I am thinking about ordering a new rifle for next season and I need some help to make my choice.

I have two main options: Sako 75 in .260rem or Tikka T3 in 6,5x55. Sako in 6,5 is not in my list as it gets a bit too heavy in that caliber.

I am mainly hunting moose but also some deer (mainly whitetail and roe but occasionally also red, fallow and sika). Perhaps in the future I could also take that rifle to Africa for smaller plains game.

I would be more than glad to hear some opinions about those calibers and rifles for my purposes.

Dr. JA,

You might have to consider barrel twist too.

The American 6.5/.264 barrel twist standard is 9" (228.6 mm), and the European standard has been 7.87" (200 mm). Sako barrels their 6.5X55 rifles with an 8" twist barrel according to their data, and the .260 with 9" twist.

If you want to shoot the longer, heavier bullets, you will need the faster twist.

I have a 6.5-'06 with a 9" twist barrel, and it will stabilize a round nose bullet of 160 grains, but not a semi-spitzer.

jim

Go with the Swede, especially if you reload. Lawdog

Ballisitcally, both are identical(the swede has a little more capacity), however, most 260s have magazines that require that you seat long, moose-worthy bullets well into the case usurping valuable powder capacity. Swedes are built on long actions and therefore allow for a greater COL. Plus the swede is a classic!

Can you get a Sako 75 in .260 Rem?

I have a tikka 695 in 6.5x55, It is sweet! Its long action which means no truble getting the bullet into the land cos you arent restricted by mag length.

I have a 260 Rem, but really, if you are mainly hunting moose, why not opt for a 7mm-08? I think you pick between the 260 Rem and 6.5x55 if you mainly are hunting deer. Just my view.

I took my moose year before last with my Remington Classic in 6.5x55 and the Sierra 160gr. SPSP (round nose to me) bullet. The ballistic co-efficient is fabulous in this caliber. It raises merry olde hell with the animals boiler room. My 1 in 9" barrel twist shoots the bullet well, yet doesn't do that well with the Sierra 140gr. bullet. I guess the bullet shape has as much to do with the accuracy as the weight. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Some choice you have here. I am a 100% convert to the .260 Remington, as it is a ballistic clone of my beloved 6.5x54mm, BUT as wisely pointed out, the average .260 Remington action does not allow for properly seating the long 160 grain class slugs that you will want for Moose size game. In the case that you are a serious Moose hunter, I would opt for the 6.5x55mm Swede, as it readily accepts the 160 grain bullets, and is another proven performer, however, I might also consider a 7mm-08 as another option. As for performance on deer, I do not think the .260 can be beat (three straight deer kills now), but I think I'd like a little more bullet if going for Moose.
LLS
Mannlicher Collector

I'm a .260 fan also, BUT if you are doing game bigger than deer, the twist in the .260 may not always stablize the long heavy bullets you'd be using - 140-160 gr. The faster twist on the Sweede, in a modern rifle, may be a better bet.

I'd grab the 7mm-08 were I primarily a moose hunter. It makes more sense to me.

If you hunt moose, get a bigger gun, a 30-06 would be a starting point. 6.5's are for deer.

The 6.5 x 55 has been killing moose reliably in scandnavia for a hundred years now. Even today, more moose are killed there with the 6.5 x 55 than all other calibers combined.

In tests done by the Sweedish government, a 156 gr 6.5 bullet out of the Sweede consistently out penetrated 375 H&Hs with 300 grain bullets. Their survey found no corolation between caliber and leathality. Bullet placement and accuracy were the tickets to success, and a lot more people can shoot a 6.5 x 55 accurately than can shoot magnums accurately...Rusty.

quote:

Rusty Hook: The 6.5 x 55 has been killing moose reliably in scandnavia for a hundred years now. Even today, more moose are killed there with the 6.5 x 55 than all other calibers combined.

