What brass is best for resizing to .260 rem?

[cleveland48]

Hey guys I'm shooting a 260 rem.  And the brass for it is pretty exspensive.  Earlier this week I reformed some 7mm-08 brass, and it shot exactly where my 260 brass was shooting with the same load.  But I've also thought about 243 brass.  Is it easier to upsize 243 brass to 260 brass, or to downsize 7mm-08 brass to 260?  I have about 4 boxes of 7mm-8 brass I can use and can find some 243 brass easily.  I'm mainly asking which is for stressful on the case upsizing or downsizing?  Speaking of the 260 brass it is remington and came with the gun three years ago, and none of them have ruptured yet or had split nexts so they are very dependeble brass.  Some have been loaded as much as 14 times lol , but I'm getting ready to discard it, so this is why I'm seeking your guys advice.  Thanks in advance for all the help guys!

[john keyes]

I always prefer to go up than down, for some reason.
so I like 243, I even make 308's out of em

[Coyote Hunter]

Cleveland -

One point you might want to consider is to choose a case to resize that you don't have a rifle chambered for.  This could avoid unpleasantness in the future.

I am currently in the process of building a 6.5mm-06AI which should be back from Kreiger later this month, finally ready to shoot.  Long ago I made the decision that rather than buy 6.5mm-06 brass to fireform, at $2 each, I'll use .25-06 brass instead.  One of the reasons for choosing the AI version of the 6.5mm-06 was specifically to prevent 6.5mm ammo from ever getting into a .25-06 chamber and I don't even own a .25-06 --- yet.

[nomosendero]

Though in principle I agree with john keyes, the 260 is a little different, in that the 7-08 down to 260 is a minor change & Win 7-08 brass is relatively affordable. I read some varied opinions on this subject a month ago or so & 1 very serious shooter (snipers hide) pointed out how & why the Win 7-08 brass does so well & it made sense.

[AtlLaw]

I always prefer to go up than down,

Me to!  I resized a lot of 243 to 260 and haven't had a problem.  But I use the 243 because I have a ton of that brass but only one rifle in that caliber and I don't shoot it that much.

<snip>the 7-08 down to 260 is a minor change

I also agree with that statement, but I have a 7/08 I shoot a lot and therefore it's brass is worth more to me.  I have even thought of trying to neck the 243 brass up to 284!   

[john keyes]

well life is not so simple now...
long ago the only member of the .308 family that I had was a Savage 99 in .308.  I necked up lots of 243 and 7mm-08 brass.  then I bought a 7mm-08.  Then I bought a 260......
A sharpie and those little cheap plastic ammo boxes comes in handy now.

When I first started out I had a Ruger 30-06, some 165 core locts, and a pound of IMR 4350 and 4064.  Many deer died with no problems.
Then one day I shot a deer off hand at 150 yds and decided that was not right, shooting offhand and stalking with a bolt action rifle.  I had to have a savage 99!
Things have just gotten worse since then.
and you guys are no help

[Coyote Hunter]

well life is not so simple now...
and you guys are no help

John –

One of the “enabling” factors for me was getting a chronograph.  Suddenly the number of rifles around the house started growing rapidly...

[moorepower]

When you neck down make sure to check the neck od as the wall thickness will grow. Neck turning can solve this if needed.

[coyotejoe]

I've necked up and down and I'm now of the opinion it is best to leave it alone. If you have a lot of brass that means you either have or did have a rifle in that caliber and if you're like most of us you probably will have another at some point. I don't know how many times I've told myself "I'll never own another 30/06" so I gave away my brass and dies. Then, sure as heck, someone will make me an offer I can't refuse on a 30/06 and I end up buying more brass and dies. Now I just store unneeded brass in coffee cans under the loading bench until it again becomes useful. Also under the bench is a large wooden box full of dies I don't need right now but may need again at some point. The downside is-- having brass and dies makes it so easy to get sucked into buying another rifle!

[kombi1976]

Ummm, how about 260 Rem brass?
Takes the hard work out of it.