The weekends recently have been nice enough to do some shooting.
I finally had time to set up my shooting bench and touch off a few rounds in my .260 Remington. Jon has shot one at his weekend shoots for years and really likes the caliber. That rifle is a heavy barreled Remington 700. The rifle has been very accurate over the years and Jon has shot a pile of rounds through it.
For those who don't know, the .260 Remington is the .308 Winchester case necked down to take .264 caliber bullets. Like the parent .308 Winchester, it is an efficient case that can be used in a short action rifle.
As the years have passed, I have been able to see the advantage of using either a synthetic or laminated stock on a rifle, especially during wet conditions. I have had regular wood stocks warp over the years when exposed to precipitation and the use of these other stocks stops a lot of that. The synthetics are perhaps the better of the two, but I still like the feel of wood much better.
The laminates are heavier and can still have minor movement problems if they are not properly sealed. But I have never had any movement with them and can live with the slightly heavier stock.
ADVERTISEMENT
During the afternoons of the firearms deer season, I hunt with my friend John Kellner out of his van. As a result, my rifle is left out of the vehicle when we are hunting. It is exposed to the elements and it seems to get wet many of those afternoons.
When John shoots at a deer, I head down the field we watch to check things out. At that time I have always thought that I like to take a light rifle with me in case I need it. Over the years I have had some really heavy rifles with me for hunting on the field and they get darn heavy after lugging them for any length of time.
I really am not fond of shorter barrels, but for this program a 22-inch barrel on a rifle would really be nice. Any time I have to dispatch an animal, the distance for the shot is short and the shorter, more compact rifle would be nice to use not to mention carry.
Late last fall I picked up and looked at a short action Remington 700 Mountain rifle while in a sporting goods store. It had a 22-inch barrel and a laminated stock. It felt great and my first thought was it would work very well for what I had in mind while hunting with John. This rifle was available in .260 Remington so the choice of calibers was an easy one.
Most of the time a bullet from 120 to 140 grains is used in the 6.5's (.264 caliber). I do like to use the lighter bullets in a given caliber for a couple of reasons. I like bullet speed and also like a bit less recoil. It seems to me the heavier the bullet in a given caliber; the heavier the recoil and I really don't like recoil all that much!
When the .260 Remington became a factory cartridge, Nosler introduced a 100-grain Partition just for it. The thought was a shorter bullet for the short case in a short magazine. I had shot a 100 grain Partition for years in a .257 Roberts or .25-06 Remington and had excellent luck with it. In fact, my daughter, Sheila, still shoots that same weight bullet in her .25-06 Remington. For the purpose I had in mind for the little .260 Remington, the light Partition bullet would work just fine providing the rifle liked it.
I had put together a series of loads with different powders in a variety of weights topped by the little Partition. I felt I would be very happy with any groups around 1 1/2 inches.
When I fouled the barrel, the first thing I noticed was the mild recoil, even in the light rifle. I put a 12 power Leupold on the rifle for testing the loads and the rifle shot a little low and to the right. I wanted to make sure my test loads would print well on the paper so I moved the point of impact up and to the left then preceded to test them.
ADVERTISEMENT
To my surprise the rifle liked virtually all the loads I had put together, grouping them all within a 2-inch circle. The two best loads went into an inch with the speed about 3,300 feet per second. The powders the rifle liked best were H-414 and Winchester 760.
I have since replaced the test scope with a 1 3/4-6 Leupold I had and now have only to put some shells together and sight the rifle in before next fall. Things are looking up already!
*********************************************
Don't forget the Osage ice contest.
The Osage Sportsman's Club is holding an Ice Out contest. The person guessing the closest time when that tripod falls through the ice is the winner. They will pay back three places. Tickets are available at Osage Country Market, K&T's Pup and Cindy Q's in Osage as well as at NAPA Auto Parts, Delaney's and Northern Bait in Park Rapids. For more information call 573-2235.
Funds raised will be used for conservation projects in the Osage area.
*********************************************************
The snow this winter has caused some low oxygen readings in some lakes according to Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Area Fisheries Supervisor Doug Kingsley.
ADVERTISEMENT
Portage, Moran and Stocking (Wadena County) lakes have low readings while Peysenske has oxygen near the top but it tails off quickly in deeper water.
The DNR is monitoring the situation on these lakes as well as others that have a freeze-out history.
