.260 Rem build - Short, or Long Action?

[nicholst55]

This is purely speculating on my part at the moment - I'm overseas, working for the U.S. Army for the next couple of years. It will be at least 2020 before I'm building or shooting any rifle. Let's assume though, that I want to build a .260 Remington bolt gun for Precision Rifle type work - what length action should I start with - short, or long. I fully realize that the cartridge is essentially the 6.5-308, and is based on a short action case. With those L-O-N-G ballistic missile looking bullets, would I be better off starting with a long action?

What are you guys that are shooting the .260 using?

 

[Big Mc]

This is purely speculating on my part at the moment - I'm overseas, working for the U.S. Army for the next couple of years. It will be at least 2020 before I'm building or shooting any rifle. Let's assume though, that I want to build a .260 Remington bolt gun for Precision Rifle type work - what length action should I start with - short, or long. I fully realize that the cartridge is essentially the 6.5-308, and is based on a short action case. With those L-O-N-G ballistic missile looking bullets, would I be better off starting with a long action?

What are you guys that are shooting the .260 using?

The 260 Rem. is pretty much a 308 necked down +/_.. A short action IMO should be the way to go.. Tommy Mc..

 

[msinc]

This is a good question....yes, it is a 308 necked to 6.5mm. That said, I always build my own 308 based cartridge rifles on a short action.....but I always use a detachable magazine too. The times I did build one short and not have a detachable mag I always cussed loading and unloading. The 700 and clones are short to the point that loading them can be a pain especially under a scope. Mount the scope on low rings and it's even worse, at least it seems like it to me. Add in the longer bullets and the possibility of a special throat to shoot them and they will be seated out even longer...then think about magazine length and you might not have a detachable. It's a big enough pain to load a 700 with factory OAL, which you will probably never use with a custom rifle.
Yeah, I might look twice at a long action for a 260 custom bolt gun. Might not be fashionable, but it will for sure be convenient!!!
FWIW, I built a 7600 in 260 which for all intents is a long action {same action for everything chambered in them} and it is nice to seat the bullet where it is needed and not have to worry about if it's going to "fit" the mag or action.

 

[Ringostar]

If you plan on shooting the heavier bullets and mag feeding, I would use a long action. I have a 260 hunting rifle on a 700 sa. The 140gr bullets end up below the neck, limiting some case capacity.

 

[JLT]

This is purely speculating on my part at the moment - I'm overseas, working for the U.S. Army for the next couple of years. It will be at least 2020 before I'm building or shooting any rifle. Let's assume though, that I want to build a .260 Remington bolt gun for Precision Rifle type work - what length action should I start with - short, or long. I fully realize that the cartridge is essentially the 6.5-308, and is based on a short action case. With those L-O-N-G ballistic missile looking bullets, would I be better off starting with a long action?

What are you guys that are shooting the .260 using?

Nicholst55,

You mentioned that the intended use of the rifle would be PRS - a repeater, therefore is necessary. If you want to get the most out of the bullets available for the .260, you will need something longer than, say, a Remington 700 SA. You don't want to have to remove the bolt in order to clear a failure to fire during a match.

A number of custom action makers offer actions in a 'mid length', among them Borden, Defiance and CZ (the 550 is a mid-length). These actions will give you more flexibility in seating depth and retain the fast cycling capability of a short action. The Savage varmint action - the 'repeater version' of the precision target action - is also worthy of consideration, as it will handle COALs materially longer than a short action.

If I were building a PRS rifle in .260 Rem, I would probably go with a long action. A little practice will negate most of the cycling advantage of a short action and a long action will give you the most flexibility in terms of seating depth and bullet selection. I shoot several .260 AIs and the COAL on several loads exceed 2.980" - you can't run that out of a SA. At least not without a whole bunch of work.

My two cents' worth . . .

Best of luck with your build and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

 

[Toolbreaker]

With a Berger 140 hybrid seated just above the neck/shoulder junction, you'll wind up with a COAL of around 2.990". A standard SA Remington should be able to eject that length, but the rub is with the magazine length. A long action gives you alot more flexibility.

