260 Rem Vs. 6.5-06

[Alfred Crouch]

su37, What ae the specs on the 260 and the 6.5 x 284 the two of you are shooting? .... Don't mean to hi jack the thread.

 

[su37]

Buddy is shooting a Factory 700 Mtn Rifle and I shoot a 700 Ti with a #1 barrel 25" .
Weight is 6.5 lbs with scope. Scope is a 4.5x14 LR with an M1 on top.

We're ringing a 10" gong at 950 yards shooting over the hood of the truck.


It's about as complicated as it gets. (grin)

 

[Trickymissfit]

Regarding the 260 Rem versus elk, this is a good example of what precision shot placement will do for you.
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/defensive-edge-success-story-34795/

The 260 Rem will be easier on barrels. If I were to go with a short action, I would look at seriously at the 7mm WSM.

Long action vs. short action & weight. I would not fuss over a few oz's. This is an excellent example of a nicely designed long action rifle.
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/defensive-edge-sheep-hunter-280-ack-imp-30684/

If I were to go long action, I would go with a 280 or a 280AI over the 6.5-06.

I once had a Rem M700 KS Mtn Rifle in 280 Rem it did a great job with Nosler 140gr BT's. I worked up some loads with the Sierra 160gr SBT, they shot very well too, I never killed anything with that load.

If your loading pretty hot hunting loads the short neck on the .260, that means short barrel life just like the .243. The vortex of the flame path meets inside the throat on all the .308 cases, where as the vortex of the flame path is still inside the neck on 30-06 cases. And if you go with the 40 degree shoulder in the Ackley style case the flame path is even better as it's in the first third of the neck. But I'm with you in that I'd go with a plain old generic .280 Remington. Ackley stated more than once that the .308 case (generic) was pretty much an improved case as it came from the factory, so velocity gains were not all that was cracked up tobe. The real gain with the Ackley case concept is longer case life and greater barrel life due to the major changes in the flame path (still not as good as the generic 30-06 case). Myself; if it had to be a 6.5 bullet, then I'd go for the .257AI necked up to 6.5 or 7mm. You get the longer neck, which handles heavy bullets much better than the .260 neck (still not quite as good as the 06 neck though), and you gain a bunch of case capacity. Another case to investigate is the Vias. It's really nothing but an improved 6.5/55, and that rounds really smokes!
gary

 

[Trickymissfit]

If you are asking the question about a 6.5-06, I then I suggest you consider a 6.5x284. It is a proven performer and you can get Lapua/Norma cases for it, no fireforming ...

and a 600 round barrel life
gary

 

[elkaholic]

You might like my 6.5 Sherman case. It holds 5% more powder than the A.I. and still maintains a good neck (.300) I'm getting 3150 with 140 Bergers from a 26" barrel I've fired between 800-900 rounds thru it so far with no problems. Accuracy is excellent and case life is very good as well.......Rich

 

[Fishbait]

First, I'll admit I haven't read this whole thread.

I have shot out two barrels on a 6.5/280 Ackley, and love it. M700, 27" #5 fluted, about 3300 fps with 120 nosler BT. I can and have killed everthing from digger squirrels to elk with this rifle. One spike bull at 528 yards, blackies at over 600, many blacktailed deer from 45- 613. It's a fun gun, big for yotes, but nice in the wind of eastern Oregon.

I will admit though, since I bought my 7 RUM and got it shooting, the 6.5 has been parked.

 

[Alan Griffith]

A lot of good advice here.

260 Rem vs 6.5-06; couple hundred fps; who cares. They will both do what you want at the terminal end.

Short action, go with the 260 Rem.

Long action, go with the 6.5-06.

AI, go with it if you want great case life, not the extra fps.

Definitely go the 1:8. You can get by with a 1:8.5, 1:9 if you live/shoot at higher altitudes.

Brass, Lapua or Norma when ever you can get it!

Alan

 

[Terry Scott]

Another Vote for the 260AI
I am getting 3000fps from 26 inches of barrel. I love it! No recoil As long as 140 gr bullets are big enough it fabulous.

 

[barthmonster]

260 Rem... or 270 win... Never saw the need for 6.5-06 with a 270 win or 280 rem available...

 

[LongRangeAmmo]

I've shot a lot of .260 Rem at ranges out to 1000 yds. It's a very flat shooting cartridge that won't burn your barrel out too quickly. Also it carries plenty of energy to hunt with... unless you are hunting moose or something like that. I load a lot of 130 gr. Norma Diamond line VLD bullets on Nolser brass and out of a GA precision rifle. I've experienced 4 in. groups at 1000. This cartridge in a light weight hunting rifle will give you plenty of power and with the low recoil of the .260 it isn't hard at all to keep rounds on target all day long, which makes practice more fun that shooting an -06 or 7 rem mag. That is only my opinion and I never discourage people who have a need to shoot something bigger. Don't get me wrong. I like big fast cartridges too

 

[Buano]

Stuck between the two calibers and lookinf for some advice. Type of hunting rifle will be used for is primarily high country mulie hunts in eastern wa / sheep hunt, Second black bear hunting 50/50 in forest of western Wa (heavy) and open areas similiar to mule deer (eastern Wa.), Third varmint hunting (coyote)#4 occasional elk. Looking to be able to make long range shots out to 500+ when I become more capable. Concerns are #1 recoil (although hear both are light), #2 Barrel life (it's a hunting gun but will shoot more than average hunter between 150-200 shots per year maybe more, #3 long action/short action. Was leaning toward the 6.5-06 but is the long action, recoil, barrel life worth the extra 200+ fps for me? Was also notacing that the 260 can be formed from 243, 308 brass offered by everyone (hornady/lapua/winchester) compared to the 6.5-06 with 270 win, 30-06 from hornady, 30-06 from lapua, and 25-06, 270 win, 30-06 from winchester. Any help would be appreciated, especially from anybody with expierence with both. I guess concerns could be further reduced to is the 260 enough for what I want to do? I'm worried 260 falls short for hunting but is great for long range targets, while the 6.5-06 is more adequate for both.Thanks again for any help.

