I am going to be buying a rifle in a 6.5 calibre, I saw one post on a rifle site that mentioned problems with reloading 260 Remington, I can't find the post and didn't understand the statement. Can anyone comment, the three choices I am looking at would be 260 Remington, 6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor. Thanks
reloading 6.5
- Thread starter Milt Dale
- Start date
I HAVE 6.5 Grendel -6.5 Creedmoor-6.5 x55 Swede -260 Rem - 6.5-284 and i Have NO Problem at all reloading any of them ! RJ
Your choice of 6.5 cartridge will depend on your intended use. Of the three you've mentioned, the 6.5x55 has the greatest capacity, followed by the .260 Rem., with the Creedmoor having the least capacity. If the rifle you buy is for hunting, I'd probably go with the 6.5x55 because higher velocities will be possible. The Creedmoor seems to have generated a lot of buzz, but I can't really see the reason for this. All three are good cartridges, and none should present reloading problems. There's absolutely nothing about the .260 Rem. that should make it difficult to load for.
The "problem" may have been with a factory short action in 260 and the ability too shoot longer than 1140 grain cup and core hunting bullets.
However, load that 260 with 120 grain Barnes and the problem goes away!
That is the only thing II can think about for the 260, which is why the 6.5X55 is a non starter and the 260 shooters had issues with their national course rifles- hence why the 6.5Creedmooor was developed. However, put them all in a single shot break, or falling block action or a standard bolt action and for 2pure velocity the 6.5X55 is the winner!!
I shoot them all except the Grendel as well as a couple of 6.5wildcats.
Cat
I have found 6.5 x 55 Swedish very accurate in a CG 1906 M1896, Husqvarna M38, Danish Schultz and Larsen target rifle and a 1916 Krag-Jorgensen.
I have no experience with 6.5 Creedmore.
Very easy to load and re-load. I use IRM 4895 and 140 gr Hornady normally. The 1916 Krag works better with 160 grain round nose, due to chamber dimensions but will single load pretty much anything.
I have no experience with 6.5 Creedmore.
Very easy to load and re-load. I use IRM 4895 and 140 gr Hornady normally. The 1916 Krag works better with 160 grain round nose, due to chamber dimensions but will single load pretty much anything.
I reload for my swedish mausers in 6.5x55 probably the easiest rifle caliber that i reload for i use imr4064 and imr 4350 with a 140 hornady match bullet. its easy to resize dosent stretch much a have had great case life with good brass.
The 260 Rem can present some challenges in reloading. It really depends on the specific rifle. An 8 twist Tikka with the M+ magazine is a lot different than a 9 twist Rem 700 if you want to load heavy for caliber low drag bullets
I have had all above mentioned 6.5's (except 6.5x284, but have a PRC) - I agree with what TB says above - my 260's were finicky (Benchmark 8t barrels), Swede was good, but hands down for me, the easiest to find very accurate loads for was the 6.5x47 (130's) and Creed (140 hybrids). That 30 degree shoulder just seems to make it easy with wide nodes. Regarding the Creed, If your gun likes 140's and R26, you can get some crazy velocities for that little case
Tikka that I had gave me grief with longer bullets - it had a short mag as well as short freebore.
Tikka that I had gave me grief with longer bullets - it had a short mag as well as short freebore.
I have those calibers, plus 6.5-284 and a 6.5-08Ackly (same as a 260Rem Ackley.
6.5 bullets are loooong. They have a large bearing surface, so pressure can get out of hand, quickly. A small difference in your chamber, throat or barrel can make your loading data very different than mine. With any 6.5, start low and work up.
The 6.5 shines at long distance because the 140gr and heavier bullets have excellent BC.
But a short action can have a problem with heavy bullets seated out he way they should be.
The 6.5x55 is made in a long action.
If you don't reload, ammo availability is something to consider. The Creed is the flavour of the month and ammo is more common than, say, 260 or the Swede.
I like the 6.5-284 for the power and the 260RemAckly as the compromise. It has the same case capacity as the Swede.
6.5 bullets are loooong. They have a large bearing surface, so pressure can get out of hand, quickly. A small difference in your chamber, throat or barrel can make your loading data very different than mine. With any 6.5, start low and work up.
The 6.5 shines at long distance because the 140gr and heavier bullets have excellent BC.
But a short action can have a problem with heavy bullets seated out he way they should be.
The 6.5x55 is made in a long action.
If you don't reload, ammo availability is something to consider. The Creed is the flavour of the month and ammo is more common than, say, 260 or the Swede.
I like the 6.5-284 for the power and the 260RemAckly as the compromise. It has the same case capacity as the Swede.
If you are going to handload, the 6.5x55 is your friend due to higher case capacity (better for heavy bullets) and longer COL (better for long bullets) as Ganderite explained. If you want to shoot factory loads, the CM is more available, although it is hard to find ANY ammo on the shelves these days.
that will give it more head height than a SAAMI 6.5 Creedmoor. No issues
What is the limiting factor? mag length or chamber throat?
If it is the latter, it is easy to put a throating reamer in there by hand, with a T handle, and give it a little kiss to move the leade forward a bit.
In short actions, mag length generally. The whole idea behind the 6.5 cm was to shorten the case and push the shoulders back to allow those longer bullets to seat properly in short action mag fed guns. The 6.5 Swede was blessed because it was mostly in std length Mauser actions, which allows much longer col. Early 260 rifles from rem had a slower twist (which has now been tightened up). I usually single load my 260 and load the cartridges very close to the lands. But if you want a repeater, you'll want a longer action than the typical Rem S.A.. - dan
