The 6.5x55 has it beat by 100fps, now that is not a big deal, but why mess w/ a proven 115 year old winner. Redundent...

Perhaps this thread whould have been more stick to the point if it were a YES or NO poll. roger

Roger, I've kept my fingers silent for days reading all the history and hoopla. Now I'll give the GHD ides and prospective on the 260 Remington.
1) Effective deer chambering using anything from 100 grain NBT's to the 140 Sierra GameKings.
2) Minimal recoil from a cartridge delivering this much knockdown
3) GREAT CHAMBERING for kids and people of smaller stature and substance due to previous afformentioned attributes.
4) Loaded with either 130 grain Berger VLD's or 140 grain Amaxs is a long range performer. Both on targets and on game from vermin to deer.
5) There are more factories and custom riflemakers turning out 260's than there are 6.5 Swedes(albeit the REMINGTON folks are falling behind an letting their own child die!......but they did that with the 222Rem, 222Mag, 6mmRem and 25-06 and tore themselves a new butthole by not releasing the SAUM's ahead of the WSM's when all the R&D was done on the SAUM's.....but they wanted to release the "golly-whopper" RUM's first!!)
6) Brass is easily found and formed........simple run a 243, 7-08 or 308 through a sizing die and a case is made........brings me to another point.......308! Yea they are accurate but not anymore inherrently accurate than the 260!! Same with the 7-08!
7) Someone mentioned the 6.5-47 Lapua and the 6.5x284 and the 6.5-06. Find 6.5x47 Lapua brass at your local range or shop!! 6.5x284.....undisputed accuracy long range king!!..........I just like barrels to last longer than 1500 rounds especially since gaining only about 150fps with any given bullet. 6.5-06? The 25-06 is GOD'S CHOSEN CALIBER but the 6.5-06 is never going to outdo the other 6.5's.....don't know why I even brought it up other than the fact someone else mentioned it!.
Do I shoot any 260's? Well yes! 3 of them for that matter! Sarah's(Miss GHD's rifle) is a 24" stainless BDL/synthetic(made in 1999-2001 if I recall, aquired from AlleninAlaska from this forum in a trade) maybe the most accurate out of the box hunting rifle I have ever messed with. 2nd is a Remington VLS in 260 that had .0004 headspace reduction and recrowned. My long range varminter with 140 grain AMAXS. Shoots 95 grain VMAXS really well also but no need for the big stuff out to 700!! Use the Fireballs, 204's, 223's 222Mags, 6mm,25-06 and then go to the 260 for it's inherrent LONG RANGE ACCURACY! 3rd in the stable is a 2008 Special Edition CDL that Laurie bought me for my birthday(Gotta love a woman who buys us guns!!)Shoots 120's and 140's great and is a pleasure to tote in the woods or up in a treestand. Longest deer kill with that one is 342 yards using 120 Nosler BT's......albeit the old bitch did run 20 yards up in the timber instead of falling DRT!!
Have y'all got the picture yet that I do think the 260 is a seriously overlooked cartridge? It is! Remington was making their youth guns in this chambering and then a couple years ago brought out the "Reduced Recoil" loadings for it and the 7mm-08. If you've got a kid that wants to start hunting, get them either a 260 or a 7mm-08 and use this ammo!! EFFECTIVE AND ACCURATE!!
If you've got a 260 already, load up some 100 Nosler BT's with 41.0-43.0 grains of Varget and test them. I did not say 42.! I said 41.0(very mild and accurate and effective for the small folks). 43.0 is the limit but gives great accuracy and a few more fps if you're a speed demon. For the long range folks, 44.5-45.5 of H4831 with Federal 210 match primers ought to find a sweet spot. Done for the night!! GHD

All facts considered, the 260 Rem does not look so bad anymore. If brass is scarce or not available, it becomes moot to own one .... we have seen this in quite a few other calibers.

It may be different if we live near the Lapua factory, as opposed to the USA or RSA or Autralia or Africa.

