260 Rem X 6.5-284 or custom

three5x5s

three5x5s

WKR
Joined
May 21, 2013
Messages
1,203
Location
Central Ky.
Really wanting a light weight rifle. Can go custom build but I dont know any custom builders,so I have been looking at these 3.
Kimber montana-Kimber Assent & Savage 111 lightwieght.
The kimbers dont come in 6.5-284 so I would have to go with 260 Rem. But I really want the 6.5-284.
The Savage comes in 6.5-284 but in a 20 inch barrel. Would the 284 gain anything on the 260 with such a short barrle. The 260 Rem in the savage is on a short action, the 284 is on a long action weighing .5 pound more. I'm afraid if I get the Kimber n 260 I'll wish I had a 6.5. Also afraid If I get the Savage I'll wish I had a longer barrel.
I want to shoot 120-130 grain bullets.
I'm open to any & all suggistions. Need
Production gun-or
Custom builders, stocks, dies & bullets
Would like to stay under $1800 minus optis.
Sherk I see you are all over the 6.5 so maybe you could pitch in here?
I live in Kentucky if that matters on the custom builders.
Thanks.
 
Is Kimber offering .260s again? They stopped offering that caliber the last time I looked. As per cases the .260 makes a dang nice pleasant and accurate rifle. Mine is a M7 custom shop original Kevalar stocked unit rebarrelled to a 22" mt rifle contour. My other 6.5 is a 6.5 x 280 AI on a Sako action with a 26" barrel set up for LR shooting. Large case capacity difference and fun to shoot factor difference. The smaller case gets the nod from me.
 
What is the rifles intended purpose? Deer, Antelope, Sheep, Elk? If it was me I would save bit more and go full custom with your specs so you do not have to compromise and don't suffer from remorse. You do not have to necessarily have to use a local smith in KY either- there are many many good smiths to chose from (GAP, Accurate Ordnance, LongRifles, Beanland, Bijou Creek ext).
 
Blockcaver said:
Is Kimber offering .260s again? They stopped offering that caliber the last time I looked. As per cases the .260 makes a dang nice pleasant and accurate rifle. Mine is a M7 custom shop original Kevalar stocked unit rebarrelled to a 22" mt rifle contour. My other 6.5 is a 6.5 x 280 AI on a Sako action with a 26" barrel set up for LR shooting. Large case capacity difference and fun to shoot factor difference. The smaller case gets the nod from me.
Click to expand...

You could be right. I thought I seen one on Gun broker, but I have looked at so many lately I could be mistaken. Iv looked at the T3 Tikka also.
 
Brado16 said:
What is the rifles intended purpose? Deer, Antelope, Sheep, Elk? If it was me I would save bit more and go full custom with your specs so you do not have to compromise and don't suffer from remorse. You do not have to necessarily have to use a local smith in KY either- there are many many good smiths to chose from (GAP, Accurate Ordnance, LongRifles, Beanland, Bijou Creek ext).
Click to expand...

Just deer. I have a 280 Kevlar mountain rifle from the Remington custom shop I got in 1986 for my first elk hunt. Its by far my favorite gun. I just like it so much I wanted a smaller caliber. less recoil. I mostly bow hunt but still love guns,
 
First , do you handload ? If not then a 260 rem. Second , I'm totally bias to the 6.5 saum. It's somewhat involved in the loading process and brass is a pia to find but that is about to change I believe. I couldn't argue against a 6.5 x284 or a 6.5-06 ai either. In an ultralight rifle with a short barrel I'd just stick to a 260 rem. Without a longer barrel to burn all the extra powder in the larger cases it's pointless. I'd build a custom on the action of your choice. For me , the 6.5 saum 4s shooting 140's through a 24" barrel in a Savage or Remington short action in a B&C Alaskan ti stock would come in about where you can afford and be solid to 750 yards on game. I'm not a huge Remington fan but a milled out 700 sa with a wyatt mag box and aluminum ptg bottom metal and one piece spiral flute bolt would be cool. A McMillin or Manners stock would blow your budget out of the water .
 
i see you are in Kentucky

check out Stevens accuracy. he has moved to Kentucky. near leitchfield. if you scrounge the parts [ thats where the fun is ] he will put it together for $650 and you will have a custom that is put together by one of the top smiths in the world for just about what you want to spend.

he is very honest on delivery times and has always beat a stated delivery for me. you wont regret a custom job.

it is true that most shooters send stuff all over the country to get work done and think nothing of it. but if you can go drop it off it sure helps a ton. you get to talk to the guy and drink cold drinks and hear sxxxx you almost wont believe.

and then there is the range next door and ........... well if you go see him you wont regret it, even if you dont have him build the rifle.
 
Thanks so much for all the replies. After looking at custom builders it will be a custom build. I will just move a few thing out to make sure I can swing the price. I'm sure I want a fluted barrel & bolt. Sherk I may have to let you give me a call on the Manners/ McMillen stock. May have to save up a little more. On the reloading/ I have a good friend that just loves a reloading project. He's One of the most talented men I know.
Rayporter: I will talk to Stevens this week & try and get down there to see him in November.
Again Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
 
I have the savage lightweight hunter in 260 and I like it. Mine is under 7lbs with a luepold vx3 2.5-8x36. It isnt extremely accurate if you are looking for a sub moa gun. But it is certainly accurate enough to take deer with.
 
If you want a great gunsmith look up Kevin Cram at Montour County Rifles. You will wait the better part of a year, but his work is second to none, and he will work with you to build exactly what you want. Not what is easy for him to build.
 
