Forming .260 Remington vs 6.5 Creedmoor brass from .308 Brass

C&RTactical · Mar 17, 2015

I have been doing a lot of searching on this subject to find answers on this. So far pretty crappy. They either do not answer the question or are not specific enough. So my question is what is in the topic line. Which is easier to do? I am planning between these two calibers for rebarreling my 700 into. My concern is which will be easier to convert with the abundance of .308 brass I have? In addition what are the exact steps for forming brass into either? Do not suggest another casing to convert as many others have done. .308 is what I have and what is abundant to me.

jimbobborg · Mar 17, 2015

You're basically taking the neck of the .308 and making it thinner. Whichever cartridge is closer to the .308 parent cartidge will be the easier of the two. IIRC the .260 Remington's shoulder is closest to the .308, so that would be what I'd go with. Also, once you neck down the brass, you'll need to remove some brass from the inside of the neck.

reynolds25 · Mar 17, 2015

I just spent the last 2 months trying to convert much of my 308 brass to 260 Remington. I do not recommend it one bit. I ran the 308 brass through a full length 260 die on the first go round. After blowing a primer out the back of a casing I went back and turned the necks on all the brass to thin it out a bit. I ran my loads again and working my way up the powder charges I went from no signs of high pressure to blowing a primer right out the back of a casing. I chrono'd everything and none of the rounds I shot safely were near the velocity I can safely get from my factory Lapua 260 brass. I have decided to abandon the project and just spend the extra money acquiring factory Lapua brass which I have found to be exceptional.

C&R you may PM me and I will give you my email address if you would like to discuss it further.

BradMacc82 · Mar 17, 2015

Odd, I've had no issues with necking up .243 brass and necking down .308 and 7mm-08 brass for .260 duty.

With Varget (39.6gr) and 120gr/123gr BTHP's, I've had no issue getting 2940-270fps out of any of my brass in a 26" barrel, no significant signs of pressure - I haven't chrony'ed a batch with my Lapua brass yet to compare, but I whole-heartedly agree the 260 Lapua brass is the ****.

Traveler · Mar 17, 2015

BradMacc82 said:
Odd, I've had no issues with necking up .243 brass and necking down .308 and 7mm-08 brass for .260 duty.

With Varget (39.6gr) and 120gr/123gr BTHP's, I've had no issue getting 2940-270fps out of any of my brass in a 26" barrel, no significant signs of pressure - I haven't chrony'ed a batch with my Lapua brass yet to compare, but I whole-heartedly agree the 260 Lapua brass is the ****.

Did you say?

BradMacc82 · Mar 17, 2015

Traveler said:
Did you say?

I would've expected that from Bama47...

Mike3888 · Mar 17, 2015

Seems necking up works better then necking down. I know when I neck 556 cases up to 6mm the cases actually shorten a bit, when I neck 30-30 brass down to 7-30 they grow.

FlatsFlite · Mar 17, 2015

Mike3888 said:
Seems necking up works better then necking down. I know when I neck 556 cases up to 6mm the cases actually shorten a bit, when I neck 30-30 brass down to 7-30 they grow.

Yep

On a side note, who made your 6x45 barrel? I've been hankering for another one.

browning guy · Mar 17, 2015

BradMacc82 said:
Odd, I've had no issues with necking up .243 brass and necking down .308 and 7mm-08 brass for .260 duty.

With Varget (39.6gr) and 120gr/123gr BTHP's, I've had no issue getting 2940-270fps out of any of my brass in a 26" barrel, no significant signs of pressure - I haven't chrony'ed a batch with my Lapua brass yet to compare, but I whole-heartedly agree the 260 Lapua brass is the ****.

I am with brad on this one I have turned a few hundred 308 in to 260 Remington and never had a problem. Honestly I have not done shit but reform and trim.
I love working with 260.

Mike3888 · Mar 18, 2015

FlatsFlite said:
Yep

On a side note, who made your 6x45 barrel? I've been hankering for another one.

