6.5x4? update and range report at 550yds

[Chuckw]

this project started out to be a 6.5x47 but do to several events, i decided i did not want to be married to lapua brass. i almost went with the .260ackley but also wanted to be able to run through an unmodified AICS mag and be at the lands if i wanted to. what i ended up with was a long 6.5x47 that uses any of the .308 derivatives for brass. i pushed the shoulder back on a piece of .243 brass far enough to make the .300 long neck and for the 30 degree shoulder. it would be very close to the 6mm super LR on 6mmhot.com. this is what it looks like

the brass is form by simply running it in a 6.5x47 body die at the proper setting. the necks are then expanded up, trimmed, and turned since my reamer has a .294 neck. no different really than getting .260 brass ready from .243 or 7mm-08. the rifle is built on a surgeon RSR and is pillar and glass bedded in a mcmillan thumbhole stock and cdi bottom metal. the barrel is a 1-8 benchmark in medium palma contour finished at 27". it wears a sightron 6-24x50MD. here is a pick of the rifle

it still needs paint, flush cups, and a pad. i wanted to shoot it and make sure i wasnt going to rechamber to .260 or .260ack before going through the trouble of finishing. all i have run through the rifle so far are 140 a-max with ramshot hunter and h4350. either powder will easily push this bullet to 2900 with no primer cratering, hard bolt lift, or loose primer pockets. i think 3000 would be possible if you wanted to push the brass. what i have used so far is ww 7mm-08 brass but i will try some .243 lapua soon. i also intend to try the 130 berger, 123 a-max, and 123 scenar. the 140 a-max is kissing the lands at mag length but i ran it at 2.875. here is the third through fifth shots through the rifle

i need to get a bushing die to control my neck tension. i am using a modified lee .260 collet die right nowall in all i consider it a very good success since it will run the 140's at 2900 plus with no pressure issues and can utilize unmodified magazines. having a reamer and dies properly made for this cartridge would be a worthwhile endeavor i think. chuck

 

[HPMike800]

Re: 6.5 super LR up and running!

Giving the 260 an XC top would bring the bullets back quite a bit while moving them forward in the case. Might be a real help for tactical guys. Case capacity is pretty close so I dont know if there's velocity improvment.

 

[Chuckw]

i have formed my brass thus far from WW 7mm-08 brass. the first two groups are 130 berger VLD hunting bullets and h4350 at 2980. it will definitely push them faster as i had no pressure signs. these are the first bergers that have been through the rifle

the following group is the 123 a-max and re15. it is slow at 2900fps but i have pushed this bullet to 3150 with no pressure with h4350. 4 of the 5 go into 2"

lastly is a group i shot this morning with my 308. it is built on a surgeon RSR with a 1-12 krieger and mcmillan thumbhole stock. the load is 45.8gr or varget and a 155 scenar. you can count on it to shoot 2"-3"

i hope to shoot again this evening with some more re15 and the 123 a-max and 123 scenar. i hope the a-max really come in since it is cheap and can be used on game. its will be hard to argue with a 130vld at 3000fps or more though.

chuck

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Last edited by chuck williams; Today at 02:50 PM.

 

[therifler]

chuck nice looking cartridge and the groups are coming right in there . good luck with it hope it shoots well when you go long . The rifler

 

[Nomo4me]

Nice rifle. Me, I love being married to Lapua brass.

 

[Chuckw]

shot again this evening. here is the 123 a-max with 43gr of re15 for 3138fps avg.

here is the 123 scenar with 42gr or re15 for 3019fps avg. 4 of the 5 go into 1 1/4"! groups opened up a little with the 43gr load but velocity was 3150fps.

i plan on taking both rifles out further but 550yds is as far as i can shoot on my place at the moment.

chuck

 

[GSSP]

Yep! I'm in the same boat! Tie me to Lapua brass and drag me to death; happily!

Alan

 

[Chuckw]

i just cant figure out what the 6.5x47 will do with $90 brass that this cartridge wont do with $40 brass. maybe someone can enlighten me.

chuck

 

[Nomo4me]

I don't think we are knocking your choice. In my own case, I love the lazyness that Lapua brass affords.
I've got 500+ new Rem brass in 204 and 223 to process before I head out for a squirrel shoot this week.
I've no idea where I'm going to find the time to get it done.

I've also got 500 6mmbr Lapua coming tomorrow, just prime and load.

 

[flatlander]

Chuck, I think the route you went with your 6.5mm design is probably better than going with a 260 AI when magazine-fed ammo is a consideration. More often than not, seating long boattail bullets with the bullet's body/bt junction below the case's neck/shoulder junction results in a loss of accuracy. From the pics of your 550yd groups, it's obvious that your rifle/cartridge combination has a good deal of potential.

I went with the 6.5x47Lapua in my Eliseo RTS because I wanted top quality brass, and hoped that I'd be able to get good accuracy at top load levels. I'd already contoured & chambered a 28" Krieger in 6.5x47 for a DPMS AR10 project, and had good results with the cartridge in that rifle. So sticking with the Lapua seemed like the way to go. The fact that - with Lapua brass - I was able to use the same reamer in both semi-auto & bolt rifle chambers was a plus. Not only did I save on reamer cost, but a Forster/Bonanza BR FL sizer die handles cases out of both rifles with no problems.

In the 6.5x47 - even with RL17 - the velocities I'm getting out of the 28" bbl. on the RTS are almost 100fps less than your early load development results. I get 2824fps with Berger 140 LR BTs, and 2933fps with Berger 130 VLDs (can get higher vels, but this is where the accuracy's at). On the plus side, I've got plenty of room for even 140 VLDs in both DPMS & AICS mags with the 6.5x47.

But then, that'd probably be the case with your case design also - and having fireformed quite a few 6XC cases out of 22-250 brass, I'd think what you've come up with is probably well worth the effort. Have fun with your new rig, and please keep us informed on further results with it.

 

[Chuckw]

dennis,

one of the many beauties of doing your own gunsmithing is being able to do things your own way and on your own time. having a lathe has really allowed me to take things from thought to reality without too much trouble or expense.
i shot again this morning with the 123 a-max and went up to 43.5gr re15. it hammered two really nice groups around 2.5" with 4 of the 5 in both groups considerably smaller. the second group i shot i intentionally disregarded the wind to an extent. still shot great. i havnt fully decided what i will do with this rifle. i have contemplated setting it back some and rechambering to 6.5 creedmoor to see what advantage this cartridge offers if any. i may just shoot this barrel out and then do something different. i think i will stick with the 123 a-max for now since is is less than $23 per hundred and use re15 since i already have 25lbs of it on hand. i guess if you are going to go cheap on brass you might as well go cheap on components.

chuck

 

[flatlander]

chuck - I considered the 6.5 Creedmoor, but wasn't totally comfortable with the mixed reviews I'd heard on the Hornady brass. OTOH, Dave Kiff was confident he'd be able to come up with a 6.5x47 reamer that'd work well in a gas gun. And as it turns out, he was right.

It is fun having your own lathe - I've experimented with several different cartridges that I probably wouldn't have messed with if it weren't for the ability to do my own barrel work. The really neat thing about having some machine tools in your shop is that their use is really only limited to your imagination.