260 Rem Vs. 6.5-06

[elkaholic]

Gary.....A lot of great info there! Some I knew and some I didn't. I went from a 300 ultra to my 300 Sherman for MANY of those reasons. Ya, I may have lost 300 fps but the benefits FAR outweigh, IMO. I can still get 3050-3100' with a 190 SXR with pinpoint accuracy at around 3000'. My cases last 4-5 times as long and recoil is FAR less! I went from over 100 grains of powder to 63. Besides all that, it was kind of fun designing my own case and making my own bullets........Rich

 

[kc]

My Brother and myself built a .260 last year and he loves it. you can buy brass eazy/dies and can find laoded ammo at most sporting goods stores..It is verry accurate and eazy if you have a youngster or a Girl friend..its lighter and can kill about any animal on the planet. It's a great Deer killer. if you go to 6.5 06 you need brass? can you find it on the ground at the range? you need to buy it, you got dies? special order, I'am in no way saying a 6.5 06 is a bad calibre,, now way! its great..just don"t loose your ammo and you will have a caliber that peforms fantastic"

 

[Trickymissfit]

Gary.....A lot of great info there! Some I knew and some I didn't. I went from a 300 ultra to my 300 Sherman for MANY of those reasons. Ya, I may have lost 300 fps but the benefits FAR outweigh, IMO. I can still get 3050-3100' with a 190 SXR with pinpoint accuracy at around 3000'. My cases last 4-5 times as long and recoil is FAR less! I went from over 100 grains of powder to 63. Besides all that, it was kind of fun designing my own case and making my own bullets........Rich

sorta reminds me of Joe Barnes and building several snipers rifles for the PA State police. They spec'd .300 Ultra Mag, and so he went about his work. Used Remington Actions and maybe Hart barrels with a minimum spec chamber reamer ground for the exact round they also spec'd. Joe used to build nice long range (1000 yard) rifles, so he did have a clue what to do. After getting the first rifle built he goes out to his range for a test drive. The gun was shooting half inch groups and larger no matter what he did! (the also spec's the load used as well). He fumbles and fumbles with it, and finally backs off the load to where the bullet was going about what a good load would be in a 300 Win mag. The gun shoots in the mid to low threes all day long! Gets another Hart barrel and chambers it with a very slightly different throat angle. Shoots worse! Back to the first barrel again with the same velocities he started with, but made some powder and primer changes. No better and maybe a tad worse!. After about six weeks he calls Jim Borden, and Jim asked him how'd he get it to shoot that good? He said he had three of them in his shop that would not shoot a lick! Joe then takes one of the now junked barrels and rechambers it to .300 Win mag, and finds out he has a hummer! Sends me an email, telling me his woes (I always liked Joe). I suggested he borrow a .308 Norma reamer, and throat for the correct bullet. He did, and has a real hummer on his hands (the barrel won quite a few 1000 yard shoots). The state police ended up with .300 Winchesters. I got one of the Hart barrels in the mail along with a virgin Seally Masker 6mm barrel.

Joe has MS real bad last I heard, and may be dead for all I know. Need to find out
gary

 

[Trickymissfit]

My Brother and myself built a .260 last year and he loves it. you can buy brass eazy/dies and can find laoded ammo at most sporting goods stores..It is verry accurate and eazy if you have a youngster or a Girl friend..its lighter and can kill about any animal on the planet. It's a great Deer killer. if you go to 6.5 06 you need brass? can you find it on the ground at the range? you need to buy it, you got dies? special order, I'am in no way saying a 6.5 06 is a bad calibre,, now way! its great..just don"t loose your ammo and you will have a caliber that peforms fantastic"

6.5-06 is probably the second most built wildcat round (.338-06 is number one). Case are very easy to form from generic 25-06 brass. Actually the .338-06 brass is in production, but it also comes from a company that's not cheap. I'd say that the 6.5-06 will have a brand name on it in the next 36 months is that matters much. Guys are building them all over the place, so it's only a matter of when.

