should I go 260 or 6.5-06 questions

[bludog]

I want to build a 6.5 caliber rifle. A gun that can handle anything here in the northeast woods from groundhogs to deer. I've owned a few 6.5x55's and really like them but the throats are long for the lighter varmint bullets and brass is harder to find. I have been thinking of building a 260 or 6.5-06 on a rem 700 with a heavy sporter barrel with 1:8 twist. Here are some questions I have.

1. Should I go long or short action if I go 260
2. Would 6.5-06 be to much gun for close range in thick cover?
3. Would 24" barrel be enough for a 6.5-06? I don't want to go any longer, 22" is more of what I want.
4.I plan on sending my action to douglas and have them rebarrel it. Do they do good work?

 

[wvmountainhick]

I'd also look at component availability. I believe that 260 brad is going to be easier to come by if I were a being man anyway. It's certainly easier to find loaded ammo to practice with and acquire brass. Even that's a chore though in this area. Not sure the shortened barrel life is worth the small gain in velocity though. Just speculation for me at this point as I don't own either one and an really only going of the word of a long time long range shooter.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Well I live in that area and most shots are under 300 meters in my neck of the woods. I think the 260, 6.5 creedmoor or the 6.5x47 lapua are all good choices. I am for the most part a one bullet per rifle guy as I have a few rifles that suit a few different niches.

 

[bludog]

I have been kicking around a 257 Roberts also. I just can't deside.

 

[derrelw]

I want to build a 6.5 caliber rifle. A gun that can handle anything here in the northeast woods from groundhogs to deer. I've owned a few 6.5x55's and really like them but the throats are long for the lighter varmint bullets and brass is harder to find. I have been thinking of building a 260 or 6.5-06 on a rem 700 with a heavy sporter barrel with 1:8 twist. Here are some questions I have.

1. Should I go long or short action if I go 260
2. Would 6.5-06 be to much gun for close range in thick cover?
3. Would 24" barrel be enough for a 6.5-06? I don't want to go any longer, 22" is more of what I want.
4.I plan on sending my action to douglas and have them rebarrel it. Do they do good work?

I have a Savage 11 in .260 (short action) and with a 22" Douglas Varmint barrel I think it's darn near the perfect deer / antelope rifle. It has a 9 twist and shoots 1" groups at 300 yards w/ 130gr Nosler Accubonds all day long and I can carry it in the mountains here in New Mexico all day long.

Lapua brass is usually available and with IMR 4350 works great.

 

[wvmountainhick]

I have been kicking around a 257 Roberts also. I just can't deside.

I hear a lot of guy's talk about the .257 Roberts like it's a great gun but I think I'd have to go for the .25-06 if it were me. I love mine and will not part with it for any reason. In fact, if it were to come right down to it, and they told me I could keep only one gun, that'd be it. That gun is laser accurate and really handles whitetails well for the ranges that we normally get shots at them. To be honest, I'm not sure that I've found a better whitetail gun out to 300 yards (that's the farthest I'd ever shot one with it) and it absolutely flattens them. I've used the 100 gr Remington CL's (factory loads for brass), 100 gr Nosler BT's, 120 gr Winchester PXP's (donated to me by a guy that sold his gun) and 117 gr Hornady SST's over a charge of IMR 4350 (can't remember the load data at the moment but have it recorded at home) that hit like the hammer of Thor. Out of my gun I can get sub MOA with those bullets and they are coming out pretty hot. Nipping on the heels of the .257 WBY with their factory loads. Can't quite run with a hand loader but I can't justify the extra powder consumption on those cartridges with the minimal gain in velocity.

 

[Nimrodmar10]

I hate to point out the elephant in the living room, but why not the 6.5-284 Norma. .260 caliber, short case length, long case capacity. Get one in a long action, like the Savage 111, so you can seat the long bullets, and it will do almost anything. It's a factory chambering in the Savage.

 

[LeddSlinger]

I personally dealt with the same dilemma years ago when wanting to build a 6.5mm hunting rifle.

Ended up building a 6.5mm Remington Magnum on a long action. It is much faster than the 6.5-284 or 6.5-06 if you want to push it, and has a shorter case length than both so that VLD bullet seating is not an issue when wanting to feed from a magazine.

