Help me decide 260 Rem or 7mm-08

BigRso

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Title says it all which should I rebarrel to 7mm-08 or 260? Please give me benefits and cons of each from your experience. Also what barrel twist rate and length. From what I have researched it would seem 7mm-08 would be better due to bullet bc and velocity you can get but no one uses this cartridge why?
 
My vote is 1:8 twist for 260. As for length...depends on how you're going to use it.

My 260 is a 20" and I think its great as a multipurpose rifle; I could have gone 22" but I wouldn't want to go longer than that for the types of hunting I do. If I were competing it'd be a Rem Varmint or Medium Palma in 24", if its a prone/bench gun then 26" if not 28" to wring out all the velocity you can get.

But that's just one guy's opinion.
 
I have a 260 1/8 twist Krieger a hair over 23", and it loves the 140's. I went with a mtu contour, which I would not go with if I had it to do over. I prefer something around a Remington varmint contour for match type shooting.
 
My vote is 1:8 twist for 260. As for length...depends on how you're going to use it.

My 260 is a 20" and I think its great as a multipurpose rifle; I could have gone 22" but I wouldn't want to go longer than that for the types of hunting I do. If I were competing it'd be a Rem Varmint or Medium Palma in 24", if its a prone/bench gun then 26" if not 28" to wring out all the velocity you can get.

But that's just one guy's opinion.

What bullet are you using? I plan on Making this my comp rig
 
If you can get ahold of Hornady 162s and run them near 2800fps then the 7-08 is a pretty sweet rig. With a good brake the recoil isn't bad. The biggest benefit is there is no doubt when you hit the steel. It rings really loud. But in all practicality you'll have an easier time with the 260.

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1/8.5 twist or faster will work. The problem with resizing 308 brass into 260 is that you will probably need to turn the necks to remove the donuts. You'll probably need to get neck sizer die with a bushing.

IMO, it is so much easier to just by 260 brass or go 6.5 Creedmoor.
 
Decisions, Decisions....

We have both. My build was 7-08, specifically because of the 162 Amax (which of course, is no longer produced by Hornady). Almost out of them and getting ready to go to Bergers $$$$...

For my son's Xmas present, Savage build in an AI chassis with a Criterion barrel .260 Match chambering (the Match chambering has additional freebore for VLD's).

FWIW, US F-Class Open Team chose 7mm last year (anyway I think it was last year...) as the 7mm bullets are formidable- I just wish there were more choices!

It's really a toss-up IMO, but like I said for the latest we went with .260 primarily because there seems to be a better bullet selection in 6.5mm.
 
I'm going to go with the 260 hope I can resize this 308 brass I have

What worked best for me:

1. FL Resize in .308Win die without expander ball.
2. Lightly Anneal neck (too much and the neck will collapse during neck down, if in doubt skip this step but you may lose a couple more cases due to workhardening)
3. Resize in 6.5mm die with the die setup with zero headspace (bolt closes with slight resistance on sized case) from the false shoulder created.
4. Light neck turn
5. Anneal
6. Done

Have about a 0.5% loss rate doing it this way, using used .308Win brass. Just make sure when you're FL resizing the first time the die is screwed ALL the way down to eliminate the casehead expansion (so the brass will chamber smoothly in the new chamber). Don't worry about the headspace, the correct headspace will be set by neck down process.
 
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it would seem 7mm-08 would be better due to bullet bc and velocity you can get but no one uses this cartridge why?

That should answer your own question right there. Despite many that will argue to the contrary, the 7-08 really does not get the job done for tactical comp matches. If it did, it would be A LOT more popular than it is. Although bullet availability is a valid point, it wasn't that popular when the 7mm bullets were plentiful.
 
What worked best for me:

1. FL Resize in .308Win die without expander ball.
2. Lightly Anneal neck (too much and the neck will collapse during neck down, if in doubt skip this step but you may lose a couple more cases due to workhardening)
3. Resize in 6.5mm die with the die setup with zero headspace (bolt closes with slight resistance on sized case) from the false shoulder created.
4. Light neck turn
5. Anneal
6. Done

Have about a 0.5% loss rate doing it this way, using used .308Win brass. Just make sure when you're FL resizing the first time the die is screwed ALL the way down to eliminate the casehead expansion (so the brass will chamber smoothly in the new chamber). Don't worry about the headspace, the correct headspace will be set by neck down process.
Thank you exactly what I was looking for
 
Well I just order my dies and a k&m neck turner so 260 Remington it is. I saw a shilen prefit on midway 26" 1:8 twist I am more then likely going to go with and as far as projectiles couldn't find anything but 140gr nosler cc I am going to give them a shot.

I don't have a fl 308 die but I am assuming that if I run the brass in my redding 308 neck sizing die and body die I should be good. I know its a silly question and am 90% sure its a yes but a confirmation would put me at ease.

Taughts on barrel I also saw a mcgowen same length and twist both varmint contour ?
 
You'll love the 260. Easy to load for and 139 Lapua Senars and 140 Bergers work great! My favorite LR caliber, bar none.

Here is my 260 - Remington 700, Brux 1-8t barrel in a beefier version of the Remington Varmint contour, Jewell trigger with the safety in the guard, wedged into a H-S Precision LTR stock. Action and barrel work done by Nathan Dagley (SSG).

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This was the 3rd group through the rifle, first one was .555 inches.

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Last winter on the Dakota prairie....

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Three shots at 300 yds. Load is 45grs H4831sc in Lapua brass, Federal gold medal primers, Lapua 139gr Scenar. When I'm out of those, I'm going to try the 136g L. Hopefully there will be some accurate data out for it by then......

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The Kaiser
 
I have a 7mm-08, thought I'd like it better than 308 for long range, but my rifle is a dud and would cost a truckload to fix up right. So I bought a Savage 12 LRP in 260 and I'm like a kid in a candy store again. What a shooter!

I think you'll enjoy the 260 - just don't buy all the 6.5mm bullets and create a shortage for the rest of us! :)