I'm going to re-barrel my R700 to 260Rem from 308. I want to be shooting the heavier gr 140-142. What twist rate for the barrel and length. I will be mostly shooting 600yd and less but want to take it out to 1000+. Also what size primers do the 260 Rem use? Thanks in advance.
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Gotta go with graham on this one. If most of your shooting is 600 and in you won't notice a difference, only difference will be the 260 eating the barrel. 308 will still do 1000+ yards, I'd only step up if you're competing and the flatter trajectory and less wind drift is worth the cost of barrel life.
Is that all it takes to become a "Dick"?
For 600y with the occasional 1000y shots I would stick with the .308 unless you are looking to compete. Heck I would even use a .223rem setup with a fast twist to shoot to 1k which still can be used in F/TR.
Seriously? If what Graham says amounts to being a dick then you have some really thin skin. There's a ton of info out there on this stuff. I'd suggest consulting some load manuals and doing math on the 260 to determine if it's something you really need. Reason I say this is because the fact you have to ask what sort of primers it takes tells me you need to do some more research on the 260 or any of the 6.5mm rounds. The 6.5 has some great benefits, but there are tradeoffs you do have to make with it.
Brass availability (reloading), limited factory load availability, and barrel life are the biggest reasons.
While I generally agree with Graham on what he mentioned, I'll give some answers to OP's questions for those that are doing their research and looking for some quick info.
Primers - Large Rifle
Barrel twist - 8.5 works fine most of the time for the heavies, but 8 is pretty much the standard for them.
Primers - Large Rifle
Barrel twist - 8.5 works fine most of the time for the heavies, but 8 is pretty much the standard for them.
Brass is more available than .308 and can be made from a number of different cartridges. In my neck of the woods all reloading components are much more readily available for a .260 than a .308. Match ammo can be bought from a number of places online and barrel life shouldn't even be a factor unless were talking about some grossly overbore cartridge which we are not.
LRJammer's post about the tradeoffs is spot on with what I would have replied with.
-More available than 308? False. 308 is readily available from many manufacturers. Yes, you can neck up or down several cartridges, but then you run into issues needing to turn the necks or you give up some case life by necking up as that brass has to come from somewhere.
-You cannot readily walk into any store in a pinch and grab match ammo for 260, though the 6.5 cm you can find some quite easily. Yes, you can get excellent 260 ammo from companies such as SWA, but how many places stock that locally? For me it isn't an issue because SWA is local, but for many it may)
-Yes barrel life of the 260 or 6.5cm for that matter are going to be reduced quite a bit over the 308. Anyone who claims otherwise is full of shit. Sorry, no way else to put it.
-It is easier to get components for the 308 as it is a more widely in use caliber.
FYI, this is not me hating on the 260. I like the 260, but it's not something to jump into without some considerations because there are some tradeoffs. For me it is worth it, but it's not for everyone, especially if you do not need it because there are some tradeoffs you make for the better ballistics offered by the 6.5 bullets.
-More available than 308? False. 308 is readily available from many manufacturers. Yes, you can neck up or down several cartridges, but then you run into issues needing to turn the necks or you give up some case life by necking up as that brass has to come from somewhere.
-You cannot readily walk into any store in a pinch and grab match ammo for 260, though the 6.5 cm you can find some quite easily. Yes, you can get excellent 260 ammo from companies such as SWA, but how many places stock that locally? For me it isn't an issue because SWA is local, but for many it may)
-Yes barrel life of the 260 or 6.5cm for that matter are going to be reduced quite a bit over the 308. Anyone who claims otherwise is full of shit. Sorry, no way else to put it.
-It is easier to get components for the 308 as it is a more widely in use caliber.
FYI, this is not me hating on the 260. I like the 260, but it's not something to jump into without some considerations because there are some tradeoffs. For me it is worth it, but it's not for everyone, especially if you do not need it because there are some tradeoffs you make for the better ballistics offered by the 6.5 bullets.
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Exactly. I almost fell out of my chair when I read 260 components being more readily available. The only game in town for 260 brass is Lapua at the moment, remingtonhasnt done a run in quite some time. Everybody and their brother makes 308 brass. If comparing Lapua vs Lapua it's also $20/100 less. 308 brass also has better case life.
Cheapest, DECENT factory .260 ammo is $35 a box. You can get FGMM308 for $20 a box.
While cost of ammo will far superceede barrel cost, .260 will shootout much faster than .308. If hes going to rebarrel, might as well true it while your there. True,chamber,barrel,ect and your looking at $800-1000 to get his donor action setup.
A wiser person would go with 6.5CM. Same cost to reload but the advantage of Cheap $20/box Match AMAX ammo.
Tell me about it, I wish the stuff for 260 was even half as readily available as stuff for 308. That would be amazing, unfortunately that is not the case currently... maybe some day the 6.5cm or 260 rem stuff will be much more readily available in the number of choices there are for 308 as that would be amazing.
^^^^ this along with the fact that there is a million posts on this same subject that has been completely beat to fucking death.
Too bad the current creedmoor ammo sucks dick. I wouldn't buy a creed planning on shooting factory ammo until hornady gets their shit together and dealers have enough time to cycle out the bad lots.
Please cobra in all your infinite wisdom point us in the direction of the fgmm .308 that is $20 a box and the $20 hornady "match" ammo that currently sucks ass as was mentioned above. To the op if you want to go 6.5 IMHO the .260 is a good choice at this point in time. Very negligible "trade offs" for what you get in return. While not being able to walk into your local gun store and buy match ammo for it which I can't do for .308 either it is plenty available online. If your worried about barrel life keep shooting your .308 or switch to a .22lr
Contrary to what was said, you will see a difference before 600y unless there is never any wind where you shoot.
This sounds like somebody that shoots a couple hundred rounds a year.
And FYI if you have a dicks sporting goods near you then you can buy FGMM over the counter for $27/box. They've also got $10 off $50 coupons that say they don't work on ammo but do which lowers it to $44 for two boxes. FGMM hasn't been $20/box for a while but it's not much over it if you know where to look. Palmetto just had 175gr for $23/box.
To be exact I shot about a box and a half of PPU .308 last year, it was the 145 grn fmj if that matters. Thanks for thinking I'm such a professional though...
I am assuming this is sarcasm or you are officially trolling this thread now... in which case, troll on.
Going back to the original question, 1:8 twist, I'd chose barrel length based on application - if it will sit on the firing line go long, if you want to carry it around go shorter. Probably 22" is perfect.
The current 2014 doesn't. There were a couple 2013 lots that were problems but the 2014 ammo is much better.
It can be found on the net for that price is you search around. Places like SG and PSA routinley have sales at that price.
There is nothing wrong with the Hornady Match Ammo. Its as good as anything else out there, and can't be beat for the price. Even if it did suck, you can get "custom" 6.5C ammo from CC for less than .260 ammo anywhere.
You can't walk into just about any place and buy "match" ammo. Unless its a store that centers around precsion shooting, and even then, its going to be expensive. That is what the internet is for. Its not difficult to buy your ammo on the net, and build your stockpile up over time.
