.260 Remington
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VoodooMountain
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It's been on the way out for a long time. Twist rate, ability to set the bullet properly, available ammo, and currently available rifles play a large role.
T.R.
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That's the way it seems. The 260 filled a very narrow gap between .243 and 7mm-08 and did so nicely.
TR
TR
horsemen61
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If Remington had done it right this wouldn’t be happening and the Creedmoor would’ve never been made they dropped the ball here
If you load your own, all you need is a rifle. I have both and love then almost equally, but the Creedmor has better factory backing.
The .260 is a great round, that is easy/cheaper to load for (cheap .243 brass) imo. But if reloading is removed from the equation, it would not be a smart move to buy a .260 over a 6.5 Creed.
The .260 is a great round, that is easy/cheaper to load for (cheap .243 brass) imo. But if reloading is removed from the equation, it would not be a smart move to buy a .260 over a 6.5 Creed.
Legionnaire
Contributing Member
If I were starting from scratch, I might go the Creedmoor route. But I have always been a fan of the .308 Winchester and the various cartridges built on that case. I have a couple of .260 Remingtons and love them. I am also building a .260 Ackley Improved. Still have a couple of .308s, but most of my shooting recently has been with a .243 Win, .243 Ackley Improved, and the .260 Remington. The Ackley versions of the .243 and .260 are hand load propositions, but they have significantly more horsepower than the 6mm and 6.5mm Creedmoors. So I won't be buying a Creedmoor any time soon, even though I think they are fantastic cartridges. And I agree that Remington should have offered rifles in both .243 and .260 with faster twist barrels (edit: earlier than they did), at least as an option.
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Legionnaire
Contributing Member
That would be my guess. The .260 Remington, although an excellent cartridge, never really caught on. The 6.5 Creedmoor (with the 6mm right behind it) has taken the long range competition world by storm. It is also a very effective hunting cartridge on medium game. As a mild-shooting and capable round, it has really taken off.
Captcurt
Member
I have had 3 Creedmoors, one Swede, and one 260. Nearly triplets on paper until you start talking long range. Even then you need to stretch it beyond 500 yards to see any advantage for the CM. I must confess that the Ruger 77 Compact that I had in 260 was nearly perfect for my kind of whitetail hunting. A 120gr Speer HotCor was a perfect recipe for backstrap.
DLrocket89
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My friend has a 260 that he loves...we both like things that aren't "mainstream" (or at least as mainstream as the CM).
We both handload everything, so from that perspective it's a complete wash...possibly even cheaper/easier for the 260 than the CM because you can use 308 brass for the 260.
That said, if I had to go with a short action 6.5, I'd get a 6.5x47 Lapua.
We both handload everything, so from that perspective it's a complete wash...possibly even cheaper/easier for the 260 than the CM because you can use 308 brass for the 260.
That said, if I had to go with a short action 6.5, I'd get a 6.5x47 Lapua.
Yes
It should be no surprise that the Creedmoor is more popular than the 260. The 260 started as a wildcat used in highpower and long-range competition. It came about for the same reasons as the CM is popular, lower recoil than the 308 and high BC bullets. Hornady was smart enough to ask USMC rifle team member/national champion Dennis Demille to tweek the cartridge a bit with some minor improvements.
That, coupled with an aggressive marketing campaign by Hornady propelled the CM to the forefront. Remington, on the other hand, just plastered their name on the 260 and let it fend for itself.
That, coupled with an aggressive marketing campaign by Hornady propelled the CM to the forefront. Remington, on the other hand, just plastered their name on the 260 and let it fend for itself.
Archie
Member
.260 Remington has always struck me as an updated version of the 6.5x55 Swede. According to the Lyman #50 reloading manual, it shoots the same bullets faster than the Swede. Since the older round has been killing up to elk sized critters reliably since 1894 or so, the .260 Rem round should do as well.
But it seems the round is rather ignored. Pity.