In tests done by the Sweedish government, a 156 gr 6.5 bullet out of the Sweede consistently out penetrated 375 H&Hs with 300 grain bullets. Their survey found no corolation between caliber and leathality. Bullet placement and accuracy were the tickets to success, and a lot more people can shoot a 6.5 x 55 accurately than can shoot magnums accurately...Rusty.

I have seen that presented in much longer form and a lot less clearly. I've done so myself...

Jaywalker

Check with Sako and see what twist they use on the 260 Rem. Either 260 or Swede will work fine but the point about twist everyone is making is valid. Some shoot with the 1:9" twist and some don't. Seems most 260s shoot the 160g Sierra and stubby 140g bullets fine but is spotty on the long, pointed 140g bullets. The 140g - 160g bullets in 26 cal will kill moose as well as any of the bullets in 7mm.

What Rusty said!!!

6.5 SE with Lapua 155 Mega loads!

Moose killer.

The 1:9 twist of my Remington Model Seven .260 Rem barrel stabilized Hornady 160-grain round nose bullets, and I was able to duplicate the classic 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer velocity of 2350 fps in it. The performance of that round on large game is well known, so I say that a choice between .260 Rem and 6.5x55 is really a matter of aesthetics and not functionality. In terms of factory rifles, it may come down to whether or not the round is chambered in the rifle that works best for you.

Hi Folks, A Merry Christmas to All.

Well now, I've recently sold my Remington 700 Mountain rifle in 260 and bought a Tikka T3 in, yes you've guessed it, 6.x55. Why you might ask? Well the weight distribution in the T3 is better than the Mountain rifle and the Tikka has a 1in 8 twist the Remington had a 1 in 9.
The 260 is a great deer cartridge it works very well as does the 6.5, but if Moose were to be taken with the same round then the old Swede. with the heavier bullets, is, in my view, the better of the two.
There's a lot of plastic in the Tikka but they shoot very well and mine with the Optilock mounts and a Leupy 1-4x weighs exactly 7lbs. That I like.
Happy New Year.

quote:

Originally posted by AggieDog:
I have a 260 Rem, but really, if you are mainly hunting moose, why not opt for a 7mm-08? I think you pick between the 260 Rem and 6.5x55 if you mainly are hunting deer. Just my view.

In Sweden they track how many moose taken, which caliber and how many shots needed. The clear dominant cartridge by a huge percentage is the 6.5x55.

I have seen what the little 6.5X54MS can do with a nice 156 grain round nose. Super penetration with moderate loss of meat. Some say this means that it isnt causing enough trauma, but they are wrong. I watch one enter behind the last rib of a large >300 pound black bear and exit between the shoulder and neck on the opposite side. The range was 100 yards.

I am going for convienence, so make mine a 6.5X55SE with greater than 140 grain bullets. I am looking forward to trying some of the 155 grain Lapua Mega bullet loads they offer.

Thank you very much everyone.

So I think I will get Tikka T3 in 6,5x55. I hadn't thought about twist at all and I am surely going to use the heaviest possible bullets for moose.

There is also good factory ammo available for 6,5x55 here but not for .260. (somewhere else it can be the contrary of course)

Any experiences about Lapua Naturalis in 6,5mm. I guess Lapua Mega is working well but Naturalis could be a good all around bullet.

I was asking the same about the Mega and Natualis...It looks tough and leadless.

What about the three 156grain Norma loads?

333_OKH
Naturalis has been working very well in 308, 30-06 and 9,3mm so I guess it should be OK in 6,5mm. Just if anyone had tried it already?

It should be worth trying Norma loads too. 6,5x55 is the most popular caliber for moose in Sweden so I would bet that Norma bullets are working very well in 6,5mm.

I too was wondering if anyone had some 156 Oryx or 160 RN loads they would share for the .260 Rem. I have the LSS and Steyr in .260.

Any idea what the twist is in the Steyr? They have not chambered the .260 for some time and findng mags. is a royal pain...

Do we know if the 140 grain Natualis is about the same length bullet as the leaded version at 156 grain?

