260 Remington in a long action or 6.5x55

I like the idea of the 260 Remington, especially since 308 and 30-06 recoil kick my ass due to nerve damage, but from everything I've read the 140/142gr bullets need to be set back in the cartridge case because of the space limitation of the short action. After spending a week doing research I decided to go with the 6.5x55, because of increased performance of the round when reloading and most especially since loaded ammo is $3-$4 cheaper a box than 260 here and surprisingly I discovered that x55 brass is .10 to .20 cents cheaper than 260 - and I'm referring to Lapua brass. I want to shoot the occasional bolt match from time to time, I'm a big time bolt gun newbie, and hunt exclusively with it. Imagine my surprise when I contacted the Savage Custom Shop today and was told that I could not get a 5.6x55 made. Really upset over that as really it is just a barrel for Pete's sake, the bolt face is the same as what is used for the 30-06/308.

Dejected, I ended up on the Remington website and was surprised to discover that they have the 6.5x55 caliber listed so I called them in inquire as to how I could get the long range model in x55 caliber, but after listening to the phone ring for 10 minutes I hung up and called the Custom Shop Number. Seems that Remington's Custom Shop has been farmed out to Dakota Arms and a base model custom 6.5x55 would start at approx. $2800.

After doing some more research this evening it dawned on me that since I'm planning on reloading why not get a 260 in a long action so that I can load the 140/142gr bullets further in the neck and not have to worry about being limited by the length of the magazine. This could also fix the loss of capacity in the case due to set back.

Would this be feasible? Any issues that I am unaware of that would affect cycling / reliability of using a short action cartridge in a long action?

Would seating the 140/142gr bullets forward in the case necessitate a different chamber cut as the bullet would be forward a little more or would existing chambers be fine?

Am I wrong in thinking / assuming (we all know what happens when we assume) that moving the bullet forward out of the case may allow for a slight increase in performance - especially if an extra grain or two can be added (only if it does not exceed max loads for safety)?

Am I on to something or do I need to go back to the drawing board?

Thanks for any advice.

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After doing some more research this evening it dawned on me that since I'm planning on reloading why not get a 260 in a long action so that I can load the 140/142gr bullets further in the neck

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If you have a Savage long action, you can get barrels in 6.5x55 or 260 for a lot less than the quotes you have for a custom build.
Also you could consider the 6.5 Creedmoor.

You can run .260 in a long action. Many do to run long bullets.

I think the x55 sweed is a little bigger bolt face. Not much but it is. You would be hard pressed to see a difference in a 6.5x55 and the 260. There are so many great cartridges out now that don't kick hard also the 7mm08 is a out right awesome too. The 708 and 243 is what I like myself light recoil and kills way out of proportion to the size.

I originally wanted to build a 6.5x55 however, I couldn't get a good deal on a long action. The main reason for this is, at the time, lapua brass was cheaper for the 6.5x55 vs 260. Now the cost difference between the 2 is ~$10. One advantage you'll have with the 260 is you can neck up 243 or neck down 7mm-08. I can always get brass.

Oddly enough for me, I've had better luck necking down 7.62 Nato vs 308 winchester brass. I mostly use neck down brass for hunting and plinking and Lapua for target work.

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Originally Posted by hereinaz

You can run .260 in a long action. Many do to run long bullets.

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Yep.

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't build my .260 on a long-action but my barrel has a generous throat so I can load the bullets long but I have to single feed to touch the lands (but I don't mind that).

May have found a fix. NSS carries a Rem/Age barrel system that is a Remington / Savage hybrid barrel that uses a Savage barrel nut. Best of all they provide list a 6.5x55 chambering. I actually have a Remington 700 BDL in the back of the safe in 30-06 in the back of the safe that I cannot shoot and probably never will be able to again that can be used as a donor action/trigger/internal magazine and hinged floorplate. Unfortunately the barrel is not finished so I'll have to do some more research as to who to use for that.

