ok another idea was thrown at me for my build.. trying to decide between the 2 for now,, what you think.... i have a shrt action for this build. thinking shilen stainless barrel. and rifle basix trggr,

I never shot a 260 but looks at the numbers suggest to me the kick will be similar as well as the ballistics. So I would choose the 7mm simply based on ammo availability.

Too close to call. Factory ammo more readily available for 7mm-08.

I'd say 7-08 because it's my favorite out of the .308 offspring and I like the selection of .284 bullets.

With either caliber the person shooting the rifle or whatever you hit with them will never know the difference between the two.
Unless a normal shot for you is 300 yards or more you'd have to split a mighty fine hair to talk about differences.

I would go with the 7mm-08 all day long, even if you reload. A wider range of Bullet types and weights with the 7mm. You max out on the 260 at about 135-140gr with a bottom of 100. On the 7mm-08 you max out at about 180 gr with a bottom of 100 also. Of course some barrels might have an issue with stablization across this broad of a range.

I actually like both rounds, but I think the 7mm-08 takes the edge because of versatility and availability.

.260 is a nice flat shooting cartridge, but it's a barrel burner. Guys I used to shoot with in long range competition were only getting 1200-1500 rounds out of a barrel.

My son has a 7mm08 with a 1/9 twist. I worked up a load with a 162 Amax that shoots 3/4" at 100 (stock isn't bedded). Good target and hunting bullet that gets to 500 yards in 2.5 mil. Lovin' it!

trggr is now a timney, just ordered it..

Id go 7mm-08 over 260.

I had this same decision back when i bought my VLS. They had one in each caliber in stock. This was well over ten years ago mind you, before the 6.5mm bullet became so popular. I chose the 7mm08 strictly on available bullet options. I was already reloading so factory ammo availability played no role in my decision.

It would be a much harder decision now though. The 6.5 has certain merits, such as inherently higher BC in equal weight projectiles. Not sure what I'd choose now. Either way, I don't think one could make a truly bad decision though.

Also, I imagine that if the OP is going to have a custom rifle built, then factory ammo availability is probably not as much of a concern as it would be if it were someone try to choose a caliber for a factory rifle. To me, a custom built rifle almost always means custom ammo. But that's my train of thought, which is not always in line with the majority.

I debated the same exact question- 260 or 7mm-08, for my comp gun. It depends on the bullet you shoot for each one as to which drops more or drifts more. The 260 has about the same BC bullets (or slightly less) than the 7mm bullets, but you can push the 6.5mm bullets faster. So, with about the same BC bullets, you get an extra 100-150 fps more with the 6.5mm shooting a lighter bullet. Recoil is also a little less than a 7mm-08. For these reasons, I went 260 Rem (my choice is for competition only). If it will be used for hunting, I'd lean more towards 7mm-08, for the higher bullet weights.

Either option is a great choice, though. You are honestly splitting hairs. A 162 A-max or 168 VLD out of a 7mm-08 will be awesome. Just make sure you have your gunsmith chamber with a throatless reamer, and come back with a throating reamer to seat the high BC bullets close to the lands. This will maximize the potential of the caliber.

Many an animal has fallen to my 7-08 with a 160SGK. I love my .260 for target shooting, but for hunting, I would take a 7-08 any day of the week. Everything I've shot with the 7-08/160SGK combo has been DRT.

I really doubt any animal has ever sbbe shot with one that would not have been jsut as dead with the other of these 2 rifles. Both actually were wildcats being use by target/sillouett shooters before Remington decided to make them comercial, and both make good target rounds aswell as hunting rounds. I have been shooting and huntign with a 7mm-08 since 82 and love it. Right now I shoot more in 6.5 than the other calibers but have yet to try the 260.

As far as what teh 7mm-08 and 260 Remington are in the grand scheme of hunting cartridges think Modern short action versions of the 7X57 and 6.5X55 respectively. Not bad cartridges to duplicate IMO