6.5 creedmoor OR 260

[NilesCoyote]

I have a 6.5 barrel coming. It an 8 twist and I want to throw 140g A-max and 140-130g VLD's down range at game and informal steel targets. It will be placed on a Remington 700 short action running AICS mags. This will be my first 6.5 caliber rifle and I will be loading my own ammo.

I just need to make up my mind on which chamber I want...

 

[Raptor]

You can't go wrong with either one. I do think the 260 is the faster of the three because of case cap. But the sweet spot will usually be below the top speed anyway so its just a toss up. Just pick one and you will be happy.

 

[Larryh128]

I would go with the Creedmoor for 1 important reason, probably your buddies won't have one. ;D

 

[HPMike800]

If your a mag feed guy, the Creedmoor has an advantage, it's shorter so you can keep long bullets in the neck and fit them in the mag. It's the reason the cartridge was developed. That said, 260's shoot fine with bullets deep seated - just don't push them too hard. Same as shooting 77's in a 223.

The 260 has much better and cheaper brass. Because of brass, I usually recommend the 260.

 

[7 loader]

If I read right the 260 has a slightly shorter neck, and a longer neck is better for the longer heavier bullets. But the 260 is a great round none the less.

 

[260Remshtr]

Off of the Remington Short action you could try running a .260 with the 123grn. SMK--I've found these to be extreamly accurate out to 600yrds, and just short enough to function well in a short action. That being said my rifle's throat sits at about 2.87, so it is about max for magazine length anyway. Brass is fairly cheap and now that Lapua has brass available for the .260 it is that much better than the Creedmor which only has one brass supplier unless you want to form your own. I currently run a .260 with 44.0grns of H4350 and a 142SMK, CCI 200 primer, for about 2905fps. In the 123's out of my .260 I ran 43.5grns of H4350 with CCI 200's for about 3012fps. With the 123's I shot a .29 in. inside to inside group, with the 142's it was .062 inside to inside.

 

[brian427cobra]

I have a 260 now that I shoot in Practical Tactical matches, my next barrel will be another 260, single source of brass is a turn off for me, but the CM is a bad ass round with factory avialable match ammo that some one I know won the Snipers Hide Cup with

 

[Rock Knocker]

You wouldnt regret ether one but i sure love my 260AI.

 

[kyreloader]

With Lapua making 22-250 brass, the brass argument goes away for me a little bit. 6.5 CM brass is an easy fireform step away by using 22-250 brass.

I like the long neck and shorter case for magazine fed reasons.

6.5 CM would be my choice.

 

[2644ever]

Although I am an early fan of the Creed, I would recommend the .260 over the Creed' any day for the very same reason I would choose the 6.5-06 over the 6.5-284:
Availability of basic brass anywhere anytime. Never paint yourself in a corner.
JMHO

 

[kyreloader]

Although I am an early fan of the Creed, I would recommend the .260 over the Creed' any day for the very same reason I would choose the 6.5-06 over the 6.5-284:
Availability of basic brass anywhere anytime. Never paint yourself in a corner.
JMHO

How hard is it to get .22-250 brass?

6.5CM is a 6.5-250AI.

(FYI, Norma, Nosler, Hornady and Lapua all make 6.5x284 brass)

 

[2644ever]

Agreed. But the catch was "anywhere anytime"... In an emergency (not enough ammo )I want to be able to drive to the nearest pawn shop in Cactus Junction AZ or White Sheets MS and buy .308 or .30-06 brass by the bucket. I wouldn't ruin a day of shooting because I assume everybody has .22-250 brass in store.

 

[offgrid]

Have 2200 rds on my 6.5CM. Very happy with the performance shooting 130vld's. Disappointed with the brass, only getting 4-5 loads. When the barrel is toast, will re-barrel/chamber to a 260 because of the now available Lapua brass.

 

[flatlander]

I built a 6.5x47 on a M700 using BO M5 bottom metal & AICS magazines. There's plenty of room to seat long/heavy bullets in the Lapua case and still fit these magzines. Also built a DPMS AR10 & Eliseo RTS tubegun both chambered for the little 6.5 Lapua, and have been very pleased with both.

If I were doing it again, I might well have gone with a 6.5XC or Creedmoor in the AR10, simply due to the cost of Lapua brass. There's not a lot of difference in case capacity between the 6.5x47 & the Creedmoor - main difference is that the Lapua case uses small primers.

