6.5-06

[Bulldog]

Guys, would like to hear the good bad and the ugly on this one..

Thinking about converting a 25-06 to 6.5-06?? Waste of time and money?? Or will the 25-06 do everything the 6.5 will do? Wanta push it out to 1000yds.

Newbie who needs advice?

 

[Topshot]

A lot of the 1000 yard target shooters use the 6.5 and there are some good projectiles in this calibre.

Might make for an interesting project for targets or smaller animals.

Although I have shot a heap of game with the 25-06 out to 500 yards, I would not choose either of these calibres if I wanted to shoot deer at 1000 yards.

 

[trueblue]

If I were to do a 6.5-06, I would do the AI version. I would not hesitate to use
that caliber at longer ranges for deer. Don't have one thou, as I have a 7STW for that.

 

[Greywolf18]

I am thinking of converting an old 30-06 to this round as well. Was thinking of doing a 338-06 for a 200-400 yard big game gun, but I deer/varmint hunt a lot more than bear or other large game so I'll prolly go with the 6.5-06. Plus, that way I can save up and get a 338 RUM or 338 EDGE . I can't afford to have multiple guns of the same caliber lol

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I am not sure if the ackley on the 6.5-06 is worth the trouble. From what I understand from when I had mine built last year, the ackley version of this caliber is the least efficient of the ackleys. My buddy just built one in the ackley. He's getting 3180fps out of the 140 Bergers. Not grouping well yet, so that number may or may not hold. He is also running a 28" barrel. The one I had built will run the 130g Scirroco up near 3100fps.

Just did some quick calcs on the JBM. At 3050fps the Scirroco will hold better than 1800fps out to 900yrds and better than 1700fps out to 1000yrds. More than enough for deer out to a 1000yrds.

My son shot his cow elk last fall w/ the Scirroco at 375yrds. Broke both heavy shoulder bones and took the lungs on the way through. Bullet had 82% weight retention. This is a very potent combo.

Hope this helps you.

Steve

 

[3006savage]

I plan on building a 6.5-06 AI this summer. I plan to drive 130 grain scirroccos at 3200+ FPS from a 28" heavy sporter or light varmint barrel. I like the idea of the AI because I will be forming brass from 25-06 brass and the AI provides a measure of safety because it will not chamber in someones 25-06 by accident.

When you run the numbers on the 6.5 -06 AI with the scirrocco vs the 300 RUM with the 180 or 200 grain accubond the trajectory and wind drift numbers are almost identical to 1000 yards. It is hard to believe that but the 06 case holds its own against the much larger case due to the 6.5, 130 grain BC of .571. Several other 6.5 bullets are equally efficient but the scirrocco offers proven terminal performance. Here is an interesting article on the terminal performance of the 130 grain scirrocco.

Shooting Illustrated's Guns and Hunting - NRA

I would mention that there is a new 140 grain accubond being released this summer that may make a great hunting option also.

 

[rotorhead]

I have a friend he's and old guy that is the best gunsmith I know of. He wanted to answer this question 10 or so years ago, so He built 2 identical rifles one in 6.5-06 and one ackley. The ackley was much more finicky and he felt it wasn't worth the extra 100fps. Interestingly enough, he could not get either one to shoot 40 grain bullets very well when he loaded up just about and 130 the accuracy was spot on .2,.3 with very little effort. We talked about it quit a bit and I and as we speak putting together a 6.5-06 standard. His comment was if you want to shoot the heavy bullets go with a 6.5-284, it shoots the 142smk real good.

As another note my buddy has taken game all over the world with his 6.5-06. It is his favorite cartridge because of its versatility. It shoots the lightest of bullets up to the 130's extremely well and doesn't chew up barrels. He has been shooting the standard 6.5-06 he built 10 years ago all this time. He told me deer at 1000 is no problem especially with the 130 VLD. He also states a bull elk at 500 isn't a problem either. He is a good shooter and his focus is on hunting and not necessarily distance but this year shot and Ibex @ 650 dropped him where he stood. If versatility and very manageable recoil is what you want you really can't beat the ole 6.5-06.
I personally only shoot out to 6-700 yards at this point due to I feel I just haven't made it to greater distances with enough confidence yet, nor have I needed to.

