260 Rem Vs. 6.5-06

[WildRose]

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

I've done the same with longer barrels and slower powders. Unfortunately it took me better than 2 decades to figure that out. 20 years ago I utterly recoiled at the thought of even the mildest compressed load and through if I didn't have a 1/4 or more of the case unfilled I was doing something wrong.

I had a friend, the guy who actually is responsible for making me a good shot and teaching me the basics of reloading who started running compressed loads of H-870 behind a 7mm 180gr partition that finally convinced me I was less likely to blow one up using that load than some of my shakers running much lighter bullets and powders like H380 and H414 in my 7mm RM.

Homer has killed more elk and mule deer with that load than you could haul off in a Semi and is still shooting the same 700bdl 7mm RM he bought in 72 with literally dozens of kills at or beyond 800yds and that combo was flawless for him spanning 3 decades until finally he ran out of his last can of H870.

 

[elkaholic]

I shot that sooty formula for years with great results! You can still get it from Thunderbird cartridge under the label T870; Or at least the last time I checked you could.
Well, I just checked online and apparently it is no longer available through TBird

 

[yobuck]

I shot that sooty formula for years with great results! You can still get it from Thunderbird cartridge under the label T870; Or at least the last time I checked you could.
Well, I just checked online and apparently it is no longer available through TBird

WC872 will give the same results as H870, same data works.
Best thing about both is that they work ok if you've got nothing else.
Sorta like burning soft coal, and about as dirty.
Dosent like cold weather very much either, so best not leave ammo out in the cold overnight.
With all the newer better powders like 7828 for the 7mms, theres really not much reason to be missing the stuff.

 

[WildRose]

WC872 will give the same results as H870, same data works.
Best thing about both is that they work ok if you've got nothing else.
Sorta like burning soft coal, and about as dirty.
Dosent like cold weather very much either, so best not leave ammo out in the cold overnight.
With all the newer better powders like 7828 for the 7mms, theres really not much reason to be missing the stuff.

Thank God for H1000 and RL26. Both have been very good for me in my STW's.

H870 burnt like charcoal but I found it very consistent and predictable and since we shoot at temps from 115-sub zero depending on the time of year and whether we're at home or in the mountains so that's pretty important. The others are more stable but if you worked up velocities for different temps H870 it was very consistent batch to batch, year to year.

 

[wildcat westerner]

I've done the same with longer barrels and slower powders. Unfortunately it took me better than 2 decades to figure that out. 20 years ago I utterly recoiled at the thought of even the mildest compressed load and through if I didn't have a 1/4 or more of the case unfilled I was doing something wrong.

I had a friend, the guy who actually is responsible for making me a good shot and teaching me the basics of reloading who started running compressed loads of H-870 behind a 7mm 180gr partition that finally convinced me I was less likely to blow one up using that load than some of my shakers running much lighter bullets and powders like H380 and H414 in my 7mm RM.

Homer has killed more elk and mule deer with that load than you could haul off in a Semi and is still shooting the same 700bdl 7mm RM he bought in 72 with literally dozens of kills at or beyond 800yds and that combo was flawless for him spanning 3 decades until finally he ran out of his last can of H870.

In this same vein, over thirty years ago a jeweler skeletonized his already lightweight Ruger 77 7mm magnum, the precision of the work was microminiature, everything was pared down. It weighed virtually nothing. His load? A case full of good old H870, compressed by the bullet he was using at the time. I shot that lightweight cannon once. I own a .375 H&H and have shot bigbore wildcats into the .500's. That damned lighweight 7mm magnum was worse than anything else I have ever shot!
Wildcat westerner

 

[WildRose]

In this same vein, over thirty years ago a jeweler skeletonized his already lightweight Ruger 77 7mm magnum, the precision of the work was microminiature, everything was pared down. It weighed virtually nothing. His load? A case full of good old H870, compressed by the bullet he was using at the time. I shot that lightweight cannon once. I own a .375 H&H and have shot bigbore wildcats into the .500's. That damned lighweight 7mm magnum was worse than anything else I have ever shot!
Wildcat westerner

"Ultra Light" and "magnum" simply do not belong together in the same description of a rifle.

The weight of your rifle is a large factor when it comes to felt/perceived recoil. I shot a buddy's ultralight 300wm "mountain rifle" years ago because he was having trouble getting it sighted in and needed a little help.

After the first shot I just looked at him and said, "I think I found your problem".

After three shots with it my right cheek and shoulder looked like I'd been kicked by a mule.

I don't know for sure what it weighed but it had a skeletonized titanium action and a pencil thin, fluted, 20" bbl.

My guess is that it was somewhere around 6lbs, it had a lightweight hollowed out fiberglass stock that felt like a fly swatter when you swung it around.

Whatever thoughts I'd had prior to that about having something similar for backpack hunting died that day.

