6.5 decision to make.....HELP

[snorfledorf]

I have recently bought a used 700 Remington short action .308 Police Special with 26" heavy barrel. The scope that came with it is a Millett 6x25x56 LRS. I am not really a fan of the .308 but this particular rifle was mounted in an AICS stock shoots exceptionally well and is capable of 1/2 MOA @ 300yds.(dead calm day off the bench) The stock I love and will be an excellent platform for any accurate rifle.

Weight is no problem for me when it comes to hunting as I'm on horseback most of the time.

My original idea was to pull the barrel off and replace with a 6.5 caliber (not really sure which version).

I would like to use the rifle for hunting the Eastern slopes of the Rockies in Alberta for Elk, Sheep, Antelope and Deer (long range shots...mostly).

Not wanting to own more than one rifle I would also like to have that same rifle to be used for tactical/practical ... target shooting up to 1000 yds.
Am I asking too much of one rifle ?

Which version of the 6.5 calibers would have the best "killing" knockdown power and what would be the maximum distances to make clean ethical kills....assuming I am able to place the shot with a confident degree of accuracy.

What would be the best twist and barrel length? I'm thinking of a Kreiger barrel as they are available here in Canada.

Am I dreaming OR is there a solution for me ??????????? HELP

 

[1000yardstare]

Dorfer, check out the latest issue of "Shooting Times". It has an article on the new Savage Long Range Hunter in 6.5/284. Might help you make up your mind.

Some might say the .264 Win Mag but it won`t work in your short action. I am partial to the 6.5 Swede but sounds like you want more horsepower.

 

[fivering]

Since you will want to be able to chamber cartridges from the magazine, why not a 6.5x.308, or a 6.5x.308AI?
Superbly accurate and plenty of knock down power for all but the largest big game.
Go with an 1:8.5 twist to be able to handle the heaviest of 6.5 bullets, and the lighter ones also.
The barrel length will be limited to what you can handle in the field while hunting, while for target shooting the longer barrels will give more velocity. Probably 27-29 inches would work fine.

 

[savageboy]

I personlly like the 260AI. For deer w/ a 26" barrel I get 3165fps w/ 129SST Horn. bullet. The 140's at 2920FPS will punch thru anything you mentioned and do it very flat shooting and accuratly.

 

[SEB-USA]

Probably the 260, 260AI (may have more feeding problems with the AI), or the 6.5x47 or its improved version, since you are working with a short action.
If you want a screamer-the 6.5 SAUM, but throat life will be shorter if you do a lot of back to back shooting.

 

[Obtunded]

Understand that any rifle that you intend to use for slaying paper and slaying critters is going to be a compromise on each end. The requirements are quite different, the bullets will be quite different and seating depth/bullet length will be quite different.

If you would like to retain the use of the excellent AI magazine system and the existing 308 bolt face, 308 case derivatives are probably the best... (260)

~140 grain bullets can be made to fly at 2900 fps and beyond. Killing power will depend on the size of the animal, but at least with a rig as accurate as you are planning, you should have good shot placement on your side. I'm not going to try and answer the distance question because I only shoot at relatively short distance with a high certainty of a humane kill. I don't have the expertise to answer that quantitatively.

1:8 twist is a good all-round twist rate, and in terms of barrel length, 26-28 is a good length for velocity generation, but at the expense of weight when it comes to hunting.

Something like the Remington Varmint contour or a light target contour would be good.

 

[snorfledorf]

Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions. They are all appreciated.

I just like to know or confirm that my ideas are not always bad decisions and that other people interested in the same things that I am, think the same way.

Obtunded...you are right about the compromises one has to make to "have your cake and eat it too". I was thinking seriously about the 260 or maybe the 260 AI but have heard that the AI version has some feeding problems and fireforming is a little more case prep than I think I would like.

Weight is not really a problem for me as I said I do most of my hunting on horseback and the rest of the time is at a range or some sort of competition. I think I would go for the 28" Kreiger....... probably a 1 in 8.5 twist as Fivering suggested just to be able to use lighter weight bullets. Lots of coyotes in my part of the country :0) Shooting coyotes keeps me in good shape as far as my marksmanship goes. As far as contour goes I believe I would go with a medium Palma contour.

Has anyone had any experience with the Obermeyer 5R rifling that Kreiger offers ??
Are there any advantages as far as increased velocity or accuracy??

Obtuned...I will have some more questions later about handloading for this 260 for target/long range shooting and hunting big game up to elk size.

I am waiting to get set up for reloading in my new house . I have reloaded before
BUT need to get re-acquainted with all the new generation bullets and powders.

Anyone got any good deals on a complete reloading setup :0) ???

 

[1000yardstare]

Wholesale Sports in Calgary carries reloading kits for RCBS, Lyman, Lee. Depends on how much money you want to spend. They have Redding presses but I don`t see a kit in their catalogue/website. Hope this helps.

