6.5 mm/.264

With the weather this morning, I've got some free time and have been thinking about building a new rifle. I really like the high BC/SD of the 6.5's and want more powder capacity than the 260. I've been reading about the 6.5-06 and 6.5-270 and I like what I'm finding. I could easliy use the 30-06/270 brass for them. My problem with that is I shoot 30-06 and 270 and I'd have to worry about mixing the re-sized brass. Then I started thinking about the 6.5x55 Swede.....it would ease my mind with not worrying about mixing cases, but when handloaded, how does it compare in performance to the 6.5-06 and 6.5-270.

I think the 260 is an inherently more accurate cartridge that the
-06 based 6.5 wilcats. Unless perhaps if you go -06 Ackley
Improved. I'd take accuracy over fps, 260 is good way out there
anyway.

6.5-284 same case capacity as 6.5-06 but build it on a long action. The 260 matches the 6.5x55 in a short action.

I'm wanting around 2900+ fps with 140's and I don't believe that's possible with the 260, is it?

There are some that run 260 at 2900 but I think they are really pushing the pressure curve a lot.

My 6.5-284 gets to 2900 with good accuracy, the 6.5 Remington Magnum and 264 Win Mag will get the 2900 or beyond with the 140 gr pills. Have no experience with the 6.5-06 but it should not have trouble getting to 2900 with at least a 24 inch barrel

Also, I'm wanting this for a long range hunting/fun gun. 24" barrel with a 1-8 twist. 6.5x284 needs a longer tube and is hard on barrels. I doubt I'll ever want to shoot anything heavier than the 140/142 grain, but would like to be able to shoot 120's. What kind of velocity can you get from a handloaded 24" barrel 260 with the 140's?

Will let FiremanJG or DeiselGeek comment on their velocities with the 260 as they do shoot them at long range. In the 6.5-284 Cooper with a 24 inch barrel 2900 with 140gr Berger VLD or the Lapua bullets accuracy has been good, probably better than I can shoot it to be honest. Barrel life is one of those things that is what it is, there is a price to be paid for performance. Most of what I read from benchrest shooters with the 6.5-284 is around 1500 rounds accuracy will fall off, to what degree who knows but that is from folks that if accuracy is off by 1/10 inch then it is unacceptable.

If you shoot enough to shoot out a barrel then replace it and look at it as you got your money's worth from that barrel and had fun getting there. Most of the time if you do not overheat the barrel, the life of it can be greatly extended.

Did not see this till I had already posted above.

I like the idea of using either the 270 or 30/06 brass, cause I have quite a bit already. If I was to fire a 6.5-270 round through my 270... accuracy would be awful, but there shouldn't be any risk of injury or damage to my rifle, correct? And the 270 won't chamber in the 6.5-270 rifle, correct? This would also be the same if I go with the 260 instead of the 6.5-270 as I have a 243 and 308, correct?

Curious to hear their experiences as well. With this gonna be a hunting rifle with a max of 24" barrel, the 260 is sounding better. Even if I have to push them a little, with this not being a competition gun, barrel life should be good.

I got 2950 fps with H 4350 and a 130 Berger VLD. It was bad to the bome at that speed and a real wind cheater all the way out to 1k. But for the volume of shooting i do i was going to have the barrel pretty much done by 1500 rounds.

So I moved to 140 A-maxes, still using H4350 (it is "the" powder for. 260 and 6.5 Creed) and got sub 1/4 MOA at 2800 fps. The next powder charge shot sub 1/2 MOA at 2850 fps but I'll take accuracy over speed any day.

I was not showing pressure at 2850. I dont know if i could get 140's to 2900 without pressure, i never tried since it wont do me any good.

If I go with a 260, what barrel twist should I get to shoot 120-140's well? Will a 9 work with the 140's or do I need to get an 8 twist?

Have had no problems stabilizing 140gr VLDs from 2700fps to 2900fps in a 1:9 barreled 6.5-284

I've got a 26" Shilen 260 tube with a 1:8 twist. It'll usually get 140gr/142gr bullets moving in the 2750-2800 range.

