OK I am in the process of thinning the heard and reorganizing. I have decided a good full house load 6.5 in a light package is about perfect for me. I hate muzzle brakes and I shoot my guns a lot so that I am familiar with the weight and balance of my hunting gun. More recoil than the 6.5 as I get older is just unappealing....
I am wondering what you guys would go with between these two calibers. I see a small advantage both ways. I will have a 260 set up for shooting distance already, so I will be very familiar with the caliber. However the 6.5x55 gets a little extra fps with the 140's for hunting.
Is there anything I am missing? Lapua makes brass for both...
Tikka laminated stainless would be the gun I would get, and both calibers are listed to have a 22.4 inch barrel.....so is either caliber better suited for the short 22.4 Tikka barrel?

I went through the same thing a couple of months back. I had a tikka T3 hunter in 6.5 Swede and a Tikka T3 Superlight in 260. The long and short was that I liked the superlight more than the hunter model. I ended up keeping the 260. I don't think any animal you'll shoot with a 140 grain 6.5 caliber bullet will be able to tell the difference between the two. Good luck either way you go.
CT

Flip a coin. In a Tikka, both actions same length/weight. Both very capable but if I were running factory ammo I would lean to a Creedmoor actually. Since you handload, accuracy and velocity will be more similar than not, using good brass and loading technique. Noth more accurate than most shooters off the bags.

I like the 120-130s in the 260, not that it won't handle a 140, and on deer, I see nothing but meat in the freezer from 120 and up.

I would run a 140 at 2700 in the Swede and a 130 at 2850 in the 260. Both highly effective, and have reach.

Classic 6.5x55 in SS T3 Lite just ordered a McMillan, Gap tradition, Ti recoil lug, Ti handle, and carbon fiber knob.....not together yet, but soon.

Bought loaded Ammo 50 round Lapua 123gr and 50 rounds 108gr cheaper than 100 just brass. Will reload with 120-143 boolits later

Should be fun

The difference in case capacity is around 3 or 4 grains of H2O, depending on the brand of brass that you're using, in favor of the 6.5x55.

I have multiple of both and can't see that there is enough difference, performance wise, to pick one over the other, particularly when you're looking at the same rifle either way you choose to go. The 260 might have an advantage in brass availability, since you can make 260 cases from a variety of easy to find parents brass.

I shoot, mostly, 100 grain Partitions in my 260 deer rifles and either 129 grain Hornady SpirePoints or 130 grain AB in my 6.5x55s.

In a Tikka go for the swede, LA mag means you can load the bullets as long as you like, and Lapua brass is much cheaper and easier to find.

either one going to be better for the short 22.4 barrel, or not really any difference? Thanks

What kind of difference are you expecting from two cartridges that are more similar than different?

Lapua brass for 6.5x55 is 25 bucks cheaper.

The only 6.5 worth considering anymore is the Creed and evidently Lapua is going to be making brass soon. And now that Montanas are showing up the fat lady is singing with a mouthful of cake.

MD has pointed out that either Lapua or VV has published some "modern" loads for the x55 that give it a little more sauce than the .260.

OK, but case capacity doesn't change radically, there is still only about a 4 grain difference. 4 grains is about 7%, so if you apply MD's 4-1 ROT, a 7% increase in case capacity should gain about a 1.75% increase in MV, assuming that all other variable factors remain constant. Therefore, if the 260 is getting a MV of 3,000 fps from a particular combination of components, a 6.5x55 would project to get a MV in the neighborhood of 3,053 fps. Even if a shoot got 100 fps of additional MV, how often is that sort of increase going to make a meaningful difference either in the field or on the range?

140 AMAX @ 3,000 vs 3,100 = 3" drop and 3/4" drift at 500. Boot is untied, feet wet, knee hurts, hungry, outta water, wind shifted, looks like rain, are you on the right ridge? Where's that guy you spotted 2 hours ago? 1 hour of light left, headlamp battery low.....

See how much it matters now?

No bad choice to be made here.

+1

I have a Swede and a Creed, no .260.

For SA, I like the Creed. Of course the Swede needs to be in an intermediate (3") or long (3.4") action.

The Creed was built around long bullets in a SA. Some say the Creed is the .260 done right. I won't push that point, but there is some reasoning behind the statement.

IMO, it boils down to the individual rifle, how it fits, how it shoots, how it carries, how it functions, etc. The three rounds are pretty close, all three do what they need to do.

Fire wisdom: it's the bullet, not the headstamp...

And as always, it's the nut behind the trigger...

DF

Nope the good ole 260 Rem will still be a solid seller in 20 yrs not something Id confidently say about the creed !!

