500-1000 rifle. Savage model 12 LRP in 260 Remington?

[Danattherock]

Hijacks are inevitable. Contributed to a few myself.


I am not familiar with 6.5, 260, 6.5-285, etc. only read about them. I live in a rural part of NC where the 30-30 is still king. Most rifle talk involves deer hunting. Lots of folks shooting 243, 270, and assorted 300 mags. Overpowered deer rifles pretty much are the norm. My interests in shooting are fairly rare in these parts. The competitions will have me driving 3-4 hours up to western Virginia. Yep, I am as green as they come to your world of long range precision.

I got a $400 Walmart 300 Wby Vanguard that shoots 0.75" with 4350 and 168 amax. An Armalite AR50 50 bmg that has no range around here to enjoy its abilities (soon to be one). And more recently Barnes Precision ar15's with 16" stainless Montana barrels that seem 1/2 MOA capable. Working up a Varget and 69 SMK load now that has gave me 0.885" eight shot group. Working up 77 SMK loads next for 300-600 yard work. I am not new to rifles, but the stuff I read about here is like a foreign language and I am very intrigued.

I am familiar with the capabilities of a 308, having shot my buddies police 700 in 308. Any comparison involving a 260 and a 308 would be helpful. Especially since I can see, touch, and buy a 308 locally. I am intrigued by some of the stuff I read about the other calibers, that you guys seem quite familiar with. I just don't know what real world comparisons could be made between them and a 308, or say the 300 Wby that I own.


Dan

 

[TonyR]

I like to get on that bet about Erik!

Ok guys, so how many takers do I have? I might even take the week off if you guys put up enough money! ;D

I did not try out for main team. I attended one of the four tryouts for the final team before I had to withdraw from the team. I made the development team and went to Ireland to shoot Creedmoor cup as a member of the USA F-Open team and have two good medals to prove it. Family and business issues forced me to withdraw and I do not regret that decision at all.

Was that gold in the individual or team match at the creedmoor cup? Just curious. Good shooting regardless I'm sure.

Must have been the team as I have the scores for the Individuals and they are as follows:

1 Larry Bartholome
2 John Brewer
3 Robert Bock
4 Rick Jensen
5 Don Nagel
6 Jim Murphy
7 John Campbell
8 Bob Mead
9 Larry Taite
10 Conner Murphy
11 Erik Cortina
12 Kevin McKenna
13 Liam Fenion
14 Stephen Hogan
15 Joe Melia

Erik shot on the Team that won Gold in the USA-Europe match and another Gold on the team that won the Creedmoor match. He shot very well as usual. And he was not shooting a Savage! :

 

[Erik Cortina]

Hijacks are inevitable. Contributed to a few myself.


I am not familiar with 6.5, 260, 6.5-285, etc. only read about them. I am familiar with the capabilities of a 308, having shot my buddies police 700 in 308. Any comparison involving a 260 and a 308 would be helpful. Especially since I can see, touch, and buy a 308 locally. I am intrigued by some of the stuff I read about the other calibers, that you guys seem quite familiar with. I just don't know what real world comparisons could be made between them and a 308, or say the 300 Wby that I own.


Dan

First of all, we assume you will handload for this rifle. If so, a 260 is a great candidate as is the 6.5x47 Lapua and the 6.5 Creedmoor. All three of these 6.5's will have less recoil than .308 with flatter trajectory, but will give up some barrel life when compared to the .308, but not enough to matter IMO

The 6.5 Creemoor I believe only Hornady brass is available for it, the 6.5x47 Lapua has Lapua brass available for it, and the .260 you can get Remington, Winchester, and Lapua.

You can look up loads for the .260 as compared to the .308 and input the values into http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi and compare the two in energy and flatness. If I were shooting tactical matches, I would shoot a 6.5 x 47 Lapua, but the .260 would work great as well.

 

[Danattherock]

Thanks Erik. Do appreciate the input and the link.

Why would you suggest the 6.5 x 47?


Dan

 

[Erik Cortina]

Thanks Erik. Do appreciate the input and the link.

Why would you suggest the 6.5 x 47?


Dan

The 6.5x47 allows you to seat the bullet far out and still keep the loaded round below max magazine length, thus allowing full use of powder capacity. The 6.5x47 Lapua also has a small primer pocket, so the brass can withstand higher pressures and brass life is longer. Small primer is also believed to contribute to lower ES.

 

[Buzz]

Thanks Erik. Do appreciate the input and the link.

Why would you suggest the 6.5 x 47?


Dan

The 6.5x47 allows you to seat the bullet far out and still keep the loaded round below max magazine length, thus allowing full use of powder capacity. The 6.5x47 Lapua also has a small primer pocket, so the brass can withstand higher pressures and brass life is longer. Small primer is also believed to contribute to lower ES.

And maybe because of his signature line too. "Member - Lapua Team USA."

I have a 6.5x47 lapua and love the thing. Efficient, accurate, easy to shoot, and will handle pretty much the full range of 6.5 pills.

 

[Jet]

Good article:

https://demigodllc.com/articles/6.5-shootout-260-6.5x47-6.5-creedmoor/?p=1

 

[Erik Cortina]

Thanks Erik. Do appreciate the input and the link.

Why would you suggest the 6.5 x 47?


Dan

The 6.5x47 allows you to seat the bullet far out and still keep the loaded round below max magazine length, thus allowing full use of powder capacity. The 6.5x47 Lapua also has a small primer pocket, so the brass can withstand higher pressures and brass life is longer. Small primer is also believed to contribute to lower ES.

And maybe because of his signature line too. "Member - Lapua Team USA."

I have a 6.5x47 lapua and love the thing. Efficient, accurate, easy to shoot, and will handle pretty much the full range of 6.5 pills.

