260 or 6.5x55 in T3 Varmint

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buckhunter49

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I'm about to order a T3 Varmint and am trying to decide which one of these to go for. I want it to plink away at the range and practice long distance shooting as well as my sit on stand deer rifle. I also want to have it as my back up to my 300wsm for moose hunts. Out of these 2 caliber which would you choose?
Thanks
 
buckhunter49 said:
I'm about to order a T3 Varmint and am trying to decide which one of these to go for. I want it to plink away at the range and practice long distance shooting as well as my sit on stand deer rifle. I also want to have it as my back up to my 300wsm for moose hunts. Out of these 2 caliber which would you choose?
Thanks
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I myself am really wanting to buy a 260 rem as of late but because of the holidays can't justify it. Depending on how accurate you and the rifle become it's hard to pick one over the other. In the end of go with a 6.5x55 because you're wishing to shoot moose with it.
 
If I am not mistaken, all Tikkas are a long action regardless of caliber aren't they? If that is in fact the case, I would go with the 6.5x55, because you aren't gaining anything by going with the 260.

If you were picking between a 260 in a short action, or a 6.5x55 in a long action, I'd start to lean towards the 260, but I dont know the 260 well enough to know if it can load 160-grain loads from the magazine. Can anyone comment on this?? (I guess that partly depends on the rifle in question, as mag dimensions vary somewhat?)
 
the 260 would come with the short magazine and bolt stop wouldnt it? my 6.5x55 has the long magazine i would pick the 6.5x55. you can seat long bullets where you want. i have heard the creedmoor is the answer to the 260 being too long for the long bullets in a short action so why not go the other way to the 6.5x55 if the 260 is not optimum. i am talking about the tikka action long and short magazine same action length
 
porpoise said:
the 260 would come with the short magazine and bolt stop wouldnt it? my 6.5x55 has the long magazine i would pick the 6.5x55. you can seat long bullets where you want. i have heard the creedmoor is the answer to the 260 being too long for the long bullets in a short action so why not go the other way to the 6.5x55 if the 260 is not optimum. i am talking about the tikka action long and short magazine same action length
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If I wanted a short action, I would want the weight savings and shorter length that comes with a smaller receiver. If I am going to carry a long action, I might as well use it to its full potential. Im a function over form kinda guy - until it comes to women. My wife is a terrible cook... lol
 
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I'd go with the 6.5x55 and that's what I ended up buying. You can get a little more velocity out of it compared to the 260 and you can load your bullets long. There's a ton of room in the mag and the throat.
 
Go for the 6.5x55.

I shoot a Tikka sporter in 260 and my girlfriend has one in 6.5x55. Both are very good shooters but the 6.5x55 gets an extra 100fps or so.

As others have said, they will both be long actions. The 260 will have a short action mag and bolt stop. The 260 is very limited by the mag when using heavy bullets.

The 6.5x55 on the other hand gets a long action bolt stop and mag. The long action mag has all the room you would ever need to seat the bullets as long as you like.

Lapua makes brass for both calibers so that's a huge plus.
 
They are the same caliber, with the 6.5x55 having a bit more case capacity, so the only real advantage will be a bit of extra velocity with the 6.5x55. I owned a T-3 Varmint Stainless in 6.5x55, a friend has the Supervarminter in 6.5x55, and another friend has the 6.5x55 in the Sporter. All three rifles shoot the same load sub 1/2moa for five shots. I also have a Cooper Phoenix in 260rem, and a Sako Bavarian carbine in 6.5x55, and I prefer the 6.5x55 over the 260rem.
 
buckhunter49 said:
I'm about to order a T3 Varmint and am trying to decide which one of these to go for. I want it to plink away at the range and practice long distance shooting as well as my sit on stand deer rifle. I also want to have it as my back up to my 300wsm for moose hunts. Out of these 2 caliber which would you choose?
Thanks
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Coincidently on elk and moose hunts my 300 wsm has been backed up by a my T3 in 260.
And also a guide gun.

Fine accuracy was had with warm loads with H4350 and 120 g TTSX bullets.
 
There was a time when the answer was pretty clear...."NOT the 6.5x55" because good brass was either hard to find or Very expensive... popularity has changed that and now I think it is a coin toss particularly WRT terminal ballistics...although you can easily form 260 Rem from other brass....tougher with the Swede
 
No comment on the 260 as I don't have one nor did I shoot one yet.
But I do have a T3 Stainless Varmint in 6.5x55
I only have one hunt in with it but it has shown itself to be a very effective cartridge on game and has been more than accurate enough for me. I only tried one handload so far- just under an inch on 5 but with time and use I expect it to improve dramatically when I find "the" load.
My hunting partner was curious to see if it would measure up- he's a 30/06 guy and very experienced- after a few deer he wasn't curious; it worked fine.
 
Suther said:
If I am not mistaken, all Tikkas are a long action regardless of caliber aren't they? If that is in fact the case, I would go with the 6.5x55, because you aren't gaining anything by going with the 260.

If you were picking between a 260 in a short action, or a 6.5x55 in a long action, I'd start to lean towards the 260, but I dont know the 260 well enough to know if it can load 160-grain loads from the magazine. Can anyone comment on this?? (I guess that partly depends on the rifle in question, as mag dimensions vary somewhat?)
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Exactley ! the 6.5 will OUTPERFORM the 260 Rem any day because it holds more powder as long as its in a long action ! RJ
 
It looks like the 6.5x55 is leading by a landslide. Thanks for all the advice. I have read all the stories of it being used in Scandinavia on moose etc. but does anyone have any real game experience in Canada with larger game like elk or moose they'd care to share?
 
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I haven't taken any moose or elk with 6.5x55 but I did witness a 129 grain accubond go through both shoulders of a large white tail buck at 300 yards like butter.

6.5mm cartridges are notorious for their penetration and punch above their weight.
 
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