The end result is the 6.5-06 is everything the 25-06 is and most of what the 270 is in the same cartridge.


Hope this helped.

RH

 

[6BR4ME2]

If you do decide to go 6.5 I would suggest the 6.5x284....your going to get the lapua.... brass second to none and no fire forming or possible donut issues or barrellife used up fire forming/ sizing brass

way easier to go 6.5-284 better resale value than a 6.5-06 and almost the exact same with less trouble ....your long action can feed with 142 smk's or the new accubonds if your reamer is throated for um

 

[Greywolf18]

How did the 130 VLD's group? I was thinking of doing the 6.5-06 (NOT AI) and was looking into these for both deer but also using it for varmints (PD's, fox, etc.).

If not the 130 VLD's, what would be a good round that could be used for both? I really don't want to go through the hassle of having 2 loads for 2 different bullets for the same gun, nothing against it for those of you who do this, I just don't have the time. Definately want something that will kill deer which is what the primary purpose would be. I hardly ever get to go after varmints here in NC, but would like the gun to be a backup varmint gun for my AR as well.

 

[Dano1]

My 6.5-06 AI is in the shop being built right now. We'll see what it it'll be able to do this summer. I'm using .270 brass, so I can turn the necks (a chore I don't mind doing) and control the whole process. It has a 26" Shilen select match bbl on a Remington 700 Action.

I didn't build it necessarily to be faster than the standard 6.5-06, I built it because it's diffrent. I betting that with proper bullet choice and a slower powder like RL-22 or RL-25 even or Retumbo or IMR7828 you could get more velocity than the standard version. We'll have to wait till this summer to find out.

I'm really excited as it should be done in the next few weeks.

Dan

 

[3006savage]

Dano RL17 may also be one to consider. The 6.5-284 was getting almost 3200 FPS with 140s according to the author from 6mmBR. Quite impressive even from a 31" barrel

Rifle #2: 6.5-284 with 140gr Berger BTs
6.5 x 284 Prone Rifle built up by Warner Tool Co with Masterclass Laminate Stock by Carl Bernosky, Barnard Action, Bartlein 1:8.5" twist 5R rifled barrel (31" long).
All loads used neck-turned Lapua 6.5 x 284 brass, Fed 210M primers, and naked (no moly) Berger 140gr BT Thick Jacket bullets jumped .010":
48 gr RL 17 - Mean Velocity 3035 fps, ES 17, SD 7 - No pressure issues at all
49 gr RL 17 - Mean Velocity 3078 fps, ES 25, SD 11 - No pressure issues at all
50 gr RL 17 - Mean Velocity 3130 fps, ES 35, SD 12 - No pressure issues at all
51 gr RL 17 - Mean Velocity 3185 fps, ES 17, SD 6 (Sticky bolt lift on 4 rounds - this is about top end for my liking but I would not hesitate to shoot it however if it turns out to deliver good accuracy).
Bear in mind my typical loading with this rifle is 48 grains of H4350 with a Fed 210M primer and the Berger 140gr BT Thick Jacket bullets (no moly) jumping .010". This H4350 load runs 2987 fps and has sticky bolt lift on just about every round.
Nearly 200 fps More Velocity Using RL17 with 140s in 6.5-284
In this rifle, Reloder 17 clearly enables me to run the Berger 140s almost 200 fps faster than I normally was able to shoot them with H4350 in this rifle. My previous H4350 load ran around 2987 fps with the Berger 140s and that was about all I could get out of it. Caution -- The 6.5-284 already has a reputation as a barrel burner. We can't predict the long-term effects of using RL17 and shooting 150-200 fps faster, but the higher velocities might cause barrels to wear even more quickly

I would figure a 6.5-06AI to at least match these numbers all else equal.