my next bolt action: 30-06?

[jason41987]

i did define my criteria, a short action savage 110 in either .308 winchester, .260 remington, or .338 federal, and right now its the 308 winchesters game to lose

one question for you though USSR, what made you decide on the 6.5x55 over the short action 6.5 calibers which are ballistically identicle?

 

[USSR]

one question for you though USSR, what made you decide on the 6.5x55 over the short action 6.5 calibers which are ballistically identicle?

After the bullets, the most important thing for LR precision shooting is high quality brass (read that as Lapua). 10 years ago when I was building the 6.5x55, there was no 6.5x47 Lapua or 6.5 Creedmoor. There was the 6.5-.284, the .260 Remington, and the 6.5x55. The 6.5-.284 was the king of the hill at the time, and Lapua brass was available for it. However, it was typically not loaded to it's full potential because it was a barrel burner. Figure on replacing the barrel after 900 to 1200 rounds to maintain top accuracy. Also, when you load the 6.5-.284 with a 140gr bullet seated so that it doesn't intrude into the case body and reduce the amount of space for powder, it is too long to fit a short action magazine. So, you essentially had a single shot rifle unless you built it on a long action, which many guys did. The .260 Remington was the new kid on the block with a lot of adherents. However, since Lapua brass was not available for it, most guys were either necking up .243 Lapua brass or necking down .308 Lapua brass. Couldn't see myself going to all that trouble. Now, the 6.5x55 had an excellent reputation as an accurate round, Lapua brass is readily available, and I was convinced that I could match the typical 6.5-.284 velocity of 2900-2950fps with 139-142gr bullets; and I did. It's a pussy cat to shoot compared to the .30-06 slinging 190SMK's at 2900fps.

Don

 

[jason41987]

hmm.. interesting, i wonder though what the longest cartridge that can fit into the savage 110 is?... i notice the 300WSM is quite a bit longer than the 308 but still fits.. and im starting to lean more on the 260 remington after doing more ballistics calculations.. though the 308 and 338 bullets are less effected by wind, the 6.5mm is so much faster that even though it is pushed by wind easier, its so far down range by time it moves the projectile the same distance off target that it actually drifts less than the 308, with a flatter trajectory and less recoil.. so .260 remington in the lead

 

[USSR]

.. though the 308 and 338 bullets are less effected by wind, the 6.5mm is so much faster that even though it is pushed by wind easier, its so far down range by time it moves the projectile the same distance off target that it actually drifts less than the 308...

Actually, no. The .308 bullets are not effected by the wind less than 6.5mm bullets, they are effected more. And it has little to do with velocity. If you take a match .308 bullet such as the 190SMK and drive it at the same velocity as a 6.5mm bullet such as the Lapua 139gr Scenar, in a 10 mph crosswind at 1,000 yards, the .308 bullet will drift nearly 2 feet more than the 6.5mm Scenar. The reason is the 6.5mm match bullets have a much higher BC than most .308 match bullets, and as such are both flatter shooter and less effected by wind.

Don

 

[jason41987]

i was actually doing my ballistics tests with the 123 grain hornady a-max bullet... .510 ballistic coefficiency with a 123 grain bullet is quite aerodynamic, and light enough to have a considerable amount of velocity.. so the load i was looking at i believe was 150-200fps faster than the 168 grain 308 i was looking at...

its an interesting cartridge for sure.. im really starting to lean that way.. im kind of curious how the 260 remington is going to chamber in a semi automatic?.. if i go this route with the savage, my next rifle i plan to rebarrel a saiga 308 or FAL for the same cartridge

 

[MtnCreek]

I would think it would chamber as well as a .308w. The magazine may require seating the bullet a little deeper than you may otherwise want, but if you're talking saiga or fal, accuracy probably isn't goal #1 anyway.

Pick a flavor of 6.5 (260, 6.5cm, ...) with a barrel twist of 1:8 (or even 1:8.5) and start shooting it. If you wanted to go .308win, that would be a good choice too, but it would put you at a ballistic disadvantage compared to other cartridges.

There is no perfect cartridge and no perfect rifle. Pick one and start shooting it already!

 

[Reloadron]

its an interesting cartridge for sure.. im really starting to lean that way.. im kind of curious how the 260 remington is going to chamber in a semi automatic?.. if i go this route with the savage, my next rifle i plan to rebarrel a saiga 308 or FAL for the same cartridge

Years ago I chambered a M1 Garand in the 7mm-08 Remington and today if I want one I can buy an AR-10 chambered in the 260 Remington, so I can't see why any other semi-automatic rifle couldn't be chambered in the 260 Remington?

Ron

 

[USSR]

If you're serious about 1,000 yard shooting as you stated in the OP, then you're going to shoot the 139 - 142gr bullets, and not the 123gr Scenar. Any difference in velocity with the 123gr bullet will not make up for the lower BC in comparison to the heavier bullets. I shot alongside 6.5mm shooters for many years in 1,000 yard F Class competition, and nobody shot the 123gr Scenars. This is why I stated earlier that you need to do much more research about LR shooting before you commit to anything.

Don

 

[jason41987]

i did a side by side test of hornadys a-max 123 grain with a ballistic coefficiency of .510 at 3,000fps, and their 140 a-max with a BC of .585 at 2800fps, the 140 even with a BC of only .75 more and 200fps less velocity was still ballistically superior, with less drop and less drift...

reason i did the ballistics test with the a-maxs and not lapuas is i wanted a test with bullets im more likely to use on a daily basis

sounds good then, 260 remington 1-8 inch twist, and tune my hand loads around 140 grains, probably with a medium varmint contour, or something similar, im not going to go with a bull barrel.. way too much weight for something thats not going to be benchrest