I have heard that the 6.5 WSM is an excellent round for superior long range shooting and that the 6.5 caliber bullet is one of the best for not being deflected by wind. Does anyone know if this is a factory production round and does anyone have experience with the cartridge that will share some performance information?
6.5 WSM ?
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demarpaint
Well-Known Member
Tom
As of yet the 6.5 WSM is not a factory round. Most are made by necking down 270 WSM brass. I was told to use Norma 270WSM brass. I haven't shot mine enough to report on it but I can say from reading up on it that it is hard on barrels if you don't allow the barrel to cool. The few times I did shoot mine I was happy with the way it shot. Mine is build on a 700 Long Action with an 8 twist Lilja 3 groove barrel.
Next time out I plan on trying Retumbo powder and 123 Scenar Boat tail bullets. 3400 fps is possible.
Hope this helps,
Frank D
As of yet the 6.5 WSM is not a factory round. Most are made by necking down 270 WSM brass. I was told to use Norma 270WSM brass. I haven't shot mine enough to report on it but I can say from reading up on it that it is hard on barrels if you don't allow the barrel to cool. The few times I did shoot mine I was happy with the way it shot. Mine is build on a 700 Long Action with an 8 twist Lilja 3 groove barrel.
Next time out I plan on trying Retumbo powder and 123 Scenar Boat tail bullets. 3400 fps is possible.
Hope this helps,
Frank D
demarpaint
Well-Known Member
Also try a search on this Forum there should be a lot of good info on the 6.5 WSM
Frank D
Frank D
Fiftydriver
Official LRH Sponsor
I build one for myself for big game hunting with a handgun on the Rem XP-100. With the 15" Lilja barrel I am getting the 120 gr Ballistic Tip to 3100 fps. Of the 60 or so three shot groups I have shot with this handgun the largest was .881" ctc. The smallest range in the low .2"s.
Took a big mule deer doe at 332 yards with a single shot this fall with the handgun and was extremely impressed with its performance. In a long barreled rifle it would be a great round.
As stated before I would recommend a 3 groove barrel for longer throat life.
Good Shooting!!!
Kirby Allen(50)
Took a big mule deer doe at 332 yards with a single shot this fall with the handgun and was extremely impressed with its performance. In a long barreled rifle it would be a great round.
As stated before I would recommend a 3 groove barrel for longer throat life.
Good Shooting!!!
Kirby Allen(50)
preacherman
Well-Known Member
take a look at www.shortmags.org
goodgrouper
Well-Known Member
Tom Van,
I seriously thought about building a 6.5 WSM about 2 years ago as my gunsmith had just made a brand new reamer and we were both dying to use it. But after having another hotrod shoot out it's throat, I decided to play it safe and just do a 6.5-.284. And man I am glad I did! After working with a 6.5-.284 for awhile now, at ranges from 500 yards to 1760 yards, I can say it was definetly the wise choice. Yeah, I gave up 200 fps to the WSM case, but at 1000 yards it really doesn't amount to much. You can get more vertical impact change from mirage than from 200 fps! The 6.5-.284 also burns way less powder which means you can practice more without your throat getting toasted, and in my mind that is way more important than shaving a couple inches off the trajectory.
As it turns out, I was talking to my gunsmith about the 6.5 WSM a few weeks ago, and he admitted that it wasn't the best cartridge. He built a few for some other guys, and they started shooting badly after only two seasons. They also said that it didn't shoot good unles loaded to the gills, and it had a tendency to heat up the barrels fast. Sounds like a high price to pay for a few inches.
Remember the old .264 Win mag? It has about the same capacity as the 6.5 WSM and it has been well documented by Winchester that when they were developing load data for it, it burned out the throats on 2 barrels before they had tested all the powders they wanted to try!
just my two cents! --goodgrouper
I seriously thought about building a 6.5 WSM about 2 years ago as my gunsmith had just made a brand new reamer and we were both dying to use it. But after having another hotrod shoot out it's throat, I decided to play it safe and just do a 6.5-.284. And man I am glad I did! After working with a 6.5-.284 for awhile now, at ranges from 500 yards to 1760 yards, I can say it was definetly the wise choice. Yeah, I gave up 200 fps to the WSM case, but at 1000 yards it really doesn't amount to much. You can get more vertical impact change from mirage than from 200 fps! The 6.5-.284 also burns way less powder which means you can practice more without your throat getting toasted, and in my mind that is way more important than shaving a couple inches off the trajectory.
As it turns out, I was talking to my gunsmith about the 6.5 WSM a few weeks ago, and he admitted that it wasn't the best cartridge. He built a few for some other guys, and they started shooting badly after only two seasons. They also said that it didn't shoot good unles loaded to the gills, and it had a tendency to heat up the barrels fast. Sounds like a high price to pay for a few inches.
Remember the old .264 Win mag? It has about the same capacity as the 6.5 WSM and it has been well documented by Winchester that when they were developing load data for it, it burned out the throats on 2 barrels before they had tested all the powders they wanted to try!
just my two cents! --goodgrouper
sscoyote
Well-Known Member
50-- what do u suppose the 140 A-Max would do out of a 15-16" XP? My 6.5-284 is doing 2700 with it now, but i wanna get velocity up to help with terminal ballistics as far out as i can go with the little guns for low-volume hunting-type shooting (coyotes, etc.).
goodgrouper
Well-Known Member
Tom Van,
You might as well make it easy on yourself. If you have a ton of '06 brass then go for it! It has slightly more case capacity than the 6.5-.284, but I doubt there is enough difference to really say that the 6.5-06 would burn the throat any faster.
