.260 vs 6.5 Creedmore

Did a search on your topic and found posts on snipers hide (title reloader 26 and 260) - accurate shooter (title 260ackley reloader 26 results) and one on this site (titled 260 rem and reloader 26 need expert advice please) Seems they are getting 2900fps with 140 class and the powder is very sensitive to higher temps, they are also shooting pretty heavy compressed loads as well. 130's will give you some more powder room and should hit 3000fps. I've got a pretty warm load of IMR4350 that seems very accurate with 130 AB's in a 1 in 7.75 twist 260 barrel. Do a search..........

Savage 12BVSS said:

Did a search on your topic and found posts on snipers hide (title reloader 26 and 260) - accurate shooter (title 260ackley reloader 26 results) and one on this site (titled 260 rem and reloader 26 need expert advice please) Seems they are getting 2900fps with 140 class and the powder is very sensitive to higher temps, they are also shooting pretty heavy compressed loads as well. 130's will give you some more powder room and should hit 3000fps. I've got a pretty warm load of IMR4350 that seems very accurate with 130 AB's in a 1 in 7.75 twist 260 barrel. Do a search..........

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Thanks for the information Savage12BVSS.

I had forgotten this thread till it got pulled up, all this back and forth over which cartridge is better seems like a debate that isn't necessary. Pick the one you like and enjoy it, I had my 260 together and was hunting and shooting it before the 6.5CM existed. I looked it over when it came out and didn't see much difference between them to be honest, at least no reason to change cartridges for my needs.

Now the 6.5 PRC has appeared, a cartridge that I would put together a gun to give it a test drive ; ) Long live 6.5's

When I built my 260 AI, I wanted it to propel a 130 grain bullet over 3000 ft/sec. To assure it could, I made a few changes to the Standard AI version that would allow me to get the desired velocity and still be able to fire form standard 260 Remington cases/ammo in it.
These were the changes.

Increase the free bore from .119 to .200 to allow any Ogive shaped bullet. next I changed the lead angle from 3 degrees to 1,5 degrees. This also allowed any seating depth desired to single load or feed from the magazine.

This rifle/cartridge has no problem exceeding 3,000 ft/sec with 130 class bullets staying well within the SAMMI pressure specifications. and is very close to the performance of the PRC, not that I was trying to duplicate the ballistics of the PRC because at the time it had not came out but it is Within 50 ft/sec at present, and once I get the load tweaked it should be very close without pressure.

So far the H 4831 and H 414 have been my best powders for the 260 AI.

I bought Lapua brass with the proper head stamp and standard size primer pockets so I would have more primer choices and have been very happy with the SD's and accuracy. Groups have averaged less than a 1/4 MOA and is improving.

I don't believe that the 260 is any better than the newer cartridges, but for sure it is just as good as they are fed the right ammo even though it is older. The standard 260 and the AI version will match most 6.5's in its class in performance and accuracy, so if you already have one, there is no reason the change unless you just want something new.

J E CUSTOM

.260 paper champion but 6.5 creed name and marketing champion.

There is a reason Hornady only loads 130 grain bullets for the 260 Rem. It's because it is better than the 6.5 CM in every way. I have both a 6.5 CM and a 260 Remington. I have gone though so much power trying to make the 6.5 CM duplicate 260 Rem performance and it has fail miserably. 6.5 CM is 200 FPS slower when matching powder to powder. 8"-9" more wind drift w/ 10 mph wind at 1,000 yards. 40" more drop than the 260 with same 140 grain Berger VLDs. I have tried so hard to prove myself wrong that the 6.5 CM is better. Bottom line is Marketing. Hornady is probably the king at that.

Currently have a 260 AI being built thanks for the info

I shoot both...I think its important to remember both were designed as high performance target shooting rounds capitalizing on the superior ballistics coefficient and SD of the new, heavier 6.5 bullets. and the "efficiency" of the .308 Win case/interior ballistics. Then we discovered that also because of those bullets there was the potential for significant energy remaining down range even if started at modest muzzle velocities. That then translated to low muzzle blast and recoil and we discovered that was great for medium sized game at extended range. That happened at about the same time as the Long Range hunting fad. If you reload, you can really get more performance out of the .260 Remington. If you don't, you can buy (usually) better ammo for the 6.5 CM. That said, if you really want a LR game killer in 6.5, I really like the 6.5 PRC. A bit more jack, can handle the big bullets better and still a moderate in muzzle blast and recoil in a mountain rifle. Not as much of a fan of those other "barn burner" 6.5s.