 

[OKIE2]

If you don't take a good hard look at the 6.5 remington mag
your missing the boat it will out shoot the 6.5x284 or the
264 mag and the 6.5x300wsm and fits in a short action
only use 26" barrel or longer.

 

[cliffe]

okie2, why would you recomend a 6.5 rem mag., when you would have to modify the bolt face etc. to make it work............. a regular 260 rem. or a 6.5x284 would be the way to go, but you couldn't mag. feed the 6.5x284, so that leaves the 260 or an AI version of some sort,but the regular 260 rem is still a nice round and would be easy to load for as factory brass is available to just load and shoot. good luck with your project and let us know how it works out. cliffe

 

[Mark Walker in TX]

If you don't take a good hard look at the 6.5 remington mag
your missing the boat it will out shoot the 6.5x284 or the
264 mag and the 6.5x300wsm and fits in a short action
only use 26" barrel or longer.

Please define "out shoot" a 6.5x284.

 

[Erik Cortina]

If you don't take a good hard look at the 6.5 remington mag
your missing the boat it will out shoot the 6.5x284 or the
264 mag and the 6.5x300wsm and fits in a short action
only use 26" barrel or longer.

Please define "out shoot" a 6.5x284.

Please enlighten us, I would also like to hear that definition!

-Erik

 

[Rust]

Seems to me the simplest solution, since it is in an AI chassis, is to get a second barreled action in something like 7mm RSAUM and a couple of mags.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Seems to me the simplest solution, since it is in an AI chassis, is to get a second barreled action in something like 7mm RSAUM and a couple of mags.

An even simpler solution would be to do that plus get another AI chassis and another scope! ;D

-Erik

 

[Rtheurer]

Erik

I have to admit I did not know much about the 6.5 Rem. so I looked it up and read an article about the 6.5X284 Vs 6.5 Rem Mag. The Rem Mag is based off the 350 Rem mag and necked down. I honostly can say Ive never seen one. The Water capacity in internal Volume between the two are almost Identical. So the diference really is in the quality of the brass you can get. Norma and Lapua and Winchester win that hands down in my eyes. Not that all Lapua 6.5X284 brass is good as I have had some real Cr*p over the last 7 years. The Rem mag has a Belt also. Not that its a problem but it adds another stigma to the case.

6.5 Rem Mag and the 6.5X284 are balistic twins.

RussT

 

[bandit10-4]

What I would do is have your recoil lug pinned so you can have yourself a switch barrel rifle. You said your 308 barrel shoots good so keep it. As far as the 6.5 goes, I have owned several variations but in your situation and if you want to be able to feed in the short action I would say 260 or 260imp would probably be the easiest route...

That being said, if it was me I think I would take it to a good gunsmith and have the action blueprinted, recoil lug pinned for a switch barrel, and have a 6.5 1-8 twist barrel chambered in 6.5x47 with a min sami neck, and have the factory 308 barrel rechambered for 30x47 also with a min sami neck. You would be able to get Lapua brass which is by far the best, and most of your tooling would work for both calibers. You could buy one bushing die for the 6.5 and just change the bushing to size for either cartridge, that is your most $ die... Plus the 6.5x47 and 30x47 are super accurate and very efficient. Just my .02. Good luck and let us know what you decide and send some pics!

 

[DogBuster]

260 or 260 Ack Imp

 

[OKIE2]

Erik

I have to admit I did not know much about the 6.5 Rem. so I looked it up and read an article about the 6.5X284 Vs 6.5 Rem Mag. The Rem Mag is based off the 350 Rem mag and necked down. I honostly can say Ive never seen one. The Water capacity in internal Volume between the two are almost Identical. So the diference really is in the quality of the brass you can get. Norma and Lapua and Winchester win that hands down in my eyes. Not that all Lapua 6.5X284 brass is good as I have had some real Cr*p over the last 7 years. The Rem mag has a Belt also. Not that its a problem but it adds another stigma to the case.

6.5 Rem Mag and the 6.5X284 are balistic twins.

RussT

SEE IF THESE LOOKS LIKE TWINS TO YOU
http://ammoguide.com/cgi-bin/bcompare.cgi
They don't look that way to me
click on RUN COMPARISON lower right

 

[ChrisNZ]

Had a look and after choosing realistic 284 loads, the 284 version looks just as good.

In reality, practical considerations like quality brass and rim diameter over-ride any theoretical case capacity advantage which is small anyway.

ChrisNZ

 

[blawton]

If your stuck on a 6.5 then a wsm might be a good choice. You would need the bolt face changed or get a PTG bolt. Its not real expensive to do either.

Now when you say long range that could mean alot. If your talking 1000 yards then a 7wsm might serve you much better or another 7mm. 6.5 has great balistics but lacks in energy when compared to launching a 180 grains almost 3k....