6.5-06, or 6.5-284

[trebark]

I think you are on to something there. I could get a LONGER barrel, and that is a good idea. 28 does sound good for all things considered. What about throating? any thoughts? P/S, savage is putting 28 in barrels on there target rifles now.I have even heard of 30 in, barrels as well. I think 28 to 28.5 is the deal. That is some real food for thought. Thanks for the thought!Aim small. miss smallgun)

Throating...once you've made the decision as to cartridge, tell whoever is chambering the barrel what bullet you'd like to shoot and tell him to throat the barrel for that bullet. For instance, in my 260, I asked my smith to throat the barrel for the 140SMK. This means he will set it up so that I can seat the base of the bullet right at the neck/shoulder junction in the case and the ogive of the bullet will be just off the lands.

lomsf24 also raises another good point. In your original post you mentioned a 1:9 twist, check the Berger website, they recommend 1:8 for their 140 grain bullets. Personally, I split the difference and will have 1:8.5 in my barrel.

 

[7stw]

Trebark, Thanks for the input, very helpful. The rate of twist was a mental block. I was thinking of my 7mm barrels which are twisted at 1in 9 but I know that the twist for 6.5s are 1in 8. I appeciate the info on the throating issue. My intentions are to use the 140 grain berger VLD bullet, and because of the secant ogive,throating to me could be a issue, but I have had very good luck with standard chambers that did not need any modification to accmodate them at all.And with the 06 action, (by the way, it's a remington) there is ample room to seat the bullet out and still fit in the box if I chose to keep it. I might make it a single feeder, but may retain the magizine for hunting purposes. Boy have I learned a thing or two tonite!

 

[trebark]

Trebark, Thanks for the input, very helpful. The rate of twist was a mental block. I was thinking of my 7mm barrels which are twisted at 1in 9 but I know that the twist for 6.5s are 1in 8. I appeciate the info on the throating issue. My intentions are to use the 140 grain berger VLD bullet, and because of the secant ogive,throating to me could be a issue, but I have had very good luck with standard chambers that did not need any modification to accmodate them at all.And with the 06 action, (by the way, it's a remington) there is ample room to seat the bullet out and still fit in the box if I chose to keep it. I might make it a single feeder, but may retain the magizine for hunting purposes. Boy have I learned a thing or two tonite!

While you might have had good luck with standard chambers and VLDs it would be worth throating your barrel for the 140VLD as this will allow you to seat the bullet farther out which gives you more case capacity.

 

[loaders_loft]

I always love these discussions.

I've gone back and forth so many times myself, over this same logic path. So far, I bought a 700 L/A donor then re-committed it to a hog rifle (35 whelen, hammer from hell on hogs), and I am now having a full custom 260 built specifically for tactical match shooting. I chose the .260 because of its reputation for accuracy and personal recommendations of .260 shooters with nearly 3000 rounds of match shooting. In this particular rifle, barrel life is a consideration, but would not be an issue for a hunting rig. 25-06 is more overbore than 6.5-06, but you don't see a million posts about 25-06 being a barrel burner. Why - because the vast majority of 25-06 rifles are hunting rigs. If barrel life is truly an issue, buy 2 barrels at the same time and have the smith chamber both. Once the 1st wears out, swap to the 2nd and keep shooting. Compared to the cost of components it will require to actually burn up a barrel, the barrel & smithing cost of the 2nd barrel are not so bad.

I think 25-06 brass loaded with a 6.5boattail and and fireformed into 6.5-06 improved is the way to go but I have not tried it myself (yet). The downside is limited choice of dies. Custom dies or RCBS dies may be the only choices. (if you know of other alternatives, speak up!!) A 6.5-06 improved should not chamber into a 25-06 rifle. Alternatively, you could buy 6.5-06 A-square brass and fireform it. Or just build a straight 6.5-06 and be done, except without the velocity boost of the larger case. Inch for inch of barrel length, the 6.5-06 beats the 6.5-284 velocity in all manuals. In those manuals listing equal velocity, its a 24" 6.5-06 barrel against a 26" 6.5-284.

For a hunting gun, I suspect that a 6.5-06 improved with a 24" tube would be super nice. All the manuals list 6.5-06 data with a 24" barrel, so you could easily beat that data and no trimming. It would easily beat a 25-06 and a 270 as well. In fact, I was just recently inquiring about a 700ADL donor for that purpose. The old 80's era ADL's are a nice light rig with comfortable grip angle, smooth actions and well balanced.

If anyone knows where I can find a L/A 700 ADL donor for under $350 please let me know!! Barrel can be rusted out - I just want the action & stock...

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I'm gonna get both.......... if I can afford it.......

