260 Rem Vs. 6.5-06

[Trickymissfit]

260 Remington: I'll write how I got there, agree or disagree…
Forty years ago Jack O'Connor wrote about all the big game in Africa and North America he either shot himself or witnessed shot with the 7x57 Mauser. Jack wrote the 154 grain bullet was the best all around bullet in the 7mm Mauser and you should recall that bullets of over 40 years ago are far inferior to the superior bullets we have today. In fact, Petzal and Barsness are both gun writers of today advocating standard cartridges over super magnums because of, in part, modern super bullet construction.

Today, the modern 7-08 is the equivalent of the 7x57 and the 260 Remington is the 6.5mm cartridge also necked down from the .308 Winchester. As we know on this forum, the 6.5mm bullets have ballistic advantages over 7mm bullets though both are excellent choices. I decided to have a 260 Remington built with a 24" eight twist barrel in front of a custom action.

I shoot 140 grain bullets; either a 140 grain Berger VLD for deer sized game or an old school, deadly 140 grain Nosler Partition for elk and moose. The 140 grain 6.5mm Nosler Partition has higher sectional density and ballistic coefficients than the 160 grain 7mm and 180 grain .308 bullet which gave me confidence in the elk and moose woods. Let's recall how a bullet (or arrow) kills: tissue destruction AND penetration; and a 140 grain penetration bullet like the Nosler Partition in 6.5mm does the job.

Both the elk and moose I shot were one shot kills. The elk was a DRT (dead right there) high shoulder shot and the moose ran 60 yards, laid down and died after being double lunged with the partition. Jack O'Connor was right, the light recoil permits precision shooting and the excellent ballistics of the 6.5mm 140 grain bullet does a great job penetrating and killing game.

After listening to a Saskatchewan Outfitter complain about my rifle's caliber, I took up the 140 grain Nosler Partitions in the 260 to keep him happy and dropped a heavy, mature whitetail buck right on the feed pile, DRT. The 300 magnum crowd enjoyed poking fun at my "woman's gun", but I reminded them that my whitetail was the only DRT that week and one of the cavemen got "scoped" which bled all day.

Had the 6.5-06 not been a wildcat, I might have considered it but I have zero complaints about the 260. Quality brass is available, my loads go into Nosler brass.

As has been discussed by others on this forum, I consider this rifle to be an easy consistent 500 yard terminator of non-dangerous game when I have time and know the exact range and it is fun to ring the 600 yard 10" gong nearly every time when I do my part correctly.

most manuals never load a 7x57 up to what it can do.
gary

 

[geronimo.tn]

AMEN to JPH

 

[Bart B]

If one checks all the available bullets for both 6.5 and 7mm bores, they'll see there's virtually all kinds of BC's available. For all practical purposes, they're equal.

One thing most folks don't know is it took bullet makers a while to get really good, uniform jacket material so they could make very accurate bullets in both calibers. That didn't happen until the early to mid 1990's.

 

[devins]

I shoot a custom 260 AI. I love it. It loves 142 SMK's for target and Hornady 140 gr SST's for hunting. And now that rifle deer season is over for bucks here at home I will be archery hunting, but also calling coyotes as soon as I get out of a stand in the mornings. That is the bow will go in the truck and the 260 will come out, or the 22-250 AI being rebarreled as we speak. My point is the more I read on this tread the more I think I need one of each. Now who volunteers to help convince my wife and pocket book of that. Anyone? Anyone? Maybe I would help you if you would help me.

What is that famous quote, "I never met a rifle I didn't like"?

 

[Trickymissfit]

If one checks all the available bullets for both 6.5 and 7mm bores, they'll see there's virtually all kinds of BC's available. For all practical purposes, they're equal.

One thing most folks don't know is it took bullet makers a while to get really good, uniform jacket material so they could make very accurate bullets in both calibers. That didn't happen until the early to mid 1990's.

several years back I was introduced to an old man (name escapes me) that made benchrest quality bullets in .223 and .243 diameters. He told me that getting good jackets was very diffecult; if not near impossible at times! He showed me about a dozen swedging dies he was using, and I remarked that they looked like they were made from Ferritic, and then hardened. Anyway he had a design for a swedging die to rework 6mm JP4 jackets into .224" jackets, and had another to form better 6mm jackets. I made him a dies and punches. The dies were from Airdie, and the punches were A2, and all was ground to a low single digit micro. Guess they worked just fine as he had me do him another couple sets in 6mm (two slightly different diameters.) Never got to watch him build bullets (I don't think anybody ever did). A few weeks later the guy that introduced him to me called me up and asked me to drop by his shop. He had four tubs of bullets that the old man sent me with a thank you note. Later he had me rework a couple of the punches, and make him several more a few tenths different in diameter. Have not seen or heard from him in about ten years, so I assume his passed away.

