260 Rem Vs. 6.5-06

[elkaholic]

WOW ! Finally finished reading the whole thread. Great info. I love my 260's. I am building a 6.5 06 AI. To far along now to change but a 6.5 Sherman sounds like it might be next. After all, I've got grand kids that will need rifles. Keep shooting ! [and voting] Chuck

An A.I. chamber will clean up with a Sherman reamer

 

[su37]

the 260 is based off the 308 the 6.5-06 is based off the 30-06, they are close in performance but they are not the same caliber.

No, they are both a 26 caliber but different cartridges.

 

[WildRose]

No, they are both a 26 caliber but different cartridges.

Both are correct actually. Caliber is the measurement of the bore diameter so same caliber, different cartridges.

 

[wildcat westerner]

Hello, there are no "wrongs" here in terms of calibers, but I feel there are some "more rights". I assume you are a handloader and you can benefit from gains in both accuracy and velocity with any of these cartridges named and I have had most of them.
With the wide ranging types of game and targets you aspire to, precision and accuracy in the windy conditions of the western Rockies in eastern Washington seem to be the determining factors. Two obvious ones not mentioned: a variable scope with a very low magnification, for some of the "downed timber" you will be into on those slopes, especially when bear hunting early and late. Also the limbsaver recoil pad made very near your location and easily superior to any other I have tried.
My choice after all my 6.5's and 16 years with the excellent 6.5 x 284 is the 6.5 Sherman. Since you will be limiting yourself to less than 200 rounds per year, barrel life is a non factor. The Sherman can deliver virtual .264 velocities with 10-12 less grains per powder per shot and with some rifles( military conversions) its possible to have five of these Sherman's in the magazine and one in the chamber. A 26 inch barrel is the length needed to derive the best from this cartridge. Dies and reamer are available from Rich Sherman ( Elkaholic) who lives in your part of the United States. If you plan to hunt a very long time I advise you to get a rifle in this caliber, learn to shoot it, and stick with it. The limitation on this cartridge will be you.

Gene

 

[su37]

Hello, there are no "wrongs" here in terms of calibers, but I feel there are some "more rights". I assume you are a handloader and you can benefit from gains in both accuracy and velocity with any of these cartridges named and I have had most of them.
With the wide ranging types of game and targets you aspire to, precision and accuracy in the windy conditions of the western Rockies in eastern Washington seem to be the determining factors. Two obvious ones not mentioned: a variable scope with a very low magnification, for some of the "downed timber" you will be into on those slopes, especially when bear hunting early and late. Also the limbsaver recoil pad made very near your location and easily superior to any other I have tried.
My choice after all my 6.5's and 16 years with the excellent 6.5 x 284 is the 6.5 Sherman. Since you will be limiting yourself to less than 200 rounds per year, barrel life is a non factor. The Sherman can deliver virtual .264 velocities with 10-12 less grains per powder per shot and with some rifles( military conversions) its possible to have five of these Sherman's in the magazine and one in the chamber. A 26 inch barrel is the length needed to derive the best from this cartridge. Dies and reamer are available from Rich Sherman ( Elkaholic) who lives in your part of the United States. If you plan to hunt a very long time I advise you to get a rifle in this caliber, learn to shoot it, and stick with it. The limitation on this cartridge will be you.

Gene

"The Sherman can deliver virtual .264 velocities with 10-12 less grains per powder per shot"

That just isin't going to happen if both cartridges are loaded at the same pressure.
Pressure for pressure, the 264 Win mag will get higher velocities.

The Sherman is cartridge, that happens to be a 26/6.5 caliber.

 

[WildRose]

Hello, there are no "wrongs" here in terms of calibers, but I feel there are some "more rights". I assume you are a handloader and you can benefit from gains in both accuracy and velocity with any of these cartridges named and I have had most of them.
With the wide ranging types of game and targets you aspire to, precision and accuracy in the windy conditions of the western Rockies in eastern Washington seem to be the determining factors. Two obvious ones not mentioned: a variable scope with a very low magnification, for some of the "downed timber" you will be into on those slopes, especially when bear hunting early and late. Also the limbsaver recoil pad made very near your location and easily superior to any other I have tried.
My choice after all my 6.5's and 16 years with the excellent 6.5 x 284 is the 6.5 Sherman. Since you will be limiting yourself to less than 200 rounds per year, barrel life is a non factor. The Sherman can deliver virtual .264 velocities with 10-12 less grains per powder per shot and with some rifles( military conversions) its possible to have five of these Sherman's in the magazine and one in the chamber. A 26 inch barrel is the length needed to derive the best from this cartridge. Dies and reamer are available from Rich Sherman ( Elkaholic) who lives in your part of the United States. If you plan to hunt a very long time I advise you to get a rifle in this caliber, learn to shoot it, and stick with it. The limitation on this cartridge will be you.

Gene

The more I shoot them the more convinced I am that if a guy only had a 6.5 running 2850 or better and a medium to large bore in 30-375 cal running the same or better he'd have all the rifles he would ever need to hunt everything in North America and never feel too over or under gunned.

