Is the .260 Remington (or any 6.5mm) alive and well?

I have a DPMS LR .308 on layaway at my LGS. But now i have my eye on the precision rifle and thinking about changing from .308 to 6.5CM. eather rifle would be used for BR only, and at 100 to 200 yards. The gun shop owner said he had no problem if i would like to change to the Ruger in eather cal. do you guys think this would be a good move. of course i want the most accurate rifle
Click to expand...
If ALL you intend on doing is drill holes on paper at fairly close range, my opinion is the difference between the two is a question of .5ish to 1.5ish MOA--something I'd get bored with after a while. You'd also be giving up a fairly portable semi-auto AR 10 style platform for a bolt gun. 30 cal is cheaper to reload for in general.

Going longer distances the better BC of the 6.5 starts making more sense to me for switching.
 
If for Bench shooting only, definitely go with the Ruger Precision.

.308 Pattern ARs can certainly be made to be accurate, but they are a bit more finicky with ammo and shooting technique. Also, in reality the difference in weight between the two favors the Ruger (9.7 lbs) over the DPMS (11.3 lbs) and the Ruger is at least as portable, so that is a non-issue.

.308 to 6.5CM, if you reload, will be beneficial some out past 600 yards or so. But then you will likely be dialing. The better your sighting system for bench, non timed shooting, the less the caliber matters inside transonic. If you plan on putting glass on it that is in the budget realm, then the 6.5 will be easier on you as a shooter, harder on you as the financier.
 
kcub said:
Is the .260 Remington (or any 6.5mm) alive and well?
Click to expand...
In all of the posts to this thread, I didn't see the .264 Win Mag mentioned once. I guess it is pretty much a dead duck although I thought it was making a come-back, especially with hunters(?)
 
In all of the posts to this thread, I didn't see the .264 Win Mag mentioned once. I guess it is pretty much a dead duck although I thought it was making a come-back, especially with hunters(?)
Click to expand...

Have not seen one in years. Belted magnum with a big case and not very efficient either.
 
My gun store buddy says 6.5 Creedmoor is beating out .260 Remington what with Browning and Ruger getting behind it. Sounds like for bolt or semi its the coming thing.

Who manufactures a 6.5 Creedmoor semi currently?
 
A good shooting buddy of mine built a r700 mutt in 6.5 cm and we shoot 600 yds weekly so I had a chance to try it. A very fast, flat and mild felt recoil so theres not much to dislike, the only downside is all the 6's and to a lesser degree the 6.5's are the fact they are barrel burners..
 
6.5 Grendel

I absolutely love my Alexander. CFE223 shoots clean as a whistle and extremely accurate with 123SST. Going to have the 24" barrel cut to 20" to make it more handy. My other 260 is a Savage 11 SS LH. Shoots lights out with 100gr Partitions.
 
dvdcrr's post is a good one. I think too, there are just too many cartridges.

Yes, 6.5CM for gas guns and .260 for bolt guns is the way I prefer, but if you want both, the 6.5CM. I ran mostly 123 grain bullets in the gas .260 as they were more accurate due to length issues in the AR10 pattern magazines. (I sold my AR10 pattern .260, but kept the bolt guns ) That is where the 6.5CM has the advantage, fitting in AR10 pattern magazines. The .260 was in the lead across the varied groups, but with Ruger now pushing the 6.5CM, that might turn the tide towards the CM. In PRS (long range competition) most of the competitors have 6.5s and other cartridges, but we are seeing more and more go to 6mm (6CM, 6XC, 6x47 etc.) so the LR support has waned a tad for the 6.5s. The 6.5x55 Swede is a good caliber, but a long action, but I don't think it is in trouble yet.

I also have a 6.5PCC and I love it as a mid-range cartridge in the AR15 platform. The 6.5G is a slightly better cartridge, but a little more money, less AR15 parts commonality and there is the issue of feeding. Most guys around here do not fully load their magazines and have no issues. The problem comes when you load more than 10 in a larger magazine, which for most applications is not going to happen anyway. The 6.5G is more popular, but for my uses, the 6.5PCC was a better fit.

