What's the next step up from a .260?

[Yoshi]

I have been shooting LR for about 2 years now and started with a .308 and moved to a .260. I still have both and love equally. But, I find myself wanting to reach out further and further.

Many of the calibres I've been looking at seem to double the charge-weight I currently use for both my .308 & .260 (43.5gr). Not sure I am looking to jump up that far for any number of reasons. Are their intermediate options between the .260 and, say, the 338 Edge, 300 Norma, or their likes?

 

[dkhunt14]

7LRM might be a good option. It reaches out there pretty good with the heavy bullets but not near the powder of a 338 Edge. At least the recoil would be a lot less. A lot depends on how far you want to reach and what you are shooting at. Matt

 

[XTR]

The 260 is based off of the 308 case. both are designed for short actions. The 284Win is probably the next step up in capacity. From there you are looking at the short magnums, then cases based on the 375H&H, and then the really big cases.

 

[jonbearman]

Maybe if you refine your question we could better answer it for you.How far do you anticipate shooting and for what reason? Is this competition or just fun shooting?

 

[Yoshi]

Maybe if you refine your question we could better answer it for you.How far do you anticipate shooting and for what reason? Is this competition or just fun shooting?

My apologies... The main purpose is banging steel and comps.

I know that some guys try to minimize weight so that eliminates some cartridges that prefer longer barrels and slower powders, but I am not reluctant to carry a "pig".

 

[wwbrown]

280, 280 AI, 7 SAUM, or 7 RM

 

[dkhunt14]

If I was only shooting to about 1000 yards on steel I would build a 284 shehane or 7RSAUM. If I was shooting a lot farther or wanted to hunt with it at more then a 1000. I would build a 7LRM. I would also shoot the Berger 180 VLD hunting bullet. Matt

 

[Terry]

The .284 Shehane made sense to me.

 

[Yoshi]

I spent a lot of time last night searching the web, considering your suggestions and talking to friends... I think I like the sound of "7mm Rem. Mag.". Any thoughts?

As a side note, and I forgot to mention, I have severe degenerative disc disease in my neck/back and I ain't even old yet. That's another reason I want to keep the recoil down.

 

[savagedasher]

I spent a lot of time last night searching the web, considering your suggestions and talking to friends... I think I like the sound of "7mm Rem. Mag.". Any thoughts?

As a side note, and I forgot to mention, I have severe degenerative disc disease in my neck/back and I ain't even old yet. That's another reason I want to keep the recoil down.

Muzzle Break More weight or smaller bullet, is the only way to keep recoil down. Why Do you want more . You can take you 260 and change it to a 260AI and it is very close to a 6.5 284. for speed with less powder. I don't like recoil. That why I shoot the 6 mm Larry

 

[BigDMT]

I spent a lot of time last night searching the web, considering your suggestions and talking to friends... I think I like the sound of "7mm Rem. Mag.". Any thoughts?

As a side note, and I forgot to mention, I have severe degenerative disc disease in my neck/back and I ain't even old yet. That's another reason I want to keep the recoil down.

If recoil is an issue, then the 7mm SAUM is your answer. Twist it 1 in 9" and shoot 168gr-180gr Berger VLDs.

I cannot personally tell the difference in recoil between the 7mm Rem Mag and a 300 Win Mag. Both boot ya pretty dang good. The 7 SAUM is definitely more timid on recoil, but can nearly match the 7mm Rem Mag ballistics.

 

[Titandriver]

I run a 6.5 Rem mag on a 700 LA. 59.5grs H1000 with 142 MK's gives me 3120 fps without pushing it. I've gone 3250 fps with IMR7828ssc with no pressure signs and could probably go well over that if barrel life is of no concern. Case capacity is about the same as the vaunted 6.5 SAUM that GAP is pushing right now so barrel life should be pretty close to what GAP claims for theirs. Jim See built the rifle for me and it is a hammer!

Big pluses: no case forming, dies are cheap, brass life is good. Minuses: gotta stock up on brass when Remington makes it, some hate the belted case. Just another option for you to look at.

 

[afrench]

284

 

[BigDMT]

I run a 6.5 Rem mag on a 700 LA. 59.5grs H1000 with 142 MK's gives me 3120 fps without pushing it. I've gone 3250 fps with IMR7828ssc with no pressure signs and could probably go well over that if barrel life is of no concern. Case capacity is about the same as the vaunted 6.5 SAUM that GAP is pushing right now so barrel life should be pretty close to what GAP claims for theirs. Jim See built the rifle for me and it is a hammer!

Big pluses: no case forming, dies are cheap, brass life is good. Minuses: gotta stock up on brass when Remington makes it, some hate the belted case. Just another option for you to look at.


[/quotel

Im on the second barrel with my 6.5 Rem Mag. Although it is an awesome round that produces speeds leaving the 6.5-284 in the dust, its a barrel burner for sure. I maybe, and I mean MAYBE, got 700 rounds out of my first barrel pushing the 140gr Bergers at 3150-3210 fps (depending on load being used). I love the round, but something to be aware of if you want to go fast with it.

 

[Titandriver]

BigD - I'm almost at that point now with no loss of velocity or accuracy - yet! Brux barrel twisted 1x8.

 

[TonyR]

Another "step up" to consider would be the 6.5X55 GWI which is an improved 6.5X55 that Kelbly's now offers in complete rifles. According to an excellent F-Open shooter I know, you get 6.5X284 performance with much better barrel life. Lapua makes the brass and I believe it is cheaper than the .260 brass. If I ever build another 6.5, it will be one of these. If you do a search for 6.5X55 Ackley, you'll find a number of threads about improved 6.5X55 cases.

 

[GSPV]

I spent a lot of time last night searching the web, considering your suggestions and talking to friends... I think I like the sound of "7mm Rem. Mag.". Any thoughts?

As a side note, and I forgot to mention, I have severe degenerative disc disease in my neck/back and I ain't even old yet. That's another reason I want to keep the recoil down.

You can get 7 Rem Mag velocity from the 284 Shehane using Reloader 17 using less powder. Easy to form from Lapua 6.5x284 brass. Most folks are leaving the Berger VLD for the Hybrid for ease of tuning.

Recoil: hard to escape. Heavier bullets at higher velocity means more recoil, other things equal. Physics is an uncompromising bitch. All you can do is use a brake and build it heavy.

 

[BigDMT]

BigD - I'm almost at that point now with no loss of velocity or accuracy - yet! Brux barrel twisted 1x8.

You might get a litlle better life out of yours. I was hot-rodding mine at 3210 fps with RL22 in the 26" barrel for most of its life. When i noticed i had to chase the lands the first time, I backed it off a bit by finding a load with 51gr of RL17 at 3150 fps. After chasing the lands the second time, about 100 rounds later, I ran a bore scope down it. The first 3" of rifling was completely ruined due to extreme wear and fire-cracking. There was no lands left to chase.

I havent fired a single round through my new barrel yet, but I plan on keeping it around 3150 fps to get a little better life this time.

PS: I love Brux barrels. Have one on my 338-375 Ruger and it is a tack driver

 

[C. Collins]

I agree with the 284 win or shehane

 

[dennisinaz]

I have observed a very distinct and unpleasant bump in recoil in shooting my 6.5-284 hot-rodded with R17 and a 7WSM shooting 180 Bergers @3150. You want to go long, you are going to have to put up with more recoil. My real long range gun is a 340 Wby shooting 250s @ 3100+; talk about recoil! I refuse to use muzzle brakes on anything other than prairie dog rifles and that is only to see the carnage!