregon]

That is a good point. A handloader could easily download the 270 Winchester for mild recoil. And there are good varmint type bullets available for it, ranging from 90 to 110 grains in weight.

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[DG45]

You mentioned that the .243 is a very popular cartridge in your country for the type of hunting you're talking about. My guess is that there's a reason for that. So, I'd go with the flow and choose .243 Winchester which is also a very popular cartridge in the US. My experience with the cartridge has been excellent. It's flat shooting and will reach out there a long way. You don't need the more expensive types of this ammo. I use the same old-fashioned inexpensive 100 grain Winchester ammo for deer that I used 30 years ago. Never had a deer walk away yet. Did I mention that ammo is reasonably priced and can be found just about anywhere in the US. It's Probably cheap and plentiful there too, if as you say, it's a popular cartridge there too.

[mpd61]

The .260 Remington

By Chuck Hawks



Federal, Remington and Speer are offering factory loads for the .260 Remington. Bullet weights offered are 120 grains (SD = .246) and 140 grains (SD = .287). The handloader also has 87-100 grain, 125 grain, 129-130 grain, 150 grain, and 160-165 grain hunting bullets from which to choose.

Generally speaking, the 87-100 grain bullets are for varmints and small predators, the 120-130 grain bullets are intended for medium size deer, sheep, goats, and antelope, the 140 grain bullets are the favorite choice for larger or tougher animals like wild boar, black bear, and caribou, and the heavy 150-165 grain bullets are for the largest non-dangerous game.

I have to say to Firepower and other critics, the .243 can't do what a .260/6.5mm can do...PERIOD!