I have a 6.5 Creedmoor that I pushed 140's to 2950 but was blowing primer pockets after 2 firings so I slowed it down to 2880 and haven't had the issue but I bought a 6BR and have shot it so much the Creedmoor is sitting. I have a 1:8 barrel and H4350 as mentioned.

If speed and accuracy is your deal it's hard to beat a 6.5-284. If speed isn't as important I would go with 260/Creedmoor/6.5x47. They are all +/- 100fps of each other. I personally like Lapua brass and the small primer pocket of the 6.5x47 and that will be my next 6.5. But I have to have a 6 dasher built first.

Who makes a 1-9 twist factory 260? Is the 1-8 a custom only?

Lilja says 1:9 will stabilize 140 gr. Shilen says you need 1:8 for 140 gr.

Mine is an Obermeyer 1:8.4 and it stabilized 130's and 140's beautifully.

Short answer, if you want to shoot light 120's and azz whoopin 140's my money is on the 1:9

Savage lists their twist rates. Dont know if Tikka or Remington do.

My savage lrp 260 is 1-8

I'm afraid the 1 in 8 won't shoot the 120's very good, but wanted to make sure the 1 in 9 would do well with the 130's and 140's.

Ruger hawkeye in .260 is a 1-8
Rem model seven in 260 is a 1-9

Thats most likely going to be the case. 1:8 would over stabilize the 120's and scatter them everywhere on the paper. Just out of curiosity, why do you want to shoot 120's?

I compete and hunt with the same 140 A-max load. Same zero, same DOPE, same experience shooting in the wind.

On the 6.5-284, I have played with at least 3 rifles with the 140 weight bullets (139 Scenar, and 2- 140 VLD's). I was getting right at 2850 fps with them. I could not get it any faster, even with R17, H4350, 4831, and a few others. You need a LONG barrel to get the high speeds the F-class guys are getting that you see on-line. In a standard 22"-24" barrel expect 2850 fps as a max.

260 Rem- 2760 to 2820 fps with a 140 is right about normal.

6.5-06 (or 6.5-270 same thing)- you should be able to push a 140 2950. I WILL be building a 6.5-06 in the near future. I have tons of 270 Win brass to use for it. It's a simple process to form the brass. As a handloader, you have to keep your normal brass seperated from your wildcat stuff. Or, you can get all Winchester brass for your wildcat ammo, and use Rem, FC, or any other brand for your normal ammo.

I have loads worked up for my 270 Win with many bullets. Each bullet uses a different brand of brass. So, when I am cleaning and sorting brass, I know that Win brass goes to my 130 grain load, Rem brass goes to my 100 grain load, and FC goes to my 140 grain loads. And each brand has different pressures with a given load. If I accidentally load Rem brass for my 130 grain load that uses Win brass (yes, I did it!), it will be a HOT load and give me sticky bolt lift and/or pierce a primer. It's not that hard to keep track of it, as long as you have a system in place.

...interesting thread, all kinds of 6.5x'06 & AI load info floating around, but I've not seen any 6.5 x270 data anywhere...??? have you looked at a 260 *40 shoulder ??? or a 260 Long Range ??? 6.5x300WSM is s'posed to be a screamer too I've thought about in passing as the "cure" for a recent-to-me NH WSM Fwt's possible/probable bad manners, but barrel life over 1k rounds is always a question.

Boolitz...1x8 barrels in a T3 Swede gave good results in 120's & 129/130's on WTails with RL19 in US trash to lapua brass...didn't spend much time with the 140's 'cause I dinnit need them. Got a M85 SAKO 260 I'm gonna work up sometime this year if it hairlips everbody in my house or not, I think is a 1x8 ...the linesider fish in the pond in front of me will just have to keep.
Cheers
Ron

The Fed premium 120gr Nosler BT ammo supposedly works great
out of a Ruger M77 260 with 1:8 twist. I have the rifle and
the ammo sitting here waiting to be tested. I just don't want
to waste a lot of the ammo fooling around.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/177483/...c-tip-box-of-20

For my daughter and wife

They already make your wildcat it's called a 264 Winchester Mag.

I've already got a 7 mag. I guess velocity, on this one, is not as important to me. 260 vs 6.5-06??? Which one???? Do I need a 26" barrel in the 6.5-06 to justify it over the 260? I'd really prefer to keep the barrel at 24" or even 22". 260 will probably have better resale value if I lose interest because of factory ammo availability.