gary

 

[dragman]

It's a no contest for me the 6.5-06 Kills the 260 rem in all my experiences. I own 26" barrel guns in both, and my 6.5-06 is 450fps faster with a 140 berger VLD. the 260 is great and fine for under 4-500 yard shots as it is so easy and nice to shoot, but if you don't wanna be limited with the yardage go with the 6.5-06, 6.5-06AI or the 264WM properly loaded I would be fine to shoot deer out to the 800+ yard range and G. hogs well over 1000.

 

[elkaholic]

It's a no contest for me the 6.5-06 Kills the 260 rem in all my experiences. I own 26" barrel guns in both, and my 6.5-06 is 450fps faster with a 140 berger VLD. the 260 is great and fine for under 4-500 yard shots as it is so easy and nice to shoot, but if you don't wanna be limited with the yardage go with the 6.5-06, 6.5-06AI or the 264WM properly loaded I would be fine to shoot deer out to the 800+ yard range and G. hogs well over 1000.

450' feet faster? Is this a misprint.........Rich

 

[dragman]

450' feet faster? Is this a misprint.........Rich

Nope. I was shoot nosler brass, cci primer and 140VLD's in my 260 rem (LRPR target action savage) and I can't get over 2609 without showing pressure. It shoots really well though. My current 6.5-06 is on a 700rem with a douglas barrel 26" just like the savage I use winchester 25-06 brass and a cci primer and I get 3078 pretty consistantly. I am building another on a savage 110 action and I am hoping to hit 3200 with a 27" barrel with 129SST's. I shot 123 Amax out of my 260 and the best I could get was 2930fps. I can get 3301 with the 123Amax with the 6.5-06. I don't know if my 260 just really hates 140's, but even in the 123's my 6.5 is over 350' faster.

 

[elkaholic]

Nope. I was shoot nosler brass, cci primer and 140VLD's in my 260 rem (LRPR target action savage) and I can't get over 2609 without showing pressure. It shoots really well though. My current 6.5-06 is on a 700rem with a douglas barrel 26" just like the savage I use winchester 25-06 brass and a cci primer and I get 3078 pretty consistantly. I am building another on a savage 110 action and I am hoping to hit 3200 with a 27" barrel with 129SST's. I shot 123 Amax out of my 260 and the best I could get was 2930fps. I can get 3301 with the 123Amax with the 6.5-06. I don't know if my 260 just really hates 140's, but even in the 123's my 6.5 is over 350' faster.

What length barrel on your 260?

 

[dragman]

What length barrel on your 260?

26"
this is a stock savage long range percision rifle 8 twist 260 remington factory stock gun.

 

[elkaholic]

26"
this is a stock savage long range percision rifle 8 twist 260 remington factory stock gun.

That is really odd! There shouldn't be more than 150' difference with equal barrels.....Rich

 

[dragman]

That is really odd! There shouldn't be more than 150' difference with equal barrels.....Rich

the 260 is a savage barrel that has been hand lapped and the 6.5 is a douglas supreme I can't give you a good reason for the big difference but it's there.

 

[elkaholic]

the 260 is a savage barrel that has been hand lapped and the 6.5 is a douglas supreme I can't give you a good reason for the big difference but it's there.

I believe you, I just don't understand it........Rich

 

[devins]

The 260 AI, I shoot was around 2755 fps when fire forming bottom end loads in Nosler brass with 142 gr SMK's and it shot those very well. I went to the AI and get in the range of 2950 with the Chrony and my trajectory valedation at distance shows it is a little faster, about another 100fps faster than that(I am still trying to work out the error there). That is in a Shilen Match Grade 26" Barrel. That seams to be just about what everyone does on the 260 isnt it?

I just know that it out performs my 270 Win with 140 grain bullets and is a very comfortable shooter. As more and more quality bullets are becoming available if I need a little more distance we can go to the 7mm Rem Mag or the 300 Mags. But then you have to buy another scope etc.

The 264 or 6.5 mm bullets give you such a veriety of choice to find the bullet that your rifle likes and for what you want to do with it I still go back to we may just need one of each.

My dad was talking about building something in this range too and I told him look at what he has seen my 260 AI do and know that he could gain a little more with the 6.5-06 or the 264 mag and the type of performance he has seen already with these bullets and we will see what he decides on. When you think of the availability of brass for the 6.5-06 and no need to fire form that does make it pretty attractive as well if the long action is no difference to you.