I'm still not really convinced that anyone has yet really come up with a better answer in 6.5 than the .264 overall.

With the right bullet there's just not much it (6.5's) won't do an do very well with the exception of the largest and most dangerous game.

 

[wildcat westerner]

To nitpick just a bit. With a larger case, and slightly slower burning powder you can use the larger volume to gain higher velocity. Yep, that's just applied physics.
Some subtleties come to play here, which I discovered in comparing my 6.5 x284 which is hot and performs best this way, and the 6.5 Sherman. Some powder burning rates just seem to fit some cases/bullet weight combinations better. The old classics were the .220 Swift and 4064, also the .257 AI crammed full of 4831. I selected RE22 and 23 for the Sherman. I reasoned you can really stick a lot more in the case of slower burning powder, but you gain virtually nothing but noise and recoil. I found that 61 grains gave me 3,339 fps with Hornady ELDX hunting bullets. This seemed pretty incredible to me, so I drove over to a friend with an Oehler 43 chronograph and the 5 shots averaged 3,327, 12 fps lower. admittedly some barrels are faster than others with the same load, but I am finding the combination of this Bartlein 5r, and the load mentioned, to be a superior loading in terms of flat trajectory, lessened recoil and reduced wind effects from 300 to 800 yards here at 6,556 feet in the Rockies in New Mexico where the winds' effects can be enormous, especially at longer ranges.
Wildcat westerner

 

[joed]

Been in a lot of stores and have not seen even ONE box of 6.5-06 ammo. However they all had 260 Rem ammo. Good luck on your quest, with the 260 your rifle will be a lot lighter and backpacker friendly.

I have to ask why the .260 is going to be a lot lighter? The long action 06 only adds about 1/2" in length so how much weight will the .260 save?

 

[WildRose]

I have to ask why the .260 is going to be a lot lighter? The long action 06 only adds about 1/2" in length so how much weight will the .260 save?

Probably a couple of ounces. Maybe as much as 4 but that'd be a stretch.

 

[Tejas1836]

6.5-06 will be my next build.

 

[wildcat westerner]

When you look at the possibilities, the long 140-160 gr. Ballistics are simply superior. Case capacity from 6.5 x 284 to '06 to '06 Improved, as Sherman etc.makes sense in terms of capacity/velocity. When you can stuff 14 grains of powder in a case to gain 40 fps. You have too large a case!

 

[WildRose]

When you look at the possibilities, the long 140-160 gr. Ballistics are simply superior. Case capacity from 6.5 x 284 to '06 to '06 Improved, as Sherman etc.makes sense in terms of capacity/velocity. When you can stuff 14 grains of powder in a case to gain 40 fps. You have too large a case!

I get what you mean but in reality, there is a point of diminishing returns for cases of every size whereby the gains get progressively smaller as powder charges get larger and of course accompanying those is the additional blast and recoil not to mention unnecessary wear and tear on barrels and actions.

When you reach that point, back off and find the most accurate load you can or step up to a bigger cased cartridge in the same bullet diameter/weight.

I wish I'd had a resource like this forum back in the late eighteis and nineties when I was still trying to get every bit of velocity I could out of everything I shot.

All I accomplished in reality was to waste a tremendous amount of time and money and to burn out several rifles long before I should have.

 

[Gerald Bridges]

Voted for the 6.5-06 simply because I have one. Got it kinda by default. I had the action, spare stock and trigger. Gunsmith buddy of mine got a barrel in that was suppose to be blank for him to ream but it came in ready for the 6.5-06. Instead of sending it back, we put a rifle together. Got lucky. Darn fine shooter. Not real in reality there is enough between the two to sweat having one over the other.

 

[wildcat westerner]

I get what you mean but in reality, there is a point of diminishing returns for cases of every size whereby the gains get progressively smaller as powder charges get larger and of course accompanying those is the additional blast and recoil not to mention unnecessary wear and tear on barrels and actions.

When you reach that point, back off and find the most accurate load you can or step up to a bigger cased cartridge in the same bullet diameter/weight.

I wish I'd had a resource like this forum back in the late eighteis and nineties when I was still trying to get every bit of velocity I could out of everything I shot.

All I accomplished in reality was to waste a tremendous amount of time and money and to burn out several rifles long before I should have.

Hello Wildrose, like you for years velocity for me was the answer. Then I started to look closer at various reloading manuals and noted very high velocities could be attained with significantly less powder, art near capacity of the case. Such was the case when dealing with my 6.5 Sherman and the usage of Re 22 and 23. Logic and experience would indicate even slower powders in this .280 AI case, further improved and then necked down to 6.5, butI found higher velocity, with less powder attainable due to casein process shape, capacity and a slighter faster powder. Seldom can you get the best of both worlds, but in this cartridge it would seem this is the case. Before in certain cartridges I was used to having the primer pockets opening up in four reloads, despite meticulous reloading process; no more!
Wildcatwesterner