Savage 6.5

[Remingtonman]

I am looking at getting a savage 6.5 creedmoor in the model 11 xp trophy hunter and I was wondering what you 6.5 rifle owners think of this round vs the .260 rem which is another option im looking at? How do the savage 11 6.5 cm's shoot at 100yds for those of you who have and own them? This will be my first 6.5m rifle so I was just wondering what all you savage fans think of both rounds. Primary use will be for hunting and second target/steel shooting for fun, no competition rigs for me due to the high cost and I currently cant afford that lol.

[wbm]

The 6.5 Creedmoor shot great out of my Light Weight Hunter. Based on what you want to primarily use the rifle for I would go with the 260. Easier to find ammunition in local stores. If you hand load, then I would go with the Creedmoor.

[darkker]

Guess YMMV, there hasn't been ANY 260 ammo around here in the stores in many many moons. But there are piles of Creedmoor choices.

Honestly the difference between the 260 and CM is AT BEST, so insignificant, performance wise, that they are the same thing. It comes down to personally what you want.

260 is a 308, so is that hard to find brass for you? Personally that is the easier animal. The Creed brass can be made simply from 22-250 cases, but requires some cream-of-wheat and pistol powder - point to the 260.
The Creed has a 30 degree shoulder, and TENDS to not strech brass as quickly. This is REALLY nit-picking, but to me, this is a point for the CM.
The Creed has a much tighter(so far) chamber, in terms of freebore, etc. So the variation in chambers thus far seems to be much more controlled. - Point to the CM
The CM so far, for me, seems to be more mild mannered than the 260 for fooling with load variations. YMMV, but to me, -- point to the CM.
The CM due to design will more easily fit into a short action with LOOOONG bullets, compared to the 260.

Now does any of this really matter? The question is: Do you like Chocolate, or Vanilla?? There is no wrong way to eat a Reeses.

[Steelhead]

I bought a trophy hunter XP in 260.
The factory barrel was a solid MOA or better shooter.
Locally 6.5 ammo is easier to find but I reload.
I like that I can get or make 260 brass from many sources.
Ballistically they are almost identical.

[stomp442]

Personally I believe the creedmoor was invented to solve a problem that didn't really exist. People didn't like the 260 because they couldn't get it to feed from a magazine without seating the bbullet farther into the case limiting powder capacity and performance. To solve this they made a shorter case that produces the same performance as a 260 with a deep seated bullet. The seating depth problem is more of an issue with other actions besides the savage. I have never had a problem seating a long 140 where it needed to be and not fit a savage short action mag. I have always preferred the 260 mainly because it was here first and never gave me any problems and the creed just doesn't do anything different.

[LongRange]

I did about a month worth of research and looking around for brass before I desided on building a 260 and the funny thing is before I started my research I was dead set on a 6.5 CM...personally id take a 260 over a CM any day of the week.

[Remingtonman]

Thanks for all the info. I will be handloading as I handload for everything I own. Which round is easier to find brass for and more readily available?

[BoilerUP]

I have been shooting 260 Remington since the late 90s. I've owned at least three different Savages chambered in 260.

That said, I recently switched to 6.5 Creedmoor (still have my 700 Mountain LSS in 260, though). The reason for me was simple - factory ammunition, which means time savings with my current life situation.

Ballistically, they're pretty much the same although the 6.5 Creed has a slightly shorter OAL which is friendlier for AICS mags if you plan to run those and VLDs (Hornady 140 A-Max/HPBT, 139 Scenar, 142 SMK worked just fine in an AI mag with the typical .118 freebore found in Savage 260 prefits), so flip a coin.

[Oxn316]

Im a 260 guy sooo. You can get 260 brass from nosler, lupua, remington. Brass can easily be made from 243 or 7/08 brass. 308 is very doable also but may require a neck turn depending how tight your chamber is. O and by easily made i mean running it throught a 260 fl die.

[LongRange]

Thanks for all the info. I will be handloading as I handload for everything I own. Which round is easier to find brass for and more readily available?


Im a 260 guy sooo. You can get 260 brass from nosler, lupua, remington. Brass can easily be made from 243 or 7/08 brass. 308 is very doable also but may require a neck turn depending how tight your chamber is. O and by easily made i mean running it throught a 260 fl die.


What Oxn said...260 hands down.

[Remingtonman]

Im a 260 guy sooo. You can get 260 brass from nosler, lupua, remington. Brass can easily be made from 243 or 7/08 brass. 308 is very doable also but may require a neck turn depending how tight your chamber is. O and by easily made i mean running it throught a 260 fl die.

So if I FL size .260 brass from .243 and 7mm-08 will I have to anneal them? I was trying to avoid the annealing process due to time managment lol. Id rather just run the required brass up through the FL die and be ready to go.

[foxx]

Don't overlook the simplicity and quality of Lapua 260 brass. About a $1 a piece, but pretty durable and certainly high quality.

[stomp442]

Just size it and go. Annealing is part of the proper reloading process. you will have to do it eventually unless you just like spending money on brass. I anneal every third firing and have brass with at least 10 firings on it.

[Oxn316]

So if I FL size .260 brass from .243 and 7mm-08 will I have to anneal them? I was trying to avoid the annealing process due to time managment lol. Id rather just run the required brass up through the FL die and be ready to go.

I sized win brand 243 to 260 and had 5 loadings on them before i annealed. i had no problems but did it just incase.

[darkker]

What brass are you buying?
I pinch 308 to 243, and vice versa. I'm on reload 20 something, never annealed anything in my life.

[homefrontsniper]

guess ymmv, there hasn't been any 260 ammo around here in the stores in many many moons. But there are piles of creedmoor choices.

Honestly the difference between the 260 and cm is at best, so insignificant, performance wise, that they are the same thing. It comes down to personally what you want.

260 is a 308, so is that hard to find brass for you? Personally that is the easier animal. The creed brass can be made simply from 22-250 cases, but requires some cream-of-wheat and pistol powder - point to the 260.
The creed has a 30 degree shoulder, and tends to not strech brass as quickly. This is really nit-picking, but to me, this is a point for the cm.
The creed has a much tighter(so far) chamber, in terms of freebore, etc. So the variation in chambers thus far seems to be much more controlled. - point to the cm
the cm so far, for me, seems to be more mild mannered than the 260 for fooling with load variations. Ymmv, but to me, -- point to the cm.
The cm due to design will more easily fit into a short action with loooong bullets, compared to the 260.

Now does any of this really matter? The question is: Do you like chocolate, or vanilla?? There is no wrong way to eat a reeses.

nasa....√

[homefrontsniper]

Creedmoor is a little more accurate.

[sixonetonoffun]

I had splits in 11 out of 120 once fired (from my rifle) Winchester cases. So I anneal new cases and try to keep my batches at 50 peices. Some from the original batch have 6 firings without anymore splits. This was my 7rm though but it convinced me annealing at least once is worth the effort.

[Qbert]

Creedmoor for me. The factory ammo rocks if you don't reload. I handload, and I'm a big believer in the 30 degree shoulder and slightly shorter case (I use AICS mags).

[LHitchcox]

If I were building on a short action, I would go with the Creedmoor. If I were using a long action, the .260 would get the vote. A friend of mine build a .260 on a long action and shoots VLDs, so the extra mag length comes in handy.