Grim,

You are thinking and doing exactly what I am currently doing. I got a 111 in .270 about a month ago after researching heavily into the .260 REM and the 140 class of bullets (Hornady, Berger, SMKs). for a very long time, I was trying to go with a short action, but after Hornady released the new ELD-X line of bullets, I was not sure I could seat the bullets out to .02-.04 off the lands and still have it feed from the DBM. So I decided I wasn't going to take the chance of not being able to feed from the DBM. I can't tell you yet, what kind, if any, problems with the round chambering, but hopefully the Criterion barrel I will order from NSS can be chambered/throated for the longer bullets and Lapua brass. Just got my stock ordered and waiting for its arrival to begin my build... Good luck to you on your build....

Cheers,

SRS

Be wary of off the shelf 6.5x55 ammo. Because of all the old Mauser actions, factory ammo can be pretty anemic. Opening a bolt to accept the swede is not a problem, but requires a gunsmith.

There is no need to open the bolt face on a Savage for 6.5x55 Brass. Have built several Swedes on Savage actions and never a problem at all.

Very easy. I've built two 260's on the long action for the same reason as you, more room in the mag to seat bullets out farther.

There's very little, if any, down side to building a .260 on a long receiver.
And for what it's worth, you can easily build .260 rounds using .243 brass. I have done this quite a bit. It's easier than necking down a .308 case since you don't have as much of a problem with case wall thickening. Any time I have resized .308 brass to build .260's I have had to trim the case neck walls.
Since I don't own any .243 rifles it's easy to know what the brass is just by looking - if it says .243, it's .260 brass.
That keeps you from having to buy Lapua .260 brass. It's nice to have, but it's hard to pay for.

Good luck.

Both great cartridges. If I were to go long action 6.5x284 would be at the top however.

Creedmoor and 6.5 x 47 lapua have the advantage of being able to fit into a short action mag with the long bullets.

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Originally Posted by redman

Both great cartridges. If I were to go long action 6.5x284 would be at the top however.

Creedmoor and 6.5 x 47 lapua have the advantage of being able to fit into a short action mag with the long bullets.

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I have no idea why I chose .260 over 6.5 Creedmoor when I built my gun. I think I saw the 6.5CM trend on the horizon and the deep down non-conformist in me just wanted to buck the system but now I kinda regret it when I see 6.5CM ammo everywhere and .260 nowhere (even though I only handload).

Meh...

6 in one Half Dozen the other, in the end.

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Originally Posted by FiveInADime

I have no idea why I chose .260 over 6.5 Creedmoor when I built my gun. I think I saw the 6.5CM trend on the horizon and the deep down non-conformist in me just wanted to buck the system but now I kinda regret it when I see 6.5CM ammo everywhere and .260 nowhere (even though I only handload).

Meh...

6 in one Half Dozen the other, in the end.

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I actually went down the same road. Mine was a 260 ai in a short action. Took me a while to conform to the 6.5x47 lapua. As soon as lapua starts making brass for the creedmoor I will be conforming to that too. Already have a 10t that needs to be setup.

any of the 6.5 calibers are great. I bought one of the 260's in a remington model 7 when the 260 first came out. the gun arrived at the store before the ammo did. ordered some 7 mm 08 brass from midway and begin loading nosler 120 grain bt. used data from sierra for loading. imagine remington never thought it through but sent guns with one in 1 in 10 twist, the whole time promoting 140 grain bullets, which would not stabilize in their guns. remington has done this kind of thing, if they had put the 1 and 8 twist and had put it in a target rifle it success would have been for sure. remington has done this before with 244, later renamed 6mm. even with all this the cartridge will remain around a long time. the 120 grain bullet kills medium and small game efficiently. if they had done as much as hornady, has in promoting the 6.5 creedmoor things would have been a lot different.

^ One of the reasons the 260Rem had such a slow start. ^ But it's well established now :-)

Also per the original post....260 is not that far from a 308 in recoil. Especially if you plan on shooting the 140 bullets. 6 x 47 lapua or 6mm creedmoor may better suit your needs. Then again you can always get a muzzle break I suppose.