Favorite 6.5mm?

[MacAR]

That's a head-scratcher, but you know what you're doing.

Not really, to me anyhow. You'll laugh, but I'm of the firm belief that the 6.5 Swede and the 260 will do absolutely anything a 6.5 Creedmoor will do at normal deer hunting ranges. After that, it's essentially personal preference, and I like the sound of 260 Remington over the rest. Now go ahead and laugh!

Mac

 

[InTheSwamp]

Not really, to me anyhow. You'll laugh, but I'm of the firm belief that the 6.5 Swede and the 260 will do absolutely anything a 6.5 Creedmoor will do at normal deer hunting ranges. After that, it's essentially personal preference, and I like the sound of 260 Remington over the rest. Now go ahead and laugh!

Mac

I won't laugh, but neither will you when you try to buy factory ammo at your local--or online--store. CM is plentiful, whereas the other two not much. Same with components.
The Swede is a piece of history, and a niche cartridge in America. The 260 got outsmarted by Hornady. Simple as that.

 

[1948CJ2A]

I won't laugh, but neither will you when you try to buy factory ammo at your local--or online--store. CM is plentiful, whereas the other two not much. Same with components.
The Swede is a piece of history, and a niche cartridge in America. The 260 got outsmarted by Hornady. Simple as that.

This is why I handload wherever possible. I have some rifles that have never seen factory ammo and maybe never will. I don't like to limit myself to factory ammo availability at a given time.

 

[InTheSwamp]

This is why I handload wherever possible. I have some rifles that have never seen factory ammo and maybe never will. I don't like to limit myself to factory ammo availability at a given time.

Factory ammo is a BIG plus. You can also handload the more common cartridges.

 

[MacAR]

I won't laugh, but neither will you when you try to buy factory ammo at your local--or online--store. CM is plentiful, whereas the other two not much. Same with components.
The Swede is a piece of history, and a niche cartridge in America. The 260 got outsmarted by Hornady. Simple as that.

With all due respect, I think you take a bloody dim view of things. The 30-30, 30-06, 243, et-al are all "pieces of history" and yet people still buy them. There are still rifles produced in 6.5 Swede; manufacturers wouldn't build them if there wasn't at least a small demand. The same goes for the 260. So no, not that simple sir. "Old" doesn't necessarily mean obsolete or worthless as you portray it. By that token the old 40s and 50s Farmall tractors I use to farm with should have long ago went to the scrap yard and I should've bought the latest and greatest machine that CaseIH sells. Some of us just like the old things, and I'm one of those folks that does.

As far as factory ammo, I haven't bought a factory rifle cartridge in years. I enjoy reloading as much as I do shooting. You can't go down to the local store and find 222 Remington, 303 Savage or 6mm Remington either, but I own and shoot all three. Ammo isn't a consideration to me, and components are available for the 260 from several retailers. The way I look at it, building a 260 is just half the fun; loading a good center-punching cartridge for it would be icing on the cake.

Mac

 

[someguy2800]

This thread has given me some wicked thoughts, I admit. A few months ago, I picked up a Ruger American Predator carbine in 308 for a good deal. It fits the bill for my deer hunting use, but after reading everything here, I'm seriously thinking of rebarreling it to 260. I don't think it'd take much work, either. Am I wrong in thinking it'd just be a simple barrel swap? It's already light and short, two of my favorite qualities in a rifle. An 18 or 20 inch 260 would be the very thing for southern whitetails out to 400 yards, I think.

Mac

What overall length will the RAP accommodate? If you just want to shoot hunting type bullets a 260 will be great even at 2.8” mag length. If you intend to shoot the long ELD bullets you’ll be out of luck. The ogive on a 147 gr ELD M for example will be inside the case mouth at 2.8”. That’s the reason 6.5CM was invented by the way. If the mag is like 3” then 260 will be just fine with any practical bullet selection.

The American uses a barrel nut and there are lots of prefit barrels available so you can change the barrel yourself at home with a few tools.

 

[Hunter 08]

I went for 6.5x55 Swede. Modern casings, bullets, and powders can make it a very competitive option. Get in a Tikka action with a modern loading and it will work quite well. It's been on my list of rifles to get, had a few opportunities years ago just never jumped on them.

 

[MacAR]

What overall length will the RAP accommodate? If you just want to shoot hunting type bullets a 260 will be great even at 2.8” mag length. If you intend to shoot the long ELD bullets you’ll be out of luck. The ogive on a 147 gr ELD M for example will be inside the case mouth at 2.8”. That’s the reason 6.5CM was invented by the way. If the mag is like 3” then 260 will be just fine with any practical bullet selection.

The American uses a barrel nut and there are lots of prefit barrels available so you can change the barrel yourself at home with a few tools.

You know, that's a good question. According to my calipers, the inside measurement of the magazine is 2.835". Now that does limit me some, but for my use the 120-130 grain bullets would be plenty good. I don't have enough confidence in myself to shoot much past 350 these days, so any of those bullets ought to get the job done.

As far as changing the barrel, I've been doing some research. Looks like they aren't too bad to change out, but I might get a friend of mine who builds rifles to do the swap for me. Just have to get the jack gathered up to buy the barrel, dies, and brass!

Mac

 

[someguy2800]

You know, that's a good question. According to my calipers, the inside measurement of the magazine is 2.835". Now that does limit me some, but for my use the 120-130 grain bullets would be plenty good. I don't have enough confidence in myself to shoot much past 350 these days, so any of those bullets ought to get the job done.

As far as changing the barrel, I've been doing some research. Looks like they aren't too bad to change out, but I might get a friend of mine who builds rifles to do the swap for me. Just have to get the jack gathered up to buy the barrel, dies, and brass!

Mac

It’s not so much about the grain weight, but how pointed the nose profile is. A 140 grain Hornady bthp or 140 grain soft point will probably be fine as long as you get a barrel with enough twist rate. The really pointy stuff like the accubond long range, the Hornady ELD or Berger VLD will probably not work well at 2.835”.

 

[1948CJ2A]

Factory ammo is a BIG plus. You can also handload the more common cartridges.

About the only thing factory ammo does for me is give me another brass option. I reload pretty much everything, even 9mm and 5.56 occasionally.

 

[LoonWulf]

You know, that's a good question. According to my calipers, the inside measurement of the magazine is 2.835". Now that does limit me some, but for my use the 120-130 grain bullets would be plenty good. I don't have enough confidence in myself to shoot much past 350 these days, so any of those bullets ought to get the job done.

As far as changing the barrel, I've been doing some research. Looks like they aren't too bad to change out, but I might get a friend of mine who builds rifles to do the swap for me. Just have to get the jack gathered up to buy the barrel, dies, and brass!

Mac

Could also use one of the longer AICS mags to get 2.95ish.

 

[someguy2800]

If you have the mag length to load what you like in 260 rem, then the comparison between 260 and 6.5cm is really a horse apiece. A few years ago during the pandemic 6.5 creedmoor brass was really hard to come by, but its been so popular for so long now that its not really an issue anymore. Lots of good quality cheap components for reloading both.