260 Rem Vs. 6.5-06

[bridgebuilder]

Can you get 6.5 -06 head stamped brass ?

I have been lookin at building one of these or 260 and i dont like the idea of 6.5 ammo gettin in a 30-06 .

I am leaning toward the 260 to avoid confusion and lapua is coming out with brass too.

 

[elkaholic]

Can you get 6.5 -06 head stamped brass ?

I have been lookin at building one of these or 260 and i dont like the idea of 6.5 ammo gettin in a 30-06 .

I am leaning toward the 260 to avoid confusion and lapua is coming out with brass too.

I believe Quality brass makes brass for it but you will pay a lot more than forming your own. You are far better off using .270 or .280 brass for your 6.5 anyway because if you don't, you will end up with a short neck using 30-06 when you fire form. The best method I've found is to neck size a .270 case partially (leave a false shoulder so it will headspace). I used 11 grs. of red dot and fill to the base of the neck with cream of wheat, a little cotton to hold it all together, and let'r rip. Trim the case length to speck and you are ready to go.....Rich

 

[elkaholic]

I believe Quality brass makes brass for it but you will pay a lot more than forming your own. You are far better off using .270 or .280 brass for your 6.5 anyway because if you don't, you will end up with a short neck using 30-06 when you fire form. The best method I've found is to neck size a .270 case partially (leave a false shoulder so it will headspace). I used 11 grs. of red dot and fill to the base of the neck with cream of wheat, a little cotton to hold it all together, and let'r rip. Trim the case length to speck and you are ready to go.....Rich

Oops! I just realized you are doing a standard 6.5-06, not an A.I., so the length would not be a factor but the .270 or .280 would still solve your head stamp problem and if you happened to shoot it out of a 270 or 280, it would just rattle down the barrel a little You can also forget the cream of wheat etc. With the std., you just size, trim and shoot. If you use 30-06 you will probably need to turn the neck as well or you won't have enough clearance. Actually, this should be done even with .270 or .280 for consistency ...Rich

 

[bridgebuilder]

Thanks I dont have a 270 anymore but i do still have a couple hundred pcs of brass . decisions lightbulb decisions

 

[fariswm]

If you are going the wildcat route on this one why not the 6.5X.284 or the 6.5X300WSM?

Both of these are top performers with standard length actions. Both proven in 1000 yd benchrest competition.

 

[elkaholic]

If you are going the wildcat route on this one why not the 6.5X.284 or the 6.5X300WSM?

Both of these are top performers with standard length actions. Both proven in 1000 yd benchrest competition.

Or the 6.5 Sherman

 

[Ridge Runner]

6-5 Gibbs? uses the same 270 brass! but won't chamber in a 270
RR

 

[devins]

Early on in the thread the cost of dies was mentioned. I shoot a 260 AI and was visiting with the Hornady boys down at the Dallas Safari Club Convention in January of 2011. Just in case you are not aware of this they will make a customsized die fitting your fire formed brass for $55-$75 for most chamberings. They do a scan of your brass and then mill the die to fit. I have been doing the false shoulder on brass that has been necked up to 7mm and then neck sizing to form the false shoulder. I then fire form. Having a great time fireforming Nosler brass becasue I am shooting half inch outside diameter groups at 200 yds on the first loading I tried. I have enough brass fireformed to start developing final loads and if the wind is not up too much will hopefully try that this weekend. I will let you know how the Hornady custom die does once I am able to use it and check run out on reloads of the best shooting combination. You can't beat the price anyway. And has anyone else tried there custom dies?

 

[Locknload]

Devins,
You are just going to have to work on your shooting.....

Sounds real good, good data on the custom dies.
Ed

 

[devins]

Ed, you are not kidding about the working on the shooting because it doesn't take long for a guy to figure out these things are capable of doing a lot more than I can. I am just handicapped by the wind. I will have plans to do some shooting and be allexcited and the wind is 22-30 mph. I need to practice in that but it is not great for load development.

 

[jlamb]

Go with the 6.5-06 if you reload. If you don't, get a 260 Rem or 270 Rem. (6.5-06 & 270 Rem are nearly the same! .264 vs. .277 projectile with the same weight & almost identical case)

The power that my 6.5-06 has at 600 and 800 yards is heads and tails above my 308. This will help with elk. If you want to coyote hunt the 6.5-06 can be loaded with many bullets (I use 142 SMKs) that are flat shooting and don't drift so much in the wind. I personally like the power of the 6.5-06 in a hunting situation. If I were just shooting at paper once a month at 100 yards, I'd get the 260 in a heartbeat.

 

[elkaholic]

You guys are on the right track with the 6.5-06 but if you are going custom anyway, you REALLY should at least consider the 6.5 Sherman. This thing is a screamer and barrel life is every bit as good as the std. 6.5-06 because of the case design. 3200+ with a 26" barrel and 140 Bergers with one hole accuracy. You still have 1000 ft. lbs. of energy at 1100 yds. and recoil is very acceptable with no brake. I have the reamer and TWO go gauges for more or less case volume. The stats listed are for the smaller volume with which you can use regular WW or RP brass (.270 or .280)...........Rich

 

[devins]

Elkaholic, what is the normal load range of the Sherman vs the 6.5-06. I mean if I am going to load book max on 140 gr Berger on the 06 vs the Serman in the same powder what is the difference in capacity or load between the two. I am interested because we are wanting to build my son in law a 6.5 also. I love my 260 AI. I have had a blast with it so far and am totally impressed with it and its mild recoil but we were looking at the 6.5-06 for him but we are a ways from starting yet so we could be converted still, LOL. Let me know the rest of the scoop.

 

[elkaholic]

Elkaholic, what is the normal load range of the Sherman vs the 6.5-06. I mean if I am going to load book max on 140 gr Berger on the 06 vs the Serman in the same powder what is the difference in capacity or load between the two. I am interested because we are wanting to build my son in law a 6.5 also. I love my 260 AI. I have had a blast with it so far and am totally impressed with it and its mild recoil but we were looking at the 6.5-06 for him but we are a ways from starting yet so we could be converted still, LOL. Let me know the rest of the scoop.

The Sherman holds at least 11% more powder than the std '06 and is as much better than a std is over a .260 in my opinion. Case life is excellent with the minimal taper case and 40 degree shoulder. It still has a .300" neck which is far superior to the old Gibbs case and holds more powder than the Gibbs. The case capacity is right there with the WSM case. Accuracy is excellent. I have two versions now (one holds about 1 grain more than the other). Because of the larger case capacity, you can take advantage of some of the slower powders like Retumbo or RL-25. I could rent you the reamer for the std. rental fee and either go gauge. Hornady and Pacific have the specs to make dies and do a great job..........Rich