I'm finding it hard to get good quality .260Rem brass here in the UK at a reasonable price..

I've been told the Remington brass is not particularly good quality and the Norma "custom" brass retails at about $1 a go!

So I was wondering whats involved with forming .260Rem brass? I can get Lapua .243win or .308win brass but don't really know which is best to start from, or what steps would be involved?

Any and all advice gratefully received,

Regards,

Pete

quote:

I can get Lapua .243win

Given a choice I prefer to neck up. A tapered expander 243 brass in a 260 die should give you 260 brass.

Not sure of your costs in the UK but I've been using Remington brass for years with no real problems and case life is good. But, I don't try for max loads or excessive spped - just accurate hunting loads.

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:

quote:

I can get Lapua .243win

Given a choice I prefer to neck up.

I guess I'm from the opposite camp.

I'd prefer to neck down.

Three points here:

1. When you "stretch" the brass (necking up,) I feel you are more likely to end up with uneven neck thickness along the circumference.

2. You will end up with a tighter neck fit. Better alignment in the chamber. I've never had to turn necks. The amount of brass thickening when necking down (I've done .375 to .338, .375 to .308 and .35 to .308) is really small. Do the math and you'll see. If you have a match chamber to begin with, that's another story. Thicker necks are better than thinner ones!

3. You shouldn't need to screw with the tapered expander step, which can be a seperate process or require a different expander. You should be able to run .308 thru the 260 FL sizer and be ready to rock'n'roll.

That said, I usually form cases for my .375-338 wildcat from .338 Win (yep - neck it up.) Way easier to find .338 cases than .458 Win.

I neck down from 308 to 260 I have been using LC Match FC and now Hornady Match stuff.

It takes one fireing to have the shoulder formed real nice to your chamber.

Some of my brass has been loaded 6 times and I don't anneal the necks 308 are to easy to find.

Pete
Give the remington brass a try. I have found it to work as well as the others without the extra work. If for target work buy in bulk and sort. Good luck

Pete if you have a standard neck in your 260 and not a tight custom one you can look at 7-08 win brass necked down. It performs best for me with my factory chamber/neck. The difference between it and .260 rem brass accuracy wise is minimal but I get a couple more reloads as it is a bit harder brass than the Rem brass I have used. My loads are not too hot but they are getting all that I think reasonable from the cartridge.

Have been shooting the 260s for as long as they have been out, so its hard to believe that has been 10 years now...

I've necked it up from 243, and necked down from 7/08 and 308...

I guess if I really had to pick, then I'd prefer to neck up, particularly if your rifle has a tight neck.. this will eliminate need to neck turn your brass...

necking down the 7/08 is the easiest of all..
then of course 308... none of this is any real hassle.. and all work well...

never used Lapua brass, but if it is as good as they say it is.. I'd just purchase which ever caliber was cheaper, 243 or 308 and be done with it..

only real reason I have necked up or down at all, is that I prefer Win brass over Rem, and I end up with a lot of 308 brass from picking it up off the ground at our local range.... at least before brass pricing skyrocketed...

gee - can you really buy 260 brass?? i've always made it from old GI 308's. cheap bastard that i am

When I started loading for the 260 I necked down both 7-08 and 308 brass of various makes. Once Remington started produceing brass for the market I turned to it. I`ve never seen any measurable difference in accuracy between the reformed stuff and the Remington, and quit useing anything but proper headstamped cases in my rifles. I doubt with a factory rifle and a lot of semi-custom you will find any difference in accuracy, case life may vary (I didn`t see it) and case capacities may allow slight changes in charge wgts. Unless you have a super accurate rifle and want the last 0.001" gain in group size, or a ton of suitable brass you are not useing, I`d stay with factory brass.

JMHO.....

I'm with Seafire and Ol Joe. However, I would give the Rem brass a go. I've shot and won quite a few factory matches with neck turned Rem brass in 22-250 and 7-08. IMO, it ain't bad stuff. It ain't Lapua but neither is the price tag over here.

Cheers Gents,

Plan A had been to buy some Nosler Custom brass from Sinclair International, but its seems now that your Government requires an export license for these highly dangerous brass tubes!

Plan B will be trying Remington brass which should be available over here at a reasonable price, and then as a last resort, I'll try necking up some Lapua .243win brass..

Regards,

Pete

Go with the 7/08 or 308 and neck down. Then if you need to you can turn them to fit your chamber. If it is a factory gun then you have probably taken some of the slack out of the throat area. The 308 cases come up ever so slightly short.

Bottom line thre is NOTHIING wrong with Remington 260 bras as it is.

I prefer necking down over necking up because it gives me a lot more control over neck thickness and concentricity.

I'll give it to you that necking up is easier though...

I found that the wall thickness of Remington factory 260 brass was all over the place. It must be due to the lack of competition, because in most calibers I've found Remington brass to be excellent.

7mm-08 brass is probably the best bet, unless you have an overabundant supply of 308 brass. Since I shoot at the BRPC at Fort Benning, I pick up 308 brass by the bucketfull.

I have used LC brass but that definitely requires turning the necks with any but the sloppiest of factory chambers. And not many manufacturers I know of make sloppy 260 Rem chambers. I mean, it's not like you're going to run across military surplus rifles chambered in 260 Remington.

Winchester 308 brass will most likely work without turning. Winchester 7mm-08 brass will almost certainly work without turning.

quote:

Originally posted by seafire2:
Have been shooting the 260s for as long as they have been out, so its hard to believe that has been 10 years now...

I've necked it up from 243, and necked down from 7/08 and 308...

I am curious.

How does the 308 brass work?

The neck in my 260 Rem chamber is .299".

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
gee - can you really buy 260 brass?? i've always made it from old GI 308's. cheap bastard that i am

We never called you CHEAP there Butchloc...

quote:

I am curious.

How does the 308 brass work?

The neck in my 260 Rem chamber is .299".

Clark,

I wasn't aware that you got one...

But in my Rugers and in my Model 700 VLS, neither one show any problems necking down 308s and then chambering... occasionally with some you get the neck donut.. but they still chamber fine and then they disappear when first fired...

The 308 brass I neck down is always range stuff laying on the ground..( I love those guys who do that.. especially if it is good brass..)

I use the Lapua 243 & neck up w/ a tapered expander, works perfectly.

I've resized 1X .243 brass into 7-08 brass with one pass thru the die. Then trimmed it to length and loaded it full house. No fire forming needed. (it is after all the same case)
If you want to get real picky, get a neck turning thingy and run it over the neck to knock down any high spots--you're not turning the neck, just kinda uniforming it-- and you're good to go. If it's hunting you're going, never mind that.

Pete,

If you can honestly tell the difference between remington and lapua other than the flash holes might need uniforming on the remington then you must be a LOT more conscientious than me!!!

I shoot remington in 6mm rem, 6.5x55 and 7x57 - never had any problem getting 0.5MOA with the right load.

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
Pete,

If you can honestly tell the difference between remington and lapua other than the flash holes might need uniforming on the remington then you must be a LOT more conscientious than me!!!

I shoot remington in 6mm rem, 6.5x55 and 7x57 - never had any problem getting 0.5MOA with the right load.

I think the biggest diff. is consistant wt. & case life. I also us RP brass & find accuracy pretty much the same. Then again, I sort the RP by wt.