I have recently been bit by the silhouette bug. Me and my uncle have been shooting rimfire this year and just starting in high power. I bought a tikka t3 in .260 and bedded it and lightened the trigger with kelbly rings and bases and a leupold EFR 6.5x20. With handloads (37gr of varget and a hornady ELD match 140. Lapua brass and cci br primer) its well under 1/2" closer to 1/4". The bullets moving at 2575fps with this setup. Is that going to be enough for rams???? As soon as it warms up matches start and I'm ready and excited. This is a sport That really can't buy a trophy and makes you a better rifleman. That's what makes this interesting to me. Thanks for helping a newbie

There is a lot of discussion on the subject of ringing rams.

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It seems that having a tough enough bullet is also a significant factor. I have been using 140g Sierra Match Kings over 36 g Varget and have rung rams with good hits. The rear leg of one ram was about a quarter of an inch from the tipping point. It was suggested a tougher bullet would have knocked over that ram. Perhaps it would have. I'll have to try some hunting bullets next.

140 A-Max at 2620.

Thanks for the help. The ELD hornady match is very similar to an AMAX according to hornady. I emailed them about there construction. The ELD -X is similar to a SST hunting bullet with a sleeker profile. I may have to hunt down some ELD-X bullets. They are heavy jacket hunting style bullets with a high B.C. to keep the energy up and hold together upon Impact for hunting or in my case rams. Thanks for the help. Seems my speed isn't far off. It's pretty cold out here and my velocity should be around 2600ish by the time the matches start.

Why not just use the SST? A very tough bullet.

I am using 142s at 2650. They work great. Too much speed and the bullet will disintegrate on the surface and not push them over.

I've had great luck with Lapua 139gr scenars. Just this weekend we were shooting in strong cross winds and I was really impressed at how they bucked the wind. I'm moving them at 2620 and other than in wet conditions haven't rang a ram with them. They have a pretty thick jacket from what I've read so this might be part of why they hold together so well.

I may have to order some scenars. I've got some 142 sierra to try out. The plain SST is a good bullet but if I can get that same performance and have a good b.c. to buck the wind I will take it. I shoot alot of long range stuff and at least once a week. I've made a trailer that has 2 rotating tables that angle up and down 10 feet off the ground and outriggers for long range groundhog hunting here in VA. We shoot 55lb 1000yd benchrest rigs. I've found out that wind plays a huge part in shooting with precision. Thats why ive been stuck on the higher b.c. bullets. Thanks again for the help.