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Post by dave29461 on Jan 2, 2012 20:13:32 GMT -8
My son wants me to build an upper for the AR308 platform in .260Rem. The things we do for our children...and maybe a little for ourselves. ;D
What's one more caliber?
Any advice or cautions would be appreciated.
Thanks, Dave
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2012 21:02:04 GMT -8
That is a good casing like all the 308W. offspring but also a barrel burner and if you are looking for accuracy you might want to consider accuracy life of the barrel. The good news is that poly barrels should hold-up longer. I will let others to comment on that.
Another that gives very good performance and easier to form from the parent 308w. brass, if you want to, is the 7mm.08. It gives more barrel life and 140-150gr bullets are very good ballistically talking. A tad more recoil but marginal. Better for subsonic work.
Now, is your goal is to shoot 100gr to 120gr bullets the 6.5mm is less recoil but need a longer barrel to cash in performance.
What is your goal? Hunting, target, long range, small-medium game, big game? Are you going to shoot subsonic loads? Will also need to consider twist for your purpose.
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Post by dave29461 on Jan 3, 2012 10:15:06 GMT -8
Thanks for the info.
Looking at 140 gr. loads max. and 110-120 in general. We'll be punching paper as far as is practical. We'll be loading our own and will try several different configurations. Barrel life? 1000 rounds 3000 rounds? ...somewhere in between? I tend to load midrange to low range. We live in coastal South Carolina and generally 200 yds. is a long shot. I'm going to set up a 400-450 yd range when we thin some trees this spring. See if I and/or the gun can stretch our legs. I'm still looking at the .243 as well. The quick change system they are talking about, adapted to the AR308 platform would be a life saver.
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Post by knightdive on Jan 3, 2012 12:56:33 GMT -8
I'm really just starting to break mine in. Mines a 20", but 6.5's love barrel length so if the 24" is not out of the question for your application I would lean that way. According to conventional wisdom, you need a faster twist rate to shoot the 140 grain pills, but so far mine shoots them just fine. My best group so far was with 140 grain Corelokts, 10 rounds completely under a quarter so around 3/4" center to center at 100. I've got boxes of 120, 123, 140, and 142 grain MatchKings and A-max's to try out, but I haven't been able to get them to the range yet. The .260 supposed to be a great long range performer so I'm dying to get to a range that can offer more than the 200 yards at my local place. There are also lots of good 6.5mm hunting bullets and my rifle is intended to be a stand hunting rig, but we'll see if I get to put it to use any time soon. .260 brass is not exactly common, but Lapua is making it now if you're willing to pony up $1/case. Remington brass is fairly cheap, but has a reputation for loose primer pockets. On the other hand, sizing up Winchester .243 or sizing down 7-08 brass is easy so I've got 200 cases headstamped .243 for around $40 total. I've also found that .264/6.5mm bullets aren't real common to find on the shelf and my local shops, but all the major manufacturers make good pills that diameter so they're easy to get. I wouldn't expect to see much factory ammo on the shelf anywhere, and what you do find will be hunting ammo rather than plinking fodder or match ammo. ETA: this is mainly bolt gun related, but lots of good info on .260 Rem in general. demigodllc.com/articles/the-case-for-260-remington/ |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2012 16:40:59 GMT -8
For long range shooting you need 24" inches minimum. Otherwise you will be burning a lot of powder in the air. For other purposes any size will do but also need fast powder and smaller bullets. Also a 140gr spritzer is very different profile from a 140 VLD. you need the 8 twist to get out there. Angular momentum wears out and you will see the bullet picking up some yaw after 500-600 yards. Run the numbers and you will see. One thing is clear, it is an amazing caliber and law recoil and with careful shot placement can take largest game without any problem against the common believe that you need magnums or bigger. The 6.5 Swedish has been used for generations and generations to take elk and moose with careful shot and since this is a more accurate round on average the results are amazing. The lapua brass is more expensive at first but it pays off big time in results and the nr. of good reloads you get from it. Once fired Federal, Lake city and winchester brass are good inexpensive sources for other general applications. You can make from 308w. if you do not mind turning the necks. SEgregate by batch and weight. In your long range menu you should have scenar and berger bullets. Some SMKs are also awesome. For hunting TTSX for solids and nosler Partition/BT will do anything you want. This is a good write up. Let me know if you want any ballistics charts I have for reference... www.snipercentral.com/260.htm |
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Post by dave29461 on Jan 3, 2012 19:59:53 GMT -8
Thanks Gentlemen, You have given me a lot of food for thought. I'm really grateful for the response. I've been looking at reloading cost for this round and it seems to be reasonable. By the way, Sinclair Int. has Nosler brass for the .260 at 49.99/50 today's sale price. Since I don't even have the barrel ,yet I'll wait on ordering Brass  The Nosler brass is suppose to be ready to load out the box. Dave |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2012 21:03:45 GMT -8
No prob. My pleasure. 6 and 6.5mm are my favorites for long range. I also shoot the .338 but that is hardly used due to the big $ factor.
I am actually in the process of building a 1,200 yards AR-15 upper (real yards, not internet yards LOL!) and the bullets of choice are a 6.5mm 123gr scenar and 130gr Berger VLD.
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Post by dave29461 on Jan 20, 2012 20:48:03 GMT -8
I took advantage of the SHOT show special and ordered a 24" standard profile rifle length .260 Rem. Machined and threaded barrel. Now to wait....patiently?  |
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Post by Master Yoda on Jan 20, 2012 21:50:08 GMT -8
My son wants me to build an upper for the AR308 platform in .260Rem. The things we do for our children...and maybe a little for ourselves. ;D What's one more caliber? Any advice or cautions would be appreciated. Thanks, Dave No cautions |
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Post by letaz77 on Jan 20, 2012 23:13:10 GMT -8
I took advantage of the SHOT show special and ordered a 24" standard profile rifle length .260 Rem. Machined and threaded barrel. Now to wait....patiently? I have no doubt you will be quite happy with your choice of barrel length and profile. The 260 Rem is perfect for long range practical shooting. The 260 provides a better barrel life than the 243win but is not as good as the 7-08 or the 308. It is also prone to lose muzzle velocity due to short barrels vs. the 7-08 and 308 and therefore you need 22+ barrels to really take advantage of this caliber. It is however incredibly accurate and easy to shoot. Many “practical” shooters have migrated to the 260 from 308, that should say a lot about this wonder cartridge. |
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The Nosler brass is suppose to be ready to load out the box.