One advantage the 6.5-06 has over the 6.5-.284 is neck length. You could seat your bullets anywhere for a long time!
You might as well make it easy on yourself. If you have a ton of '06 brass then go for it! It has slightly more case capacity than the 6.5-.284, but I doubt there is enough difference to really say that the 6.5-06 would burn the throat any faster.
One advantage the 6.5-06 has over the 6.5-.284 is neck length. You could seat your bullets anywhere for a long time!
demarpaint
Well-Known Member
Nice choice if you have the brass. A ton of info on it,its been around for a long time. Better check with a smith some are chambered to use .270 brass or 30-06 brass. Specify what you want, I was told the ones that use the 270 brass are a little easier to load for. The .270 brass is a little different than the 06 even though they came from the same parent case.
Maybe one of the smiths can help me out here.
Frank D
Maybe one of the smiths can help me out here.
Frank D
Fiftydriver
Official LRH Sponsor
SS,
Good to hear from you, XP is also waiting for my velocity results with the 140 gr class bullets. I have been a little crazy getting the Allen Mags off the ground building test rifles and doing some range testing.
I will be testing the 142 gr Wildcat ULD Rebated boattail here soon. I would be suprised if I could not beat 2800 fps with this bullet out of my 15" Lilja but I will let you know for sure when the weather clears. Been below zero for almost 2 weeks now!!!
Good Shooting!!!
Kirby Allen(50)
Good to hear from you, XP is also waiting for my velocity results with the 140 gr class bullets. I have been a little crazy getting the Allen Mags off the ground building test rifles and doing some range testing.
I will be testing the 142 gr Wildcat ULD Rebated boattail here soon. I would be suprised if I could not beat 2800 fps with this bullet out of my 15" Lilja but I will let you know for sure when the weather clears. Been below zero for almost 2 weeks now!!!
Good Shooting!!!
Kirby Allen(50)
Fiftydriver
Official LRH Sponsor
Tom,
I have build alot of 6.5mm-06 AIs and they are great rounds in a rifle. They will easily hit 3100 fps with a 140 gr VLD and some will do better then that with long barrels.
They are accurate, smooth feeding and cheap to load for. The 6.5-284 is just the popular kid in school right nowo and justifiably so. It is probably a bit more consistant then the 6.5mm-06 AI and offers nearly the same performance.
As a target round, I would say the 6.5-284 has a slight edge in equal quality rifles.
As a big game rifle, I would lean toward the 6.5-06 AI for is increased performance and smoother feeding.
Good Shooting!!
Kirby Allen(50)
I have build alot of 6.5mm-06 AIs and they are great rounds in a rifle. They will easily hit 3100 fps with a 140 gr VLD and some will do better then that with long barrels.
They are accurate, smooth feeding and cheap to load for. The 6.5-284 is just the popular kid in school right nowo and justifiably so. It is probably a bit more consistant then the 6.5mm-06 AI and offers nearly the same performance.
As a target round, I would say the 6.5-284 has a slight edge in equal quality rifles.
As a big game rifle, I would lean toward the 6.5-06 AI for is increased performance and smoother feeding.
Good Shooting!!
Kirby Allen(50)
Fiftydriver
Official LRH Sponsor
Tom,
I fully believe it is the rifle that determines 95% of a rounds potential accuracy, not the other way around. That said, most shooting the 6.5mm-284 use brass from either Norma or some other top end brass maker which is held to tolerances far better then standard Rem, Win brass which is used for the 6.5-06 round.
There certainly is match quality '06 brass out there but many do not use it.
From a strictly case design aspect, I would say the 6.5-284 would have a slight edge in velocity consistancy because of its shorter powder column and steeper shoulder which both improve efficent powder burns.
If you use same quality brass and loads in each and fire them in top quality rifles, the 6.5mm-284 may have a slight edge in accuracy but I would hate to have to prove it on target.
There are other variables that will effect accuracy much more then case design. The 6.5-284 is just the darling of the long range crowd right now.
Good Shooting!!
Kirby Allen(50)
I fully believe it is the rifle that determines 95% of a rounds potential accuracy, not the other way around. That said, most shooting the 6.5mm-284 use brass from either Norma or some other top end brass maker which is held to tolerances far better then standard Rem, Win brass which is used for the 6.5-06 round.
There certainly is match quality '06 brass out there but many do not use it.
From a strictly case design aspect, I would say the 6.5-284 would have a slight edge in velocity consistancy because of its shorter powder column and steeper shoulder which both improve efficent powder burns.
If you use same quality brass and loads in each and fire them in top quality rifles, the 6.5mm-284 may have a slight edge in accuracy but I would hate to have to prove it on target.
There are other variables that will effect accuracy much more then case design. The 6.5-284 is just the darling of the long range crowd right now.
Good Shooting!!
Kirby Allen(50)