 

[Geno C]

My 260 and now 260ai are based on a FN SPR short action. You will not get the most out of the case with the longer 140+ bullets. That being said, I get 2930 with 140 vlds out of my 260ai and it only has a .060" freebore.

A long action will definitely give you better use of the whole case though and in all reality the microsecond longer it takes to run a long action will most likely never cost you a point in a match.

 

[jimbires]

wyatts makes an extended magazine box for the short action rem 700 . I put one in my 260 , it feeds good .
I'm pretty sure this is the one I used . MBE-5
http://wyattsoutdoor.com/product_info.php/cPath/1/products_id/35

 

[bsekf]

I use Savage long actions for everything including 223.

 

[mac86951]

Seeing the trend in PRS to flatter shooting 6mm cartridges; I may be of a different opinion. A short action has many benefits in PRS which make a long action superfluous. Yes the long shots will be easier with long action high BC cartridges; but for unknown distances under 1k yards and competing against the .243s. I'd recommend sticking with a 123gr in a 260 with a short action. There are a ton of reasons for my suggestion; but in the end the difference between 140gr and 123gr; long action and short action is what gets you to the range more and how much you practice. PRS local matches are a blast and just a hunting rifle can perform just fine for your first few learning sessions.

-Mac

 

[VaRandy]

I will take some from column B and column E!

You said PRS. For starters determine the bullet based on what is working for the winning guys. Likely a 130 grain. Since you are having the weapon BUILT use a premium short action, provide the gunsmith with a dummy of the round you are building for....i.e. make no concessions, it is a CUSTOM build Short action all the way. Smith should be able to confirm bottom metal will work with your chosen round length.

 

[spife7980]

I will take some from column B and column E!

You said PRS. For starters determine the bullet based on what is working for the winning guys. Likely a 130 grain. Since you are having the weapon BUILT use a premium short action, provide the gunsmith with a dummy of the round you are building for....i.e. make no concessions, it is a CUSTOM build Short action all the way. Smith should be able to confirm bottom metal will work with your chosen round length.

If youre only going to load 130s then go short, its the 147 and new 150s that I might entertain the thought of a long action for but even then...

 

[Zero333]

Short action with a AICS pattern DBM that allows a max COAL of 2.990", like the newer Accurate Mag mags. I have 1 older Accurate mag that allows only 2.86" coal. The newer ones I have allow 2.990".

Like someone else stated. the 140 hybrid seated to the ideal depth would make the COAL roughly 2.980"-2.990"ish. In reality seating the bullet deeper than ideal has not given me any problems whatsoever.

 

[Grimstod]

Forget the 260 and get a 6.5x47. It functions flawlessly in a short action and you will never have to worry about magazine lenth even when running really long bullets.

 

[Sniper338]

I have one on a defiance devient action with the "seekins cut mag well". feeds from an AI mag with the front plate in the mag taken out. seats 140 bergers out of the case just right, nice and long. reamer is a 260 tactical. works great.

 

[Zero333]

I agree with Grimstod...

Forget the 260 and get on the 6.5x47 Lapua band wagon !
I bet my left pinky finger you will not regret it.

 

[Rope2horns]

Like someone else stated. the 140 hybrid seated to the ideal depth would make the COAL roughly 2.980"-2.990"ish. In reality seating the bullet deeper than ideal has not given me any problems whatsoever.

Mine was a donut making machine other than that it was great.

+1 on the 6.5x47L.

 

[HTSmith]

With a Berger 140 hybrid seated just above the neck/shoulder junction, you'll wind up with a COAL of around 2.990". A standard SA Remington should be able to eject that length, but the rub is with the magazine length. A long action gives you alot more flexibility.

No go on ejecting a live round. You'll have to pull the bolt.

 

[AckleymanII]

6.5x47 Lapua will solve a lot of issues, especially if you have a Wyatt's mag box installed

 

[Jarhead6870]

Your opening post mentions "Precision Rifle type work" which, in my mind, doesn't necessarily mean PRS competitions. If I were building a .260 for work/use with the longer, BC friendly projectiles, I'd go LA. Now, if I were looking at shooting PRS, then I'd change calibers and go SA.