264 VS 260 remington

I'd suspect that the .260 might have an edge in intrinsic accuracy simply because it is vastly more popular with long range target, silhouette and "F" class shooters.

The .264 will drive the same slugs noticeably faster, the downside being a significantly shorter barrel life. Don
 
The Sierra loading manual (5th Edition) shows:

.260 Rem Max load gets 2700fps w/142grn hpbt Matchking (24" barrel).

.264 Win Mag Max load gets 3000fps w/142grn hpbt Matchking (24" barrel).

Food for thought.

Best wishes.
 
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I would have to guess that the 260 is a better performer at long ranges. Am i correct?? Lee



No... the .264 WM will run circles around the 260. The .260 will hold about 45gr of powder, the 264 will hold close to 75 grains of powder... big difference.

When made in equal quality rifles, they are both very accurate.


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Like Karl said, Hodgdon shows the .260 running 2730 fps with a 140gr Nosler, the .264 shows 3028 but with a 2" longer barrel. Knock off 50 fps for a comparable barrel and you still have a 250fps edge for the .264.

I have a .260 and really like it. Accurate, mild and pleasant to shoot.

I don't think they're in a really different arena big game hunting wise. If the .260 is inappropriate for the animal you're after, I think you need to step up to a bigger bore than the .264 but that's just my opinion. Don
 
if you do a point blank range comparison the 264 Win mag gives you another 100 to 150 yards point blank range. That means no holdover or hold under on deer sized game. For long range the 264 clearly has the advantage. Like another poster said the 264 with an overbore case capacity likes those longer barrels better and 26 inches is a good idea.

More velocity means less time for wind to act on a bullet before it reaches a target so you also have less drift than a slower cartridge.
 
I wasnt really sure to be honest, thats why i asked the question. I have not had any dealings with either cal. I will soon be after my next project. The project will be a long range hunting rifle, as well as a target rifle. I am still learning to shoot out to 3-400 yards. Once i feel comfortable with this i will start my project. I am just trying to get ideas on what cal to go with, Thanks Lee
 
Lee, if you are still 'learning' at the 300-400 distance, I strongly suggest a cartridge that will be cheap to buy (or load), easy on the shoulder, allows long barrel life for your learning curve time, is very accurate, has easily-bought match ammo/bullets, and is effective out to twice your current 'learning' distance. As Jack Roberts has said before, you can easily burn out a barrel learning the art and science of long range shooting. The .308-based rounds fill this bill nicely, starting with the .308 itself. Not sure if anyone makes match-bullet loaded ammo in 7-08 or .260, but you sure can load the match bullet components yourself. This case size will wheeze a bit out towards 900-1000 yards compared to the bigger ones, but will give you way better barrel life, cheaper brass and powder costs, and less shoulder aches. Plus you will become a very good wind-reader. ;-)

I don't know how big a critter you are planning to hunt or how far away you want to shoot it, but the bigger and further you get the bigger your round should be. A big magnum thumper will perform better but cost more, hurt more, and eat your barrel faster. A good compromise might be a .30-06 based case (.280 handloaded gets my vote) or a 7mm/.300 short magnum, if you need that much. The old 6.5 Remington Mag (short-action) is another thought.
 
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ya want 264 velocities with less powder and barrel wear the 6.5/06 AI is one of the easiest wildcats to load for, just run a 29-30" barrel and it'll do 3200 or so with a 140.
RR
 
As far as a hunting caliber is concerned I dont think theres much difference. Ive shot white tails with both. None of the deer killed with either could tell the difference. The .264 is going to be faster and shoot flatter as stated above, but I dont hunt where 300+ yard shots are common, so my go-to rifle is my .260 Ruger Compact. I like a small rifle with a short action. Ive never shot big game over 300 yards nor do I practice for this. I imagine the .260 would do it just fine if you practiced with that rifle. The .264 will just do it a little more effectively.
 
Colorado Pete thanks for the info. I agree with you and i am giving the 260 rem some real serious thought. I just dont know what rifle i can get this cal chambered in. I may have to have one of my rem 700 sent to pac-nor, or buy a stevens 200 and build the rifle. I just can beleive that there are not very many 6.5 chambered rifles on the market. Thanks fellas i have enjoyed reading all your responses. I have just one more thing i would like to ask. I will be using the rifle for coyote hunting and paper punching. I read an artical the other day about the 243AI it was very impressive to say the least. Do you think that the 243AI is a better choice over the 260 remington For my situation? Thanks Lee
 
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One thing to remember is that with high BC slugs, the .260 Rem outperforms the standard sniper loads for the .308 at long range and the .264 goes beyond that. The .260 can carry over 1200 ft lbs to 500 yds out of a 22" barrel.

That's long range performance by any reasonable standard and the .264 becomes sort of an over achiever. Both fine rounds. Don
 
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Skeetlee, when I was an Army Guy, I had the opportunity to do a great deal of long range shooting with the .308 (1,000 yards and beyond). I also did a significant amount of "work" with an Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) .300 Win Mag for "longer ranges", both day and night.

The .260 Remington is a standardization of the 6.5-.308 wildcat that was used for 1,000 yard shooting contests.

The .260 Rem. is easily supersonic past 1,000 yards and would be a dandy "learning" caliber for long range shooting. You can easily shoot through an antelope at 500 yards with this one (with the right bullets).

In order to get the most out of this (.260 Rem) caliber, I recommend using a .30-06 length action rifle so that you can seat the bullet way out there to use all of the powder capacity AND use a 26 inch (or longer) barrel.

You should get several thousand good shots out of your barrel. Oh, yes, get a rifling twist that will stabilize the long bullets, if that is what you will be shooting (about 1:8).

Best of luck to you.

(edited for spelling antilope/antelope: silly me)
 
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Guys, maybe I've been reading too fast, but I haven't seen a word about the 6.5-55 or 6.5-284. IMO, these are two more options in the pool.

I'm a big fan of the 6.5-55 and the 6.5-284 is nearing the top of my wish list.
 
not really any more so than a 260 AI, I shoot a 6.5 gibbs (270 win AI'd to the max) and the guys who have them rebarrel somewhere around 2500 rounds usualy.
the 6.5/284 is less capacity than the gibbs, actualy about even with the 6.5/06.
RR
 
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