But it seems the round is rather ignored. Pity.
The 260 never really caught on. It is possible to load both 260 and 6.5X55 to beat 6.5 Creedmoor, but you can't do it with factory ammo or factory rifles.
The 6.5X55 was designed in 1892 for 160 gr RN ammo and because of all the old rifles pressure is kept low in factory loads. Also there are wide variations in factory rifle chambers tolerances making accuracy unpredictable. With modern rifles and hand loads it will beat either 260 or 6.5CM.
The 260 was designed around 120-130 gr bullets and actually holds more powder than 6.5 CM. But when long range shooters started using longer 140-147 gr bullets they had to seat them too deep and it reduced available powder space. Plus the barrels are twisted wrong for the longer bullets. Their solution was custom rifles with barrels and chambers cut for longer bullets and mag boxes modified for them. Hand loads were loaded with bullets loaded longer than standard.
The 6.5CM offers shooters the exact same performance target shooters using 260's were getting from custom guns and loads in an off the shelf package. At considerable less cost. Most shooters saw a 260 with 120 gr bullets as a small step up over 243. But when you start shooting 140+ gr bullets it is a legitimate big game option capable of any game you'd hunt with a 270.
If some one has a 260 and likes I can understand not wanting to change. But if contemplating anything in 6.5 caliber the Creedmoor is really the only way to go. Unless you're just a rifle looney who likes to tinker and spend a lot more money to get the same performance. Lots of others have figured out the same and that is why the 260 is soon to be dead. The 6.5X55 will always be around because of the historical implications.
The 6.5X55 was designed in 1892 for 160 gr RN ammo and because of all the old rifles pressure is kept low in factory loads. Also there are wide variations in factory rifle chambers tolerances making accuracy unpredictable. With modern rifles and hand loads it will beat either 260 or 6.5CM.
The 260 was designed around 120-130 gr bullets and actually holds more powder than 6.5 CM. But when long range shooters started using longer 140-147 gr bullets they had to seat them too deep and it reduced available powder space. Plus the barrels are twisted wrong for the longer bullets. Their solution was custom rifles with barrels and chambers cut for longer bullets and mag boxes modified for them. Hand loads were loaded with bullets loaded longer than standard.
The 6.5CM offers shooters the exact same performance target shooters using 260's were getting from custom guns and loads in an off the shelf package. At considerable less cost. Most shooters saw a 260 with 120 gr bullets as a small step up over 243. But when you start shooting 140+ gr bullets it is a legitimate big game option capable of any game you'd hunt with a 270.
If some one has a 260 and likes I can understand not wanting to change. But if contemplating anything in 6.5 caliber the Creedmoor is really the only way to go. Unless you're just a rifle looney who likes to tinker and spend a lot more money to get the same performance. Lots of others have figured out the same and that is why the 260 is soon to be dead. The 6.5X55 will always be around because of the historical implications.
Legionnaire
Contributing Member
^^ Very good explanation. Call me a "rifle looney!" 
Varminterror
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While Remington is famous for REPEATEDLY “dropping the ball” with their marketing campaigns, or lack thereof, rather, I don’t think the rest of this sentiment is at all apt. I feel like a broken record here of late, but this kind of statement keeps popping up.
This is much like saying the .308win never would have been made because the 30-06 existed, or the .30-06 because the .303 was in place, or the 300wm, 300rum, 30TC, 300 Dakota, 300wsm, 300wby, 30-378wby, 300rsaum, etc etc etc... or play the game with 22cals - 222 Rem was around, why make a 223? Then why a .22-250? A .22-243? 22-6? .220 Swift, 221fireball, 22 Hornet, Nosler, Valkyrie... or maybe in the 6mm’s, 243win, 6BR, 6XC, Dasher, 244rem, wby, 6rem, 243wssm, 6-284, 6-06... Remington, Savage, Ruger, Marlin, Weatherby, Howa, Tikka... Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, Sprite, A&W... F-150, Ram, Silverado, Tundra... Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Asics, Brooks, Under Armour, Solomon...
