Short barrel 6.5 hunting rifle
- Thread starter 65BR
- Start date
Remington model 7 308 18" barrel.
Remington 600 6.5 rem mag 18.5".
The 6.5 rem mag was an awesome round. Just too short of barrel. Still inside 250 which was 99% of shots awesome rifle.
The creed or lapua are going to lose a lot at 18-20". The new Hornady 6.5 prc is interesting. Might be a good candidate for a 20" light rifle.
Son has a model 7 270 wsm with a 22" i believe. 130 gr accubond at 3250 is a hammer on deer to 300.
Have an ar 6.5 grendel. Runs the 123 gr about 2450 from an 18". Good sucess so far on deer to 200. I would say it's good to 300 on whitetail.
Remington 600 6.5 rem mag 18.5".
The 6.5 rem mag was an awesome round. Just too short of barrel. Still inside 250 which was 99% of shots awesome rifle.
The creed or lapua are going to lose a lot at 18-20". The new Hornady 6.5 prc is interesting. Might be a good candidate for a 20" light rifle.
Son has a model 7 270 wsm with a 22" i believe. 130 gr accubond at 3250 is a hammer on deer to 300.
Have an ar 6.5 grendel. Runs the 123 gr about 2450 from an 18". Good sucess so far on deer to 200. I would say it's good to 300 on whitetail.
Lone Hunter
Silver $$ Contributor
I've got a 20" Howa Mini Action in 6.5 Grendel. Shoots really good with 123 gr reloads or factory. Have not tried any different weights in it. Built a .264 LBC ( basically the same as Grendel ) on the AR platform and am really impressed with it. It's a BHW 20" barrel and it shoots 85 gr Sierra HP and 123 gr ELD M very accurately . Feel very confident with it from 0-400 and probably a lot further. Very impressed with the round.
Good feedback folks, no doubt a Grendel is a nice round, had an eye on them a long time, but feel a 47 or CM will give that bit extra, not a speed freak, but figure 2700-2800 with a 120-130 is a sweet spot for my wants. Going PRC in a shorter will offset barrel length, on pure speed, but blast is a huge issue with me as I am not running a can. On the 600, I recall dumping a dog on the run - running wide open across a cut cotton field, about 250 yds, swung fast and had him one the far side of the FOV, put an 80 WW SP handload thru it's neck first shot, a Redfield 10 or 12x fixed was on board. Nice to get lucky! That 18.5 swung fast and it's stiff tube shot nickel sized groups all day, in 243. Had a 222 in same, dime sized 10 shot groups, and good for headshots on turtles to near 200-300 yds, using an M8 8x36, yes, mfg a short while, PA set at 200. Good info folks, appreciate all and any others who want to chime in.
I'm about decided a 17.5 - 19.5 carbine will be about right. A 6.5BR might get done as a former 7BR shot 2880 with 120s in a 21".....though hard to overlook the abundance and variety of Creedmoor ammo...
We all should eat Mo' Chicken! Lol. Love it.
I'm about decided a 17.5 - 19.5 carbine will be about right. A 6.5BR might get done as a former 7BR shot 2880 with 120s in a 21".....though hard to overlook the abundance and variety of Creedmoor ammo...
We all should eat Mo' Chicken! Lol. Love it.
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I am recently using a 6.5x47 as my primary whitetail rifle. 23” Bartlein 2b and an edge fill McM Hunter stock. I am getting around 2900 with the 120 Ballistic Tip and Varget. Also found a load for the 135 Berger Classic Hunter. It ran in the mid 2700’s but was very accurate. I can see cutting an inch or two off of the 23” barrel, but not much more. I think my bare rifle weighs right at 7 lbs. and balances perfectly.
CTK, I had 2 full blown customs in 260 with Borden Alpine and Bartlein #3, at 22.5/24" - same stocks, ADL. 7.375 each sans scope. I agree, those set ups a 22" would be about ideal, not over 22.5 for me for an all around set up. W91 - agree on blast - and muzzle distance. Good stuff everyone, thanks again.
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as far as a dedicated woods short rifle, I'm gonna throw 300BLK out there. I used my 300blk 16" AR suppressed this year for deer and it worked great. I was using the barnes 110gr VoRTX ammo and was getting in the 2200fps area. I'm thinking an 18" bolt rifle could get this round up a bit farther, and it works wonders in the woods. Plus in the bolt if you ran subs for close range with a suppressor it would be just about the quietest thing in the woods.
I would do mine as an ADL if did it over. Mine is a Bighorn action built by Jon Beanland. Balance point with a 23" 2b might be similar to a #3 a few inches shorter. I think the overall weight is about perfect for a carry rifle. I once owned a 5lb NULA 260 that was too light for my shaky shooting skills. My 6.5x47 is absurdly accurate for a sporter weight rifle. It averages .25" 3 shot groups @100 with loads it likes. I am replacing a Borden 280ai with another 280 AI. Will probably do same formula as the 6.5L with a 24" barrel. Did the #3 Bartlein fit well in the McMillan Hunter?
Not really a short rifle, but I hunted with a 6.5 Creedmoor Kimber Montana this year. I didn't get a deer, but I got a cow elk last week, and I might take it out for another one later in December. I'm thinking about having it chopped and threaded at 19" - 20" as I have a Ti can incoming that I would like to hunt with next year. It's getting 2,750 fps with 140gr Accubonds and 2,900 fps with 127gr LRX using RL16 out of the 22" barrel right now. I'll pretty sure I could still hit 2,700 fps with 140s and RL16 if it were 20".
I know a guy who used a Howa Alpine in 6.5 CM to knock over a couple Muley bucks and an antelope this year. He was getting over 2,700 fps with 140gr SGKs and, I believe RL17 out of his 20" barrel. All shots were in the 200 yd to 270 yd range, and everything died on the spot. I think he has become quite fond of the setup.
For me there wasn't much reason to go with the .260 or x47 for a hunting rifle when the Creed is so well supported by the market.
I know a guy who used a Howa Alpine in 6.5 CM to knock over a couple Muley bucks and an antelope this year. He was getting over 2,700 fps with 140gr SGKs and, I believe RL17 out of his 20" barrel. All shots were in the 200 yd to 270 yd range, and everything died on the spot. I think he has become quite fond of the setup.
For me there wasn't much reason to go with the .260 or x47 for a hunting rifle when the Creed is so well supported by the market.
I have a 114 year old Swede Mauser cut at 20" that is sub-MOA @ 200yds .With that fast twist it will shoot all the way up to 160s with no problems .Sweet spot for accuracy seems to be 120s . I wish I would have left another inch or two on it,would have helped with the blast and probably would have balanced a little better.
The Kimber is intriguing, Always wished they used a standard sporter contour like a #2, and yes, the 6.5CM is very supported, and hard to overlook. I load less the older I get......
Had 3, 2 chopped, one at 24 - tad long, the other at 21, felt Great ! Blast not bad. Dumped a buck with a neck shot using 120 CL over IMR4831 in it....it was not a light gun but held and handled great. Muzzle OD was around .675 and that was ahead of the 'step' - so it was stout.
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