6.5 rem mag

[rwk]

Any one here put together a 6.5 rem mag with a longer throat.

 

[Romulus]

Sorry to say I have not, but I have been eyeballing that cartridge for some time now. If you're using it for a long bullet what is the COAL you have estimated?

 

[Rtheurer]

RK

What is your plan or thoughts? My gunsmith has a hunting buddy that he has done a couple of chambering jobs in 264 Win Mag. he is pushing the 140gr VLD Hunting bullet at 3200fps on a 26" barrel. Its a tack driver for a field rifle and shoots 5 shot groups in the .5 on average. He is real hard on the local Whitetail and coyote population in his area no matter the distance. He told me that he has been getting around 1500 rounds out of the barrels before there toast. This is in a hunting rifle not a match rifle.

The 6.5 Rem Mag should be right between the 6.5X284 and the 264 Win Mag as far as velocity that should be expected. Barrel length might dicate how much speed your going to get. Im getting 2950 to 3000fps in a 30" taget rifle chambered in 6.5X284. I would imagine that would be the speed you would get with the 6.5 Rem mag with a 26" tube. Anyone here agree with that?

If I had a Mag bolt face action laying around it would be one of my thoughts in a 6.5mm. You would think it would be a good hunting rifle cartridge for white tails and more maybe.

Russ T

 

[Titandriver]

Jim See at Center Shot Rifles built my 6.5 Rem Mag on a Rem 700 long action. Running 140 Bergers at 3250 out of a 28 inch Brux. Thinkin' OAL is about 3.10 or 3.15. It is a hammer for certain!!

 

[JohnMill]

Rich,
Did you or Jim have any previous info on barrel life. Several years ago I lokked at that cartridge for 1000yard but was dissuaded by a couple of people. I had bought the 2 piece full length sizing die so I would have no problems with that. They pointed to the shot life of the 6.5x.284 and said it could only get worse with the 6.5 Rem Mag.

Thanks

John

 

[Titandriver]

John,

I did not discuss barrel life with Jim but I had a pretty good idea it wouldn't be that great! I'm certain if I keep pushing 'em at 3250 it would most likely be done at 1000 rounds. I did work up a load with the 140 Bergers at 3000 that grouped between 1/3 & 5/8 inch consistently. I've toyed with the idea of loading down to my 260s' level - 2800 - but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[JohnMill]

Rich,
Thanks for the reply. I've read that the accuracy node for the 140 Bergers (assume VLD. No?) is from 2950 to 3050. Is that a download or considered a max. I haven't seen anyone try the 6.5 Mag. in competition. High cost of reamers, dies, and brass and all. That doesn't mean it won't work it just means no one wants to bite the bullet so to speak. The 7s and 30s are running similar intensities ( I think)
Are you going to compete with it?

Thanks

John

 

[Titandriver]

John,

I am running VLD's and find the most accurate loads are in my Savage LRPV McGowen-barreled 260 (1x8) pushing them at 2848 average, typically at .250 with a best of .166 (5 shots@100). So I've thought about dropping my Rem mag to those velocities to see how accurate it would be as well as saving some barrel life; just haven't done it yet due to a hectic work schedule.

Haven't competed yet and probably won't due to my love of pistols and USPSA/IPSC shooting. Any free time I get I find myself playing more with pistols than rifles. Plus, I'm a lot better pistol shooter than a rifle shooter! I'm not as consistent in my rifle shooting fundamentals so I have some really great days as well as mixing in a few stinkers when I can seemingly do nothing right.

Rich

 

[Titandriver]

John - forgot, I use RL-22 mostly with the 140's, between 57.5 - 58 grs, OAL is 3.115 AND SAFE ONLY IN MY RIFLE! Velocities average between 3211 and 3254, SD's between 11 -17. Groups between .356 - .685. NF 8x32x56 DD reticle.

Rich

 

[Dans40X]

OR
opt for a beltless case chambering that is slightly more efficient than the belted brotheren-
6.5 RSAUM.

 

[Romulus]

I'm liking 40x's recommendation.... a lot. It just makes sense.

 

[rwk]

I'm not worried about barrel life, its to be a basic hunting rifle and won't have a million rounds thru it. My ? how long to make the overall lenght of the round.