I know Tikka lists their twist rates and the one I mentioned in this post is for a Cooper rifle. When talking with Cooper Arms before making the purchase they said their barrels stabilize the 142gr Serria Match Kings without issues and that is the bullet they most often use for the provided test targets with their 6.5 rifles

Well in that case I dont understand why you want to hand them a long action anything. A. 260 with a suppressor is about as sweet as it gets.

My 15 year old stepson shot my braked. 308 at 13 years old, then braked. 260. The first time he shot my suppressed. 260 he said " that's cool! Its not loud and it hardly has any recoil". Right after he rang a 66% IPSC at 700 yards three times.

Why get a 26" barrel when you can have a 22"

both have the same case, one is a .284 and one is a .264

other than that they are identical

I don't want a 26" barrel, no more than 24" and 22" would be better. If I can get almost the same performance from a 22" barrel 260 vs a 24" 6.5-06 then I'll probably go with the 260. If a 24" 6.5-06 is considerably better than a 22-24" 260, then I'd probably lean towards the 6.5-06.

A 260 will do anything you want to do, and more. It is a VERY good cartidge, and yields very good ballistics with the 140 grain match bullets, and a good hunting round. Load a 120 or 123 A-max, even a 140 A-max, and you can get both.

If you want your wife and daughter to shoot it and a 22-24" barrel I think you have answered your own question, go 260.

A 6.5-06 chucking a hot 140 is gonna kick just as much as a 30-06 chucking a 150 and same same as a 270. The 260 should be a step down in recoil and should do what you want in the package you want it in.

6.5/300 Weatherby. Google it if you reload.

Someone on here built a 6.5x300 ultra I think, but seems a little outlandish.

How hard is it to find 260 brass right now? If I use my brass, which would be better/easier to use? Neck up 243 or neck down 308?

In a modern action, the 6.5x55 will outrun the .260, although it does require a long action. It is just a neat round. I am getting 3000+ with 120's in my CZ. Running a bit over 2900 with 129 Hornady's. haven't loaded heavier as I haven't needed them. A 120 Ballistic tip did all I needed on a nice Axis buck at 165 yards. Several deer and antelope have fallen to either the BT or the Hornady bullets.

How did the ballistic tip penetrate? Did you shoot behind the shoulder or thru it?

Drop Tine: Have you considered the 6.5-06AI. That would allow you to use the brass you already have and once you fireform it in the AI chamber, there will be no issues of confusing it with your 270 loads.

the 6.5-06 is a wildcat, too, so you will have to be reloading anyway. And another advantage of AI cartridges is that the brass doesn't stretch as much so you "never" have to trim cases. Just a thought...

I've got a 260 that I bought for the wife. She was thinking about pig hunting, but never really got into it. So I hunted with it for a while, though being a '270 guy' I wasn't expecting to be impressed with the puny little 260. As a couple of years and hunting seasons came and went, I found myself preferring the 260 to the 270 (and I hate myself for it). I loaded the Nosler 120 gr Ballistic Tip over Reloader 17 and everything I shot fell just as fast as if I'd shot them with the 270. And everything I read says that the 260 is a great target round with long barrel life. It's only when you want 3000 fps or more from anything 120 grains or over in a 22 inch barrel that it falls a bit short.

And worry not about the twist being too fast for 120 or 100 grainers. They shoot just fine in my rifle (at 400 yards and less).

And if you want brass, just think about the truckloads of 243 and 308 and 7-08 out there that you can neck up or down.

I just put one of my 308's up for trade a few minutes ago....for a 260 Remington. I've got a Remington 700 5r 308 to fall back on if the 260 doesn't impress me. But from what I'm hearing here on this thread and what I can find on-line, I think I'm gonna love it!

Order a 6.5mm barrel, have it threaded for your action and enjoy.

Who does that around here and about how much will that run me?

There are several around that do that type of work. Shillen in Gun Barrel City dose it and I think has the price list on their site.

Titian weapons is a member of the THF using the handle THEBBC http://www.titanweapons.com/

I shoot the 140amax at 2850 out of a 26" Bartlien barrel 1/8 twist.

