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.260 & the 6.5 Creedmoor

Sagesniffer

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OK, I’m bored.
This isn’t really a .260 Remington Vs. 6.5 Creedmoor question. It’s more of a why question.
Why did the Creed take off in such huge popularity while the .260 kind of lags behind?
I was recently shopping around for a .260 and I had lots of gun dealers tell me the two are ballistic twins.
In my research it seems that the .260 has a very slight fps edge over the Creed.
Maybe the .260 has more of a following than I realize. But everywhere you look someone is talking about the Creed. It seems all the major manufacturers are now chambering the 6.5
I don’t see .260 ammo on the shelf but I’m starting to see 6.5 everywhere.
The .260 was introduced, I think in 97’ It had a huge head start over the Creed but never seemed to take off like the Creed.
Why do some cartridges take off when others of equal performance struggle?
Anyway, just some thoughts.
Happy Friday everyone!
 
I've always heard Remington blamed for not offering enough .260 options and discontinuing many fairly quickly after the cartridge came out. There wasn't aggressive marketing around the cartridge nor were 6.5mm rounds popular with lots of common readily available like there are now.

6.5 Creedmoor came around when practical precision rifle matches and long range shooting was really gaining popularity. Timing certainly helped the round take off.
 
The Sitka wearing, man bun loving crowd needed their own caliber. The .260 just didn't sound cool enough :)
 
I've wondered about that too. Always figured the creedmoor must be a little more inherently accurate at long range, or it wouldn't have caught on...
 
I think if Remington had marketed the 260 when they had the chance we wouldn't be talking about the Creed. The 260 does have a slight velocity edge on the Creed but the longer case shoulder, the same feature that gives it a velocity advantage, restricts its ability to be loaded close to the lands while still fitting in a short action magazine thereby taking up case capacity with deep seated bullets. The Creed's 30° shoulder is a more efficient design.

Another reason for the 260's lack of luster is that it was ahead of its time. Prior to the rise of long range popularity, there were lots of great .264 caliber cartridges that simply failed to launch into the spotlight. A couple prime examples would be the 264 Win Mag and the 6.5 Rem Mag, both overshadowed by the big 30s and the 7mms. Now that our knowledge of ballistics and advances in bullet construction have grown by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years, we're slowly moving away from the idea that speed and mass trumps all. Even today there are people that think the only way to kill a 150lb whitetail is a 180gr bullet from a 300 win mag.

The popularity of the 6.5 CM is the result of a perfect storm of marketing by a reputable manufacturer during a renaissance of the science of long range marksmanship backed by the best long range match shooters in the world.
 
The Creedmoor was designed by target shooters to work through short actions which it does better than the 260 Rem with long, VLD type bullets of which there are now lots of and are very popular for a lot of uses. Cheap target quality ammunition and the rise of precision rifle shooting really allowed it to take off. The popularity of that sport has trickled down to sporting rifles that run the gamut in costs. Yes, the Creed and 260 are ballistically similar enough not to matter, but the other factors have tipped the popularity scales to the former. I have a 260, but if I was buying today it'd be a Creed.
 
The ol internet has a bunch to do with it. Guys that don't know squat about rifles eat up the "magic" of the Creedmore. mtmuley
 
I think it's all timing and hype. The 260 came out prior to the LR craze and withered on the vine.

People love to talk about how the case is dimensioned for max accuracy but a well built rifle in either chambering will shoot well and the ballistics are identical.
 
From what I understand, a lot of long distance shooters do load and shoot .260 Remington. Just doesn't have the notoriety for some reason. At practical hunting distances, I see very little difference in .260 .308 .270 6.5cm 30-06 etc. I'm sure the animal knows no difference although many would argue me on that point.
 
7mm-08 was hyped and sold more. Strange that the .280 didn't get the same kind of love in the 06 case.
 
I think it's all timing and hype. The 260 came out prior to the LR craze and withered on the vine.

People love to talk about how the case is dimensioned for max accuracy but a well built rifle in either chambering will shoot well and the ballistics are identical.

That's interesting. I read where Jim Carmichael got credit for the 260 and he got it going for one special purpose, long range target shooting.
 
That's interesting. I read where Jim Carmichael got credit for the 260 and he got it going for one special purpose, long range target shooting.

The 308 case had been necked to 6.5 long before Jim ever did it. But he was pushing hard for its introduction, so while he wasn't the originator, he should get credit as being responsible for its introduction.

I used to have a copy of Jim's write up for Outdoor Life when the 260 came out. He was championing it as the ultimate whitetail cartridge, which he figured would appeal to the masses.

But the Creed case, at least in theory is more likely to result in better accuracy.
 
The Creed as mentioned by Pointer, allows long VLD bullets, due to the shorter case/COAL to fit in a standard AR magazine.

Bench shooters still use the 260. But they can/do ream out for custom length throats for the VLD bullets. Also they need not worry about magazine length due to them loading singlely.
 

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