loads for 6.5 Remington magnum

[silverine]

Hi Shooters,
Not long ago, I was happy to find and buy a Remington 700 chambered in 6.5 Remington Magnum. It has a 24-inch (yep, 24") barrel and a very attractive, older, wood stock in wonderful condition. The rifle looks as though it had barely been used. It was one of those rifles I immediately picked up and couldn't put down! I ordered brass and dies, but couldn't wait, so I purchased some factory (Remington core-lokt 120g) and took it to the range. It shot fairly well (1 1/2" @ 100 yards) for having a VERY tight fitting stock... exactly the opposite for a free floating stock.

I have the newest Sierra, Nosler & Hornady (as well as a slew of various old versions) of reloading manuals, however I'm hoping some of you will have a few pet loads you might be willing to share? For my 260 remington, I have used a wide variety of 6.5mm bullets in the 120g - 130g range so, that is what I'll stick with in this rifle. (My 260 rem is the stainless mountain rifle with the synthetic stock, 24" barrel and detachable magazine. It shoots extremely well with the 120g Sierra spire points and almost as well with the 129g Hornady interlock.) I love the 260 and am confident that I'll like this new 6.5 rem mag, and am looking forward to playing with it a lot.

Any suggestions you may provide will increase my enjoyment of this neat new rifle!

Sincerely,
silverine

 

[woods]

Hey silverine, I have a 6.5 rem mag but my load data may not be transferable to yours. Mine is a rebarrel of a 300 win mag action and I had it reamed so I can seat those long bullets way out there and still fit the mag

so my gun has a larger combustion chamber than a 6.5 rem mag on a short action where you will have to seat the bullet deeper.

That being said I have shot a lot of bullets and find that powders in the range of RL22, H4831 and RL25 work best in my gun. Like I said my gun has a larger combustion chamber than yours and thus I can load more slow burning powder than you can without exceeding safe pressures, so START LOWER AND WORK UP IN YOUR RIFLE

IMO the 140 gr Hornady Interlock & 140 gr Sierra Gameking are excellent for cup and core type of bullets but may not exit game. The 130 gr Scirrocco II (BC of .571!) was a surprise because I have never been able to get a Scirrocco to shoot in any other caliber. The Accubonds, in either 130 or 140, should be good for accuracy and dependability in the field. Personally I don't like the smaller caliber TSX's because of the small hollow point, they may be accurate but may zip through too easily.

If I were you and had a factory short action I would try the 130 gr Scirrocco II's, RL17 and Fed215 primers. You really only have one choice in brass and that is Remington but it is fine with a lot of work.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[silverine]

Hi Woods,

Thanks a bunch for the very informative reply!! I am with you on the recommendation of the RL-17 and the Fed 215 primers... though I've never used the Sciroccos. I'll take your advice and try the accubonds as well (what an attractive bullet!). I'm going to Rapid City tomorrow and will look for some. I bought some Hornady 129 SST's the other day and will try them too. I have not tried the newer powders like RL-17, but am anxious to do so. Everything from my beloved 250-3000 to this recent 6.5mm find, will get to try that powder out!

(My 260 remington shoots the 140g bullets "okay" but I've always gone for the accuracy when using the shorter/lighter bullets. However, I haven't missed the 140's while hunting... yet. As per your comments: "may not exit," this autumn, the Hornady 129g interlock from my 260 found it's mark on a pronghorn and is one of the few bullets I've ever recovered. It entered exactly where you would want it... in a frontal/broadside shot-- turned right and was found deep in the thickest part of the haunch, with only the cup surviving. I never could find the lead core... )

Back to the original subject: I like the idea of your re-barreling a long action to get the necessary magazine length. I'm with you there. However, this little rifle spoke to me and I am happy to accept that your cartridge and mine can't be the same when (due to seating depth) we are shooting essentially different cartridges. The 120g core-lokt cartridges really did fill up that stubby little mag on my rifle. I'll let you know how things go when I load up the factory cases and the brass that I've ordered.

I have a lot of experience with various calibers that thrive on RL-19; 22; 25 and H4831sc, so I'll count on them to perform as well as they usually do. I'm excited to try the RL-17.

Anyway, Thanks a ton for your advice/suggestions! I appreciate you taking the time to help!!

Sincerely,
silverine

 

[bigngreen]

Noticed the mention of a 250-3000 and R17, they go together very, very well!!!