I've shot the 6.5x55 since 96 and had 3 of them and its a lovely round with the heavier SD projectiles, I've recently built a custom Mod 7 in 260 rem and scoped it comes in at around 5 1/2 Pounds, great package and 130gr VLD at 2900fps have great legs. I see nuthin the Creed offers that the other 2 dont already, apart from the look at me factor.

The 6.5 Creedmoor has at least one advantage over all other 6.5mm bore sporting cartridges, great factory ammo. Even the $18 Hornady American Whitetail 129 grain hunting loads are MOA capable.

I think that the 6.5 Creedmoor will be more popular now that Hornady is offering factory loaded hunting ammo and I have been told that Winchester/Olin is coming out with a hunting load that will feature their Extreme Point bullets.

Maybe Remington will get on the 6.5 Creedmoor train and we'll see 700 ADL or SPS entry-level rifles for under $400. Maybe.

I think quite the reverse, and tend to believe the 6.5 Creedmoor will (perhaps already has) eclipse the 260 and relegate it to near obsolescence.

Of all the cartridges introduced in my 55 year life time, I think the 6.5 Creedmoor is at about the top of the heap in terms of intelligent design (sorry you evolutionists ).

It just has more latitude in a SA than the 260 with long 140's, and I've found Creedmoor brass to be far more available.

When I build a 6.5 it will be on the Kimber MT platform and will be a 6.5 Creedmoor. Inherently accurate, miserly on powder, great barrel life, kicks a little, kills a lot... a cartridge to grow old with.

Yes.

Unless I miss my guess the 260 is going to end up like the 280 Remington.


If I thought the 6.5 Creed was going to end up as a dead duck, I would not have built this...

Got two Swedes, no .260. I'm sure the .260 is a fine round but, like everything on the .308 case, it's just two dull and sensible. I'll vote 6.5 X55 just for the cool factor.

I'll have to side with Bob on this one.

So much of the gun business seems driven by target shooters, hunters often following in their wake. Not so much boutique, LR hunting rounds like 26 and 28 Nosler, etc., but mid powered rounds for short actions.

And Hornady, offering such great factory ammo for their 6.5 CM is a big plus, IMO.

Of course, I'm prejudiced, having recently built a Creed, not a .260. I could have built either one.

DF

The 6.5 Swede shoots the light bullets and the heavy bullets. If a fella ever wanted to retire there arsenal and hunt there older years uncomplicated with only one rifle the 6.5X55 Swede would be the cartridge to do just that.






Shod

Being the inveterate tinkerer that I am... If you already have a .260, I'd vote for the 6.5x55 just to try something different...

I have owned both calibers. The 260 was a stainless Model 7 with 20" barrel (sold it), and the 6.5x55 is a Tikka T-3 with walnut stock. Both shot very well. For an all-around rifle, light bullets to heavy, go with the 260. For a big game rifle with mild recoil and killing power way beyond its weight class, go with the Swede. As I have said here before, my Tikka will put 10 Speer 140 grain flatbase spitzers into just over an inch. That's using old Remington cases I had left over from another Swede I sold and ancient Speer bullets someone gave me. With Hornady 140 grain match bullets it shoots even better. I've been hoarding my Lapua brass, but will break down and use it some day. I like the slightly greater case capacity of the Swede. You are using very slow powders with 140 grain bullets, and need all the boiler room you can get. A buddy shoots 160 grain Sierras in his and loves them. That is the reason for the 6.5s being popular in the first place. Long, deep penetrating bullets at a reasonable speed. I like the Creedmore, too. Don't have one.

I prefer 6.5 Creed, but out of your options, I'd take the .260 and not look back. I had a 700 Classic in 6.5 Swede, and really wasn't able to get any better velocities with it than I can my Creedmoor without seeing pressure. I also had a hard time finding reliable full pressure load data for modern rifles and had some CIP spec cases that didn't always fit my case holders. Altogether, I would just have a hard time finding a reason to buy another modern rifle in 6.5 Swede when .260 and 6.5 Creed are both widely available and for most purposes identical or superior.

Here's my 6.5 CM, a 24" #2 Shilen on a 700 donor in a Mtn. Rifle McWoody, Timney 510, glassed and freefloated. I picked up the stock on the Classifieds.

It's a shooter, just haven't shot it yet in the new stock.

DF

Swede has been around since 1890s, not going anywhere. In the short action 6.5 Non-magnum race, we see the Creedmoor continuing to build momentum. The 260 will not be obsolete, but it's fad seems to be waning, IMHO in large part to a lack of industry support, and it starts and ends with Remington failing to product more offerings in rifles, and in better quality ammo. Lapua brass brought the 260 out of life support IMHO.....before the Creedmoor. It and the 47 are fine SA rounds, but the 260 at equal pressure can best them IMO...slightly, and perhaps irrelevant shy of 1,000 yds competition.