I have killed 13 animals to date with the 6.5 RM using 140gr Berger VLD's. Can't think of a better deer rifle.

 

[Nimrodmar10]

I personally dealt with the same dilemma years ago when wanting to build a 6.5mm hunting rifle.

Ended up building a 6.5mm Remington Magnum on a long action. It is much faster than the 6.5-284 or 6.5-06 if you want to push it, and has a shorter case length than both so that VLD bullet seating is not an issue when wanting to feed from a magazine.

I have killed 13 animals to date with the 6.5 RM using 140gr Berger VLD's. Can't think of a better deer rifle.

Drilldog
The 6.5 RM is a great deer cartridge. If you look though, I think you'll see that it has the same case length as the 6.5-284 Norma which is based on the 284 Win. which was designed to work in a short action. I, like you, put it in a long action so I can seat the Berger 140 gr. VLDs out long. The case capacity on the 6.5-284 is also a tiny bit bigger than the 6.5 RM so I would think the velocities would be about the same. I'm shooting the Berger 140 VLD at 3057 fps out of a 24 inch barrel. I'm guessing you're getting about the same out of your 6.5 RM, but I could be wrong.

 

[LeddSlinger]

Drilldog
The 6.5 RM is a great deer cartridge. If you look though, I think you'll see that it has the same case length as the 6.5-284 Norma which is based on the 284 Win. which was designed to work in a short action. I, like you, put it in a long action so I can seat the Berger 140 gr. VLDs out long. The case capacity on the 6.5-284 is also a tiny bit bigger than the 6.5 RM so I would think the velocities would be about the same. I'm shooting the Berger 140 VLD at 3057 fps out of a 24 inch barrel. I'm guessing you're getting about the same out of your 6.5 RM, but I could be wrong.

I actually hunted with a load using RL-22 that pushed the 140gr VLD at 3210 fps. Barrel was a stainless McGowen 1 in 8.5" twist.

I quit using that load because brass life would get short in warmer temps cuz she was right at max and RL22 is temperature sensitive. So I found another load with RL17 and throttled her down to about 3130 fps and brass life has been excellent ever since.

Have also pushed the 120gr Sierra MK's over 3400 fps.

 

[LeddSlinger]

OH! FYI, barrel length was 26"

I say "was" because I have since shot that barrel out. I rebuilt that same caliber on a different action with a Shilen 26" 1 in 8" twist barrel. I have yet to conduct load testing on the new barreled action, but I expect the same results.

 

[olsingleshot]

Wow! A big difference between the two. I own at least one of most the 6.5's. If you go .260 go with longer action for longer bullets. The 6.5-06 is basically the same ballistically as the 6.5x284 BUT you can get better barrel life and brass is cheaper using .25-06 Winchester. To get the best out of these two you need 24" or better in barrel length. You did not say what the primary use would be.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Well I live in that area and most shots are under 300 meters in my neck of the woods. I think the 260, 6.5 creedmoor or the 6.5x47 lapua are all good choices......

All parts of the NE i've seen fit this scenario perfectly. Even 500 and in i'm compelled to recommend the 260 over the '06 based 6.5mm. The extra snot of the '06 or x284 or Rem mag are just not warranted at short to intermediate ranges. The lower capacity of the 260 compared to the bigger cartridges should also allow longer barrel life, lessen recoil & promote the usage of a shorter barrel coupled with a short action all the while reducing overall weight. Win-win, at least for this particular situation.


t

 

[LeddSlinger]

All parts of the NE i've seen fit this scenario perfectly. Even 500 and in i'm compelled to recommend the 260 over the '06 based 6.5mm. The extra snot of the '06 or x284 or Rem mag are just not warranted at short to intermediate ranges. The lower capacity of the 260 compared to the bigger cartridges should also allow longer barrel life, lessen recoil & promote the usage of a shorter barrel coupled with a short action all the while reducing overall weight. Win-win, at least for this particular situation.


t

Absolutely nothing wrong with the 260. I've had one in the past and it was a great shooter with the 120gr bullets.