6.5 Weatherby (6.5 taken TOO far?)

[Rich Coyle]

I don't think there is any such thing as too much. Keep pushing.

Steve

Rocky got it right!

 

[mtmuley]

Steve,
I fear you are not joking.
Eric B.[/QUOTE] I've known Steve a long time. He's not joking. mtmuley

 

[RockyMtnMT]

tbrice,
You're joking of course, but sure as hell someone will put a 6.5 in a 338 Lapua case.

Steve,
I fear you are not joking.
Eric B.

No joke. We have the reamer. Exact same specs as our 338 lap imp. We have the whole set from 375 down to 264. Building one in 8mm now for a lrh member. Should be done very soon. Done on a 30" 8" twist barrel. Going to be a great rifle.

Steve

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Will this be a gain twist or straight 6? Are you anticipating any bedding issue with that much barrel torque of the tight twist?

We went with a straight twist. We don't anticipate any trouble but we are wading into some unknown. We chambered 2 rifles in this a few years ago before we started making bullets. We were shooting monos from another company. We could not get a bullet as heavy as we are going to work with this this time. Those rifles were 7 twist and we were working with 128g bullets. US 869 was the only powder slow enough and would run them over 4000fps with excellent accuracy. Problem was with this much overbore and the 869 every temp change caused crazy pressure spikes. Wound up loading down to 3700fps and killed a bull elk with it that fall. We did burn both those barrels up trying to figure out how to control it.

This go around we increased the twist which will allow the heavier bullet. Hope is we will be able to tame things down a bit. Admitted we are headed prerty deep into the woods. On paper it ia looking good. Harperc is the owner of this
project and he is the one who woke this adventure back up. He had a Montana action as a donor. Dis not want to go with a custom action due to the cost. Otherwise we would have done the Lapua case.

If we can not get the huge bullet to work we will load it down with a lighter bullet and he will be able to use it as a 3600fps hunting laser for years to come. 25 shots per year and it will last the rest of his life.

Steve

 

[HARPERC]

...He had a Montana action as a donor. Dis not want to go with a custom action due to the cost. Otherwise we would have done the Lapua case.....Steve

More of a not yet kind of decision. Quickest way to get started.

I can envision 2 more rifles depending on the bullet. I have a #1 that was bought as a donor. I was thinking 7mm, but with a 6.5 160ish bullet it's appealing. Looking at the 6.5x65R. About 68 grains capacity, but looks like it could be Improved to push near 80 grains. No magazine worries, a lightweight stalking rifle.

I appreciate you taking up the project. Going to be fun!

 

[RockyMtnMT]

More of a not yet kind of decision. Quickest way to get started.

I can envision 2 more rifles depending on the bullet. I have a #1 that was bought as a donor. I was thinking 7mm, but with a 6.5 160ish bullet it's appealing. Looking at the 6.5x65R. About 68 grains capacity, but looks like it could be Improved to push near 80 grains. No magazine worries, a lightweight stalking rifle.

I appreciate you taking up the project. Going to be fun!

Picking up from where we left off, there is a whole lot of data that lets us know what doesn't work and what does. I have lots of confidence that we will have a rifle that is capable of hunting and a few show off shot for many years.

Steve

 

[shortgrass]

You fellas need a couple of barrels made of Inconel625, like KyCarl says. Of course, you'd have to find someone to make them of that. Carl seems to have all kinds of credentials, none which might apply to barrel making, but maybe he'd make 'um for ya'. Heck, they'd only cost 4 or maybe 5 (or 6 or7) what a good barrel blank costs now! And, you'd better order yourselves a carbide reamer......

 

[WildRose]

Actually, the 6.5x300 Wby cartridge was first created in the 50s
after Norma introduced their 6.5 139 gr match bullet.
Alex Hoyer a PA gunsmith heard about it and made a deal for the reamer. The cartridge was named the 6.5x300 WWH for the creator,
named Wright, Weatherby, and Hoyer. It was in fact the cartridge that started long range hunting on its present path in PA. The Norma bullet was lead core and metal clad which made it illegal for hunting in PA. But they were used anyway and they performed well.
When Hornady introduced the 162 gr 284 bullet, the 6.5x300 started losing popularity very quickly and the 7x300 WBY took over among hunters there.
There were a few guys who tried the 378 WBY case with the 6.5 bullet, but it never really went anywhere as for popularity.

I don't doubt it, wildcatters are just a different breed. These guys were kinda nuts and would try just about anything and one of them was an excellent gunsmith and gunbuilder.

Both were rabid deer and coyote hunters who hunted mostly wide open very flat wheatfields and were always looking for something faster and flatter than their other buddies for that purpose.

With one of them running a very nice gunshop and the other being a smith/builder and both doing quite well barrel life was never a consideration. They expected to burn them out relatively quickly and would always leave enough shank on a barrel to set it back a couple of times as well.

 

[WildRose]

There are people who fit into some aspects of all 3 categories. Some of us like to get our money's worth out of our barrels, and don't like buying a new $400-$1000 barrel every year. But at the same time, realize that there really is a point of diminishing returns and that powder capacity vs. bore diameter is a real factor that should be added into the equation of cost vs. performance vs. degradation. And those same people can also like to push the boundaries, but realize cartridge limitations, and that some things are just too overkill to be any form of practical unless you're strictly using it to shoot beyond 1,500 yards (ELR).

I'm putting together an STW for Mario right now that has a 28" barrel. It's going to be fun to see what we can do with it using the ultra slow burning powders like RL33.

The advancements in powder tech that have come along in the last couple of decades combined with those in barrel steels and treatments are giving us opportunities today we could only dream about two or three decades back.

I have to admit that I still have a hankering to try a 6.5x.375 Ruger at some point but if I do I have no illusions of getting a thousand or even 600rds through the tube before it's completely shot out.

Practically I think the .264wm is the upper limit for anything practical but there will always be those who just can't help but try to push it faster and farther.

After two years of shooting tons of .260 Rem at both critters and targets the round continues to impress me. Do I really need another 400+FPS? If I wanted to shoot beyond 1000yds it would certainly come in handy but as Frank's video shows it isn't necessary.

 

[WildRose]

Just have two or three barrels cut at same time. Problem solved!! Lol

That really isn't a bad idea at all. I'd probably have all chambered with the same reamer as well to get them all as close as possible to identical. That should certainly cut down on future load development and extend the live of each of the replacements in doing so.

 

[yobuck]

Well I arrived on the scene when the hay day for the 6.5x300 WBY was over in PA. And of those I know and knew who had them, none ever went back and built another for long range deer hunting there.

 

[HARPERC]

There are con's to all of rifle set ups, starting with the Daisy Red Rider "You'll shoot your eye out kid"!

JE is correct, it comes down to the bullet. Handy to have a bullet maker in on the project.

I certainly wouldn't want it to be the only rifle in the safe, and the rifle being altered is far from a sentimental favorite.

 

[sable tireur]

Wild Rose,

Do I really need another 400+FPS?

Yes you do and you know you want it!

Enjoy!