My first 260 is a 6.5x308 wildcat built in 1994. It has put several elk down with the Barnes 120gr original X bullet. My 6.5 PRC is a 6.5-06 which is an equal performer to the PRC but without the factory ammo available, but no problem to a reloader. . My 6.5 barrel burner is a Rem 700 264 I bought new in 1964. Took my best bull ever with it in 2014. That year The rifle turned 50 & I turned 70. It still shoots great. Have never shot more than two shots threw it with out a complete cool down. Makes a hudge difference. How time flies even when your having fun.

Hespco said:

My first 260 is a 6.5x308 wildcat built in 1994. It has put several elk down with the Barnes 120gr original X bullet. My 6.5 PRC is a 6.5-06 which is an equal performer to the PRC but without the factory ammo available, but no problem to a reloader. . My 6.5 barrel burner is a Rem 700 264 I bought new in 1964. Took my best bull ever with it in 2014. That year The rifle turned 50 & I turned 70. It still shoots great. Have never shot more than two shots threw it with out a complete cool down. Makes a hudge difference. How time flies even when your having fun.

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Your comments about cool-down are right on the mark. My 22-250 gave up the ghost after my buddy used it to burn up a prairie dog town. My buddy's 22-250 is still going strong after a couple of decades of woodchuck hunting. The difference ? High-volume shooting overheating the barrel. When hunting woodchucks, a guy might shoot a half a dozen rounds in a morning, usually with lots of time between shots. In a PD town, there's no telling how many shots you might take back-to-back. With a cartridge that burns a lot of powder through a tiny little hole in the end, it's pretty easy to fry a barrel. If you shoot once every half hour, the same cartridge behaves quite differently in that regard. You found out with your 264 what I found out with my 22-250.

J E Custom said:

This rifle/cartridge has no problem exceeding 3,000 ft/sec with 130 class bullets staying well within the SAMMI pressure specifications. and is very close to the performance of the PRC, not that I was trying to duplicate the ballistics of the PRC because at the time it had not came out but it is Within 50 ft/sec at present, and once I get the load tweaked it should be very close without pressure.

So far the H 4831 and H 414 have been my best powders for the 260 AI.

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I've been playing with 127LRX and H4350. A full case gets me to 3035 FPS which is considerably slower than a PRC. What FPS were you getting with H4831?

WWP2012 said:

I've been playing with 127LRX and H4350. A full case gets me to 3035 FPS which is considerably slower than a PRC. What FPS were you getting with H4831?

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My loads were 3055 ft/sec and 3040 with two different powders. Still a work in progress, but limiting my self to 60,000 Psi. I can push that a little but don't like Max pressure loads.

The top listed loads for the PRC show 3090 ft/sec @ 61,200 Psi with a 30 grain bullet. so with a 60,000 psi load I am within 35 ft/sec of the PRC with a 61,200 Psi load. I am sure ether cartridge can be faster if the pressure is upped, but I prefer to stay away from that problem.

I gained some velocity by extending the free bore and reducing the lead angle and another friends 260 rifle without these features velocity runs almost exactly the same velocity as yours with the 130 grain bullets. (3030 ft/sec) with higher pressures.

J E CUSTOM

J E Custom said:

My loads were 3055 ft/sec and 3040 with two different powders. Still a work in progress, but limiting my self to 60,000 Psi. I can push that a little but don't like Max pressure loads.

The top listed loads for the PRC show 3090 ft/sec @ 61,200 Psi with a 30 grain bullet. so with a 60,000 psi load I am within 35 ft/sec of the PRC with a 61,200 Psi load. I am sure ether cartridge can be faster if the pressure is upped, but I prefer to stay away from that problem.

I gained some velocity by extending the free bore and reducing the lead angle and another friends 260 rifle without these features velocity runs almost exactly the same velocity as yours with the 130 grain bullets. (3030 ft/sec) with higher pressures.

J E CUSTOM

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You're getting great speeds from the 260ai. The case has always interested me. I push 156 bergers @ 3010 fps in my prc from a 24" barrel. There are no pressure signs. How fast does you 260ai push those? You definitely have the freebore for em. Smaller cases will hang with the bigger ones till you get to the heavy for cal bullets. At that point in time, there's no replacement for displacement in my experience.

highdrum said:

You're getting great speeds from the 260ai. The case has always interested me. I push 156 bergers @ 3010 fps in my prc from a 24" barrel. There are no pressure signs. How fast does you 260ai push those? You definitely have the freebore for em. Smaller cases will hang with the bigger ones till you get to the heavy for cal bullets. At that point in time, there's no replacement for displacement in my experience.

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That is the main advantage of more case capacity. It allows you to use heaver bullets and get good velocity. I wanted something to compete with the 7/08 that used 130 grain bullets. and the wild cat 260 has done that for me with a better BC bullet in 130 grains.

I have found that 308 sized cases perform better with 120 to 140 grain bullets because of the limited case capacity. When you AI them it steps the velocity up 50 to 100 ft/sec depending on bullet weight.

J E CUSTOM