Hornady thinks LONG TERM, and got it right. If the ammo remains high quality, and the price is held, it will continue it's popularity, but remember, it's a niche round as the 7/08, which has had 35 years to grow.

I think of all the 6.5 rounds used here in America, the Creedmoor appears to be the most successful in commercialization. That said, I like my 47 and will continue as I handload, but like them all, as I have had several Swedes, 260s, a 6.5-308 pre-260 days, a Creedmoor....and now the 47.

The latter has worked on elk just shy of 1,000 yds with a 127 gr IIRC, a sub-130. SO just remember, about anything you need to chase with a 6.5 is likely going to be well within the capabilities of a 120-130gr of proper construction.

The Swede has two things I am not content 100%, the tapered case, and the varying head sizes of different brand brass. The only thing I can say about the Creedmoor, in the past, the Hornady only brass offering was questioned as it's life.

It's all splitting hairs. I could be happy with any of them in a handy accurate rifle. Never had a 264 WM, a nice round, just never needed it's added speed.

I still feel a 6.5 on the '06 case COULD sell in America, but would it ever be more fruitful to the industry than a 25-06, an oddity, I would question. One thing is for certain, the 6.5 is FINALLY gaining some traction in America, by all the above rounds, notably the shorter ones, and yes even the lowly Grendel

Latest Swede photos.

This McWoody has nicer grain than the Creed. And it's an Edge, the Creed is std. fill.

DF

My vote would be for the Swede. 4-shot group.

The Creedmoor just capitalizes on an inherent design flaw in the way most .260s are built, namely a 2.8 inch magazine. With a 3-inch magazine that goes away. It's curious to me that more rifle builders don't make short actions with 3-inch mags.

Well I shoot a 6.5 x 55 since the mid 1980's my one and only now is a Sako that I have had for some 28 years now! I got 2000 Bulk Winchester cases, and another 5000 120 gr Remington Bulk bullets and a good 20 lbs of RL-22 and Federal 210 primers! It shoots well and the deer stay dead with every single one I shoot! With this one I got enough to shoot the rest of my life! Its all a toss up, there is not a whole lot of difference between them!

My new Tikka T3X in .260 Remington arrived last night so I was cleaning it, mounting a scope and checking length to lands of the three different 6.5 bullets on hand. Most of them when loaded to touch the lands had an OAL just a smidge too long for the strict 2.8" Tikka magazine - 2.815 up to 2.890" - just over the limit.

But then I noted that this SA has a bolt throw that travels some .3" past the spacer at the back of the magazine. Since all you need is another tenth or so in the magazine I thought, "hmmm".

Now there are several articles on the net about using a long action mag and lengthening the bolt stop to convert one's .260 into a long action. But I was thinking, and will verify this asap, that just using a long action magazine might provide a solution without modifying the rifle. What if one could load rounds to those 2.8 something lengths and then just position them at the front of a LA magazine so that their bases would still be picked up by the bolt?

Not the most elegant solution, granted, and possibly it only applies to the Tikka, but if not touching lands causes loss of sleep at night this could be a way to get'r'done quickly and easily.

Now that said, being a Tikka I'll go out on a limb and guess that it probably shoots pretty good even with bullets seated to meet magazine constrictions - I'll verify or disprove that statement this weekend most likely.


Just more first world problems...

Jim in Idaho,

My 6.5X55 Tikka touches the lands with a 130 accubond at 3.120 with a magazine that is 3.340. It also works perfectly with a 142 lr accubond and the 143 Eld-X hornady. Bullets are seated to the base of the neck with ample room to chase lands. The 6.5X55 Swede in the Tikka is a perfect setup IMO.




Shod

Factory Creeds won't touch the lands with VLD style bullets and still feed from a 2.8" box either... just saying.

The OLNY advantage the Creed has is excellent factory ammo.... which is significant. But, if the schitt ever hits the fan, or if there's another kink in reloading supplies.... it'll be much easier to make .260 brass out of the veritable cornucopia of .243/7-08/.308 brass in current circulation... than to make Creed or x47 brass.

My 6.5x55 Tikka was excellent, but only outran my Tikka .260 by about 75 fps.... and that was with 2" more barrel.

I'm pretty sure a guy could run any of the four "mid-6.5s" (swede, x47, Creed, .260)... and never really see any difference between them in the field. They all kick a little more than a .243.... and hit big game about like a .270.... seems like a pretty good place to be.

I think that's it in a nutshell. Well said.

Also agree on the 260 and 308 Brass. Heck, I've got 1,000 pieces of Lake City laying around.

Comes down to picking one that "speaks" to you. I'm a sucker for the Creedmoor as I like its shape and OAL. I had a 260 that was wicked accurate with 120's and 125's, but wouldn't shoot 130's or 140's. Go figure.

Nice rounds, all.

