Well I'll prolly be shooting more this year. Took a job with rotational work so I'll have a free week every third week. Have a local range that offers memberships for their 500 and 1000yd range that I will prolly join. But I would guess about 500 rds a year with it. Maybe a little more.
Rifle opinions
- Thread starter Csafisher
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WildRose
Well-Known Member
.260 Rem would be a great choice for you. Mild recoil, lots of quality brass available and a great selection of high BC bullets as well.
As long as you don't shoot it hot and keep on shooting a .260 will last you forever and meet all of your needs.
lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
I could not agree more. 500 rounds a year will kill a big fast magnum barrel in a few years. A .260 will extend the life, reduce operating costs, and allow a much more comfortable shooting experience. I have a .260 Rem and a 6.5 SLR for that reason. We shoot a lot of long range, and they are a fantastic deer round to boot. Practice with your hunting loads so you know what it will do for that one shot during hunting season.
Thanks for replies. I like the idea of 7mm but I won't really need it for game. So definitely leaning towards a .260 or 6.5CM. The 6.5-284 is a slick caliber but it's more powder and recoil. Y'all see any benefit of a 260 over 6.5CM or vice versa? Brass availability is the only thing I can think of leaning to the 260?
azsugarbear
Well-Known Member
6.5-06 AI. Should last you forever. Try the new 143 gr. Hornady ELD-X.
lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
Between .260 & 6.5 CM, very comparable rounds. The benefit of .260 is the availability of Lapua brass. But the 6.5CM is a sweet round too. I don't think you will see much of a difference in performance. But the 6.5CM has some really good factory loads if you don't reload.
The 6.5-06AI is a great suggestion too. You can load a 6.5-06AI DOWN to .260 velocities for longer barrel life, and still have a smoking hot hunting load developed too. I just finished ooad development for a gunsmith on a new 6.5-,270AI that pushes a 140 to 3151fps. I got speeds up to 3200, but not as accurate. No .260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor can touch those speeds. You will be lucky to see 2850-2900 out of a 26" barrel. But they will last a long time.
The 6.5-06AI is a great suggestion too. You can load a 6.5-06AI DOWN to .260 velocities for longer barrel life, and still have a smoking hot hunting load developed too. I just finished ooad development for a gunsmith on a new 6.5-,270AI that pushes a 140 to 3151fps. I got speeds up to 3200, but not as accurate. No .260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor can touch those speeds. You will be lucky to see 2850-2900 out of a 26" barrel. But they will last a long time.
engineer40
Well-Known Member
Is the 6.5-06 AI really known for having good barrel life? I'm not questing your knowledge of the cartridge. It's just your statement can be a little subjective. Thanks.
It just seems like that is a lot of powder to push through a 6.5 barrel and still have good barrel life. But I am often wrong when I assume things so...
azsugarbear
Well-Known Member
I can't point you to any specific studies off the top of my head, but it is generally held that the AI configuration with the steep angled shoulders tends to keep more of the burning powder inside the case longer. This was not one of the reasons Ackley designed his specific profile, but rather one of the unintended consequences. Perhaps others will chime in to cite their experiences. The main benefits of the Ackley design are: lower back pressure on the bolt; increased performance (velocity) and no length trimming (stops forward flow of brass during firing).
Yep ... and beyond. There are guys like MontanaMarine and Bigngreen pushing the 215 Berger way pass the 1K yard mark.
engineer40
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I've previously also read elsewhere that the 6.5-06 and the Improved versions do have decent barrel life. No hate intended for the quarter bore fans, but it almost feels to me that the 6.5-06 should have become a SAAMI spec instead of the 25-06.
Your statement was interesting to me because the 6.5-06 AI has more case capacity than the 6.5-284 which is known for having a very short barrel life (and the 6.5-284 still has a fairly steep shoulder angle).
I've done some more reading on it. Seems like most information out there are just people's conjectures. I'm thinking at this point maybe most of the 6.5-06 rifles are being used for hunting. And the 6.5-284 rifles are heavily used in competitions where longer and faster strings of fire are common leading to shorter barrel lives. But that's also just people's opinions. Either way, it's all interesting to me. Thanks.
I don't have the opportunity here to shoot past 1000yd. I have tried 175s and 178s that work well. Maybe I'll try some 208s or 215s eventually. But I have an itch for a new gun and a lonely scope that isn't getting action.
Found a local guy that will rebarrel with a benchmark barrel, true the action and bed it. Prolly gonna go that route. He's a little higher than expected. But I don't have to ship anything and it's right down the road.
lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
The Ackley Improved 40° does not "stop" brass from needing trimmed. It just slows it way down. I see about .0015-.002" of brass growth in my .25-06AI, .250AI and the 6.5-.270AI I was doing load development for.
I usually see .004-.005" growth with most other standard cases that get FL resized.
I usually see .004-.005" growth with most other standard cases that get FL resized.
Creedmoor shooter
Well-Known Member
Yep my thoughts exactly.
lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
Only because you guys haven't shot a .25-06AI!!! gun)
Mine spits a 115 HVLD at 3400fps into .300" groups.