Buddy shoots a savage with a 1/8 and uses the 120s with good success.

You want 7mm-08 brass if your gonna neck down brass.

There's several smiths around for re-barrel. Figure 375 for the barrel and 400 for truing action, chambering, and threading a new barrel on. Wait time will depend on the smith.

Why not go with a 7mm higher bc same or better sd and you can get plenty of powder in a 7 mag if you desire more step up to a 7mm stw i am running a 25" bbl on my 7 mag pushing a 168 at 2970 and a 180 gr at 2925
both have a bc over .615 and a sd over .315

Bud of mine does it in Anna and does superb work. Truing the action is good but not absolutely necessary. None of my actions have been trued and they are tack drivers.

Look at bugholes.com for barrels shipped to your door.

260 is like a barrel of monkeys for a handloader. I
can't wait to get a 6.5 Grendel some day so I can crossload
and develop ammo using the same bullets.

I have a 6.5X270 and love it. I also shoot a 270 but with my 6.5 I have to turn the necks down so it's easy to identify the 2 and they have never been mixed up. Anything you get in a 6.5 will be awesome. Have you looked at the 6.5X47 Lapua?? Has great ballistics.

The 6.5X47 Lapua is a nice short fat case.

batesdc got me to smiling when he mentioned his 6.5-270. My cousin has his version, which is a necked down 280 case and he absolutely won't call it anything but a 6.5-280. I keep telling him that it's just a 6.5-06, so why call it anything else. But he's so darn hardheaded and says that HIS parent case is the 280 and he is NOT gonna call it a 6.5-06. Stubborn devil.

Anyway, whatever ya call it, it's a great round. I just happen to have that 260, so I don't need or want anything else. But the cuz sure is stubborn, and he's a darn fine shot.

603Country, hate to tell you that your cousin is correct. There is a difference in the 280 and the 270 brass other than the bullet diameter. The 280 shoulder is a little further forward than is found on the 25-06, 270 or 30-06. That was done so you cannot chamber and fire 280 ammo in a 270

And doesnt make the speed a .260 will

Hmmm, kmon1 might actually be my cousin. Same baloney about the case shoulder being slightly different from that of the PARENT CASE. Just cause somebody changed the shoulder a bit doesn't make it a new case. That's just a new dress on the same girl. LOL

Remington changed that angle, it actually holds a grain or two more powder that the 270, 25-06 and 30-06 base stuff.

Might be sounding like our cousin but the shoulder on a 280 is .050 longer than a 270 or the other members of the 30-06 family.

That is long enough to cause headspace issues when forming brass to a wildcat like the 6.5-06 as apposed to the 6.5-280. It is also long enough that a 280 cannot be chambered in a 270 action and the reason it was done that way.

Geez...now I have even more people to argue this case issue with. Yay! I still say it's the same girl in a new dress.

Not to derail the thread, but Drop Tine, are you using that Remington 700 5r 308 to shoot paper or critters? I want to shoot critters with mine and was wondering what you use. I have a box of 150 grain Barnes TSX but haven't tried to see how well mine likes them. Thanks.

For all practical purposes it is the same, however when forming cases for the wildcat it is a bit more problematic.

Right now I've been shooting Chad's 168 gr Amax. Haven't shot a critter with it yet, but you can find reviews all over the net saying that they are great for hunting. I'll probably try some Accubonds out on some pigs this summer.

Accubonds and Sirocco's are my favorite bullets these days. They both have proven to be accurate in my rifles and terminal performance is very good.

Why argue??? Just get the data. Look in any reloading manual and compare the dimensions. The length of the case from the base to the start of the shoulder is 1.948" for the '06, 270, and 25/06. The length for the 280 is 1.999". So as kmon says, it was lengthened SLIGHTLY by Remington to prevent idiots from firing a 280 cartridge in a 270 rifle.

So the 280 is based on a slightly modified '06 case and is not exactly the same as the wildcat 7MM/06.

And FWIW, the 270 is based on the 06 case, but Winchester gave it a slightly longer neck.

your trivia for the day...

I've got several pics of dead bodies from the A-max. Don't worry about punching hide with em.