So what you're saying is Sweden and Finland are pretty friendly to each other?

I'm not sure even that is significant; Creed brass is easily formed from mil-spec 7.62 brass, if you're willing to give up a small amount of capacity, and from commerial .308 brass with one more step. I make my Creed brass from TW and LC, just a single pass through a standard Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor sizing die, no different than forming .260. With commercial brass though another step is needed; a shortened 7mm-08 die does the trick to bump the shoulder back without wrinkling.

Hi All,

Newbie here (as a member). My first post. I never recommend brands but will report what works for me.

I have a Sako 85 Varmint Laminated Stainless in .260 Rem. The barrel is 600mm (23 5/8") with a 1:8" twist. I run 140gr Berger 6.5 VLD Hunting in Lapua brass using ADI AR2209 powder (sold in the US as Hodgdon H3450).

Was at the range last Saturday to confirm the drop data from the Shooter app. The first three cold bore shots from 100m (109 yards) grouped nicely at 6mm (0.263") = 0.21 MOA.

Moved out to 200m (218 yards). Shooter gave holdover at 200m as 7 clicks (my scope is graduated in 0.1 mRad clicks). Don't know what happened with the first shot! Next two "grouped" at 9mm (0.354"). They hit 1 click above the POA. Adjusted the holdover to 6 clicks but didn't get the chance to verify this as it started raining.

I use my .260 for culling kangaroos on my rural property. Head shots are mandatory here.

Gotta love the .260. Gotta love the Sako Varmint.

Cheers

Don't know why the image won't display. The link shows the UBBCode provided by Imgur. Can anyone help me here?

Cheers

The software doesn't recognize ".jpg?1" as a valid file type. Remove the "?1" from the link so it ends with just .jpg.

Thank you, Sir!


Cheers

Glad to help. And welcome to the forum!

I'm curious, so three questions:

Why do you have to shoot kangaroos in the head?

What do you do with them after you shoot them?

Do you eat kangaroo?

Hi

Kangaroos are protected as are all indigenous species in Oz. As a land owner one can obtain a "destruction permit" if the 'roo numbers on one's property are causing substantial issues such as overgrazing, wrecking fences and so on. This is classed as non-commercial shooting.

Why do you have to shoot kangaroos in the head?

The regulations stipulate:
head shots
max range 200m
min projectile .224, 50gr

What do you do with them after you shoot them?

No part of the dead animal is allowed to be taken off the property. You can take what parts you want for your own consumption/use but you are not allowed to sell or even give anything away to anyone else outside of the property. What you don't use is to be left on the ground. Foxes and crows soon clean them up. And you get to shoot the foxes.

Do you eat kangaroo?

Always take a few choice cuts if the 'roo looks to be in good shape. Marinate and then onto the Weber.

Commercial shooting is a different ball-game. Lots of accreditations needed.


Cheers

I can't imagine these paired with a Tikka would suck.....

I picked up some of that lapua ammo on sale for $60 a box when I was getting started with the 6.5x55. Tried both the 136 and 123 each printed less than 1/2 moa groups.

Regulations on Range and Shot Placement....

This is what we have to look forward to here in 'Merica if we as hunters don't get our schitt together....

Is there a warden or officer of some sort on-site to make sure you don't shoot one at 212 meters.... or shoot one in the neck? What happens when you miss a little low... or wound one? Is there a fine? Do you have to report yourself?

Good call. The only difference it would make to me is the price of another set of dies since I already have 3 6.5 Swedes.

No, of course there are no wardens present. The thing is you do your best within the regs to deliver a humane kill. Might not be that you agree with them but your hunting ethic guides you in your task.

What happens if you were to get caught (Murphy's Law) then all that would most certainly happen would be that your firearms get confiscated and your firearm's licence revoked.

After that you can sit out on your hill and watch the 'roos eat your grass.


Cheers

Graff's had these 1/2 off a few weeks back.....$.9.99 shipping for both.....I did partake

+1 for sure.

No idea how anyone can say Creed is "only" one worth considering. The Swede has been doing for >100 yrs what the Creed is doing now.

Take yer pick between the three ya just can't go wrong they all have their advantages.

I don't like choices so I'll go custom 98 Mauser in Swede, Tikka in 260, and Kimber in Creed for $500 please Alex...

What is.... "Heaven"!

Exactly! Which is why I just bought Whoop's 270........

Even my slow twist Browning shoots 140's the internet says it shouldn't. When making a choice between a 6.5x55, 260 or Creedmoor- if I had those three in the same rifle spread out before me my choice would be to measure magazine lengths. If all my rifles ever disappeared I would go out and buy another 260 (or similar) and call it a day.

Or just go old school, real old school, with the 256 Newton, perhaps the first .264" bore cartridge designed specifically for sporting purposes.