 

[7stw]

Hey Loadersloft, I get your drift and that too is food for thought again. I must say that I have even considered a .260 because of the recoil and barrel life issue. It would be a fun gun to shoot that could be shot and cleaned all day without AS much issue with wearing out the barrel. And with the smoking high BC of the BERGER VLD, accuracy should be awesome, and DEFINATELY capable off some LR deer hunting as well. My objective on this build is actually two-fold. One is a rifle to shot and to hotrod with highpower optics to enable long range shooting, of either targets or whitetail. has anybody had experienc with the 6.5 Credmore? Don't krow much about it but it appears to be on paper a .260 in disquise. another good point on the .260 is being able to use good brass as well as the 6.5-06. You can simpley but premium lapua, Norma, or even the Nosler brass in .308 and resize and vwa-la. You are right on the barrel life issue though, and that is consideration. On my big 30's and 7mm's that was not a consideration because of there intended purpose,which is to be shot and broke in, retested and used when hunting and spend time in the cabinet till our time of the year comes around. now it boils to .260, or 6.5-06

 

[trebark]

now it boils to .260, or 6.5-06

I'm building a 260 because all I had was a short-action. If I had a long-action to donate to the project, I'd go with the 6.5-06.

 

[7stw]

I'm building a 260 because all I had was a short-action. If I had a long-action to donate to the project, I'd go with the 6.5-06.

Well, I think that that I ve got some good options and some graet advice from you guys. I can build either the .260 or the 6.5-06 on the long action, non magnum. One final thought is this 6.5 creedmore that I keep hearing about. is this the new 6.5-284 on performance, or is it a equal to the 6x47 or 6.5x55 swede. I think that I have ruled out the 6.5-284 as one of my original options. I have began to se the lite on both the6.5-06, and now the .260 . That is where the ? is on the 6.5 creedmore. Don't mean to add confusion, but only to rule out or consider in options or inherentcies. That is one of the things that makes this website so unique. There seems to be an incredible talent and knowledge base here. This ia and always has been my PASSION, and its great to be in good company!gun)STW

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Seeing as nobody has touched the 6.5 rem mag issue I suppose I'll touch on that for a minute. The 350 rem mag is a ballistic twin of the 35 Whelen but can work well in a slightly shorter barrel. I imagine (having never shot one but compared them in manuals) that the 6.5-06 and 6.5 rem mag are fairly close as well. Quality of brass and some peoples aversion to belted cases has probably hampered the popularity of the 6.5 rem mag. That and the model 600 was the wrong platform for such a cartridge to be utilized to its full potential. For a hunting rifle I don't think you could go wrong with the 6.5 rem mag, 6.5-06, or 6.5-284. Any animal hit well with a quality bullet wont care what case propelled the projectile. Good luck and have fun.

 

[7stw]

Seeing as nobody has touched the 6.5 rem mag issue I suppose I'll touch on that for a minute. The 350 rem mag is a ballistic twin of the 35 Whelen but can work well in a slightly shorter barrel. I imagine (having never shot one but compared them in manuals) that the 6.5-06 and 6.5 rem mag are fairly close as well. Quality of brass and some peoples aversion to belted cases has probably hampered the popularity of the 6.5 rem mag. That and the model 600 was the wrong platform for such a cartridge to be utilized to its full potential. For a hunting rifle I don't think you could go wrong with the 6.5 rem mag, 6.5-06, or 6.5-284. Any animal hit well with a quality bullet wont care what case propelled the projectile. Good luck and have fun.

lightbulb
Thanks for the reply. I was wondering myself why no one touched on that round. I remember when I was younger, that round was avail, and then it died. Like you said, it was the gun, not the bullet. Balliscally it does appear +or - the two mentioned rounds. I was just tring to utilize the short mag action that I have, that was the only mention. Any thoughts on the 6.5wsm or (6.5wssm) ? I've heard mixed reviews. thanksgun)

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Sorry but I can't help you there as I have never been intrigued by any of the WSM's WSSM's or SAUM's. I figured there are many other proven cartridges out there that one can find ammo for in a pinch. Experimentation and advancing the science is cool but I'll let others be the test subjects, I just don't have the cash for it.

 

[4bycamper]

The 6.5x284 seems to be the sweetheart of the long range competition crowd. This means you can get some great load data using modern powders, and some awesome brass for it. Not to mention those high BC bullets.

The 30-06 case was designed for the old powders and there are better choices these days.

The 6.5 WSM will be more of a barrel burner than the 6.5x284

Part if not most of the barrel burning reputation of the 6.5x284 seems due to rapid fire shooting strings for competition. If you choose to shoot your new rifle in a more normal manner, your barrel will last a lot longer. Also you will have more power to drop your big game.

I would choose the 6.5x284 for the above reasons. Put it in the long action so the bullets can be loaded out to the lands and enjoy.


JM .02

 

[lomfs24]

For your question about the Creedmore.... from everything that I have read the the 260 Rem, 6.5x47 and the 6.5 Creedmore are all pretty darn close in terms of performance. Pick your poison.

Just to throw a little bit more confusion into it.... Spend a couple bucks, buy a Savage action and one barrel of each, and a barrel nut wrench and you can try them all.

 

[bozo699]

7stw,
I just joined to comment on 6.5-06.My smith is just finishing my 6.5-06 I had him build.Built on a vz24,timney trigger h.s precission stock,and hart 1:9,ordered a 1:8 specificly for 140 vld's but showed up a 1:9 should have sent it back but wanted cool weather for working up load I should have first rounds through it early next week will let you know how combo works.