 

[elkaholic]

RL-17 gives great velocity and accuracy but I would caution that for a hunting load, it can be VERY temp sensitive.....Rich

 

[silverine]

Hi elkaholic & bigngreen,

I am very intrigued by RL-17. It seems it works brilliantly in some cases and not so well in others... I guess it works well in comparatively short, fat, cases and, less well to poorly in long, skinny, cases? I hadn't heard it was temp sensitive-- but I guess logic would suggest that any powder that boosts velocity as much as it reportedly does for the 284 winchester, might be temp sensitive(?!). I'll be careful!

My standby load for both MY (as opposed to other's) 250-3000s is 38.5g of RL-19 over a Sierra spire point. The hornady and speer offerings work almost as well and at the velocity of this round are sufficient for which I'd use either of my two rifles.

I'll be excited to try the powder and hope it works well for me in the 6.5 Rem mag. Thanks to both of you for your help.

Sincerely,
silverine

 

[woods]

Hey silverine, an update on the 6.5 rem mag and RL17. I had 50 new cases and did a couple of Audette's at 300 yards. The main purpose was to gauge velocity.

Your rifle may develop pressure sooner than mine since I have a long throat but this may serve as a guide and starting point for you

No pressure signs

My load will be 54.5 gr for about 3200 fps

YMMV

 

[silverine]

Thanks for the information, Woods,

I'm finally off work to reply to your interesting post. Great info there...
I've learned that my Rem 700 6.5 Rem Mag has a very long throat and, a very short magazine. Even the 120 grain bullets are seated deeply. What little I've learned is: this particular rifle, if used with the magazine is a 120g bullet rifle. Used as a single shot, it can use the heavier/longer offerings. The 129g Hornady SSt's I had, when seated to magazine depth, were so deep in the case that the very end of the case mouth didn't make contact with the bullet!

This bit of time off I have, was to be used shooting a bit... to try out some loads for my rifle. However today it is -6 with a 25 below wind chill. Of course, most of the days were far more pleasant while I was at work! Ahh, that Wyoming wind...

Thanks for the help.

Sincerely,
silverine

 

[woods]

You might try the 125 gr Nosler Partition, it has a shorter nose and ogive and may shoot in your rifle. If it does then you will have a real good game getter.

Have you looked into seeing if you can expand the length of your magazine? Don't know if Wyatt's makes an extended mag box for it or not.

 

[woods]

Wyatt's Extended Window Magazine Box Remington 700 BDL Short Action - MidwayUSA

 

[elkaholic]

You might try the 125 gr Nosler Partition, it has a shorter nose and ogive and may shoot in your rifle. If it does then you will have a real good game getter.

Have you looked into seeing if you can expand the length of your magazine? Don't know if Wyatt's makes an extended mag box for it or not.

Thats a good suggestion. I took a couple of elk with 125 Nosler partitions and they are definitely going to fit a little better.......Rich

 

[silverine]

Thanks Woods,

Great suggestion to use the Wyatt magazine box. The link you attached took me right to it. I wouldn't have thought of that.

Thanks again,
silverine

 

[tobehunted]

silverine, you will have to keep updating so i can see how that thing shoots. Im getting ready to have my 338 win mag rebarreled for a 6.5 rem magnum for my wife ( she can have her own gun instead of always mine ) and i wanted that long magazine to seat the bullets out farther. I just have to figure out how long for the chamber ? Im opened to any sugestions from everyone .

 

[woods]

Hey tobehunted, the 6.5 rem mag is a great rebarrel caliber for a win mag caliber. Mine was a Browning 300 win mag with a detachable magazine that had a huge jump to the lands. When I decided to rebarrel, I got some 6.5 rem mag cases and dies and loaded a dummy unprimed cartridge and sent it to the gunsmith and told him to set the freebore to fit

the COAL was 3.10" IIRC. Those 6.5 bullets are looong! That is a 130 gr Accubond in the pics.

If you want to shoot the 140 gr bullets then I would recommend a 1 in 8 twist although a 1 in 9 would probably do fine. I had a friend who had a 300 win mag and he like my 6.5 so I had his rebarreled with a 1 in 9 Shilen barrel and it shoots 130's well.

Mine is a Douglas XX #4 contour finished at 26". I did a seating depth test shoot today