Yes it can with the right action and bottom metal.
Which Action for Long Range .260 Rem?
- Thread starter MtPockets
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
I agree but you are still burning up components before you can start true load development.
I have several AI style cartridges as I believe the benefits are worth it. In the 260 I will use the COW method from time to time to at least save my preferred powder and use any old primer I can find to save those precious components.
Yep UM is putting out some great innovative "thinking outside the box" products. Their bottom metal is fantastic.
I personally have no use for a 6.5 Creedmoor. The 260AI outperforms is by a noticeable margin (+200fps on average is my experience). I'm shooting 147ELDMs at 2950 in a 24" barrel.
If someone wants to buy a factory rifle and have good factory ammo available it's the best 6.5 non-magnum out there.
But IMO you are leaving a lot on the table in a custom with it.
If someone wants to buy a factory rifle and have good factory ammo available it's the best 6.5 non-magnum out there.
But IMO you are leaving a lot on the table in a custom with it.
what idaho lefty says about the needmoor is the truth and there is no practical difference between it and the 260 ,I shoot highpower with a 260 and have since 1998 and shoot about 2500 rnds a year in matches and at the end of a year I either set the barrel back or stick a new one on because the throat is burnt out so if you want to seat a bullet near the lands it would not be in the case. If you use an internal box magazine you can do a little work and easily fit 260 sami reamer loads in the magazine. I just set my barrel back last week and was checking some 123 mk's which I think have about the same profile as 142'2 and I needed to be 2.850 to contact the lands. I use 140 mk most of the time for long range and when the barrel is fresh they contact at 2.795. I went to a ruger precision rifle about 8 years ago because we shoot rapid fire and are allowed scopes so before scope for rapid fire I used a m70 and loaded with stripper clips which worked just fine but this won't work with a scope in the way so I bought a rpr and promptly took the barrel off and put a 260 barrel on it because I have lots of brass for 260, 243 brass works fine 308 brass works fine, and I have a 260 reamer and put my own barrels on and more importantly I have shot close to 100,000 rnds competing with a 260 and have a pretty good idea what will work in the rifle and I hate load delelopment, I just put the same load in and go to a match and if I think the x count isn't high enough I will change it a little and try it in the next match. If you are not familiar with highpower it is not bench rest, it is all position shooting,the rifle cannot touch the ground or any supporting device it has to be supported by the shooters body a sling is used to stabilize the rifle so my way of shooting loads at a match would not work for benchrest or fclass which is bench rest on your belly. Go get one of these ruger precision rifles you will not be dissapointed or get a new m700 rem and steal the action for a rifle you can put together yourself, use a savage style nut on the remington and buy a prefit it will shoot just as well as a custom fit barrel. The rpr uses a barrel nut so you can put your own barrel on it you will need a AR15 wrench and headspace gauge. just think pessimistacally about how something could get in the way and give you a false reading on the headspace gauge then check with a nogo gauge and see that the action will not close then go set it on a tire and pull the trigger with a string and if it shoots fine and the case comes out looking normall you probably did fine. Some of the best gunsmiths do this test firing , I don't I just take it to a match and shoot but maybe I should shoot it with a string it couldn't hurt. The last new rem 700 I got was 475 dollars and beautifull the face where the barrel fits was surface ground and every thing was straight and smooth.
I start projects like this "action choice" by buying the brass, bullets, and dies first. I seat the bullet where I want it to be in the neck, then add .160, which is my best guess on how much leade growth I anticipate to have by the time the barrel is shot out(1400 rounds). I measure the cartridge's overall length, then go shopping for actions that will ensure the best possible chance of success in the project. This process is humbling because of how easily we make bad choices.
The 260 AI is the PPC of the 6.5 Calibers, along with the 6.5x47 Lapua....just dumb butt simple to tune sub 3/8" Groups. I have a 6.5x55 on a Rem long action, Krieger 8T, but it is harder to tune than the 6.5x47 and 260 AI.
I would have a wyatts mag box that is .120 longer installed in a Rem Short action or use a Tikka for the budget-minded.
