I am building a new rifle for precision shooting and I would like to use this forum as sounding board for advice as to caliber choice. Rifle will be used up to 800 meters in DCRA and ORA Precision Rifle competitions and caliber/bullet combo will have to fit inside A.I. .308 magazine. After a bit of research I settled on those 2 calibers as a way to go. From my understanding .260 Remington will offer me more muzzle velocity and 6.5x47 seems to be a bit more accurate. I am looking for comments especially from shooters that have experience shooting/reloading both of those 2 calibers.
6.5x47 Lapua vs .260 Remington
- Thread starter Grendel
- Start date
Depends on what you want: if you're looking for accuracy 6.5x47mm has set numerous 600 yards benchrest records!
The 6.5 cartridge selection matrix is pretty much:
This summer, I had my 243 Win rifle rebarrelled to 6x47mm Lapua and am extremely satisfied.
I will be able to tell if it was a wise choice if it still shoots accurately past 2,200-2,600 fired rounds.
Alex
The 6.5 cartridge selection matrix is pretty much:
- 260 Remington : most practical
- 6.5mm Creedmoor : better barrel life (compared to 260 Rem)
- 6.5x47mm Lapua : most accurate and best barrel life
This summer, I had my 243 Win rifle rebarrelled to 6x47mm Lapua and am extremely satisfied.
I will be able to tell if it was a wise choice if it still shoots accurately past 2,200-2,600 fired rounds.
Alex
paperslayer
Regular
- Location
- Chilliwack
Well, there are pros and cons to both, but now that Lapua makes 260 brass, that has made the 2060 the clear choice for me.
The 6.5x47 is a beautiful round and can be very accurate. Its shortfall is its lesser powder capacity. That cartridge works best with bullets up to 130 grains. The 130 Berger is a fine bullet, but is ballistically inferior to the 140. The '47L can definitely get the job done with a 130, but with anything heavier, it bleeds energy and velocity. For long distance shooting you want the most accurate and highets Ballistic coefficient bulet you can find, Why limit yourself to the 130?
The 260 is an older design (Age does not matter one bit. Look at the 115 year old 6.5x55 for instance) and is based on the 308 case. It packs more powder, meaning you can achieve velocities pushing 2900 fps with a 30" barrel and a stout load of H4831. The 6.5x47 case is a good design, but I have my prejudices against the small primer. I have done a 6.5X47L for myself and I also have done the 6-6.5x47L the 6.5L was a good gun, and it was accurate, although it took me a long time to figure out what it liked. 6 6mm version was terrible.
The 260 would be my choice. Easy to make work, and you can use pretty much any bullet you want in an 8" twist with a 260. Accurate as hell in 1000 yard shooting. using a 139 lapua, 140 berger hybrid or 142 match king in the 260 and you will have to control your giggling while shooting.
The 6.5x47 is a beautiful round and can be very accurate. Its shortfall is its lesser powder capacity. That cartridge works best with bullets up to 130 grains. The 130 Berger is a fine bullet, but is ballistically inferior to the 140. The '47L can definitely get the job done with a 130, but with anything heavier, it bleeds energy and velocity. For long distance shooting you want the most accurate and highets Ballistic coefficient bulet you can find, Why limit yourself to the 130?
The 260 is an older design (Age does not matter one bit. Look at the 115 year old 6.5x55 for instance) and is based on the 308 case. It packs more powder, meaning you can achieve velocities pushing 2900 fps with a 30" barrel and a stout load of H4831. The 6.5x47 case is a good design, but I have my prejudices against the small primer. I have done a 6.5X47L for myself and I also have done the 6-6.5x47L the 6.5L was a good gun, and it was accurate, although it took me a long time to figure out what it liked. 6 6mm version was terrible.
The 260 would be my choice. Easy to make work, and you can use pretty much any bullet you want in an 8" twist with a 260. Accurate as hell in 1000 yard shooting. using a 139 lapua, 140 berger hybrid or 142 match king in the 260 and you will have to control your giggling while shooting.
I am just putting together a .260. Kreiger medium Palma barrel on a 700. Have started basic load testing and development with the barrelled action temporarily in a HS stock. Really like the way it shoots. Only had a 100m zero, but shot it in a match on Sunday. 10 nice hits, 46/50 on Fig. 11 movers @400, came second on V count, another 46 on the Fig 11, deliberate at 600m. This with ballistic program elevations, and no confirmed zeros past 100m. 142SMKs. Have a brake on it, no problem spotting my own splash. I have real expectations for this rifle.
Had the rifle out today, shot a couple of groups @300m off a bench with bipod and bag, before it started raining. Both groups were cleanly sub-minute.
Had the rifle out today, shot a couple of groups @300m off a bench with bipod and bag, before it started raining. Both groups were cleanly sub-minute.
Last edited:
I have two 6.5x47L's and a 260. I get pretty good accuracy out of both but I personally like the 6.5x47L best so far. With about 1500 rounds of 6.5x47L and 250 rounds of 260 fired, I think the 6.5L is more accurate with more combinations by a small but measurable margin. I seem to have consistently slightly lower ES and SD with the 6.5x47L than the 260.
I like the 6.5L case design better and I don't mind the higher cost for brass. I use lapua brass for both.
I like the 6.5L case design better and I don't mind the higher cost for brass. I use lapua brass for both.
If mag-feeding, might be a good idea to stick with the x47, sure you have more case capacity with the .260 but you don't get to use it because you seat your bullets short to fit the mag.The lapua brass is expensive but you can always trim 22-250 brass and blow it out for the x47 or neck up 243 brass for the 260 if you are using it "in the field".
