I have never heard of any varmint tournament hunters using a magnum rifle just because they don't want them to take a step.

That's cray talk

22mag what i use but the places i yote hunt 200 yards is the farthest you can see but i always try to get them in the 50 75 yard range

22mag is what i use 100 yards is limit though so i call em in closer

I love my 243. 58 grain z-max does the job for coyotes and 100 grain sierra gamekings for deer or hogs. Very versatile caliber.

I have to say that I think that the 243 (or 6mm) is possibly the best varmint caliber if pigs are some of the varmints you'll be after. If it's just coyotes, any of the 22 centerfires will do. I shoot the 40 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, and it will destroy a coyote. First one I shot with that tiny little pill went down so fast that I was shocked. That bullet or something similar in a 223 is all you need.

I prefer my 22-250, for dogs and have killed some pretty large hogs with it.

Sure, a 22-250 will work fine. I shot a lot of coyote and pigs with my 220 Swift, but had to track pigs a lot and even lost a couple. I had hoped to switch to the Nosler Partition in the 220, but it just won't quite stabilize. And, I shoot pigs where and when I see them, even out to over 400 yards. Way out there, that 260 of mine just plain does a better job. They mostly just drop down pretty quick, which isn't what I was getting from the 220. If a pig makes it in the thick and somewhat thorny brush, I have to track them in there, and you could follow up and follow MY blood trail. So my objective is to knock em down before they can get to the tangle. I'm thinking that a 243 might be the smallest good pig medicine if you want em down fast. That's just my thinking, which doesn't make it gospel. Since I don't have a 243, I'll just stick with that 260 that ChadTRG had put together for me. Man...that thing will really shoot.

603...What 264 bullet are you using in the 260 for a do all critter getter?

If Chad's guy put together your 260 on a Tikka T3 I assume you are running a 24" #2 barrel...did ya'll take out the short round magazine block too to take advantage of the T3's Long Action magazine?

I'm looking at getting into this game of 'Yotes & Piggies if we ever get to move somewhere south of Waco as planned - thought I had the house sold last week but the turkey bailed when I said CASH Only and NO I'm NOT gonna finance Nobody - and could campaign my SAKO 260 with a 22" 8 Twist until I could build something better suited for rough field work. Did'ja ever feel like you needed more MV's for better reach, or is everything under 3-400 yards most of the time. I'm not looking at doing a 12 lb rig like JG's but something to walk with for a day & looks like a Kimber Longmaster or a New Haven Winnie Coyote.
Ron

Thought I would read a little since I couldn't sleep. But after reading the "Hammer of Thor" 17 stories, There's not much chance of sleep soon. But they do say laughter is good for ya!

Got's to get me one of those things. Heck I could just chunk all the other guns and use the wicked 17 for everything...

Tbone

Wiley, these days I'm shooting the 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip in the 260. Velocity is right at 3000 fps, so the trajectory is about the same as my trusty old 270, and not that far from that of my 220 Swift. Sighted in at 200, the 260 and 270 will drop about 7 inches at 300, 20 inches at 400 and 40 inches at 500. With the Swift the trajectory is more like 5 inches, 15 inches, and 35 inches. The diff at 400 between the 260 and the Swift is only 5 inches. That's easily close enough to work with at 400. Now...if I was gonna blast coyotes at 500 or more, I'd probably go for a scope with turrets. The scope that's on there right now is a Burris FFII in 4.5-14 with the Ballistic Plex. I've had great service from that scope. And, I just shot the rifle at targets at 250 and 350 to test the BDC dots in the scope. From trajectory data from iStrelok, the drops were absolutely correct. At 250, from a not perfect rest, I was just right of the bullseye, and at 350 I was in the black (1.5 inch black bull).

The rifle itself is the Tikka T3 stainless with a #4 contour barrel from Brux. Due to the heavier than standard barrel, it's a bit heavier than a T3 lite normally would be, but it's still fairly light. And the 20 inch barrel makes it very handy in a blind.

The rifle has been used now on 5 coyotes, 3 pigs, and one deer. The deer did run about 50 yards after being hit. When I was hunting with the previous 260, I used the 120 gr Nosler BT and it put them down noticeably better (but no deader) than the 100 grainer. I switched from the 120 grainer to the 100 grainer specifically for the higher MV. I haven't decided whether or not to go back to the 120 grainer for long term use. The 100 grainer is doing fine, so I'll stick with it for now.

I use a 300 win mag a 270 a 2506 a 12ga used to use 223. 308 is a good round so is a22250

243 all around best. Ammo is easy to find and will kill any animal in Texas for sure.

603C Thx for the response, your loads and results are about what I would have expected except for the short 20" barrel. One of the other channels I read a lot has some folks who are super pleased with the Lapua Scenars for a multi purpose bullet at the ranges you are working in, and I am looking at being able to operate in.

I am always daydreaming it seems about how to do stuff more better than I can now, especially in times like this when I am stuck in neautral waiting to sell the house and relocate with everything packed away. But I am gonna reinvent the wheel in my shooting inventory one last time and reconcentrate on Texas centric everday usable shooters since I am about done with the idea of going across the Pond or over 4-5K feet ever again at my state of grace and age. Had a lease one time SWest of Sonara TX that I'd like to recreate with Horizon distances on the rolling mesquite & pear flats and 4-800 yards wide steep sided canyons.

Having said that, with a good quality 22" barreled 260 Sporter on hand to play with, and a small pile of 120gr NBT's in house this would be a good place to start...and try the lighter weight 100, 108 & 123gr Scenars from that platform on fur targets of opportunity. 260 & a 6.5x55 T3 Hunter's & Swede T3 Vt's are listed as available from Eurooptic ...along with some other goodies like Lapua brass at good prices.

OBTW didja ever look at the Vortex Viper line of 30mm diameter scopes?? Lots of choices in features way beyond my basic Burris FF II's & Nikon Buckmasters & at way below Leopold prices.
Ron

Wiley, I just put a Leupold 4.5-14x40 with the Varmint Hunter reticle on it. What a rifle and what a scope. I'll move the Burris to a 308.

I thought long and hard about what barrel length to go with, and 20 inch was my choice. What's a few fps when a short barrel makes a rifle so handy.

And. I'll say it one more time...ChadTRG and his Smith have provided me with a rifle that is supremely accurate. Every time I shoot it I have this WOW sensation. Amazing.

Something to keep in mind since I have a cherry Stoeger T3 SS 270, albeit it is a one hole shooter as is when my BP is under control, but could become something else in the bigger scheme of things. What stock are you running under the HB 260? I took a look yesterdey at Stockys for the 1st time in a couple months and saw a B&C full bedding block version of a vented Varmint configuration that looked interesting, with double sling studs up front for tripod mounts.

I am finally down to 4 CF shooters in 4 calibers, and would like to narrow that down some more to continue to simplify components, and is the source of my considerations to reallocate resources.

OBTW Eurooptics carries factory 5 shot Tikka T3 magazines @ $68, as well as the standard 3 shot units @ $64. Have you looked at a SAKO Sporter in 6.5x55, seems like a decent price at $1500 for all the features...and has a HB 20" barrel too LOL! Just need to get my mind around the Manners style prone position LR target stocks...or not.
Ron

I have the standard Tikka synthetic stock on the rifle, and have no plans to change it. I've heard folks on the forum say that they didn't like the stock, but I like it just fine.

If that Tikka 270 is already a one hole shooter, why mess with it? But...from what I've seen, Tony (the smith Chad uses) really knows what he's doing. He might turn it into something special. I honestly do think that my 260 is the most accurate centerfire rifle I've ever fired.