6.5 saum vs. 6.5 wsm

[elkaholic]

What is your SS case? I have tried 243 and 25 WSSM. Both are great cartridges for single shot bolt guns. Gave up on 243 WSSM because brass was garbage and my 6mm bullet dies wouldn't make real good 130 gr bullets. Gave up on the 25 WSSM because throat too short for long bullets. Wanted a cartridge that burns Retumbo better than anything else.

SS is a shortened SAUM with taper blown out and shoulder sharpened with a longer neck. Outperforms a SAUM and is a TRUE short action which will cycle the long bullets. I am making brass for it (NORMA) and have reamers and dies......Rich

 

[DaleJ]

SS is a shortened SAUM with taper blown out and shoulder sharpened with a longer neck. Outperforms a SAUM and is a TRUE short action which will cycle the long bullets. I am making brass for it (NORMA) and have reamers and dies......Rich

Rich, how do you set shoulder back? What powder, bullet, velocity etc?

 

[bigngreen]

I have a 270 wsm that I want to convert to 6.5 saum, however I have a few hundred new wsm cases that could be converted to 6.5 wsm, and the saum norma brass is super expensive. Not to mention that 6.5 wsm dies are about $50, while 6.5-300 saum dies are $200!!

I will be using this rifle for back country elk hunting, and I want at least 1200 rounds of barrel life.

I really like H1000 powder and I don't need more than 3000-3100 fps with 140 grn bullets.

Can I get decent barrel life with the 6.5 wsm if I load it to these velocities, or do I need to spend tons of extra money on the 6.5 saum (dies, and brass) to get that kind of barrel life?

I know I know the 6.5 SS is awesome but It's not what I want to tackle right now, I am set on one of these two options so please only comment accordingly...

Any useful info would be greatly appreciated!

It seems expense is a major concern and given the performance window your wanting it seems the best thing is to just run a 270 WSM at moderate velocities. Inside the capable ranges of the 6.5 on elk you won't see any difference between it and the 270, you could even see less performance if you take the 270 cal 165 Matrix and 170 Berger into account when it comes to elk.

 

[elkaholic]

Rich, how do you set shoulder back? What powder, bullet, velocity etc?

I use RL26 almost exclusively although other powders work well too. Some guys on your side of the border are using N570 very effectively. We can reach 3100' with the 160's and 3300' with the 140's with a 26" barrel. My favorite hunting load is 59 hrs. RL26 behind the 150 Matrix for just about 3100'........Rich

 

[graywolf]

It sounds like you want a 6.5 SAUM. its not clear from what you wrote but assuming your .270 wsm barrel is burned out you can chamber a 6.5 SAUM barrel and the brass is available from Hornady now, not cheap ($1.65), but a lot cheaper than the resized Norma brass. Buy direct from GAP. Then sell your old brass. If the .270 wsm barrel isn't burned out and you have a bunch of new .270 brass, why not shoot it until you are ready to rebarrel- the 6.5 SAUM is a great round.

 

[Redman2]

Little late but thought I'd post my 2 pennies: I know you don't want to here this but why switch to 6.5? Like the other reply I agree you should just stick with the 270 wsm.

Shooting the new high bc bullets from berger or the matrix bullets, the 270 actually is just as impressive as the 6.5. What advantage over the 270 wsm do you think you will gain? About the only one I can think of is a larger offering of bullets in 6.5. 270 has it beat in energy and higher bc bullets (although not as large of assortment to choose from).

Just seems you're splitting hairs. I'd put the money saved into a build of something else down the road.

 

[Tikkamike]

Built a 25 SAUM on a 300 WSM case. Wanted a long neck for 135/145 gr bullets. Fed 215, lots of Retumbo gives me 3150 FPS with 135 gr. Just take into account what neck dimension you might need and order reamer accordingly. With properly adjusted die and annealed brass I size 300 WSM in 257 WSSM to make new case. Was sizing to 300 SAUM but found it unnecessary. Used RCBS FL die because Redding dies are not as polished.

what bullets are you shooting? 135-145 gr in 257??

 

[Nomosendero]

Rich, that sounds like a great design,it's a shame that one of the big boys will not get with you on this one. It appears to take care of all 6.5 cal needs for a magnum in a short case, much as the Creed is a great design for a std. cartridge in a short action. From what I have heard the 6.5 PRC does not share the same genius as the Creed.

 

[Jeremy338]

6.5 gap 4s
28 barrel
140 3200 fps
60.5 h1000
Great barrel life. Extremely accurate
No brass work!
Wouldn't trade for any other 6.5

 

[tim_w]

6.5 gap 4s
28 barrel
140 3200 fps
60.5 h1000
Great barrel life. Extremely accurate
No brass work!
Wouldn't trade for any other 6.5

The issue is brass life. The heads are too soft from the reports I have seen and primer pockets open up quickly if you hit the top ends. But then downloading would take care of that of the 4S Gap cases.

But if a person is going to go to that trouble I would hands down say the best pick is Rich's 6.5 Sherman Shortmag. IF you buy the prepped brass from him all that is needed is a fireform which can be used as a hunting round as it will have all the power and accuracy needed for all my the max range stuff. Then you have barrel life greatly extended compared to the other large 6.5 cases, case life that many times exceeds that of the Gap 4s cases or anything Hornady is going to make.

The 6.5 SS is all around one of the most balanced and well thought out cases out there period. Of course this is just my opinion but it seems to be shared with quite a few people on here. I have never been a 6.5 fan what so ever but Rich design has converted me as much as I hate to say it.

 

[Jeremy338]

I run copper creek Norma brass. Haven't had any problems with it so far. First run hornady brass was soft. Lost a few.

 

[Magvibes]

Y'all have too much time on your hands... and apparently you're gluttens for mental punishment...

 

[Kimber7man]

Brand new brass for the 6.5 SAUM/4S is available from GAP for $1/piece now. Last I saw they were on their fifth or sixth batch and worked any issues out by the third batch.
Run a 130 at 3250 or a 140 at 3050 and brass will last at least 10-15 loadings. That's pretty strong at a buck apiece.

 

[Deleted member 25294]

Wow I see my old post got resurrected..
I ended up going with the 6.5 Saum on a tikka action, and I could not be happier.
One major reason for wanting to go with the Saum over the wsm was recoil, and the 6.5 is much lighter on recoil with the 147's @3050fps than the 270wsm was with 150's.
For brass I'm running norma 7mm Saum cases through a hornady 6.5 gap die, neck turning and shooting. Very simple to form, I've loaded some test cases 8 times and the primer pockets are still tight.
I love the 6.5 Saum, I killed two bull elk with it this year, it's my go to rifle now for all occasions, and it's really light.