6.5 Rem. Mag. in a Rem. Mod. 673 need loading data

[charlie bateman]

I am new at this site so you guys take it easy on me. I love this rifle but the loading manuals don't give much loading data on it. Yes I realize it is a SA and short neck. Barrel length 19in. I have been using imr 4831 55grs. and a Hornady Amax 100gr. or H4895 @ 45grs. and Hornady 123 Amax. Any other data would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Kurz]

I think that the simplest starting point is the Hodgdon Reloading Center:

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

You first select 'rifle'
Then both bullet weights
Then select both H and IMR powders
Then select all suggested powders

There are quite a few loads listed for each bullet weight. Remember though that the velocities listed are for a 26" barrels so they will be relatively high when compared to your 19" barrel. A 'round about method of adjustment is to subtract 20-25 fps. for each inch less or approximately 140 - 150 fps. for each load. This is to give you a ballpark idea not absolutes.

Regards.

 

[jwing]

The best thing you could do is put a whyatts box in it. That will give you more room to seat bullets out.

 

[charlie bateman]

I think that the simplest starting point is the Hodgdon Reloading Center:

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

You first select 'rifle'
Then both bullet weights
Then select both H and IMR powders
Then select all suggested powders

There are quite a few loads listed for each bullet weight. Remember though that the velocities listed are for a 26" barrels so they will be relatively high when compared to your 19" barrel. A 'round about method of adjustment is to subtract 20-25 fps. for each inch less or approximately 140 - 150 fps. for each load. This is to give you a ballpark idea not absolutes.

Regards.

Kurz, thank you very much for the info. That site is where I came up with the load I am using. I was hoping some of you guys had a pet load or other experience with this kind of odd ball round. I do appreciate your prompt response and help. Thanks again, Charlie

 

[charlie bateman]

The best thing you could do is put a whyatts box in it. That will give you more room to seat bullets out.

 

[charlie bateman]

Thanks Jwing, I will look into that. Charlie

 

[Kurz]

I was hoping some of you guys had a pet load or other experience with this kind of odd ball round.

Charlie,

My loads are different enough from your request that I felt the expanse of the Hodgdon website would be helpful, not knowing of course that you had already visited there.

My hunting load is the 125 grain Nosler Partition over either Norma MRP, Re-19 or Ramshot Magnum. I feed through a DBM with an OAL of 2.925" and a velocity range from 3050 to 3140 approximately from a 22" barrel.

Switching to the 130 grain Golden Target, I can use the same powders but adjusted slightly for that weight and bullet length. Usually these will chronograph somewhere in the 3025 range from that 22" barrel.

Regards.

 

[jwing]

I am pretty sure you have a 9 twist, so with that much power, I would shoot 130 to 123. To be honest put a 8 twist barrel on it, put a wyatts box, get a stock, then you will have a round with 140 to 3000 fps maybe 3100.

I have 2 factory 700 the whyatts box helps but the other is a long action with bullet to base of neck, get the full potential, 140 3150

Good luck.

 

[charlie bateman]

Charlie,

My loads are different enough from your request that I felt the expanse of the Hodgdon website would be helpful, not knowing of course that you had already visited there.

My hunting load is the 125 grain Nosler Partition over either Norma MRP, Re-19 or Ramshot Magnum. I feed through a DBM with an OAL of 2.925" and a velocity range from 3050 to 3140 approximately from a 22" barrel.

Switching to the 130 grain Golden Target, I can use the same powders but adjusted slightly for that weight and bullet length. Usually these will chronograph somewhere in the 3025 range from that 22" barrel.

Regards.

Thanks again, very helpful. Charlie

 

[charlie bateman]

I am pretty sure you have a 9 twist, so with that much power, I would shoot 130 to 123. To be honest put a 8 twist barrel on it, put a wyatts box, get a stock, then you will have a round with 140 to 3000 fps maybe 3100.

I have 2 factory 700 the whyatts box helps but the other is a long action with bullet to base of neck, get the full potential, 140 3150

Good luck.

Thanks jwing, you guys have been very helpful.charlie

 

[Hal]

Charlie
How does your 6.5 Rem Mag compare in case capacity to the 6.5 SAUM.

Hal

 

[jwing]

The 6.5 mag is 1 grain more than the 6.5/284

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I push the 140gr Berger VLDs in my 6.5 Remington Magnum at 3209 fps in a 26" 8 twist barrel on a trued TC Venture long action with 52gr of RL-17. No pressure signs so I left some speed on the table. I stopped there because thats plenty fast and accuracy is excellent. If you ever build another 6.5 Rem Mag, I would highly suggest using an 8 twist barrel and a long action of some sort. The long action gives you all the seating options your heart can desire using the heavy bullets.

The 140 VLD will barely work in a 9 twist, so that probably isn't the ideal bullet for you unless you rebarrel with a tighter twist rate. Don't worry about seating bullets way out to the lands. Bergers will shoot good with a lot of jump too. I've got berger VLDs to shoot really good at all seating depths. Jamming or seating within .010" is a bit of a myth. If you test enough, Bergers will shoot with a big jump. The only disadvantage is that you may lose velocity if the bullet is seated so deep that its below the body/shoulder junction and starts taking up case capacity.