I was shooting a 6.5x47 Lapua before I was lucky enough to join Lapua Team USA. But yes, I find it to be an awesome cartridge.

Ryan Pierce (Lapua/Brux F-Open team member) just won the WI midrange Championship over the weekend with a 6.5x47 Lapua and Brux barrel. He shot a a 1398-102X out of a possible 1400-140X.
His scores were as follows:
200-12X
200-18X
200-16X
200-15X
200-15X
198-11X
200-15X

Ryan is a great shooter, but the gun did it's part as well as you can see by his "X" count.

 

[Buzz]

I was just giving you a hard time Erik. I've read enough of your posts to vouch for the fact you're not mindlessly pushing your sponsor's products.

 

[boltman223]

Thanks Erik. Do appreciate the input and the link.

Why would you suggest the 6.5 x 47?


Dan

The 6.5x47 allows you to seat the bullet far out and still keep the loaded round below max magazine length, thus allowing full use of powder capacity. The 6.5x47 Lapua also has a small primer pocket, so the brass can withstand higher pressures and brass life is longer. Small primer is also believed to contribute to lower ES.

And maybe because of his signature line too. "Member - Lapua Team USA."

I have a 6.5x47 lapua and love the thing. Efficient, accurate, easy to shoot, and will handle pretty much the full range of 6.5 pills.

I was shooting a 6.5x47 Lapua before I was lucky enough to join Lapua Team USA. But yes, I find it to be an awesome cartridge.

Ryan Pierce (Lapua/Brux F-Open team member) just won the WI midrange Championship over the weekend with a 6.5x47 Lapua and Brux barrel. He shot a a 1398-102X out of a possible 1400-140X.
His scores were as follows:
200-12X
200-18X
200-16X
200-15X
200-15X
198-11X
200-15X

Ryan is a great shooter, but the gun did it's part as well as you can see by his "X" count.

So are you saying that his good x count is because of the gun not his ability to read the wind? 😉 just teasing

 

[Erik Cortina]

Thanks Erik. Do appreciate the input and the link.

Why would you suggest the 6.5 x 47?


Dan

The 6.5x47 allows you to seat the bullet far out and still keep the loaded round below max magazine length, thus allowing full use of powder capacity. The 6.5x47 Lapua also has a small primer pocket, so the brass can withstand higher pressures and brass life is longer. Small primer is also believed to contribute to lower ES.

And maybe because of his signature line too. "Member - Lapua Team USA."

I have a 6.5x47 lapua and love the thing. Efficient, accurate, easy to shoot, and will handle pretty much the full range of 6.5 pills.

I was shooting a 6.5x47 Lapua before I was lucky enough to join Lapua Team USA. But yes, I find it to be an awesome cartridge.

Ryan Pierce (Lapua/Brux F-Open team member) just won the WI midrange Championship over the weekend with a 6.5x47 Lapua and Brux barrel. He shot a a 1398-102X out of a possible 1400-140X.
His scores were as follows:
200-12X
200-18X
200-16X
200-15X
200-15X
198-11X
200-15X

Ryan is a great shooter, but the gun did it's part as well as you can see by his "X" count.

So are you saying that his good x count is because of the gun not his ability to read the wind?

You can be the best wind reader in the world, but if you gun is shooting 6" vertical you will not find the 3" X ring that often. So you need both, a good wind reader and a good shooting gun, and as I pointed out, they both did a great job.

 

[chromatica]

I did a lot of research before settling on .260. Generally, the .260 has exterior ballistics that rival the .300 Win Mag with half the recoil. I know from experience that a lower recoil rifle will improve my accuracy. The smaller bullet has less energy and therefore less stopping power, but I was only planning on shooting paper and steel targets. I knew I would be reloading, but I wanted to be able to buy ammo off the shelf in a pinch. 260 is more available on store shelves than the other 6.5 cartridges. My first build has been a target rifle, but I am considering a hunting build in the same caliber.

 

[chromatica]

My favorite load for .260 is:

Sierra MatchKing 123 gr HPBT (these buggers can be hard to find)
Hornady .260 brass
CCI Primers
IMR-4064 loaded for a nominal 2700 fps (mid-range in the Sierra Reloading Manual)

 

[nhm16]

If I were shooting tactical matches, I would shoot a 6.5 x 47 Lapua, but the .260 would work great as well.

From what I can tell, in most tactical matches you won't be able to recover all your brass. At $1.02 a piece, I'd cry if I had to leave my 6.5x47L brass behind on the ground. For that reason alone, of the three middleweight 6.5's I think it's the least suited for tactical matches. You can get loaded 6.5 Creedmoor ammo (with a 140gr AMAX) for around $1.30 a round, and I'd feel much better about leaving that brass behind. Similarly, I have Remington .260 brass that was cheap as heck ($0.36 a piece) and shoots surprisingly well.

 

[Erik Cortina]

This should be helpful to shooters looking to get into tactical matches.

http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-bolt-action-rifles/157708-tactical-shooters-equipment-what-pros-use.html

 

[kev77]

Well I shoot a 260 lrp for fun, it shoots very well.Would i take it to a mid range fclass match,only if my 6.5x47 blew up.The 6.5x47 is more accurate hands down but the 260 is still very good.I think i have shoot 10-11000 rounds from my 6.5x47 rifle and about 5000 from a 260 f-class and lrp. If you want to win 6.5x47!!!! NO BULL hope this helps

 

[Rockfish Dave]

Sounds like the OP has decided on the 260 Rem.

For a rifle have you given any thought to a custom?

I built mine on a custom action ( bighorn, deviant or bat; something with a integral recoil lug). Mine uses a mcree chassis. All in mine cost 2600 with a remage barrel, using a Savage style barrel nut.

Not the cheapest but very happy with it. No need for me to ever upgrade a thing.