Essentially, America is a world onto its own.

Warrior

Here is a very informative artical about the 260 AI. What the 260 remy should have been!

260 AI


Cartridge Bullet Claimed BC Muzzle
Velocity Drop @ 1000 Windage @ 1000
10mph 90° Vel @ 1000

.308 Win 175gr SMK 0.496 2700 fps 407.4" 90.9" 1290 fps

.260 Rem (std) 123gr Lapua 0.547 2950 fps 314.8" 69.8" 1542 fps

.260 Rem (std) 142gr SMK 0.595 2800 fps 338.0" 67.5" 1531 fps

.260 AI 123gr Lapua 0.547 3020 fps 299.1" 67.4" 1588 fps

.260 AI 139gr Lapua 0.615 2935 fps 300.3" 60.3" 1658 fps

6.5-284 142gr SMK 0.595 3000 fps 290.6" 60.9" 1668 fps

260 7-08 257r 6.5x55 270 etc. all equal dead deer,so pick what floats your boat.
I have 3 260s; two for sillhoutte(260 has just enough power to knock a ram over with light recoil which helps in a 60 round match) and a Savage striker. The striker shoots small groups with 120gr reloads but scatters factory 140s (twist to slow).
With so many rounds in the same power range the 260 entered the race to late to take very much market share, but is a very good round.
When I chase deer I take my 7x57r.
Dale

quote:

Originally posted by groundhog devastation:
Roger, I've kept my fingers silent for days reading all the history and hoopla. Now I'll give the GHD ides and prospective on the 260 Remington.

Nice expose, Charlie.Probably had you a hand in its marketing the .260 ( a nice little cartridge) would have had greater sales. You didn't, however, and the fact is the field is just inundated with cartridges that are as good and better than the .260.There are just too many choices minimizing the sales of each. It's not like the late 40s and early 50s when you choose a .270 or a 30-06 for a bolt rifle. roger

It is interesting how fickle the American market can be. Considering the ballistic capabilities of the 6.5mm this caliber should have been much more sucessful then it is. None of the 6.5mm chamberings seem to have dominated sales.

Americans, according to sales and cartridges, don't like 6.5's or 8mm's. Remember Remingtons 6.5 Magnum flop? Now the 260 is waning and it's a very good cartridge. Another cartridge, although not in the 6.5 category, that also was an excellent round,is the 358 Win. It hasn't done so well either.

If you have an action and magazine that can handle it and you load the 6.5 bullets out of the powder capacity of the 260 case it will for all practical purposes equal the 6.5 Swede. I built my 260 on an Arisaka Type 38 action and I throated it out so that it would chamber the longer 140 grain bullets and yes my 260 with a 9 twist will stabilize a 140 grain bullet very well.

I like the .260 and had an A-bolt re-barreled to it. It's a great whitetail round and I wouldn't be afraid of larger game with the right bullet, given good shot placement.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinJ:
Americans, according to sales and cartridges, don't like 6.5's or 8mm's. Remember Remingtons 6.5 Magnum flop?

This certainly seems to be the case.....but I think we'd all be surprised just how little most gun owners in America really know! The typical American gun owner does not post here and probably hasn't even heard of the .260 Rem...

They have heard of the .30-30, the .30-06, and the .
270......and not much more.....and don't really know the difference in these!

If more Americans were knowledgeable about modern cartridges, there would be a lot more .260s out there!

I don't know about that Vapordog, the three cartridges you named are very old, 1894, 1906, and 1925...so sure they all should know about those three. I think the American hunter is very attuned as to what is out there after all they have the gun rags, TV shows, gunshops, etc. to push them along. It sure didn't take the average hunter long to find out about the inline muzzle loaders. Yes they know about 260 Rem. Don't forget about the time the 260 came out so did the short magnums. Having the word "Magnum" on it still sells more or gets more attention. This is not to demeanor the 260 as it's really a very good cartridge.