Dunno much about the 260, other than a few friends who've had them really liked 'em, and that Little Miss Sure-shot Sherry Gallagher won Perry with one last year. I've got a 260 reamer with a rather short throat that was intended for use with mag-length ammo, and have been tempted to try a bbl. on one of my rifles. Too many toys, and not enough time to play with 'em....

 

[Rock Knocker]

With my 260AI I am getting my 140gr noslers moving at 3000fps with 47.3gr R19 in a 30" barrel. I know that isnt saying much, but that is flying right along side a 6.5x284 in a tighter package, that cant happen with a Creedmoor.

 

[memilanuk]

Agreed. But the catch was "anywhere anytime"... In an emergency (not enough ammo )I want to be able to drive to the nearest pawn shop in Cactus Junction AZ or White Sheets MS and buy .308 or .30-06 brass by the bucket. I wouldn't ruin a day of shooting because I assume everybody has .22-250 brass in store.

Given the perennial popularity of the .22-250 for varmint/predator hunting for oh, say, the last 50 years or so... I'd say thats a pretty safe assumption.

Otherwise... sounds like a case of poor planning (not enough ammo, that is)!!!

 

[boltman13]

I don't regret my 6.5 CM build on a Rem 40X action, Hart barrel. Shoots great, either Berger 140 VLD's or Lapua 139's and 42.5 grs of H-4350, which is the Hornady factory load with a different bullet. Brass is holding up well with that load and I get 2788 fps from a 29" barrel with no preasure signs. Works well out to 1K yds for me. I am sure a quality build with a 260 Rem could do just as well, so I don't think eith choice would be a bad one.

 

[15Tango]

With my 260AI I am getting my 140gr noslers moving at 3000fps with 47.3gr R19 in a 30" barrel. I know that isnt saying much, but that is flying right along side a 6.5x284 in a tighter package, that cant happen with a Creedmoor.

Not true. When I had my Creedmoor I was load testing pushing things to see how far I could go, I had one 140 grain load that was hitting 3100 FPS.

This brass argument is completely inane with comparing these two cartridges and many others. Look at how deep we all are into this hobby and how much we enjoy working with different cartridges and the work that goes into our brass prep. All that and we're going to use the argument for being able to find cheap off the wall factory ammo as an argument for being pro or con a cartridge? In case we forgot all our custom tailored, work heavy brass and ammunition we intensly labored over? Give me a break. Give real information that's unbiased that the OP can use to compare the two and come up with his own determination.

-They'll both shoot the same velocities, and the 140s typically have a sweet spot velocity around 2900 FPS and either will handily do that.

-Both can utilize Lapua brass. With the 6.5 CM you can use 22-250 or 260 brass to make it. Hell, you can make brass for either from range pick-up 243 or 7mm-08 brass if you so desire, I have and it worked out great, especially for making hunting ammo if you don't want to worry about losing the brass.

-The CM will feed long-loaded bullets from a magazine better than a 260 since in a 260 they won't fit often fit in the magazine if loaded long.

-One has a 30 degree shoulder and .008" body taper, the other doesn't giving the CM a little less bolt thrust and some think it makes it more inherently accurate and less tweaky for tuning having that design. Do you have a preference on that?

-The same dies are available for each making that a non-issue.

-Barrel life should be roughly the same, the CM might be a tad better with its 30 degree shoulder, slightly longer neck and ~5% less case capacity (when loaded).

My next bolt rifle that's going to be 6.5MM will be one of these two cartridges and I still don't know which one.

Wayne

 

[Raptor]

Wayne,

Not trying to start and argument with you but I would have to say your cronograph is way off if your getting 3100fps out of a 6.5Creedmoor with a 140gr bullet.

I will admit I don't have one and have not shot one but I am on my 4th 260 barrel and have shot out a couple of 6.5x284s so I am no rookie when it comes to the 6.5s.

When I was doing load testing for my 6.5x284 I had a couple of loads that would go 3000fps+ but only got one loading out of that brass and had one that would go 3100fps with RL22 and that blew a primer or two and ruined the brass.

I have ruined some brass on my 260 load testing and never came close to even 3000fps with a 140gr bullet. I can't imagine what the pressure would be like at that speed. Esp out of a smaller case than my 260.

 

[rcw3]

3100 fps out of a 6.5 Creedmoor with a 140 gr bullet - did the shooter live through it?