Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 260 Rem or AI

Luke asked about a comparison of a 260 to a 260 AI. 9 out of the 20 post so far have gone off on their favorite but some other caliber. Interesting.

I am interested in experience with the 260 compared to the 260 AI as well ... but I am not interested in the 6.5 x 284 or other calibers. The 260 or 260 AI is all the gun I need for hunting in the east. If I were out west I would be open to other calibers. I have also wondered about the extra effort to fire form the AI as well as other plus and minus aspects of the AI. I currently have a 260 and am considering a 260 AI for my grand son. Some times wonder if I should keep it simple and stick with the 260.

I am 6.5 fanatic, so I may be biased. I have several 260's and 1 full blown custom 260 AI. My personal ressults are that it is worth the extra effort. I can easily get an extra 150-200 fps faster than the standard 260, dont have to trim cases, easy on the shoulder, and as accurate as anything I ever shot. I still get great accuracy while fireforming.
With that being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the standard 260 and i doubt anything will ever be able to tell the difference of the extra speed, but its sure nice to know you have more horsepower with the AI. Either choice would be a fine one, get it started and dont look back.

I run a 260. That being said, my experience is limited due to the fact that right out of the gate, I tried what was essentially the same load, with .5 grain powder difference and found a consistent shooter in the .2s and .3s.

Mine is your basic 700 trued, with a lilja tube. Pretty typical precision rig. Topped with a 6.5x20 Leupold.

I need to explore other options though, as my load is rather slow and my intent was to run 142 SMKs at a higher speed.

For hunting, I would stick with the standard 260. For competition, the AI sounds like it would be worth a look.

I've done some research to answer my own question: the 260AI shows a 5% gain in capacity. Given that, one could expect a 1% - 2% gain in velocity (25 - 50 fps), given similar chamber pressures. If you're doing better than that you're shoving more stuffing in the turkey, which can be done with either chambering.

Ackley himself wasn't too strong on the 6.5-08AI. But if it turns your crank, go ahead.

In response to to the OP I don't think the AI buys you that much at a 1000 yards you'd need a significant jump in velocity to make much difference in wind. FWIW Sherri Gallagher won all kinds of stuff this year at Camp Perry shooting a mildly loaded straight 260.

My intent is to rebarrel my 12FTR to the 260 in the future. I was leaning toward the AI, but now don't think it's the way to go, especially if I use at least a 30" tube. I can always rechamber if it's not enough, but really don't think it would be an issue. Thanks for the help, Luke

"the 1999 British Long-Range Benchrest Championship was won by a Tikka Continental in 6.5x55"

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_2_49/ai_95680073/pg_3/?tag=content;col1

I bet a 30" 260 will get you every bit of the above's performance, and then some. Terry Cross can answer your questions on the AI as he has used it alot and built many, though since went back to the Non AI, due to feeding issues.

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek046.html

FWIW, I use a 260 and 6.5x55. I like to K.I.S.S. for what I do.

...uh hu...150-200 fps gain by adding a couple of grains of powder...yeah...sure, whatever. I caught a 50 lb. bass on a ten 10 lb. cricket yesterday. Flinch

Horse poop.



Again, if i run the same insane pressures you are running I'll get 200 fps faster out of a 284 case.

If you say so. I have both, do you?

I attached a 25" barrel in 260 Rem to a 700 Ti action
shot it 200 rounds then AI it, shot it another 200 rounds then turned it into a 6.5-284.

Sounds like a proper 'controlled experiment' ....scientific style.

I did the same thing with a 280 Rem to 280 RCBS then to 280 AI.

At equal pressure for every 10 % increase in case capacity one can expact a 2 1/2% increase in velocity. Anything else is a pipe dream

SU35, truly, any comparison whether on velocity loss in various bbl chopped, OR various chambers and how speed is improved is no doubt, an accurate test when using same bbl.

I'm convinced that anyone who gets more than 100 fps from a AI cartridge over it's parent has really jacked the pressures up.

This thread has me pondering the merits or a heavy 260 or 6.5x47

I can give some actual data on the capacity differences. I built my very first one in 1979 while in gunsmith school and quite a few since then. I corresponded with Ackley by mail about the first one. He even sent me some load data from the Prowley Ballistic Calculator. They were way too hot!

Here are pictures of the before and after cases.



This .260 case before fire forming weighs 160.9 grs empty.


This fire formed .260 AI case weighs 160.5 grs empty.


The plain .260 weighs 212.3 grs full of water.


The .260 AI weighs 217.3 grs full of water.


The water weights for these cases are �
212.3 � 160.9 = 51.4 grs for the standard .260
217.3 � 160.5 = 56.8 grs for the .260 AI
This gives of 5.4 grs or 10.5% increased capacity. (5.4 divided by 51.4 = 10.5%)

Sorry for the bad pictures. For what it's worth, the .260 AI performs great and case life is terrific, i.e. - 10 + loadings.

Bob

PS - My first post.

Welcome to the "fire" Bobcape.

Good first post.....................


Ted

Thanks Ted. Been a member for a while, just not much of a poster I guess.

Bob