 

[Titandriver]

rwk -- long or short action? I'm assuming Remington short action, if so you'll be limited by the magazine box length. If you go long action you can load to 3.20 with 140-142's and still get good case neck support of the bullet.

 

[wboggs]

I too wonder why we don't see more about the 6.5RSAUM. It makes perfect sense.
Bill

 

[rwk]

TDriver, i'm going to use a long action, i'm looking at 3.160 or 3.170 something like that. Tha barrel is not chambered yet., i have to send the a round. Rich

 

[Titandriver]

rwk -- here's a pix of a 6.5 Rem mag loaded to 3.175 with a Berger 140gr. VLD with a bullet next to the loaded round. You can see how far it goes into the case. I'm kissing the lands at 3.115 in my rifle so the bullet is seated a tad deeper than this. Click on the pix to get a bigger image.

 

[Twodogs10mm]

rwk -- here's a pix of a 6.5 Rem mag loaded to 3.175 with a Berger 140gr. VLD with a bullet next to the loaded round. You can see how far it goes into the case. I'm kissing the lands at 3.115 in my rifle so the bullet is seated a tad deeper than this. Click on the pix to get a bigger image.

Hey, Titiandriver could you repost that picture? I'm doing a 6.5 Rem mag build on a savage long action and would be interested in seeing it. I'm getting ready to order the barrel and still need to figure out how long to make the throat. I plan on shooting 140gr berger or others. Does yours still shoot the lighter shorter bullet weights?

Thanks Doug

 

[BigDMT]

I'm doing a 6.5 Rem mag build on a savage long action and would be interested in seeing it. I'm getting ready to order the barrel and still need to figure out how long to make the throat. I plan on shooting 140gr berger or others. Does yours still shoot the lighter shorter bullet weights?

Thanks Doug

I have a 6.5 Rem Mag on a Savage 116 long action and shoot the 140gr Berger VLD's at over 3130 fps from a 26" barrel with a long throat chambering. Had the 140's going 3210 fps, but case life was short and that brass is hard to come by unless you form it from 7mm Mag.

I have had this rifle for about 5 years now and it is my main hunting rifle. Killed over a dozen animals with it from 80 yards to 655 yards. Even used it in 10 shot 1000 yard BR comp during one event for fun. Have a load that can shoot under 1/2" at 200 yards using 51gr of RL-17.

The long throat is nice for getting maximum case capacity to "hot rod" the round and get maximum energy at long range when hunting. BUT>>> The 6.5 Rem Mag will wear the throat and lands down quickly when pushed to the upper limits of speed. Just the same as any larger 6.5mm chambering. Since I jam the Berger VLD into the lands, I've had to chase the lands a couple of times now from wear and the long throat gives me less room to continue seating the bullet out before the case neck does not support it properly. I have had Berger VLD's shoot very well when seated far off the lands, so I might have to try that method with my 6.5 Rem Mag soon, or get it re-chambered and reduce the barrel length to 25.5".

Here's some pics of the rifle and the accuracy I'm getting.

The rifle with a Choate tactical stock that I ended up getting rid of because it was too heavy for hunting. Looks good though.

Here's the rifle with it's "wooden hunting attire" and a couple of animals that fell victim to it.

This is my best group at 200 yards. Load data is listed on the target

The same target showing two other 3 shot 200 yard groups tested on the same target. One is pretty bad using a Fed GM215M primer, but the other group on the bottom right is no slouch. Only difference between all 3 of the groups is the primer. Really shows how a primer change can make a HUGE difference in accuracy.

Picture of my 6.5 Rem Mag case with the 140gr Berger VLD along with a few other cartridges I have in various rifles. From left to right is;
22lr, 40 S&W, 20 VarTarg, 204 Ruger, 6.5 Rem Mag, 7mm Rem mag, and 358 Noma Mag

 

[Twodogs10mm]

I'm doing a 6.5 Rem mag build on a savage long action and would be interested in seeing it. I'm getting ready to order the barrel and still need to figure out how long to make the throat. I plan on shooting 140gr berger or others. Does yours still shoot the lighter shorter bullet weights?