RL-17 will also burn well in a shorter barrel so it would be an ideal powder choice for the heavier bullets if you desire better velocities. H4831 might be too slow for a 19" barrel. Probably won't give a complete burn. H4831 didnt give me very good velocity in a 26" barrel either so its not a powder choice i would recommend for the 6.5 RM.

With your twist rate, I would try the 130gr Berger VLD, 120gr Sierra Match King, or stick with the 123gr A-Max and start at 51gr of RL-17, then carefully work up in 1/2 gr increments paying close attention for any signs of pressure.

H4350 works decent and charge weights mirror RL-17 in testing, but give slower velocities. RL-19 and RL-22 gave excellent speed results in my rifle as well, but may also be a little slow for a short 19" barrel to burn completely.

 

[Kurz]

I am pretty sure you have a 9 twist, so with that much power, I would shoot 130 to 123. To be honest put a 8 twist barrel on it, put a wyatts box, get a stock, then you will have a round with 140 to 3000 fps maybe 3100.

I have 2 factory 700 the whyatts box helps but the other is a long action with bullet to base of neck, get the full potential, 140 3150

Good luck.

And here is the death knell of the 6.5 Rem. Mag.; cut up the action to allow for longer bullet seating or revert to a long action.

There is no sense to shoot a short action cartridge in a long action when there are several terrific cartridges properly designed for the long action. I am aware that quite a number of shooters often resort to this as a solution for cartridges such as the 6.5x284, 6.5 RSAUM and the 6.5 WSM but there are other ways to skin that cat.

There is great brass and a ton of information for long action cartridges such as the 6.5x64 Brenneke, 6.5x65 RWS and the more common variation, 6.5-06 and it's improved version. Then you can step up in power and case capacity to the .264 Win. Magnum with virtually no effort. And please, spare us the uninformed enjoiner regarding 'barrel burners' as this has ceased to be a problem with the advent of newer, cooler burning powders suited to these cases. If you want to walk on the wild side a little then you can try the 6.5x68 but you will need a slight adjustment to the bolt face. The real big dogs these days are the 6.5 Nosler and the 6.5-300 Weatherby.

I am as nostalgic about the 6.5 Rem. Mag. as anyone else but there are limits as to the extent that I'm willing to go, to shoot this cartridge. I limit the bullets to either hunting-style bullets or the shorter, lighter Match bullets in order to stay within the OAL required by a fixed magazine or the slightly longer DBMs. If I want more efficiency, I switch cartridges.

No offense intended.

Regards.

 

[jwing]

It's a great round and will shoot with all you mentioned, because I have all of them..

 

[jwing]

You can only burn so much powder in a 264 bore.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

You can only burn so much powder in a 264 bore.

Exactly right. Just wasting powder and barrels at some point.

And here is the death knell of the 6.5 Rem. Mag.; cut up the action to allow for longer bullet seating or revert to a long action.

There is no sense to shoot a short action cartridge in a long action when there are several terrific cartridges properly designed for the long action. I am aware that quite a number of shooters often resort to this as a solution for cartridges such as the 6.5x284, 6.5 RSAUM and the 6.5 WSM but there are other ways to skin that cat.

There is great brass and a ton of information for long action cartridges such as the 6.5x64 Brenneke, 6.5x65 RWS and the more common variation, 6.5-06 and it's improved version. Then you can step up in power and case capacity to the .264 Win. Magnum with virtually no effort. And please, spare us the uninformed enjoiner regarding 'barrel burners' as this has ceased to be a problem with the advent of newer, cooler burning powders suited to these cases. If you want to walk on the wild side a little then you can try the 6.5x68 but you will need a slight adjustment to the bolt face. The real big dogs these days are the 6.5 Nosler and the 6.5-300 Weatherby.

I am as nostalgic about the 6.5 Rem. Mag. as anyone else but there are limits as to the extent that I'm willing to go, to shoot this cartridge. I limit the bullets to either hunting-style bullets or the shorter, lighter Match bullets in order to stay within the OAL required by a fixed magazine or the slightly longer DBMs. If I want more efficiency, I switch cartridges.

No offense intended.

Regards.

The 6.5 Nosler might gain maybe 100-150 fps over what the 6.5 Rem Mag can do, but at what cost? 20-30gr more powder and half the barrel life. No sense to it. The 28, 30, and 33 Nosler are much more ideal for that case capacity.

The 6.5 RM is already a barrel burner when throttled up and shot regularly. No need to go bigger IMO. Im on my second 6.5 RM and have had 140gr VLDs up to 3230 fps in a 26" barrel with 58gr of RL-22, and 120gr Sierra Match Kings up over 3400 fps with no problem. She'll scream if I want it to and run right along side a 264 win mag for performance. The 6.5 RM is much more efficient than the bigger 6.5 rounds and sits right in the sweet spot for case capacity and chamber design for top level 6.5 bore performance without having to burn a lot of powder. I've never tested any powder where my charge weight was over 58gr, yet the 6.5 RM sends the bullets down range extremely fast.

As an added bonus, both rifles did, and do, shoot really good with just about anything you test. I have multiple loads that I could use for excellent accuracy and speed. Very good inherent accuracy with the design

 

[jwing]

Thanks, ledd
The 6.5 saum and 6.5 mag are great rounds, I have a 264 win, and 6.5 wsm, they all top out at 3200 ish, but all have the accuracy nodes. With today's powders 6.5-06 and 6.5x284 can be pushed there to.