Blackhole weaponry. Liked it so much I bought one in 6.8

C&RTactical · Mar 18, 2015

Brad and Browning what were you using as .308 brass to neck down? Also did you just lube and shove it in the .260 die or were there more steps to the sizing process? If you have figured out a way to easily use .308 brass for .260 I am all ears to recycle my brass and save me the money.

I talked to Reynolds and he could not get the FPS at the pressures he got to. He said he used Winchester and Federal Gold Medal Match brass. After talking to him I am leaning towards just going to 6.5 Creedmoor and buying ammo for brass from Hornady.

BradMacc82 · Mar 18, 2015

I just lubed, fl resized, trim/chamfer and loaded/shot them.

LC LR 7.62 brass ('08 and '10 production), 7mm-08 has been by Remington (pockets started seeping at 4th loading, tossed), .243 is from PPU, and my .260 brass is mix of Federal, Remington and Lapua.

For me, it has been as simple as lube them, size them. Lee FL sizer die.

jimbobborg · Mar 18, 2015

I'd suggest you try trading that 308 brass for 243 brass on the brass trade thread we have here.

browning guy · Mar 18, 2015

BradMacc82 said:
I just lubed, fl resized, trim/chamfer and loaded/shot them.

LC LR 7.62 brass ('08 and '10 production), 7mm-08 has been by Remington (pockets started seeping at 4th loading, tossed), .243 is from PPU, and my .260 brass is mix of Federal, Remington and Lapua.

For me, it has been as simple as lube them, size them. Lee FL sizer die.

Same here. :thumbsup:

C&RTactical · Mar 19, 2015

That is good for you guys that you managed to get it to work. Though I feel I am taking a lot of risk if the brass conversion is a failure for me. Since, I would have dropped the money for barrel fitting and dies completely hoping to not purchase brass, then ending up doing it anyway. 6.5 Creedmoor has much cheaper ammo that can get for fairly close to $1.25 a round which gets me a good match ammo and leftover brass. Though obviously a much more difficult if not impossible brass conversion process for the Creedmoor.

How have you not had the issues with pressure that Reynolds had?

BradMacc82 · Mar 19, 2015

Couldn't say, I don't know who made his barrel - what reamer did they use? How tight is the neck and throat? Does he have the hard carbon build-up in the chamber I initially ran into (which elevated pressures)? There's a whole list of questions that could be asked.

I'm using a 26" Shilen S7 barrel, keep most of my rounds below listed max's, the only thing I depart from the load data on is my COL's - tend to load a touch longer than the books list.

That's been his experience, Wes and I have had differing experiences.

I won't try to talk you into either caliber. If you feel the Creedmoor may be a better fit for you - then by all means, go for it.

If you want to go .260, cool. It's a damn fine round, IMO. It's kicked my ass a few times, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

C&RTactical · Apr 12, 2015

As a beginner to precision rifle and limited to mostly a short 100 yard range, should I actually jump to the .260? Or should I just stick to the .308? I like 6.5 calibers, but this conversion would be expensive for a beginner like me.

Biggfoot44 · Apr 12, 2015

Other than a slight recoil reduction, the main advantage of the various 6.5mm's of this type is the ability to use high BC bullets. At 100yds high ballistic coeffecents are a moot point.

BradMacc82 · Apr 12, 2015

C&RTactical said:
As a beginner to precision rifle and limited to mostly a short 100 yard range, should I actually jump to the .260? Or should I just stick to the .308? I like 6.5 calibers, but this conversion would be expensive for a beginner like me.

For your range, and an entry - it'd make more sense (IMO) for you to stick with .308 for now, you can always re-barrel to a 6.5 at a later date when you have more range and comfort/experience.

Which is what I probably should've done myself, but I'm hard-headed and like to go my own way.

Forming .260 Remington vs 6.5 Creedmoor brass from .308 Brass

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