I have the steyr prohunter in 260 rem, love the rifle, but I am also finding it a pain to find an extra clip. Because it is based on the 308 win case, finding a clip in 243, 7mm-08 or 308 win should work.

Lapua is excellent on returning e-mailed questions. The 140 grain Naturalis actually is a longer bullet than the 155gr Mega point. This means it retains a lot of the features that made the 6.5mms famous. the BalCoef is better, but do the sectional densities for these all copper bullets go down due to the lack of lead?

6.5x55. What Dr. Lou said.

The barrel twist doesn't tell the whole story here. My Remington Classic with it's 1 in 9" twist does an excellent job with 160gr. SPSP bullets yet doesn't do that well with the 140gr. PSP. Bullet configuration is just as important as bullet weight in determining how well a barrel will shoot a given weight bullet. Certainly this is true with the 6.5x55. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

quote:

Originally posted by MajorCaliber:
If you hunt moose, get a bigger gun, a 30-06 would be a starting point. 6.5's are for deer.

Yes, all the moose and reindeer killed in Norway, Sweden, and Finland with the 6.5X55 were never really dead until shot again with a "major caliber".....

The ruger 260 and 6.5x55 both have 8" twist. But they might not be as available in various countries.

Cal I've also got a Classic in 6.5x55....I assume you're getting 1" or under groups at 100 yards, what powder has shown to perform best with those 160's ?

Thanks....Ike

go with a 308 and 150gr Interbonds i have had great success both with accuracy and lethality on 200lb whitetails and im sure with effective show placement it would be plenty on moose.

shot*

It took a while, but I finally made my decision. I just ordered a new Sako M85 in 6,5 X 55. I should get it on March or April. Don't know which rate of twist it has but probably the same as M75 has.

Here is an awesome 6.5 mm bullet I have been using,its the Lapula 155 gr mega tip bullet.I shot them out of my 264 win mag at deer and pronghorn.I shot the pronghorn at around 350 yards and the 275 pound buck at 15 yards.They made good holes going through with little meat ruined.I think the 6.5mm is light for moose but if I had to use my 264 I would use this 155 gr Lapula bullet.I bet the 260 is too short throated to seat it except deeply.I got 3/8" groups at 100 yards with them.The bc is .377 so its not just a short range bullet.They load it in the factory 6.5x55mm lapula loads for moose.I like the 338 win mag for bigger than caribou and because we have lots of bears here in Alaska.

Sako website says 8 twist.

I never would doubt a company in Finland to NOT get the twist right in this cartridge that originated near its homeland.

I never would doubt a company in Finland to NOT get the twist right in this cartridge that originated near its homeland.[/QUOTE]

Where did you find information about Sako 85? All the information I can find is about model 75.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywalker:

quote:

Rusty Hook: The 6.5 x 55 has been killing moose reliably in scandnavia for a hundred years now. Even today, more moose are killed there with the 6.5 x 55 than all other calibers combined.

In tests done by the Sweedish government, a 156 gr 6.5 bullet out of the Sweede consistently out penetrated 375 H&Hs with 300 grain bullets. Their survey found no corolation between caliber and leathality. Bullet placement and accuracy were the tickets to success, and a lot more people can shoot a 6.5 x 55 accurately than can shoot magnums accurately...Rusty.

I have seen that presented in much longer form and a lot less clearly. I've done so myself...

Jaywalker

Actually in Sweden the 6.5x55 is the MINIMUM caliber allowed for Moose.

And I'm not so sure it is the most popular caliber for killing them anymore, the 9.3x63
and 30-06 are very pupular for Moose.

Also remember that shooting of Moose in regular season in sweden isn't as much about shooting big bulls as it is here. it's about culling the inferior bulls and shooting meat cows, so those who still do use the 6.5 aren't expecting to kill the big ones anyway.

AllanD

333_ohk do you have one? 333OKH that is.

Just wondering but isn't a 6.5x55 a little light for moose? I'd get a 35 Whelen. Should be able to handle anything in the world ceptin maybe hephalumps and woosles.