RockyMtnMT
Official LRH Sponsor
7 twist will have you good with 1.5" bullets.
Steve
Steve
6.5 mm short action round choice
- Thread starter C Mahoney
- Start date
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I killed some game with the .260/Hornady 129sp and later on the same rifle was rechambered to the 6.5x284. Since it was a Mod 700 short action, I only used the Nosler 120Bt/125P in it. The kills were far more spectacular from the 6.5x284 than the .260. I read where the .260 AI will run right with the 6.5x284. I just had a Mod 7 rebarreled and thought I'd like to do the 260AI but thought I'd try the 6.5 Creedmoor as the Mod 7 is just a tad shorter than the Mod 700SA. It sure feeds a lot better than the 22-250 Ackley it used to be! I really don't think the heavy bullets are that much better than the 120/129 weight for the game you are talking about. My 120BTs were going 3200 in my 6.5x284 and it was just an awesome killer, and was really good in the wind too. However, I never shot anything with it over about 320 yds or so. I love the Ackley cases, but they can be a Royal pain to feed sometimes. Have a ball dude!
That's incorrect, it's .115" if the bullet is seated the same in each case. Distance to the lands varies by each rifle and reamer so no two are alike, but the 6.5 creedmoor case is .115" shorter than a 260 rem so a loaded round with the bullet seated the same will be .115" shorter. That's significant in getting one to feed through a short action.
Factory remington magazine boxes will only take 2.800" rounds, that's .080" shorter than the AICS magazines. The extra length is one reason people go to the AICS mags, but it's still too short for a 260 with long bullets. You can get more length with a BDL setup by using a Wyatt's extended box but it's not a drop in solution. The receiver has to be milled for it & the stock modified. It's a lot of work when you could just start with a round that fits in the first place. A 260 shooting long bullets is a poor choice for a short action remington if you want it to magazine feed.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
I'm quite well aware how Wyatt's mag boxes work, and the process of installation.
I also don't like building off of SA rifles anyway, for this reason alone. I have a couple, but when I build my .260 AI it will be on a LA 700.
It would be just as cheap to buy a Wyatt's mag box, and have it installed by a smith, as it would to buy the whole AICS bottom metal and $100 per mag...
I Like the 260 Rem. I can get the 140 VLD's to cycle for the mag with the bullets seated to the lands(2.88"COAL) in my Savage LRP. Velocities run 2825FPS out of my 24" barrel with sub.25MOA accuracy. I use this rifle for competition and it's a great companion to my 6.5x284, my 1000 yard hunting rig.
No, it's not incorrect. The difference is .040" from the base to the lands on a SAAMI chamber. A 6.5 Creedmore is 2.140" and the 260 is 2.180". There's more to it than the length of the case.
RockyMtnMT
Official LRH Sponsor
I'll say it again, 6.5x47. No feed problems, very efficient design. You can get that 3000 fps mark with long range bullets. If you want then make it a 6.5 Dasher. Gets you the 40 deg shoulder and slightly better vel. That is what we did with ours. It is simply remarkable. We got very good vel with it. I posted it a couple of years ago and had someone tell me that I was some kind of idiot for doing it. So I will not say now what we have done with it. All I will say now is it takes very little powder to get fantastic results.
Steve
Steve
SAAMI chambers mean exactly zilch in a custom rifle, you have it throated how you want. If the difference in case length is .115" then that that means to have the same amount of bullet sticking out of the case the .260 is going to be .115" longer than the 6.5 creedmoor.
The SAAMI max OAL for a .260 remington is 2.800". Seat a Berger 140 VLD to 2.800" OAL and see what how that works.
This means you could have a 260 that was the same length or shorter to that lands than a 6.5 Creedmoor, if you want.
How much bullet sticks out of the case and SAAMI overall length specs wasn't being discussed. Magazine fit at 2.880" and touching the lands was. In that context, the difference is .040".
OK, maybe pictures will help. This is a 130 berger VLD I just loaded into a 260 remington dummy round. I didn't have any 140's. The 140's are .021" longer than the 130's so it's even worse with them.
This is the 130 loaded to max SAAMI length of 2.800". Notice how deep the bullet is seated, the boattail is well below the neck/shoulder junction. Nobody would say this was a desired seating, a 140 would be even worse.
Here's the same bullet loaded to where the boattail is even with the neck/shoulder junction. It's where the bullet should optimally be seated and is where most would have the chamber cut to touch the lands. If you were going to send a gunsmith a dummy round to throat a chamber this would be what most would spec. This dummy round measures 2.930" OAL. 2.930" won't cycle through any magazine made for a short action remington M700. A 140 would be longer.
Once again, your discussion of a chamber cut to SAAMI specs is meaningless. The 260 remington SAAMI specs weren't designed with VLD type bullets in mind. To make them work with a 260 and have a chamber where the bullet touches the lands AND keeps the boattail at the neck/shoulder junction like it should be you'd have to either make it a single shot or build it on a long action. The OP stated he's using a short action so it won't work correctly. Yes, you could have a very short throated chamber cut but then you have to seat the bullet very deep in the case which is not optimal. Why make things harder than they need to be when there's the perfectly good 6.5 creedmoor (or 6.5x47 L)available that will work much better.
This is the 130 loaded to max SAAMI length of 2.800". Notice how deep the bullet is seated, the boattail is well below the neck/shoulder junction. Nobody would say this was a desired seating, a 140 would be even worse.
Here's the same bullet loaded to where the boattail is even with the neck/shoulder junction. It's where the bullet should optimally be seated and is where most would have the chamber cut to touch the lands. If you were going to send a gunsmith a dummy round to throat a chamber this would be what most would spec. This dummy round measures 2.930" OAL. 2.930" won't cycle through any magazine made for a short action remington M700. A 140 would be longer.
Once again, your discussion of a chamber cut to SAAMI specs is meaningless. The 260 remington SAAMI specs weren't designed with VLD type bullets in mind. To make them work with a 260 and have a chamber where the bullet touches the lands AND keeps the boattail at the neck/shoulder junction like it should be you'd have to either make it a single shot or build it on a long action. The OP stated he's using a short action so it won't work correctly. Yes, you could have a very short throated chamber cut but then you have to seat the bullet very deep in the case which is not optimal. Why make things harder than they need to be when there's the perfectly good 6.5 creedmoor (or 6.5x47 L)available that will work much better.