I don't agree with paper-slayer saying that the x47 is good only to the 130s, you push the 130 and the 140 with equal pressure and the bullet with the higher bc always wins.
I don't agree with paper-slayer saying that the x47 is good only to the 130s, you push the 130 and the 140 with equal pressure and the bullet with the higher bc always wins.
Thank you all for your replies. To clarify some points I did not put in my original post. The bullets I am planning on using are within 140gr range. I had very good results in past several years with 139gr Scenars in my 6.5/284 and that would probably be my first choice. The rifle will be used 99% for Precision matches only ( I use my 7mm for F-class ), so the bullet will have to make it only to 800 meters while retaining enough velocity to stay well supersonic and resist wind. If it is a choice between a bit smaller group size at this distance and more velocity my choice is accuracy. My plan is to use Lapua cases for both calibers so quality wise and price wise brass should be the same. "Paperslayer" caveat about small primers in 6.5x47 is well noted. Could any one comment about that? I know that Lapua claims that .308 Palma brass with small primers packets produces smaller ES and SD but may cause some problems in cold conditions. Barrel life seems to be a bit longer with 6.5x47.
Thank you again and please keep comments coming.
Thank you again and please keep comments coming.
Considering your application. I would go for the lapua. The 130 vld/jlk and 123 scenars can easily be pushed to 2900-3000 fps with a 26" barrel. The 139 should be in the range of 2800-2900fps with reasonable pressure. I know guys who are getting 30 reloads, with annealing, from their x 47 brass. Only problem is you'll lose a large majority of your brass in a tactical match. There is about a $10 difference per hundred, between lapua 260 and 6.5 x 47 brass. Some seem to beleive that the x47's superior case design will lead to longer barrel life...who really knows. You will never have a problem with coal and aics mags with the x47, regardless of bullet selection. This can be tricky with 260, depending on the style of bullet it's throated for.
I have been shooting my .260 for a year now and I love it. I was in the same boat as you, and went with the .260. Lots of options for bullets/brass/load data. I started with 139 gr Lapua scenars, currently I am shooting Matrix Ballistics 129 gr VLD out of Lapua Brass. Stick with Lapua brass by the way, it's excellent. I have had it out to 1000 yards and it was plenty accurate. I load to mag length (it's what grouped best anyway), feeding out of AI mags.
Have had a 260 for a couple of years now and it has won it's fair share of long range matches, finished 2nd in the 2010 western canadians against the 7mm's. I have shot with some more accurate 6x's, but seemed like when stretched out past 600 they noticably gave way to the 260. The 140vld berger has a great BC for long range and easily pushed 2860fps from a 260 case. That being said I am now useing 142 Matrix, and if fitting to a mag, would highly recommend them as they are not "jump sensitive" Not sure why anyone would build a 6.5 and not be able to maximize the use of 140gr. bullets??? unless gun was not to be used over 500m.
Marc
Marc
paperslayer
Regular
- Location
- Chilliwack
Marc says it all and has the resume to back it up.
FWIW, I played with 22-250 lapua and 6XC norma brass and managed to bash together some 6.5X47 cases, albeit with shorter necks. with the 22-50 brass and these did nothing to improve the aweful 6 x 47 results I had so I cannot say the large primers helped. The 6.5 x 47 has small primers to help contain the enormous pressures in that cartridge. 63000 as I recall whereas the 260 is a bit milder, around 58-59000. If you'er gonna drive in the mud, why buy a 2 wheel drive pickup?
one of the fellows on this board shot a 223 with 90's at the us national f-class championships and had his ass handed to him on a platter. 90 grain berger is a great bullet, but not at 2700 fps. The 140 Berger is a high BC bullet, but it makes the most of it doing a good clip. Those 139 scenars are very nice bullets but have mediocre BC's. Its your dime my friend You have obviosly got more savvy than you think. Go with what you want, If it doesnt work out, just rechamber or buy another pipe.
FWIW, I played with 22-250 lapua and 6XC norma brass and managed to bash together some 6.5X47 cases, albeit with shorter necks. with the 22-50 brass and these did nothing to improve the aweful 6 x 47 results I had so I cannot say the large primers helped. The 6.5 x 47 has small primers to help contain the enormous pressures in that cartridge. 63000 as I recall whereas the 260 is a bit milder, around 58-59000. If you'er gonna drive in the mud, why buy a 2 wheel drive pickup?
one of the fellows on this board shot a 223 with 90's at the us national f-class championships and had his ass handed to him on a platter. 90 grain berger is a great bullet, but not at 2700 fps. The 140 Berger is a high BC bullet, but it makes the most of it doing a good clip. Those 139 scenars are very nice bullets but have mediocre BC's. Its your dime my friend You have obviosly got more savvy than you think. Go with what you want, If it doesnt work out, just rechamber or buy another pipe.
The x47 is stronger due to the small primer pocket, the case is stiffer and handles more pressure.
x2 IMO
burnt_servo
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- right in the middle of b.c.
paperslayer
Regular
- Location
- Chilliwack
swede is a fantastic cartridge but really needs a long action with VLD bullets
260 AI is another choice, but it sacrifices barrel life for only modest gains in velocity. 260 with 140's can easily get to 2900 and i have exceeded it, but the particular bullets and powder didn't like that velocity.
260 AI is another choice, but it sacrifices barrel life for only modest gains in velocity. 260 with 140's can easily get to 2900 and i have exceeded it, but the particular bullets and powder didn't like that velocity.