Seems a fatter Creedmoor on the 284 case to catch up with the 260 Rem capacity might be the solution. Wow! Mixing a the best of both carts to duplicate the lowly 260 Rem. Someone stop me!

130 Scirocco's in the .260:
It also kicks a .270's butt shooting 130's at 3100fps....I just compared the two on JBM.

.260, 130 swift S2 @ 2925fps
450M=1418 ft pounds
450M Vel=2217fps

.270, 130gr Accubond @ 3100fps
450M=1345 ft pounds
450M Vel=2159

Whats scary is that 130 Scirocco out of your 6.5/284 @ 3150fps....that might be a future project!!
_________________________
Luck....is the residue of design...

From here:
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/...o_in_6_5#Post4268324

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Low Wall:
130 Scirocco's in the .260:
It also kicks a .270's butt shooting 130's at 3100fps....I just compared the two on JBM.

.260, 130 swift S2 @ 2925fps
450M=1418 ft pounds
450M Vel=2217fps

.270, 130gr Accubond @ 3100fps
450M=1345 ft pounds
450M Vel=2159[/QUOTE
I guess if you do a lot of shooting at 450 meters you might have a mute point. roger

The last 7 rifles that i build were 6.5s of some sort.

quote:

Originally posted by D Humbarger:
The last 7 rifles that i build were 6.5s of some sort.

In the last year I have built a .260 Remington, a 6.5 X 55, and a .264 Magnum.....It's darn hard to walk away from the 6.5 caliber!

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Originally posted by D Humbarger:
The last 7 rifles that i build were 6.5s of some sort.

In the last year I have built a .260 Remington, a 6.5 X 55, and a .264 Magnum.....It's darn hard to walk away from the 6.5 caliber!

BTW those calibers were chosen by customers.

2 6.5x47L

3 6.5x284

2 260 AI

I have 3 more 6.5x284s in the works at the moment.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Originally posted by D Humbarger:
The last 7 rifles that i build were 6.5s of some sort.

In the last year I have built a .260 Remington, a 6.5 X 55, and a .264 Magnum.....It's darn hard to walk away from the 6.5 caliber!

He will soon be building and introducing the 6.5 X 51.8. roger

I see it catching on as a long range varmint round more than a deer round. I know a few guys including myself who have had custom heavy barreled rifles built in 260 remington for long range groundhog work, but like i said just a few guys.

quote:

Originally posted by Benwillweit:
I see it catching on as a long range varmint round more than a deer round. I know a few guys including myself who have had custom heavy barreled rifles built in 260 remington for long range groundhog work, but like i said just a few guys.

Just out of curiosity ,why did you(plural)select the .260 over the 25-06? roger

quote:

.260 short neck, long body...ROFLMAO

Yep, it's exactly like the .243 except with a longer neck. Those attributes sure did doom the poor old .243.....



.

Year before last I ordered my first custom rifle. It was going to become my whitetail rifle. May also be used for yotes, but whitetails would be the main target. Pretty early on I decided to have Melvin Forbes at NULA build my rifle, but I fretted over the cartridge choice for several months.
Finally decided on the .260 Remington. I think it is one of the best kept secrets in deer cartridges. Anyone can shoot it well and there's really nothing the 7mm-08 can do that it can't do.
I pulled the trigger on it twice last deer season. My load was Nosler's 130 gr. Accubond loading. The Nosler brass seems great and I'm working up handloads for this year.
Performance? Neither deer took a single step. One at 45 yards and one at 216 yards.
I'm totally happy with mine.
Ken

I got a .260 in a kimber rifle for my wife. I looked long and hard at the reloading manuals for bullet weights and velocities, and finally chose this over the 25-06. Similar velocities with the same bullet weight,in a short action. I chose it over the .243 because I can load heavier bullets in it. Never thought about the 7mm-08, but maybe for one of the kids.

quote:

Just out of curiosity ,why did you(plural)select the .260 over the 25-06

Better more accurate bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by D Humbarger:

quote:

Just out of curiosity ,why did you(plural)select the .260 over the 25-06

Better more accurate bullets.

