preference between the 260 or 6.5x55 swede?

Aammo availabilty for the 6.5x55?

AAny personal experiences with either of the two cartriges?

Thanks.

Just like choosing between the 7mm-08 and 7x57 - no game animal will ever tell the difference. Both have good reputations for accuracy. Ammo is more or less equally available for each (finally), though the 260 FLs are a bit snoosier and a bit more diverse, so it probably has the marginal advantage on that front. 260 is a SA which is important to some and not to others. I've had some of each and like both of them, though I personally prefer the 6.5x55 (and the 6.5x57). Buy the rifle you like best...

9.3

The Swede is hard to beat. Lapua and Norma make some top notch brass in the caliber. Good shooting

I've got no personal experience with the .260, but I can't brag up the little Swede enough. I just "discovered" this cartridge a couple of years ago. So far I've taken a deer, an antelope, and a handful of pigs with it. It's a very mild-mannered, fine shooting, easily handled cartridge, particularly in a well-built rifle. Mine is very accurate with 120 and 140 grain Barnes XLCs, which perform great on game.

I don't think you can go wrong with the 6.5, especially if you handload. A lot of current North American production ammo is loaded to lower pressures so fools don't blow themselves up using modern ammo in mil-surp rifles. But in a newer rifle, with ammo loaded to modern specifications, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two cartridges you name. Certainly no deer or other critter would ever know or care which cartridge fired the bullet that killed him. Lotsa moose been killed in Eruope with the 6.5X55. If it works there, it will surely work here.

I fire the following weight bullets in my Remington 700 Classic in 6.5x55: 85, 100, 108, 120, 123, 140, 142, and 160grs. All will print sub minute of angle in my rifle. To me it's amazing that my rifle prints both 85 and 160grs. under 1". Usually with such a wide range one end will shoot better than the other. The same 6.5 bullets are made for the .260Rem. but the only ones I ever hear about are the 120's. I've never shot a .260, but I would suspect similar performance. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I have alot of experiences with both cartridges.

Performance is very close, to the point that they can be one in the same.

If you are a handloader, the 6.5 x 55 does offer a little more powder capacity, with Winchester brass at least. ( I use winchester 7/08 brass necked down for my 260s, as I prefer Winch Brass over Remington). This extra powder capacity comes into play if you are shooting heavier bullets and trying to wring out every little fps you can out of the gun. ( Does not make that much difference in my book.)

The only real word comparisons that are just food for thought. The 260:

1.Endless supply of brass ( 308, 243, 7/08)
2. Has not been around a long time, and who knows if it is here to stay. Load info down the road is questionable if it fades away.

6.5 x 55:
1. Been around for 100 yrs.
2. Brass availability is hit and miss. Can't really reform other caliber's cases safely.

Both give excellent accuracy. Both will take any game with proper bullets. Would use bigger on game that can eat you, but beyond that, it will down game contrary to the paper ballistics.

One person from Sweden on the board was indicating earlier this summer of a performance test by the Swedish Game Commission ( or whatever it is called) of the 6.5 x 55. With newer cartridges they were consider not approving it any more for moose hunting. When comparing a 6.5 x 55 with a 156 grain Round Nose, to a 375 H & H with a 300 grain Round Nose, the 6.5 actually out penetrated the 375!

So much for all those that claim that Foot Pounds and a bigger bullet kill a lot more than Lack of Foot Pounds and a smaller bullet.

There is no hunting field performance downside to either route.

The fact that the 260 is based on the 308 Win should give it an advantage in power and accuracy, all other things being equal. I still like the 6.5X55, though. I am just sentimental. In the way of factory ammo, I haven't encountered all that much 260. It's a damn good cartridge, but it's just not all that popular, not around here at least. The only place I routinely see 6.5X55 factory ammo is at gun shows. Handloading is the way to go if you are serious about either cartridge. My grandfather hunted for years with a 6.5X55 and swore by it. I believe he used a 159gr load, but I will have to get back to you on that to tell you for sure.

If you will be using factory ammo from the US, the 260 is the way to go as the Swede is downloaded considerably.

If you want to use a true short action rifle (2.8" Rem magazine comes to mind) the 260 again has the advantage due to it's shorter length.

If used in a modern rifle and handloading, the Swede has a slight case capacity advantage over the 260. Since velocity varies barrel-to-barrel and the accurate load also varies, you may never realize this advantage.

Typically, the Swede is chambered with a long throat which will leave the light weight bullets seated a considerable distance from the lands. This may or may not affect accuracy.

I chose the 260 to match my Rem short action. If I had a longer action I would have gone with a 6.5x284 or a 6.5-06.

HogWild