You will love it. With the shoulder you don't get much case stretch, additionally if you use Lapua brass you can still stand on them (Close to 3100 Fps 140 gr bergers)Yes it is!
Personally I've never understood why some people are so against fire forming. I've always looked at it as my barrel break in period. During that first 50 or 100 rounds you can also start to get an idea of what is the barrel is going to like as far as powder and bullets. Just my opinion, I'm not saying it's gospel....
What was your velocity with the 127gr bullets ??I had a 260ai built for me for deer hunting. I shoot the barnes LRX 6.5 127gr. deadly accurate even when fire forming the 260 rem brass. I have not lost 1 animal since I switched to Barnes bullets. By far my favorite caliber so far for hunting. My 243 and 308 sit in the back of the safe now.
That's probably the best idea i've heard all day!I have a .308 barreled action that got very cheap. I've been wondering what to make with it. I finally made up my mind. .260 Rem AI, Wyatt magazine box, and a custom Manson reamer long throated to be able to maximize the use of the Wyatt box. I also think that I am going to use the ReMage barrel nut so I can make it a switch barrel rifle. I agree with those who say to fire form factory brass with normal loads. You need to break the barrel in any way. Accuracy is usually very good and velocity loss is not very much either.
What velocities could a person expect pushing the 130 out of a 22" tube?The 260 AI (6.5 x 308) Is a winner as far as I am concerned.
It is one of the best 6.5s for a short action and can Match the great 7/08
in velocity and energy with the same weight bullet.
Hornady makes the dies and Lapua makes brass for the 260 that If set up correctly can be fire formed while hunting with great accuracy. (There is no reason to do a dedicated fire form). I bough my 260 AI reamer from JGS and also the 260 AI head space go gauge gage The go gage is .004 thousandths shorter to get the proper fit of the 260 cases/ammo. so fire forming is routinely very simple and accurate.
Manson is another top choice for the reamer and Go gage. If you already have a 260 go gage it can be used if you stop short of head space by .004 to .006 thousandths to get the same amount of compression of/on the 260 cases.
I recommend a center feed mag box for all AIs and short mags for best feeding. The AI feature adds velocity to the same bullet weight or adds bullet weight with the same velocity. It also adds case life and efficiency. It is well worth the small effort it take to go with the AI design. The extended mag is really not necessary unless you want to use extremely long bullets because the AI case capacity increase makes up for any capacity loss due to bullet Infringement in the powder capacity.
It also makes a great 6.5 AR 10 cartridge.
J E CUSTOM