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.260 AI or .260 rem.

TOPGuN050

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 28, 2012
361
0
38
Butler PA
need some advise.

i am considering a new build rifle and was wondering the pros and cons between the 260ai and the 260rem.

i only ask because i know nothing about either caliber and havnt seen either of them perform but i have heard many good things.

any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

Terry Cross shot the AI for a bit... pretty sure he went back to the standard.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

Ive done both and now shoot a plain .260. I think most people end up going with a straight .260 after doing the 260ai. The performance gain is nothing impressive.
Its really a mater of how much extra time you have and how far your willing to go for an extra 75fps +/-.
If you end up going that route pm me and I will fill you in on what worked for me.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

well that more less sums it up veteran, im sure i wont miss the extra speed of the AI at all. do any of you know what the max effective range of the .260rem is? or what kind of distance is this cal. able to reach?
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

the straight 260 is plenty capable, so far i have reached 1250 and it was fairly easy with the 142 SMK at 2850fos, 1400 is next and I ma sure it will be just fine, any target further than that, i'll get closer.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

Go straight .260. If I need more I would look into 6.5x284 or such, I have both. The .260 is my main carry rifle if not the .308. You can buy ammo for the 260 but not AI version. It is a gain but not that much. If you were shooting at 1300 yds or such a whole lot then it might be looked at a little closer, if not, then the straight .260 is pretty impressive. It will still reach on out there. I have had hits with my straight .260 at a mile at thunder valler precision. Since then I have gone out west shooting rocks and my steel targets to about 1300 yds or so and accuracy was still impressive. I shoot 142SMK's with Lapua and win brass and either H4831SC of H4350. 142's out of my rifle come out at about 2850. And I'm not pushing them hard. Good luck
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mk4</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Is there that much difference in the .260 Rem and the 6.5X47 Lapua? </div></div>

Here we go....off topic and not even mentioned in this thread, but, in a word, no. Put a 260, x47, 6.5CM side by side and you would struggle to differentiate them without looking at the headstamp.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthre...136#Post3563136
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

The main advantage off the 260AI is not the extra speed but rather the stable shoulder. If you are going to be reloading a lot and don't like trimming, Go Ackley. I shoot my 260AI at around 2860 using H4350 and 140 Amaxs. It is a nice accurate/lower pressure load and the cases will last a good while. The AI cases look really cool too. If wanting to use this rifle on tac-comps, screw the ackley. You will lose brass and have to re-fire form.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

I just finished my straight 260.
1960 rem 721 action with a 8 twist 23" tube. Shooting 139 Scenars in front of 44 gr of 4350 . MV 2825 . 100 yard 10 shot groupings are .230

I used an AX Chasis , and instantly fell in love with it .

1350 yards yesterday at a 1 min target , 4 mph crosswind 4 out of 6 hits.

Greg
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JWV</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The main advantage off the 260AI is not the extra speed but rather the stable shoulder. If you are going to be reloading a lot and don't like trimming, Go Ackley. I shoot my 260AI at around 2860 using H4350 and 140 Amaxs. It is a nice accurate/lower pressure load and the cases will last a good while. The AI cases look really cool too. If wanting to use this rifle on tac-comps, screw the ackley. You will lose brass and have to re-fire form.</div></div>

Completely agree.

The brass loss factor combined with first round fire-forming is too high for match shooting. You can load and shoot a standard case for comps though, through an Ackley just as accurately as formed cases. With competitive velocity.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

thanks everyone for the advise and info. i will probably go with the 260rem instead of messing around with the AI it will be used in tactical comps at thunder valley precision and where ever else i end up with it.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

The 260 is great and now there are plenty of Manufacturers making quality 260 brass. I use nosler and I have not had any loose primers after 5 shootings of 43.5gr of h4350 under the 142smk. And for cheap plinking load up the amaxs, They Shoot awesome
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RugerSlinger</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The 260 is great and now there are plenty of Manufacturers making quality 260 brass. I use nosler and I have not had any loose primers after 5 shootings of 43.5gr of h4350 under the 142smk. And for cheap plinking load up the amaxs, They Shoot awesome </div></div>

+1 I shoot 142s when it counts, but a box of amax locally is $20 so it gets range duty.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

My .260 seems to really like the 140 amax. At 100 they group the best right at or under 1/4" with varget or 4831sc and at 600 yards they group right there with 139 scenars and 140 berger VLDs
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

ok .260 it is, thanks for all the info. now what is a good starting platform or rifle to buy rite out of the gate. was looking at the tikka but im still up in the air on this. id like to drop it in an xlr eventually.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

My pick for out of the box would be a savage of some flavor. If you go this route when you decide that you want to make a full blown custom...... You have an action almost any gunsmith will build for you. You also get a better trigger than with Tika. Although the AccuTrigger is a nice trigger for out of the box it will never be a Jewel. And you cant as of now buy a Jewel for savage. There are pros and cons for all factory rifles, but IMHO the savage give best performance for the money strait out of the box.They also have just about every style you can think of to choose from so you can get what you want the first time.There are also more after market parts for Remington and Savage than all the other makers.

But in the end its all about what you want.
 
Re: .260 AI or .260 rem.

I'd like to chime in on ackleys...

I think it depends how much time you spend on the square range shooting KD.

If you shoot square range KD stuff a lot; dot drills, groups, etc etc, an Ackley makes sense. You don't need the boost from the AI, so you have ample opportunity to fireform all you need. Plus, you wont be hotrodding the barrel for plainjane shooting.

Another thought is AI as an investment. Many of us change cartridges every barrel, but if you commit to a barrel or two with a given Ackley, once your first one starts going south, you've got a dedicated FFing barrel.

I haven't played with a 260AI, but a wildcatter at my club has his own version of it called a 6.5 Boomer. Its essentially a 260AI, but the shoulder is 1-2° different, and the body taper is a couple .001, different. Anyway, he gets 2950fps with a 140gr bullet, which is a solid performance boost over a SAAMI 260.

If you can make use of the boost, and you have opportunity to FC brass, why not?