You might rebarrel one of the "inaccurate" Kimber MT rifles floating around too if you can get a deal on it. I've heard great things about what a slightly heavier barrel does for them. Caliber of your choice, great stock (in my opinion), trigger, action, etc. I have 3 K-MT (.223, 7-08 and .338 Fed) and really like the platform.....more than my Kevlar stocked M-7 .260 (Mt rifle w 22" barrel conversion from an 18" barrel .243). The K-MT is more ergonomic, over a pound lighter, and for me carries a lot better due to the slim belly, etc. I won't get into push feed vs controlled round feed as both systems work fine for me and I have no preference. The K-MT in factory form have taken some looking for the right reloads in the two 08 based cases but both shoot TTSX loads at less than 1 MOA now. If you don't reload, it might not be a good choice. Note that the .223 shoots fine with all loads tried so far.

Like you, I am a bowhunter for most of my hunting......but like guns too! The Kimber MT is almost like carrying a nice light hunting bow....although I am thinking of my Carbon Element and Drenalin, not your 2# longbow!
 
Its going to be a 6.5-47 Lapua or the 6.5-284. Just to make sure I'm thinking right, both these can be built on a Remington short action. I read somewhere that the 284 had to be built on a long action. If thats so it will depent on what I find as a used donor action, tuff choice. 47 would be lighter on the short action, 284 would be a little faster. looking at a 22' barrle. #0 or #1 countour barrle. or a #3 fluted. 0 or 1 would still be lighter I think. Krieger makes a#0 countor that weighs 2#. I dont think fluting a #3 coutor would get that low. Short action weighs 2# 4 oz. Long would action add 3-4 oz's. McMillen stock at 26 oz. I should be in the 6 lb mark.
 
The 6.5x284 Norma can be stuffed into a sa 700 action and if you install a Wyatts extended magazine box you can get to .295 coal. I would look at a 260 rem in a 700 with a Wyatts magazine installed for a short action 6.5 or the wildcat 6.5 saum like I'm finishing now.

Btw , when I say stuffed I mean less than ideal. The heavy for caliber high bc bullets that make the 6.5 family so attractive will be way down into the case and displacing powder and getting buffered by burning powder.
 
Definitely go with a semi custom. Way better accuracy available and your choices of what it will end up being. The 6.5 saum I'm working on is a winner imo. It will fit nicely into a short action and send 140 gr high bc bullets up to 3200fps if you don't mind killing cases and 3100fps with great case life and long barrel life. The case forming isn't too involved and there is supposed to be factory brass coming from GAP this winter. I could build one for your budget easily. A barreled action and a B&C Alaska ti stock would leave you enough for dies and aluminum PTG bottom metal and the magazine box.

Btw , when I say I could build one for your budget I mean for myself not building a rifle for anyone else.
 
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the 6.5 SAUM looks to be very nice. Fast & on a short action, I'm not near as knowlegable as you (Sherk) are on this. Not sure i could make everthing come togeather like you have. I'm not in a big hurry to get this built. I'm trying to ask all the right questions, so I'm not 2nd guessing or getting sold the wrong things. I do very much appreciate all the help from everyone. Please keep the thoughts coming.
 
Do your homework and be sure of what you want. If GAP comes through with factory head stamped brass then the 6.5 saum becomes very easy to assemble. Check out the snipershide thread on the 6.5 saums. There is a "care and feeding of the 6.5 saum " thread and a couple of others if you Google search. After looking at what I've made and what you say you want the GAP 6.5 4s reamer about right if you want a speedy 6.5 shooting 130gr to 142gr bullets. I have a slightly longer freebore for longer bullets but I also have a longer Winchester wsm action. You will not need your own reamer only an understanding of what you want so your smith can translate it into a rifle. Your local smith may or may not be up to the task so don't be afraid to ship your project to someone who specializes in making rifles and not just a gun mechanic who fixes bubbas guns and cleans them.
 
three5x5s said:
Really wanting a light weight rifle. Can go custom build but I dont know any custom builders,so I have been looking at these 3.
Kimber montana-Kimber Assent & Savage 111 lightwieght.
The kimbers dont come in 6.5-284 so I would have to go with 260 Rem. But I really want the 6.5-284.
The Savage comes in 6.5-284 but in a 20 inch barrel. Would the 284 gain anything on the 260 with such a short barrle. The 260 Rem in the savage is on a short action, the 284 is on a long action weighing .5 pound more. I'm afraid if I get the Kimber n 260 I'll wish I had a 6.5. Also afraid If I get the Savage I'll wish I had a longer barrel.
I want to shoot 120-130 grain bullets.
I'm open to any & all suggistions. Need
Production gun-or
Custom builders, stocks, dies & bullets
Would like to stay under $1800 minus optis.
Sherk I see you are all over the 6.5 so maybe you could pitch in here?
I live in Kentucky if that matters on the custom builders.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't get a 6.5-284 in a short action. It will be a hindrance.
I would just have a custom built over a kimber or even a cooper.
You can get a nice semi custom with 1/2 MOA guarantee based off a Remington action for 1800.
6.5 saum is king right know if you handle load. And are very patience when resizing brass.

Excluding the saum the 260 or 6.5 CM makes for a more compact rifle since you don't need a 26" barrel and both at SA's. 6.5 creedmoor normally is less picky ammo wise.

Id call Derrick at Horizon firearms. Does great work and is very reasonable.
 
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