I always used a .257 Roberts with 100 grain Noslers or 117 Sierra in upper Michigan, and have killed more than one 300+lb. buck up there.
gary

 

[elkaholic]

AGREE! I grew up in the upper peninsula and bought the first factory 25-06 built in 1970. All the old timers up there, at that time, with their 30-30's, laughed at me and referred to it as a "needle blower" that wouldn't kill anything. When I started dropping deer where they stood at 400 and 500 yards consistently they gradually changed their minds. My dad was one of them. How times (and equipment) have changed...Rich
p.s. That rifle eventually became a 6.5-06 A.I. and after shooting the barrel out of it, is now a 6.5 Sherman. Best of the bunch IMO.

 

[Trickymissfit]

AGREE! I grew up in the upper peninsula and bought the first factory 25-06 built in 1970. All the old timers up there, at that time, with their 30-30's, laughed at me and referred to it as a "needle blower" that wouldn't kill anything. When I started dropping deer where they stood at 400 and 500 yards consistently they gradually changed their minds. My dad was one of them. How times (and equipment) have changed...Rich
p.s. That rifle eventually became a 6.5-06 A.I. and after shooting the barrel out of it, is now a 6.5 Sherman. Best of the bunch IMO.

when I showed up with the pip squeak, as they often called it; while they all had their Remington 30-06's they just laughed at me. The first deer field dressed at 256lb. and took a step before hitting the ground dead. The second was a little smaller and just rolled over after a step and a half dead. Next year half of them showed up with .257's!! Told them all next year I was bringing the big six with 87 grain bullets at 3350 fps, and I thought we'd need oxygen. (I actually planed on using the 6mm for air conditioning coyotes at 400 yards over gut piles) The old man I hunted with must have shot two dozen dogs with my .257, and said if I wanted to get rid of it to let him know! His son bought him a Ruger like it for Christmass
gary

 

[Jerry M]

Sorry if I repeated something I did not read all 17 pages of this thread.

between the two I would chose the 6.5-06, the standard version not the AI. I had one with a Kreiger light palma contour and it was a great field rifle. I had data out to 1100 yards. Of course for a repeater you have to build it on a long action. I used mine for field and high power matches, not for hunting so I shot the barrel out at 1300 rounds. I used Winchester brand .25-06 cases and one pass through a 6.5-06 die and the case was ready to load and shoot. No fire forming was required. Barrel life is too short IMHO to use up forming brass. In my long action Remington 700, feeding was flawless with this cartridge (something that can not be said for all 6.5x284 in long actions. Magazine also holds five 6.5-06 cartridges compared to three 6.5x284 ) The disadvantage of the 6.5-06 as mention previously is that factory ammunition is not available.

With regard to .260 Rem I have one also, use that now as my dedicated F-class rifle built on a single shot action. Fine cartridge, not as fast or as flat as a 6.5-06 when loaded to it's potential.

Regarding the 6.5 Remington Magnum - I have one also. I had a 40X with a magnum bolt face that needed rebarreling. 6.5 Remington Magnum look like the perfect fit. I did secure 1000 empty cases before I began this project. I have shot it out to 800 yards so far, I am pleased with the results. The internal capacity of the 6.5 Remington Magnum is the same as the 6.5-06. But, I did not want to spend the money for a new bolt.

Good luck with your choice and project.

Jerry

 

[Head shot]

YOU CANT LOSE HERE. 260 my vote

 

[davkrat]

I voted .260 but I like short actions.

 

[rifle]

then we may want to enter the 6.5 creedmoor and make it a 3 way....

 

[ertlonggun]

I voted 260, as they are great rounds. that being said my build im doing now is a 6.5x55.

 

[southernman]

For those who don't know cooper now has factory 6.5-06,
These at prophet river firearms in Alberta.
JUST ADDED! M52 Classic 6.5x284 $1999

JUST ADDED! M52 Classic Left Hand 6.5-06 $2199

JUST ADDED! M52 Classic Left Hand 6.5-06 $2199

M52 Classic 6.5-06 $1999

M52 Classic 6.5-06 $1999

 

[jlamb]

Thanks Southernman. It's good to see a manufacture looking at the 6.5-06.

 

[roninflag]

you got an even split because you did not include the 6.5-284 . i have two and love them.