There have been some good recommendations already made but I'll add my thoughts:

First & foremost, a 1-gun arsenal is always a compromise, and with the differences between the animals you will be hunting you are looking at a lot of compromise. Compromise means you will not have the ideal for some situations.

A .260 Rem is a nice little cartridge with a reputation for accuracy and the advantage of using standard dies & off-the-shelf ammunition. I bought my daughter a .260 for whitetails. It is a nice cartridge.
The .6.5-06 has a little more power but doesn't use standard anything. A .270 shoots almost as flat & uses standard ammunition that is only 13/1,000 of an inch larger in diameter, .264" vs. .277". If it's a debate between the .308 case & the 30-06 case, go with the latter, but use at least a .270 for what you are hunting!

Neither .260 is enough for elk hunting or long-range muley hunting. Yes, both have been killed with such a load, but how many others have been wounded only to die 3 days later?

For Muley or elk you should be looking at a .270 WSM or larger. I've recently seen a (second) shot taken on a LARGE elk that hit directly on the shoulder with a 160 grain bullet going about 3000 fps (at impact) where the bullet didn't even break bone! 6+" of muscle can do a lot to slow a bullet down. Thankfully the first shot took out the lungs. Yes, with a perfect shot an elk will fall regardless the rifle, but when hunting such monumental animals you should use enough gun to put it down even if your shot is "less than perfect". (That rule should be followed whatever you are hunting.)

I would normally recommend elk hunters carry at least a .300 mag, but as you are talking about a 1-gun arsenal for all those animals, you should be looking at: .270 WSM, 7mm WSM, 7mm Rem mag, .300 WSM, .264 Win Mag, .300 Win. (in my order of preference). Yes, you will be over-gunned in some situations but that's vastly preferable to being under-gunned.

 

[elkaholic]

Buono....I don't mean to start an argument, but the guy who shot the elk in the shoulder with the 160 gr. was obviously using the wrong bullet and that can happen with ANY rifle/cartridge combo. I can guarantee you that the same elk shot in the shoulder with a 140 Nosler partition out of an A.I. would have gone nowhere. I have killed nearly 30 head of elk with a 6.5-06 A.I. at ranges exceeding 600 yds. and NONE got away. I guess we probably need to qualify what long range is, but I would not hesitate to use the 6.5 with the right bullet out to 800 yards or more. A .260 remington is about 150-200 yard less gun than a 6.5 A.I. My experience.........Rich

 

[Buano]

Buono....I don't mean to start an argument, but the guy who shot the elk in the shoulder with the 160 gr. was obviously using the wrong bullet and that can happen with ANY rifle/cartridge combo. I can guarantee you that the same elk shot in the shoulder with a 140 Nosler partition out of an A.I. would have gone nowhere. I have killed nearly 30 head of elk with a 6.5-06 A.I. at ranges exceeding 600 yds. and NONE got away. I guess we probably need to qualify what long range is, but I would not hesitate to use the 6.5 with the right bullet out to 800 yards or more. A .260 remington is about 150-200 yard less gun than a 6.5 A.I. My experience.........Rich

Rich,

No offense taken.

No, he wasn't using a Nosler Partition, but he was using a quality bullet. I didn't name bullet mfg because it wasn't the issue. The issue was a HUGE elk with 6-8" of muscle before the bullet got to the bone. My observation was that if this was the only hit, that elk would have died days later. (Which is why hunters are often told not to use a shoulder shot on elk.)

A 6.5-06 is a terrific deer round that can kill elk cleanly if placement if proper, but why start out with that caliber when there are better ones for elk? Why use that wildcat load when a .270 will shoot virtually as flat with easily obtainable ammunition? Why use a .270 on elk when he hasn't purchased yet & can buy a load more suited to this game?

I am not against a light bullet where fitting. In fact for deer I use either a .25-06 or a .243. A 6.5-06 is an excellent deer round even if it is unnecessarily expensive for the performance. For elk, I definitely believe he should go bigger.

 

[pyroducksx3]

Just so everyone knows I do have a tikka t3 lite in 300 wsm. Its a fine round but it was a lot of recoil for fun shooting. I shoot it fine with no flinching but honestly its just not that much fun to shoot numerous rounds out of it. I also recently acquired a rem 700 in an HS precision stock in 7mm rem mag with a burris fullfield 2 in 6.5-20 for 650 dallors. It wasnt my ideal cal choice but who could argue with the price. So Im thinking of rebarreling the 300 wsm to 270 wsm , possibly 260 but that would require a new bolt. And shooting the 7 rem mag barrel out of the 700 and then rebarreling to a 7 rem ultra mag with a muzzlebreak and stepping up to the 200 uld wildcats, if I find I want more than the 7 rem mag can do. Who knows maybe the wildcat 30 cal ulds will be out by then and the choice will be even harder. So originally I was planning on getting a smaller cal hence the 260 vs 6.5-06 and using the tikka as my bigger gun. Now I have two guns that can do about the same thing but the rem will be much easier to accurize for long range hunting and I just dont like selling guns so the tikka stays as well. Thanks to everyone for the great advice.