There really weren’t - and aren’t - many 6.5mm short action cartridges. The x55 Swede and 6.5-284, 6.5-06, .264wm, etc are all long action cartridges (or mid lengths at best) if you want to stretch them out with heavy, high BC bullets. There really weren’t many in the short action length, heck, even the .260rem struggles to fit comfortably in short action repeaters with the long pills. So it was basically the 6.5 rem mag (another Rem marketing debacle), and the 260 in the short action 6.5mm game...
With half to a dozen 30 cal cartridges doing roughly the same ballistic performance, it’s kinda silly for guys to claim the 6.5 creed wouldn’t be around if the .260rem had been better marketed.
I’d argue the contrary - if the 260rem would have been more popular early on, we would have seen a lot more cartridge competition in the 6.5mm short action space, so something like the 6.5 Creed would have came along decades ago...
With both standing side by side on the shelf, there are modest advantages for buying the 6.5creed version over the .260, and not as much advantage for buying the .260... It’s not quite as simple as “flip a coin,” or “6 of one, half dozen the other.” The Creed has a stranglehold on the lead between the two, with no reason to let go.
Legionnaire
Contributing Member
Link: http://soldiersystems.net/2018/03/23/ussocom-adopts-6-5-cm/
So to get back to the OP's original question, I don't know if the .260 Rem will ever fade away completely, but it looks like the 6.5 Creedmoor is going to keep growing its market share. And economies of scale would suggest costs will favor the 6.5 CM over the .260 Rem for a long time to come.
So to get back to the OP's original question, I don't know if the .260 Rem will ever fade away completely, but it looks like the 6.5 Creedmoor is going to keep growing its market share. And economies of scale would suggest costs will favor the 6.5 CM over the .260 Rem for a long time to come.
Captcurt
Member
One reason that the Swede falls behind is the original rifles did not have as strong of an action as the 98 Mauser. Modern guns and better powders available today make the Swede a contender with both the 260 and the Creedmoor. All three are so close ballistically that you can flip a coin.
eastbank
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I will not be selling my 3 .260,s, I can get close to 3000 fps with the hornady 129 gr sst bullet and close to 2800 fps with the 140 gr sst hornady with a 24" barrel and 1-8 twist. how much better can the 6.5 CM be? for killing big deer-moose or like size animals out past 300 yards I much prefer a 7mm or 30 caliber rifle. and with the lazar range finders of today there is not much guessing about the range, tho larger calibers may drop more they carry more energy out there.
CoalTrain49
Member
I'm still waiting to see what the military does. If they adopt either the 6.5 CM or the 260 that's what I will buy. I'm hoping it's a 260 because I have a lot of 308 brass I can covert. It looks to be a one step process.
I might just buy a 260 anyway. Who builds rifles for that cartridge? Are Remington's worth the money? I've never owned one but hear some negative comments about the new ones.
Looks like it truly is a dying cartridge. Some new Tikka's and Rugers on GB for under $500.
I might just buy a 260 anyway. Who builds rifles for that cartridge? Are Remington's worth the money? I've never owned one but hear some negative comments about the new ones.
Looks like it truly is a dying cartridge. Some new Tikka's and Rugers on GB for under $500.
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cowboy77
Member
I have both in Tikka XTR rifles 20 inch in the 260 and 24 inch barrel on the 6.5. I am very fond of both as a Reloader. Starline 243 brass is easily made into 260 brass not so expensive. Both of mine are 1-8 twists and shoot great. They both use same bullets so no issue there. Both are very fond of H4350 powder for great groups. I get just a little more velocity at the chronograph from the 260 verses the 6.5 but I am keeping both as long as time will let me. If you reload you would find it hard to make either one of these rifles do a bad group. I wouldn't know about factory ammo because I have never ran any through either rifle.
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