The 6.5 bullet selection is great now, and I think it always will be with so much competition in amongst the various cartridges. If you reload, pick one and move on. If you are trying to pick one (using factory ammo) to buy in a bolt gun, toss up between the 6.5CM and .260Rem. in a gas gun, get the 6.5CM.

Target shooting inside 300 yards, go with a .223 or some .223 case based wildcat. Most 6.5s shine from 300 on out to about 1000 depending on what you are doing.
__________________
Good Shooting, MarkCO
www.CarbonArms.us
Click to expand...

In the Savage 99 lever gun thread it was posted that 260 would be a better way to go for a rebarrel than 6.5 Creedmoor because of the funky rotary magazine optimized for the .308 family in most recent 99s.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=568096

This seems contradictory to the thought that 6.5 Creedmoor is better for semi autos which use AR10 .308 magazines. Is it just that AR10 magazines are more forgiving than the Savage rotary magazine?

Also, though Ruger is pushing 6.5, Tikka is pushing .260.
 
Some gas guns have issues with 6.5 Creedmoor rounds getting damaged while loading, and require a small modification to feed properly. The whole idea behind the 6.5 is the ability to load 140 grain bullets out longer, giving more case capacity.

However using the correct magazines, you could load a 260 Remington out very far, for instance the KAC 10 round magazines you could easily load out to 2.865".

On that note Sam Barr from Applied Ballistics Munitions made a 1 mile shot with the 130 AR Hybrid. Which is designed to work well in AR 10 platform 260 Remington applications.
 
I have been wanting a 260AI for a while but just haven't pulled the trigger. I don't think the 260 is going away but it has a lot of competition.
 
I love 6.5s. Very versatile, very accurate. Very good SD. I found this rifle for sale and was surprised. Good price too.
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/produ...cope?a=1788226
Click to expand...
I have one--bought mine new for $475 a few years ago I think from Bud's or CTD--can't remember which. Reloading for it--or factory ammo--I've found is quite expensive. Mine shoots OK but I still haven't found the "holy grail" load. Any suggestions? I think the 284 is hampered by a barrel burner reputation.
 
Yes. Ive heard that too. Heard some benchrest guys getting less than a 1000 rounds out of a barrel. No. No suggestions. Dont even own a 6.5x284.
 
"Reloading for it--or factory ammo--I've found is quite expensive."

Have to agree the factory loads for the .260 Rem are more expensive BUT...

The .260R is virtually the same price to reload as the .243W, 7mm-08 and .308W...

Primer cost is the SAME, powder cost is the SAME, new cases are about the same and can be made from any of these other cases if found for less so the only variable are the bullets which don't vary much if using the same type and near the same weights...

T.
 
"Reloading for it--or factory ammo--I've found is quite expensive."

Have to agree the factory loads for the .260 Rem are more expensive BUT...

The .260R is virtually the same price to reload as the .243W, 7mm-08 and .308W...

Primer cost is the SAME, powder cost is the SAME, new cases are about the same and can be made from any of these other cases if found for less so the only variable are the bullets which don't vary much if using the same type and near the same weights...

T.
TimW77 is offline Report Post
Click to expand...
I've had several flavors of 6.5--I agree with this, your over-all winner in terms of general affordability, availability, performance and adaptability is probably the 260 rem.
 
What about 160 grain ammo for hunting something larger than deer? What issues with longer bullets? If you want this capability should you stick with 6.5x55 Swede?
 
Thanks for those links Geo--great stuff for the 6.5 284 reloader. I've tried some of those formulas but not the short-cut stuff. My opinion--just an opinion--is that there are significant variations in chamber cuts and consequently headspacing across different manufacturers for the 6.5 284 so it's hard to "generalize" performance of one load across many rifle/barrel makes. I've found this caliber to one of the most challenging to measure and reload for. But I'm a bit knucklehead too. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top