The 260 AI is the PPC of the 6.5 Calibers, along with the 6.5x47 Lapua....just dumb butt simple to tune sub 3/8" Groups. I have a 6.5x55 on a Rem long action, Krieger 8T, but it is harder to tune than the 6.5x47 and 260 AI.
I would have a wyatts mag box that is .120 longer installed in a Rem Short action or use a Tikka for the budget-minded.
Straight up 260 is a great cartridge.
On DIY builds, if you're mechanically inclined, it's a lot easier than one might think. You'll need a GO gauge in the caliber you choose.
I switched to shooting Lefty and acquired three LH Savage actions, two long, one short.
I picked up a Lothar Walther 260 Rem barrel off here, including dies and brass, also bought two boxes of Lapua brass when I saw it on the shelf. The stock was an Accustock take-off from @Deputy819. I think components, rifle parts and miscellaneous was ~$700 all in.
The build weighs 7 lbs scoped, is a sub MOA rifle and is now my favorite hunting rifle.
Of the two long actions, I had my gunsmith face off the action, bolt faces and chamber (with shoulder) four barrels (three of which I bought here) : 6mm Rem AI, 6.5x55 AI, 284 Win, and 308 Match. Personally, I hate dealing with the barrel nut.
They are set up as switch-barrel systems, and changing them out takes less than 5 minutes.
On DIY builds, if you're mechanically inclined, it's a lot easier than one might think. You'll need a GO gauge in the caliber you choose.
I switched to shooting Lefty and acquired three LH Savage actions, two long, one short.
I picked up a Lothar Walther 260 Rem barrel off here, including dies and brass, also bought two boxes of Lapua brass when I saw it on the shelf. The stock was an Accustock take-off from @Deputy819. I think components, rifle parts and miscellaneous was ~$700 all in.
The build weighs 7 lbs scoped, is a sub MOA rifle and is now my favorite hunting rifle.
Of the two long actions, I had my gunsmith face off the action, bolt faces and chamber (with shoulder) four barrels (three of which I bought here) : 6mm Rem AI, 6.5x55 AI, 284 Win, and 308 Match. Personally, I hate dealing with the barrel nut.
They are set up as switch-barrel systems, and changing them out takes less than 5 minutes.
TRG65
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2017
- Messages
- 424
Whether something is a barrel burner is relative to what the expectations are and what they try to do with the rifle.
My experience with 6.5 Creedmoor is limited. I've had 2 rifles. The bolt didn't get shot had and was sold with only 1000 rounds or less of use. My AR 10 I purchased used and am close to 2k myself. But it likes to be run slow in comparison to a bolt gun.
I got my first 6.5x47 around 2007. With the 6.5x47, my wife and I have had 4 different and 7 barrels. I've had barrels last 3500 rounds and as short as 2500. The longest life got a steady diet of 140 Berger and H4350 in a Broughton barrel. The shortest got RL16 and 147 ELD in a Hawk Hill. I would run both the 147 and the 140 between 2800 and 2820 from a 24" barrel.
The Addiction runs a 140 Berger 2950. But I will start seeing velocity drop around 1400 or 1500 rounds. If I really track, I'll shoot to 1700 but that's the most I've put on a barrel. I'm on barrel 4 in that caliber. Those have been either Hawk Hill or Bartlein. I went to this caliber a couple years ago during a shortage, but I either had or could still get components at that time even during the scarce times. If I would do it again now. I'd go 260AI. It is a pain to deal with the 6.5x55 bolt face. But having a AI round is really nice, and having my own reamers and dies made to that reamer is also really nice.
My "practice" rifle is an early 2000s GAP Rem 700 build with the original barrel. I bought it from a friends estate. It was his favorite 308 and I have no idea how many rounds he put on it. Since I got it, I've put another 1K and it shoots .5-.6" 5-shot groups. Otherwise I use an air rifle or .22 for practice. I used to use a 223. When I think practice rifle I don't want the lifespan measured in a season plus or minus of active match shooting. I want something that it seems like I can shoot it forever without loosing accuracy or velocity.
