Buxndiverdux
Well-Known Member
Tough decision. So many options in 6.5.
Gonna build a 6.5, but which one?
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65WSM
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Get the barrel nitrocarburized so you can actually shoot it a few times before the accuracy fades. Shoot HBN coated bullets. Travis and his brothers at R-Bros, build about one $5,000 or more rifle a day. For deer in irrigated agricultural Eastern Washington, the Brothers shoot featherweight 6.5 WSMs with 24 inch barrels. They shoot the 140 Berger over Reloader 26 at 3300 fps. The rifles set to shoot off bipods with 4.5-20X scopes. The 6.5 SAUM with Norma or Nosler (the same) brass could be nearly as good. The 6.5 PRC is limited, so far, to Hornady brass. You decide if you are a fan of Hornady brass. I like the Norma Nosler stuff better.
The 6.5X47 brass has a small primer pocket. It will limit what powders you can use and is a fair weather rifle. I have hunted deer in single digit temperatures Thanksgiving weekend. Ignition was slow enough with magnum primers. The 6.5 Creedmore is a better choice for similar ballistics. I did not the short neck on the .243 Winchester so I would not like the same neck on the .260 Remington. The .260 Remington would have to deep deep deep deep seat the 140 gr bullets into the powder column to fit into the magazine.
6.5-284 has feed and extraction issues from the rebated rim. You will have to deep seat 130 gr bullets in a short action. Most of the bullet will be in the case. The short magnums fit the short actions better, especially with the 140 gr bullets. My latest is a 6.5-06 Ackley shown below. I had the reamer, to seat the bullets in the long neck. The overall length is over 4 inches with 140gr and 160gr bullets. So I have a two shooter. One fits under the bolt, with the bullet on the ramp and one in the chamber. I will make another 6.5 WSM or 6.5 SAUM next time.
The 6.5X47 brass has a small primer pocket. It will limit what powders you can use and is a fair weather rifle. I have hunted deer in single digit temperatures Thanksgiving weekend. Ignition was slow enough with magnum primers. The 6.5 Creedmore is a better choice for similar ballistics. I did not the short neck on the .243 Winchester so I would not like the same neck on the .260 Remington. The .260 Remington would have to deep deep deep deep seat the 140 gr bullets into the powder column to fit into the magazine.
6.5-284 has feed and extraction issues from the rebated rim. You will have to deep seat 130 gr bullets in a short action. Most of the bullet will be in the case. The short magnums fit the short actions better, especially with the 140 gr bullets. My latest is a 6.5-06 Ackley shown below. I had the reamer, to seat the bullets in the long neck. The overall length is over 4 inches with 140gr and 160gr bullets. So I have a two shooter. One fits under the bolt, with the bullet on the ramp and one in the chamber. I will make another 6.5 WSM or 6.5 SAUM next time.
I have a few young grandkids hunting deer and elk now and I love building rifles for them. They all want to shoot a Creedmoor for deer. You can build them with light barrels/stocks and accuracy is seldom a problem. For elk they generally use 6.5-06 or 7mm WSM. I believe the 6.5-06 has take more deer and elk than any other rifle in my collection and I have never personally used it for hunting. I am working on a light 25 PRC and expect this will be a great rifle for the kids. We are ending up with a lot of 6.5 PRCs in our collection because everyone who shoots one has to have one. Using the Tikka action is becoming popular with this round. Feeds perfectly from the stock magazine and OAL is not an issue. 140-160gr at 3000fps will take any large game at fairly long ranges. I prefer using the 142gr ABLR in 6.5 but have had good results with ELDs and VLDs. It really comes down to what your interests/capabilities are. Regardless, we have found that these longer pills at higher spin rates seem to be highly effective on game so I had to change my tune of recommending larger calibers (30 or greater) elk sized game. Enjoy
hthunter
Well-Known Member
Creedmoor is all you need for intended purposes. If I need more energy or velocity I go up to something in .30 cal. I've tried to convince myself I need another faster 6.5 for velocity and energy but Creedmoor is more enjoyable for targets and just works perfect for deer.
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
More options:
The Sherman Shortmags cover all the bases mentioned.
They fit in a short action without sacrificing performance.
