Which 6.5 should I try next?

[Tommie]

Wait a week before deciding. In that time there should be a half dozen new 6.5 factory offerings to choose from.

 

[Bbear]

What the heck, I'll toss out the 256 Newton!

 

[mauser284]

6.5-06 6.5 PRC or 6.5-284

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I'm putting in my vote for the 6.5x47L. If I can make it shoot, it has to be a great cartridge! My only beef with the 6.5 creed is it's popularity makes me worry about the future of the 47L. I have 2 Lapua's and I always want to have brass for them. I also yearn for a 264 win mag, but apparently old belted cases are losing their luster, 7mm and 300 mag not withstanding.

The only issue I see with belted magnums (except 7mm Rem Mag and 300 Win Mag) is you can't get top quality Lapua or ADG brass for most of them. Any other issues floating around the internet are derived from folks who dont know how to properly size and load the belted mag cases.

 

[Jim Tisdale]

I think I’ll research the 6.5x47. I’m going to try 4831sc with my Lapua 139 and Berger 130 hybrids. If they don’t work I’m done with the 260.
Thx for the replies.

 

[misser]

About 5 years ago I bought a .260 Savage LRP. It’s been an inconsistent nightmare. One thing after another. One day/session it shoots .5 or better and the next it sprays all over. Won’t keep zero. Chrono shows numbers great one time, crap the next.
I have a few more things I’m going to try before I give up, and I’m almost there....
So, the question for the group: Which 6.5 should I try next? I’d like to keep the platform I have and just make a barrel and mag switch. Just wanting to smash milk jugs at 1000.
Thx

are you cleaning the bore after each outing ? makes a difference with my gun

 

[mauser284]

Sadly this sight like most all sights has a problem with people confusing faith or beliefs with facts. Fact is plenty of people have won national championships and the like with the 260. Because the Remington 260 was marketed wrong and at the wrong time it has no one to stand behind it because it does not have the hype and marketing oomph behind it like the 6.5CM or the 6.5L. There is no money in it for brass makers or magazine writers! No novelty. I own a 6.5CM and a 260 F-Open rifle. From a purely logic based evidence system their is absolutely no reason why the 6.5CM should exist. It does not do anything statistically significant better than the 260 Rem. It does not push bullets faster, it does not increase barrel life and it is not cheaper and does not have longer brass life etc....The 6.5CM is an example of what happens when you have enough gun writers and internet experts praising something and it taking off like crazy like free cup cakes, doughnuts, cake an coffee after church for fellowship! Take away the free deserts and fellowship has a low turn out. On the other hand the 284 Win has remained popular because it does something few other cartridges do in a very short action highly efficient package with zero marketing hype.

 

[Jim Tisdale]

are you cleaning the bore after each outing ? makes a difference with my gun

No. I’m only shooting 10-20 rounds. Collect data whether it be a group or chrono. Go back in, reload, and go back out to validate load.

 

[BAT man]

.260 Ackley is a good one. I took mine to the nightforce ELR match in Wyoming last weekend with 60 rounds on a brand new ACE barrel. The barrel did speed up a bit, "as expected" during the match, but adding the correction to the kestrel sorted that in short order. I was running 47 grains of reloader 23 and a 142 smk at 2970 fps. The gun shot exceptional all weekend.

 

[nmkid]

I keep leaning toward a 6.5-06 for my next one.

 

[Bc'z]

I keep leaning toward a 6.5-06 for my next one.

If you dont buy more than 1 barrel at least own the reamer.

 

[10XSHOOTER]

.260AI. moly 142, 45.0 H4350 2925 FPS not finicky at all.

 

[grovey]

I've got three guns built in .260 Rem. Haven't had a issue with either one of them. That being said I'm shooting my 6.5CM more than anything else. Why? Just because of the twist I did in that barrel and the types of bullets I'm shooting thru it. As mentioned the choice of box match in 6.5CM = more options if you run box ammo at times.

That being said 6.5x47 Lapua is very nice. We've built rifles in it and also ammunition test barrels. Awesome round.

6.5x55 is very nice if loaded to modern pressures.

You can keep the list going and argue both sides of the aisle on different things. Gonna kinda come down to, what are you using the gun for, bolt face, component availability etc...

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels

Hey Frank,
What's the lifespan of a 6.5 creedmoor bbl in your opinion? How do they hold up compared to the 6.5x47?

 

[nmkid]

If you dont buy more than 1 barrel at least own the reamer.

Good advice. However, I'm slowing down on shooting,(not on building though) and don't foresee burning out a barrel.

 

[jr600yd]

On the 260 subject. I’ve been shooting one for over 20 years in either any/any matches or F class. This has been my experience. In these competitions heavy bullets around 140gr weight are the norm. Barrel twist of 1/8 and barrel lengths of 30” along with some form of 4350 powder were the standard load. For many years only Remington brass was available and could be disappointing to say the least, now we have good quality brass available, some with small rifle primer pockets.

True, marketing of the 260 was a failure. True, loading bullets long can be a challenge in a SA receiver with a magazine and I’ve found any of the 4350 powders lacking with these weight bullets.

The biggest problem I encountered was one of velocity. Seems everyone wants their bullets flying at 2900fps or more. I never could get the accuracy I wanted at this speed. Sometimes good groups sometimes ok groups but never great groups. The answer was first change powder. I went from 4350 to H-4831sc. Second was changing to good quality brass and third was slowing down to the 2750 - 2800 FPS range. With the heavy bullets this is a winning combination. For lighter bullets in the 120gr range a faster burning powder like 4350 or IMR-4064 may prove a good combination.

 

[FrankG]

Hey Frank,
What's the lifespan of a 6.5 creedmoor bbl in your opinion? How do they hold up compared to the 6.5x47?

You have to answer yourself a couple of questions first...and maybe then some but here are a few....

1. Accuracy requirement?

2. What are you using the rifle for? (How hot you getting the barrel?

3. What powder you running?

4. What bullets you running?

5. Box ammo vs reloading?

6. How are you cleaning the rifle and how many rounds in between cleaning?

All in all in my opinion the slight difference in a tad more case capacity of the CM vs the Lapua is minor. I’ve seen both rounds go 3k plus rounds of good accurate barrel life.

 

[Kevin1911]

I've had great results with my 260 with 139 scenars and either 4350 or R17. Quite easy to tune, great accuracy, and cheaper brass than other 6.5 calibers. If you already have a nice set of 260 dies, I'd stick with the caliber and just get an aftermarket barrel.

 

[Grimstod]

6.5x47 is about the best choice there is for a hand loader and it sounds like you already are doing that. You will find it is a very forgiving case. Use the 140s and H4350. I you decide on a lighter bullets like the 123s then Varget.

 

[Jim Tisdale]

Hey fellas, with a lot of help from a few on this and other forums I got the 260 driving tacks with 2 different loads. One with H4350 and one with H4831sc.
Single digit SD, groups .2-.5, good speed and most importantly the loads are repeatable from one loading session to the next.

 

[6.5grendel]

What were the loads that you ended up with if you don't mind me asking?