6.5mm Decisions

[muley]

Hi All, Hope everyone is enjoying the Memorial Day REMEMBER. Question looking and trying to make a decision on which 6.5mm cartridge to chamber the 6.5mm barrel I just received from Krieger. I thought I decided on 6.5mm Creedmoor. I would like to setup the rifle on long action and be able to use for both hunting rifle for the wife and F-Class / precision rifle for me. I keep going back and forth from gren. to 6.5mm WSM, 26 nosler. Looking for true velocities 140 gr. 1:8 twist finish 26" between 2900 - 3100 fps. anyone with experience/ advice?

 

[Riesel]

You might review the 6.5 x .284 Norma Mag.

 

[Richard Coody]

Well if you want to be different the the 6.5X47 lapua

Hard to beat the 260

6,5 Creedmoor is the new hot ticket

Then for long range hunting the 6.5 SAUM is hard to beat

Why not buy a savage and build a switchbarrel. Then you can have them all.

 

[Sniper338]

6.5x284 for a long action and dont look back! If you want those velocities and dang good shootin.

260 or 6.5x47 lapua after that

Creedmoore is just over advertized. Still a decent round tho.


A grendel wont run 140s well. Or get near the velocity you want

 

[HPMike800]

to get the Velocity you want, you're looking at a Magnum case with the accompanying short barrel life.

Due to some horse trading I ended up with a 6.5 SLR. A 260 with improved shoulder geometry. I have been pleasantly surprised with the accuracy and consistency. I'm running 140 Hybrids at 2850fps.

 

[jr600yd]

6.5/06 it'll do everything you want to do.

 

[R.Morehouse]

6.5-06 with a healthy dose of RL 26 will get you to that higher speed you are looking for out of the 140's and you can seat them out there with the long action...

 

[Kurz]

I thought I decided on 6.5mm Creedmoor.

And what changed your mind?

The 6.5 Creedmoor is a superb cartridge for both pursuits you want to try. I haven't bothered with any of the 140 gr bullets for several years now that the 130 gr. Match/Hunter bullets are available. I can get either one to 3050 easily with best accuracy while staying at 2.800" OAL for use in a short action. I've used this cartridge/bullet combination for hunting, F-Class and PRS. There are no drawbacks here at all.

If you really want to up the ante, then you should take a run at the 6.5 GAP 4S or the 6.5 RSAUM as you prefer. Again, I have chosen the 130 grain bullets over the 140 grain. These will perform when loaded to an OAL of 2.825" in a standard short action without any problems at all while achieving nearly 3250 FPS with a couple of the better powders. If you shoot a DBM you can increase the OAL to 2.925 if you so choose. There is no reason to have to use a long action. If you find that you want a little better barrel life, you can run the now standard load of H-1000.

You might want to do a little searching for Pat Sinclair and his experiences with the 6.5 GAP 4S. He has probably done more shooting with this cartridge than anyone except George.

http://www.montanagunslings.com/

Regards.

 

[JASmith]

Yes, the 6.5 caliber does well at long range. The price paid, however, is fairly noticeable recoil.

Your wife might be happier with a 6mm Creedmoor for hunting.

You will be less tired as you start that final, most challenging stage of the competition.

 

[Patton243]

I realize this is a 6.5 discussion, but I'll never build one when the 6mm and 7mm are better solutions as far as I'm concerned. The High BC 7mm bullets beat the 6.5s, or you can run a highly accurate 6mm with little to no recoil. I think the 6.5s are overrated. I'm sure someone will have something to say about it, but that's my opinion. The only 6.5 that I would be interested in is the 6.5x47 Lapua. And that's because I currently have a 6x47 Lapua and I like it a lot. So do yourself a favor and sell your barrel and get another one.

 

[jakelly]

6.5-06 AI is a pretty special case. It basically maxes out the 6.5 26" barrel and you can buy factory 280 AI brass by Nosler. It'll give you 3100 on cruise control, I've taken mine well north of that.

 

[Frankr]

well I don't know what kind of velocity you guys get with the 6.5 creedmoor but I ran Berger 140 HVLD's at 2,950 FPS from a 24" factory savage model 10 predator hunter using 43.7gr RL17 in reformed Lapua 308 palma brass, CCI 450 primer I had 6 firings on the brass and primer pockets were tight. I got rid of the rifle due to the fact I had like 3 7Mags and a few 6's at the time and I was not going to make more brass for it. Now that Lapua is making brass it has me wishing I had not sold the rifle. In fact I just bought 100 new Lapua 6.5 creeds because I am ready to go back to the little 6.5 creed. Very nice cartridge and in a 10 lbs rifle there is no recoil not like a 7 Mag..and that 140 is a Hammer at long range.. But as others have stated the plan old 6.5/06 is a great cartridge. That factory savage 10 Predator hunter has to be one of the most accurate and best priced factory rifles out there. Mine would shoot about 3/8 Moa easily under 1/2 moa and I talked to a few other guys shooting them in other calibers not just the 6.5 creed and they say one of the most accurate rifles they have. So it make me mad that I have to re-buy one. lol...

I would say that 2,950 FPS was MAX I pushed it hard it could not take anymore and it was RL17 and it shot very well year round.
I wonder if a 26" would let it make that a little easier.

 

[Steelnecktie]

Last 6.5 Creedmoor I seen chrono'd a month ago was 26" barrel shooting H4350, 140 Berger, at accuracy node just under max was 2820 fps.

 

[Frankr]

Last 6.5 Creedmoor I seen chrono'd a month ago was 26" barrel shooting H4350, 140 Berger, at accuracy node just under max was 2820 fps.

yea that sounds about what I had got with H4350 and RL17 sometimes seems to produce 100 + FPS more than H4350
I could push it that hard on the Lapua Palma's and it was under 1/2 moa at 2,950. I could not push it that hard on Hornady Brass. About 2,800 anything over that I would lose the primer pocket first firing. But the Lapua Palma's I could push it to 2,950 and that was all it had..No more but it shot well there and in Hunting the 100-150 FPS more is what was needed, Flat shooting and Hard hitting and almost no Recoil at all in a 10 lb rifle.

 

[Frankr]

As for the 7mm fans and 6mm fans that 6.5 140 VLD has as good a BC and SD as a 7mm 168 and better than the heaviest 6mm. I feel the 6.5 140 at 2,950 FPS is as good in the field as a 7mm 168 out of a 7mag and out to 1000 yards on deer size game you will never see the difference. The big thing is the low recoil and in turn better accuracy. But I don't know if all 6.5 creed barrel's would be capable of pushing a 6.5 140 at 2,950 on the new lapua brass or not. I do know mine was
and 6 reloads on the brass and I still have it and it is not tired yet. So I am going to try another 6.5 creed.

I will also say I owned two 264 WM's both 24" barrels one was a 1-10 shot well with 120 class bullets. but I had a 1-9 and we tried to shoot 140's in it of all brands and it was hard for it to push a 140 to 3,050 FPS and roared like a 338mag and never shot well.
I have also seen 6.5/284 have a hard time pushing a 140 to 3,000 FPS from a 26" barrel
So the little 6.5 creed at 2,950 FPS with good accuracy seems quite impressive to me.