SST/140 gr 3200' at 2.85" coal
SS/140 gr 3250 at 2.92" coal
Head stamped ADG brass, dies, Reamers in stock
Reduced load of 42.2 grains H4895 behind a 130 Berger or ELDM at 2900' literally shot .o-.1moa in 2 rifles tested
Very low pressure/recoil
Loaded ammo planned this year
Big price reduction for brass next month
Pics compared to saum
clownbuster
Well-Known Member
Man, you won't go wrong with any of the calibers recommended here. Now make a short list of "must have" specifications and start checking off your boxes and cull the rest.
Short Action x
Lightweight x
Hunter x
Lighter recoil x
Brass x
Done.
clownbuster
Well-Known Member
THIS
Tidus56
Well-Known Member
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6.5 creed makes the most sense all around for your needs. I have built 5 now for friends and family and they all shoot well. They are also cheap to shoot. Good luck.
Guess I better add you can shoot a Creedmoor far faster than the naysayers will claim. 2800-2900 with a 140 is pretty likely with hand loads. My hunting load is at 3025 with RL-26 with a 26 inch barrel.
Guess I better add you can shoot a Creedmoor far faster than the naysayers will claim. 2800-2900 with a 140 is pretty likely with hand loads. My hunting load is at 3025 with RL-26 with a 26 inch barrel.
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It would seem at this point all the 6.5's mentioned meet or exceed the parameters of the question when first asked, so the answer in my mind would fall under the description of "Occam's Razor" that's why I picked the .260 Rem as the young shooter caliber, coming off a .243 Win; not discrediting the other fine 6.5's mentioned and many not mentioned, just trying to simplify an otherwise hard question to answer. The 260 Rem works very well at all reasonable games ranges 100-600 yards and does a bang-up job at 1k on paper. Just my .02
westcoasthunter
Well-Known Member
I have a single shot kinda heavy 6.5x284 and love it with 140 vlds. But if I had to do it over again. And I might put one together anyways the for hunting that's light weight. The Sherman 6.5SST is what I would look hard at
ptsdvet
Well-Known Member
I Shot 6.5x 284 and am not into the hype of a creed (6.5 x 250 savage) 6.5x06 brass? 6.5 PRC same? 6.5x55 if you load it will load within 100fps of 6.5x284 witch 284 is a short action cartridge originally but I would not build a short action because of bullet seating You buy good quality 6.5x55 rifles that shoot under 1"
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
I like the 6.5x47 L vs the 260, 6.5x55, and Creedmoor. Owned all 4. Issue is brass. Lapua brass is the best, but also the most expensive.
The 6.5x284, .264 Win Mag, PRC, and SAUM and other wildcats based on the 30-06 or WSM cases are a whole 'nuther set of wheels. I've owned multiple 6.5x284s and have a custom PRC now. Never had a 6.5 SAUM, but did plenty of work with a .300, 7mm, .257, and 6mm version. Love the SAUM above all else, but the detractors crying about the brass are unfortunately correct. I like the PRC. The .264's neck is just too short to seat the long bullets without sacrificing case capacity.
Let's not even bring 26 Nosler or 6.5x300 Wby into this discussion. I owned the latter...and it was a BLAST! (Pun intended!)
The 6.5x284, .264 Win Mag, PRC, and SAUM and other wildcats based on the 30-06 or WSM cases are a whole 'nuther set of wheels. I've owned multiple 6.5x284s and have a custom PRC now. Never had a 6.5 SAUM, but did plenty of work with a .300, 7mm, .257, and 6mm version. Love the SAUM above all else, but the detractors crying about the brass are unfortunately correct. I like the PRC. The .264's neck is just too short to seat the long bullets without sacrificing case capacity.
Let's not even bring 26 Nosler or 6.5x300 Wby into this discussion. I owned the latter...and it was a BLAST! (Pun intended!)
WYO300RUM
Well-Known Member
6.5 PRC Hornady brass not good ?
They weigh pretty close .
If I were doing it all over again and money was not much of a factor, I would go with the Curtis action or the Titanium, a proof barrel and maybe a Manners carbon stock in your favorite configuration. I built mine (pictured left) for tactical applications (different colors now) but it would not be fun to tote hunting at 15.9 lbs. Mine is a 6.5 Creedmoor, I'm using Petersen SRP brass, and Hornady 143 ELDX near 2800. My barrel likes them at 2770. I ordered a PTG match reamer, slightly tighter chamber but chambers factory ammo just fine. The Precision Hunter is almost as good as my handloads for most practical purposes. My best node so far is .339 for five, three in the same hole. If shooting a thousand is more to your liking, I would consider the 260 AI, very comfortable for a young shooter and enough velocity increase over the Creedmoor to make it viable at long range.
