What Twist?

[boogershooter]

What twist are you shooting in the 6.5x55?...Also what twist in .260 Rem? I know its relative to weight , but in general. Thank you!

[Jim Beckley]

I have always went with an 8 twist, but some go with a 8 1/2. I think that when Remington first came out with the .260 they had a 9 twist. I think that the argument was that a 9 wasn't enough to stabilize the heavier bullets, a guy from our club shot a factory barreled .260 and had no problem with it.

[boogershooter]

Jim, is the 8 twist pretty standard in most of the 6.5's? And what do you know about the 6.5- 08. Any one? Thanks for the reply! Larry.

[Jerry G]

Dan Lilja recomends the 8 twist with 3 grooves.

[shakes]

that's what I've got on my standard rifle. A Pac-Nor 8 twist 3 groove and its awesome accurate.

[Jim Beckley]

The 8 twist seems to be the most common. I've had 2 barrels in the .260. I don't think you can go wrong with any 6.5. My personal thoughts is that the 6.5 BR is a little small and the .260 a might to big. I have both my HP rifles chambered in the 6.5X47 Lapua. The only thing that I don't like is the price of brass!

[Jerry G]

That is a little hard to take. I guess you could buy 243 brass, expand the neck and shorten it. Anything based on a 308 will work but is work.

[boogershooter]

Yeah,I was looking at the 6.5x47 also and didnt like the cost of brass. But what Im dealing with is a short action/Stiller Predator,and was leaning towards the 6.5x55, but coal is ,I am thinking,an issue in a short repeater. As all the load data I see in my old books is giving lengths of over three inches , so I think Ill have to load them shorter than desirable to get them in the Magazine. The reason I asked the twist question is Gunsmith already ordered the barrel , But it looks like most 6.5's are an 8 twist, so its just a matter of using a different reamer. Thank you guys for the help. You know what I've noticed about all the different shooting disciplines I've been around , is that people in the sport are always willing to help you learn,Doesent even seem like competition against each other. Its more of meeting your own goals , and I appreciate it !!!!

[Jim Beckley]

Actually, I had a .260 in my SR and a 6.5x55 in my HR. They are just about twins. I used the same load for both. The thing about the 55 is that most loading manuals are looking at putting data out there for rifles that might be 100+ years old.

[yankee]

I guess you could say the Swedish military 6.5x55 is the start of all this and it was twisted at 7.5 . When Remington came out it used the 9 twist that would stabalize the bullets they were making. I have had six of these rifles from Remington and it seems like all 9 twists are not created equal. Most are marginal at stabalizing the longer bullets like the 142 sierra so just shoot the 140. The 8 twist seems to be the best combination. The bullet length is what decides what twist is needed more than weight of the bullet.

[Jim Beckley]

I had one of those Swedish Military rifles. A Gustav model 96, I believe it was. In the late 80's the market was flooded with them, I think I paid 80.00 for it. I think the Swedes had them chambered for a 160gr bullet and it had a loooong throat to go along with it.