 

[elkaholic]

I have a 270 SS that weighs 7 lbs field ready and it will turn your hat backwards with the 170's! I couldn't believe how hard that sucker kicked the first time I shot it! Manners EH4 stock with a Lame butt pad too.

 

[wildcat westerner]

Richard, that brutal 270 ss can be brought into the mildly brutal category with a limbsaver recoil pad, made in Washington, not that far away from you.

Wildcat westerner

 

[elkaholic]

I

Richard, that brutal 270 ss can be brought into the mildly brutal category with a limbsaver recoil pad, made in Washington, not that far away from you.

Wildcat westerner

I know! I spent soooo much on the rest of it that I can't afford a pad

 

[wildcat westerner]

Long after the money would be spent, the enjoyment of shooting a tamed weapon can be appreciated. There simply is no better recoil pad than th Limbsaver series. it's not what it is, it's what it does!

ww

 

[Farmerboy78]

I worked up a new load for my 6.5-06 today using 140gr Berger hybrid, 30-06 norma brass, 56gr re26 @ 3015 average fps

 

[RevJim]

Back in the late '90s, I had a Mod 700 Classic in 220 Swift. I decided I wanted to use a 6.5/284 with 120-125gr bullets. I bought a short chambered .260, 24" Adams & Bennett barrel of Midway for $99. While my smith was waiting on the reamer for the 6.5/284, I had an opportunity to hunt exotics in Texas. I had him finish it in the original .260, still in the white, and I quickly worked up a load of the Hornady 129SP to 2900fps. I shot an Axis buck, and axis doe and a Mouflon. I had to shoot each twice. I felt it was a "slow killer". OTOH, when it became a 6.5/284, loaded with either the 120NBT or 125PT, each went 3200fps. I forget what powder, but it was like a death ray on pronghorn, axis, blackbuck and Fallow! I never even tried the 140s because it was a short action with a shorter throat for the light bullets. Heck, I would use that 125PT on elk! I used Winchester 284 brass necked down, no neck turning. Later, when factory 6.5/284 brass came out, I could not get the same 3200 with Hornady/Norma or Lapua brass without the primer pockets opening up and stiff bolt lift ( which is all I've ever known to watch for...) Was I at high pressure, I'm sure I was but it was no issue with that WW brass. If I ever get the chance or want, I'd try the 6.5 Sherman, or a really nice 264 win Mag. I feel the bigger 6.5s are a handful, finicky from what I've read and I don't shoot unwounded game past 400yds, so no real use for one.

 

[WildRose]

Back in the late '90s, I had a Mod 700 Classic in 220 Swift. I decided I wanted to use a 6.5/284 with 120-125gr bullets. I bought a short chambered .260, 24" Adams & Bennett barrel of Midway for $99. While my smith was waiting on the reamer for the 6.5/284, I had an opportunity to hunt exotics in Texas. I had him finish it in the original .260, still in the white, and I quickly worked up a load of the Hornady 129SP to 2900fps. I shot an Axis buck, and axis doe and a Mouflon. I had to shoot each twice. I felt it was a "slow killer". OTOH, when it became a 6.5/284, loaded with either the 120NBT or 125PT, each went 3200fps. I forget what powder, but it was like a death ray on pronghorn, axis, blackbuck and Fallow! I never even tried the 140s because it was a short action with a shorter throat for the light bullets. Heck, I would use that 125PT on elk! I used Winchester 284 brass necked down, no neck turning. Later, when factory 6.5/284 brass came out, I could not get the same 3200 with Hornady/Norma or Lapua brass without the primer pockets opening up and stiff bolt lift ( which is all I've ever known to watch for...) Was I at high pressure, I'm sure I was but it was no issue with that WW brass. If I ever get the chance or want, I'd try the 6.5 Sherman, or a really nice 264 win Mag. I feel the bigger 6.5s are a handful, finicky from what I've read and I don't shoot unwounded game past 400yds, so no real use for one.

Jim if you had a problem with the .260 being a "slow killer" you weren't hitting them right, using the wrong bullet or both.

I've taken a couple of dozen big hogs from 300- over 500lbs, several dozen dear, and literally hundreds of smaller hogs with my .260's and killed them just as dead as I do with my STW's, and big 300's or .375's.

I continue to be amazed at just how efficient that little cartridge is at filling the freezer.

 

[RevJim]

Yes, from my tiny experience with it, and with the small wound channels I saw, I "felt" the 129 Hornady was very tough. I'm sure if I had used the 120NBT or even the 125NPT my results would have been different. I was shooting them mid lung/tight behind the shoulder. I was only about 75yds from each. I had my heart set on playing with the 6.5/284 so I just "had" to go that route, ha. Years later I was going to try the 260AI but a couple of surgeries slowed me down...I bet it would have been sweet too! The wind is my Nemesis so I like speed to hedge my bet out in the prairies. I suppose I'm just a speed freak at heart, though I like to play on the other end of the field too, i.e. heavy for caliber, Old School loads in the Mediums. The bullet and placement...can't get away from either! ha