Thanks Doug

I have a 6.5 Rem Mag on a Savage 116 long action and shoot the 140gr Berger VLD's at over 3130 fps from a 26" barrel with a long throat chambering. Had the 140's going 3210 fps, but case life was short and that brass is hard to come by unless you form it from 7mm Mag.

I have had this rifle for about 5 years now and it is my main hunting rifle. Killed over a dozen animals with it from 80 yards to 655 yards. Even used it in 10 shot 1000 yard BR comp during one event for fun. Have a load that can shoot under 1/2" at 200 yards using 51gr of RL-17.

The long throat is nice for getting maximum case capacity to "hot rod" the round and get maximum energy at long range when hunting. BUT>>> The 6.5 Rem Mag will wear the throat and lands down quickly when pushed to the upper limits of speed. Just the same as any larger 6.5mm chambering. Since I jam the Berger VLD into the lands, I've had to chase the lands a couple of times now from wear and the long throat gives me less room to continue seating the bullet out before the case neck does not support it properly. I have had Berger VLD's shoot very well when seated far off the lands, so I might have to try that method with my 6.5 Rem Mag soon, or get it re-chambered and reduce the barrel length to 25.5".

Here's some pics of the rifle and the accuracy I'm getting.

The rifle with a Choate tactical stock that I ended up getting rid of because it was too heavy for hunting. Looks good though.

Here's the rifle with it's "wooden hunting attire" and a couple of animals that fell victim to it.

This is my best group at 200 yards. Load data is listed on the target

The same target showing two other 3 shot 200 yard groups tested on the same target. One is pretty bad using a Fed GM215M primer, but the other group on the bottom right is no slouch. Only difference between all 3 of the groups is the primer. Really shows how a primer change can make a HUGE difference in accuracy.

Picture of my 6.5 Rem Mag case with the 140gr Berger VLD along with a few other cartridges I have in various rifles. From left to right is;
22lr, 40 S&W, 20 VarTarg, 204 Ruger, 6.5 Rem Mag, 7mm Rem mag, and 358 Noma Mag

SWEET nice bucks too what barrel is that, twist, grooves? Have to get back too get back to you. Thanks doug.

 

[BigDMT]

Twodogs10mm,
It's a McGowen stainless, fluted barrel in Light Varmint Contour with a 1 in 8.5" twist rate and 6 grooves. Not a drop in though. Bought it as a blank and had my smith do the work.

Shoots pretty good and has never let me down in the field. If I do my part with hand loading and shooting, that rifle will hit it's mark with thunderous energy every time Really fell in love with the 6.5 Rem Mag and Berger bullets for hunting. With my VLD handloads, the 6.5 Rem Mag has a much flatter trajectory AND more knockdown energy at 300 yards and beyond than any factory ammunition offering for the 300 Win Mag or any other large similar magnum factory ammo. And as a bonus, it only has the recoil of a .308 Win!!! So it is very comfortable to shoot for hunting or long range sessions because it won't hurt your shoulder or possibly cause a flinch from anticipated recoil.

Unfortunately the 6.5 RM never had a chance in the market when it was designed back in the 1960's because Remington restricted it's chambering to factory ranch rifles with very short barrels that kept it's true speed potential hidden from the public. Interest quickly died and the cartridge has now become all but obsolete in the eyes of sportsmen.

Did you know the 6.5 Rem Mag was actually the very first "short magnum" design in history? However, the shooting world wasn't ready for such a thing back in the 60's with the 30-06 and 30-30 doing most of the hunting at the time. Then when the 7mm rem Mag came along, the end for the 6.5 RM was undeniable. The 264 Win Mag's fame was also an unfortunate victim to the 7mm Rem Mag. The 7mm RM is a great round, but it ruined a few other great rounds as well.

Nowadays we have tons of options for custom barrels and the sky is the limit when wanting to build your own rifle. So when the 6.5 Rem Mag is chambered in a barrel of 26"+, it turns into one mean little hot rod round that easily rivals the 264 Win Mag with careful hand loading.

As you can see in my last photo, I am a belted magnum fan for my hunting cartridges. I seem to be able to push pressure limits for extra velocity more so than non-belted designs allow. Then I just neck size and headspace off the fire-formed shoulder so my belted cases last as long as any other design and provide the same consistent accuracy as well.