6.5-06 vs 6.5x284

[radnur22]

from hodgdon's reloading manual, the edge, as far as velocity with a 142gr bullet, goes to the 6.5-06. what are the virtues/evils of each??? i plan on rebarreling a savage 110 with a 6.5 caliber.

 

[James Jones]

the 30-06 has a wee bit more capacity
you can get some awsome brass from Lapua and its almost never
"out of stock" here in the US where the 6.5-284 is quite often.
the 6.5-06 will feed better from the mag box with less fuss.

but the 6.5-284 chambered in a long action will allow you to seat the bullets out as far as you want with no trouble feeding from the mag
the 6.5-284 has a wining reputation with alot of differant shooting sports

Ballisticaly an animal will never tell the differance and more than likely neither will you , the accuray nitch for the heavy 6.5 bullets seems to be in the 2800-3000fps range thats done very easly with the 06 case where you may be pushing the 284 a little bit more to get to 3000fps either way you will likely be rnning them at very close to the same speeds so again their is no real ballisitic advantage

if you ever plan to sell the gun the 6.5-284 will probably get you a sell faster than the less common 6.5-06

 

[jlamb]

James,

Great post. I'm also debating between the 6.5-06 and the 6.5 x 284. I'm rebarreling a Winchester 25-06.

J

 

[roninflag]

What james said.

 

[backwoods83]

I actually checked that the other day with imr 4350 the 6.5x284 norma cases, norma brand, and the 30-06 with winchester cases, to my surprise they both held exactlly 66.2 grns to the top of the neck. And it is not hard to push a 140 at 3000fps with 26" or more barrel. mine has a 30" pipe and when I first started testing I was hitting 3160-3180fps with 139 lapuas but at those speeds it leaves you with vertical stringing. oh and the reason most manuals show the 6.5-06 with the advantage is because they show the 6.5x284 loaded at 2.990" or shorter to fit a short action.

 

[Trickymissfit]

I actually checked that the other day with imr 4350 the 6.5x284 norma cases, norma brand, and the 30-06 with winchester cases, to my surprise they both held exactlly 66.2 grns to the top of the neck. And it is not hard to push a 140 at 3000fps with 26" or more barrel. mine has a 30" pipe and when I first started testing I was hitting 3160-3180fps with 139 lapuas but at those speeds it leaves you with vertical stringing. oh and the reason most manuals show the 6.5-06 with the advantage is because they show the 6.5x284 loaded at 2.990" or shorter to fit a short action.

the .284 case works just fine with a 24" barrel just like the 06 case. The verticle stringing is probably from barrel harmonics with the long 30" barrel. I doubt you'd see 50 fps difference with a 26" barrel, but most of the stringing would go away. The 6.5-06 packed with 3100 will show about 3250fps without reaching the 57 grains max powder weight.
gary

 

[backwoods83]

The barrel is 30" 1.120" to 1.055" taper it was'nt the barrel lenght, I was getting those speeds with 51.5 grns Imr 4350 with CCI 200s, and 3.133" oal, I am now down to 49.1 grns Imr 4350, CCI BR-2s, 3.133" oal case necks turned and polished on the inside, and dropped to a .291" bushing, it averages 3020fps with a 7 ES, it was a inconsistent neck tension issue, but your right it can be done in a 26" pipe, or come pretty close with a 24".

 

[jlamb]

So I spoke to a local gunsmith in depth about a 1000 yard gun. Without any solicitation he offered up the 6.5-06 as a solution over the 308 due to the high BC's of the 6.5 bullets. Moreover he said that the 6.5x284 was ballistically the equivelent of the 6.5-06 but had magazine feeding issues where the 6.5-06 did not.

I asked about the 6.5 Creedmore and he pointed out that the 6.5mm/140 grain bullets have a sweet spot at 3,000 feet per second (muzzle velocity) and the 6.5 Creedmore couldn't reach it where the 6.5-06 is perfect. I'm going to have him build a M40 clone but in the 6.5.

Has anybody else heard about the sweet spot at 3000 fps? I know if varies w/caliber and weight. I ran this through Ballistic FTE and it makes a ton of sense.

 

[horsefor4]

Iam no expert but I own both the 6.5-06imp. is a better hunting gun for myself.I perfer it.

 

[davewitt]

My 6.5-06 shoots best at 2950fps using 140 A-max and H4831sc.Shoots in the low.3's. Hope this helps.

 

[sambubba]

There is not a dimes worth of difference in the field, and although the 6.5-284 is noted for superior accuracy when the two are compared, I think rifle difference is a greater variable. I currently have a 6.5-06 and have owned two 6.5-284's, and so far the 6.5-06 has been more accurate without the pressure spikes I encountered with the '84. My 6.5-284's have never achieved velocities often quoted for them. I had one on an action with a 3.125 magazine length and the other on a Rem 700 SA. Next time I am going to go with a M#700 LA.

Either of these cartridges is a great choice for a new toy. I would definitely use Lapua brass for the 6.5-284. The W/W brass I used was pure hell to develop loads for. Take what James said and put it in the bank.

Craig

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

I have the 6.5-06 AI and it is a very nice long range deer/antelope rifle. It shoots very close to the 264 winchester which I also have along with the 264 STW. The 130 grain swift scirroco makes these very nice long range killers. It is a quality hunting bullet with a very high BC.

 

[davewitt]

I have tested the 140 A-MAX on 1 antelope @319yds and 2 mule deer. Both deer shot at 325-380yds.1and done. The 6.5-06 is a wonderful cartridge in my humble opinion and also very easily and cheaply made! The only downfall is barrel life that is common to putting large amounts of powder down a small diameter bore. I had mine set back after 1100 rounds when the groups opened up to .75 at 100yds and she went back to shooting! If you decide to go with the 6.5-06 instead of the 6.5x284 you will have too make your brass.Lapua makes exellent 6.5x284 brass that you can buy,load,and shoot.On the other hand winchester 25-06 brass is cheap and can be reformed into 6.5-06 in one step in a full length size die.You can also make them out of 30-06 if you like extra work.Hope this helps!

 

[rscott5028]

James nailed it.

I'm partial to the 6.5x284.

But, if you go with the '06 and want good 25-06 brass to neck down, try Norma.

If I wanted the option of using more readily available factory ammo, I'd go with the 264 Win Mag.

JMO

--richard