I think not especially for varmints, and how much more accuracy do you need for deer than a Nosler can deliver? roger

Depends if you just want to shoot the deer is the eye somehere OR in the pupil.

quote:

Originally posted by D Humbarger:
Depends if you just want to shoot the deer is the eye somehere OR in the pupil.

Hmmmm** I see your point. roger

Here's a viewpoint from Yurrup. I can't see the point of it.

Even in countries where military calibres are banned (France and Mexico) the 7mm-08 rules the roost.

It is IMHO another 8mm Remington Magnum scenario. At lower weights of 100 grains is is just too much like the .243 Winchester and at upper weights of 140 grains just too like the 7mm-08.

Indeed the ONLY point of it, and I suppose that depends on barrel twist and how far you can seat bullets out, would be to load the thing with a 160 grain blunt bullet like Hornady's.

Then I think it would be a really superb short range "hog" or moose killer. A sort of a modern American take on the fine and venerable 6.5mm x 54 MS?

Mmm! Now when I think that a fully stocked "schutzen" style short actioned Ruger M77 in 260 Remington might be quite appealing to those that like that sort of think. As long as bullet seating depth wasn't compromised.

The 6.5mm x 54 MS re-invented for the 21st Century? In fact maybe we are viewing this from the wrong end of history? And the wrong end of the velocity table?

Has anyone done a 260-270?
Would have that long neck plus on a rem 700 with a 3.6" action you could seat the bullets out long with a long throat. The case is 2.54" so load the bullets out another .2" and still should feed well. Also adding more useable case capacity
Just a thought.
Same goes for a 280 Rem, 338-270 ect.

As a guess, I would imagine that the '06 case has been contorted into every conceiveable calibre.

Bartshe, I chose the 260 remington for the High BC bullets low recoil and just because its a caliber i have wanted to try, I already have a 25-06 that has smoked many groundhogs, so i quess you can say i chose that first.

quote:

Originally posted by Benwillweit:
Bartshe, I chose the 260 remington for the High BC bullets low recoil and just because its a caliber i have wanted to try, I already have a 25-06 that has smoked many groundhogs, so i quess you can say i chose that first.

Better than anyone I understand when somebody says" ***cause that's what I wanted " for justyfication. Enough said. roger

D99: I hope that it is a generalization that the 6.5/284 requires a long action. I have a Montana Model 99 stainless left hand action in .243 that I was going to have rebarreled to 6.5/284. What do you think of that action for this caliber?

I talked my brother into a .260 several years ago when Savage offered it in their 110 model. That rifle turned me against Savage rifles and the .260. It has been a nightmare to load for. No powder/bullet combination seemed to give any good accuracy. Finally settled on 129 grain Hornaday bullets and IMR7828 of all powders. Maybe we got a lemon but I plan to build a 6.5x55 for my 6.5 rifle. I will say I did kill a doe with it and it should be a good round. It just did not impress me in the rifle we got.

New account for Jacobite

What DMB said. A few years ago I was trying to choose between a light mountain rifle in 6.5, 7mm08 and .260. I surveyed the retail stores within 50 miles to see what ammo choices were most available locally. I was surprised to find more 6.5x55 and 7mm08 ammo available than .260. I couldn't find a stainless 6.5x55 rifle at the time and bought a titanium Rem in 7mm08. The ballistic advantages of the .260 over the 7mm08 seem questionable at under 200 yrds. which is how I use the gun.

It would seem if you necked the 338 RCM down that is 2" long you could have a 6.5-06 power gun on a 260 Rem rechamber.
Any thoughts?

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
It would seem if you necked the 338 RCM down that is 2" long you could have a 6.5-06 power gun on a 260 Rem rechamber.
Any thoughts?

Does the RCM have a .473 bolt face?