6.5 decision to make.....HELP

[stealthgoat]

FYI I just re-read Gun of the Week #46 about Terry Cross's 260AI in an AICS stock, some good information there too.

 

[hogan]

The AICS stocks weigh about 6lbs...
They hold their value pretty well. If I was looking for a dual purpose rifle, tactical and hunting; I would sell the AICS stock first off... A McMillan HTG or Edge will weigh under 2lbs. Not talking recoil mgmt with these medium capacity ctgs, so why take the weight???

#2 , How ya gonna hunt via horseback with a tactical rifle? Who makes a saddle-friendly tactical scabbard? Presumably with a NXS scope in this tactical beast, you are talking 17lbs and almost 12" x42" in terms of packing the gun in some kind of case on the trail... Or will you be just cradling that heavy beast of a rig as you meander about mounted on ol' Dobbin?

Then, there are some pretty decent Brown Bear in NW Alberta. Maybe if you hunt down around Calgary/Banff they are few, but I'd bet anywhere North of Dawson Creek or Fort Nelson they are fairly thick; and BIG!

I would look at a switchbarrel rifle. Go 6.5x55 or 6.5-06 and think about a .338-06 for when you're in bear country. Then again, with the great variety of .338 bullets out there, and all have decent if not superb Ballistic Coefficiency, maybe just go .338-06 and don't look back.

There is no need to handicap yourself with a short-action receiver. All 6.5mm bullets over 120gr will benefit strongly from a long-action receiver. Even the short-action Win 70 action will work.

I have a 6.5x55 dummy round on my desk as I type this and with a Hornady 160gr seated about .15" before the cannelure, the round will function in my Win70 SA receiver with modified magazine box and follower. As the virgin case is 2.15" oal, and the dummy round is 3.085" oal, you can see the obvious benefits of a longer receiver when it comes to maximizing case capacity and bullet seating. In the Win 70 LA, this bullet can be seated even further out.

If I was going to hunt on horseback, I would build a tackdriving hunting rifle with a #4 barrel contour on a long-action and utilize a compact scope like the Leupold 4.5-14 50mm. If in Western Canada, would go .338-06 or maybe .338/284.

A long-action switchbarrel gun in 6.5x55 and .338-06 would be a tremendous setup. Keep the rifle with scope at about 10.5lbs and you'll have a piece you will use well and cherish all your days.

 

[mikegaiz]

I have used the 6.5/06 Imp in 1000yd comp with good success. I am now using a 6.5/285 with not as good results. Most likely the barrel or me. The 6.5/06 IMP has around 200+ FPS more that the 6.5/285. It is almost as fast as the 264 Win Mag with less powder. It is a great long range hunter.. I used Redding comp 280 Imp dies and used 6.5 bushings. You could go with the Redding comp 25/06 imp dies and have your gun smith ream to 6.5. and use the proper 6.5 bushings. Either way will work. Precision shooting had a great article a ways back on how to fire form. Basically use 270 brass (longer neck) then size to 6.5 leaving a .010 bump for the first shot instead of jamming the bullet. Worked great. I started using Lapua 06 brass with good results just more work. H4831 SC, H or IMR4350, and RL22 all worked well. Went through three barrels (1200 to 1400 accurate rounds) and moved on. I now use it for long range prairie dogs. It is a flat shooting round, 142gr. worked best for me in a 30 in. 1 in 8 twist. I have hit P dogs at over 1200yds. Try it.

 

[johara1]

To use any of these 6.5's with the big bullets will not fit in the mag. A 243 with 105 or 115 will not also even a 708 with amax 162 will not fit a 2.800 mag. So you have to go to a savage or a long action rem or seat the bullets too deep to gain anything over what the .308 will do. A savage short action is a little better for mag. length but not much. In single shot thats an other story,I have seen a very good shooting 300 RUM on a short action........jim