Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Which 6.5 to build?

I know that this has been asked a lot but thought I'd propose it again.

I've got a SA and a light contour 6.5 Bartlein sitting around. I've got a 6.5-284 on a long action. I was thinking something lightweight with an Edge stock that will work mostly for whitetails and muleys and possibly sheep/goat or light plains game for my daughter. I'm thinking I'd like something that the kids can handle well but still have plenty of punch for whatever they need. I have 3 kids. My oldest is a girl and I'm thinking that once the boys get old enough to handle full size stuff, this will become her rifle for a lifetime. Of course, I'll be using it plenty as well during the meantime.

I do reload all my stuff and I have plenty of 6.5 bullets.

.260
.260AI
6.5 Creedmore
6.5 SAUM
6.5 Rem
Something else?

Of course I also have a Long Action and I could just scrap the SA thing and use the barrel for a 6.5-06, 264 WM, or new 26 Nosler.

Opinions?

Lee

It's an interesting question. I think I'd go with the 260AI, which would give a bit more grunt to an already good round.

I've been leaning that way as well. Plus I can get Lapua brass.

Lee

Considering the things you mention, I would go Creedmoore. Who is to say that your daughter will always reload? The Creedmoore fits a short action magazine box pretty well and factory loads are getting plentiful.

I'd go either 6.5 Creed. Or plain Jane 260.

+ 1 for 6.5 creedmoor - it will kill all of the animals you listed "whitetails and muleys and possibly sheep/goat or light plains game"

upside - gun will be usable if the reloader retires, and the apprentices are busy/uninterested/ or the powder scare returns...and factory ammo in 6.5 CM is dandy!

6.5 creedmoors in short actions, with light contour barrels are fun, fun, fun. You will find many reasons to shoot this gun every time to go out to the range.

The 6.5x47 is hard to beat...

dave

Though I suggested the 260AI, lately I've gotten interested in the 6.5 Rem Mag. Only issue is brass availability. Great round, though it would only be good for a handloader. Shoot a case once, then resize to headspace on the shoulder and not the belt. But I have a 260 and just don't need another rifle. Got too many to shoot already.

6.5x47 Lapua


John

6.5-47 Lapua. It is predictably accurate. Great brass. Available dies (Forster-Bonanza). Well established reamer dimensions. Gives about the same performance at the Creedmor or 260, but better brass and a sharper shoulder.
Anything bigger is just another 6.5-284.

I'd have said that too (just had one built) but the notion that the kids would inherit it made me lean toward the Creedmoor because of the factory ammo situation. For a dedicated handloader, I think the Lapua might be the better choice, especially inside a 2.82" mag box.

+1 for sure.

Given your parameters I'd go this way.

Of course if the whole kid thing is the rationale you're communicating to your wife to justify a lighter build that your kids can and will use but will be primarily yours ( not pointing fingers here lest several be pointed back at me!!!) I'd consider 260 AI for additional cool factor.

AIs are nice cuz factory can be run through them... Of course there isn't much out there for 260 factory, but not much more of anything else either besides maybe Creedmoor?

Kids rifles = KISS IMHO

Ps- sorry just re-read daughters for lifetime = straight 260 or Creedmoor.

http://www.6mmar.com/65_SuperLR.php

dave

I am a scrub ,neophyte 6.5 buyer/builder. My buddy RinB sold me a barreled action chambered 6.5 Creedmoor.

I don't doubt the guys who seem to be saying the 6.5x47 provides certain competitive or other advantages. But I have visited 3-4 major LGS's in the past few days. In every one there was an abundance of either brass or loaded factory ammo for the 6.5 Creedmoor....no brass at all anywhere for a 260;sparse factory ammo. A box or two of 6.5/284.

The Creedmoor has exploded on the scene like mushrooms after a spring rain.It seems to be everywhere.

The differences between the Creedmoor and the other short 6.5's are a bit nuanced for me. I'd rather have easy access to components and factory ammo.I'm not a competitive shooter.

The Creedmoor is the way to go. 2.80" magazine offers great flexibility in reloading over the 260. I own both the 260 and 6.5 Creedmoor, both are accurate the Creedmoor is my favorite of the two cartridges hands down.
In a 2.80" magazine if you decide to go with the 260, shooting the hard hitting 140s is pretty difficult. The Creedmoor...no problemo!

If a guy was fully setup for a 260, but also 6x47, would you choose a 260 and use your current dies and brass or chamber for a 6.5x47 and add a set of dies?

Creedmoor or Lapua for me....

I'd love to hear how your Creed kicked your .260's ass with 140s loaded to 2.8".....

I've run'em side by side, in a couple different rifles.... more than once... and there is no discernible difference between the two at 2.8". I think the Creed guys get a little more performance, because they push it a little harder, visa vis the Ackley guys.... they need to convince themselves they've got a better mouse trap.

The x47 is a cool little round, and mine was the single most accurate rifle I've ever owned..... until the temps were single digits or less.... then it was roughly minute of tennis ball. Small rifle primers, super cold weather, and 40+ grains of powder didn't go together well for me. Rumor has it that CCI 250s will remedy that.... but I'm not interested in a gun that requires one specific primer to run well.

If I recall, 260 case capacity is still greater with a 140 Amax seated at 2.700 compared to 140 Amax seated with the heel of the bullet at the bottom of the neck in the '47.

26 Nosler if you want to burn a bunch of powder and make a lot of noise...

DF

My daughter started with a 260 at 12, and now that she is all grown up and hunting elk with her husband, uses a 7-08 for everything.

Like EFW said, keep it simple--particularly if she is walking away from the house with it....sometimes it is kinda hard to test reloads in your daughter's rifle when she is four states away...:)

Thanks guys!

Very true on the 4 states away thing. Might have to go Creedmore. 260AI does have some cool factor though and if she gets in a pinch then she can always just shoot factory fodder.

Lee

One like my .260AAR would be very nice. It is the .257AI necked up to 6.5. It treads close to the 6.5-284 in velocity and is very accurate.

Id say Creedmore, just do to the ammo availability. The Hornaday match ammo is great. I agree with the "just cause you reload dosen't mean your daughter always will"

Make your decision based on components or some other criteria. The 260 vs CM vs x47 are ballistic ally identical. There's not enough difference to even talk about. Unless you're the type that can be sure 30 more FPS is due to the cartridge ad not a faster barrel.

Ebby, checked case capacity and the vanilla 260 has 6 grains more capacity than the 6.5x47 with appropriately seated 140 Amax's. I sent a barrel and donor to IT&D today and chose the 260 over the 6.5x47 or Creedmore simply because I believe re-sale will be easier with the 260...I have a problem sticking to one rifle.

I have two daughters in their early 20's and set them both up with vanilla 243 ADL's, 243 should be available almost anywhere for a long time. Since you may hand it down to your daughter, that may be something to consider, build what you want and set the kids up with what makes sense long term.

There really is not a wrong choice here. They are all winners.

The mag cases could load 140 NP's for elk.

The CM and x47 load 140 VLD's.

The AI will shoot 130 VLD's at 3,000.

I tested my 6.5x47 in actual cold weather, not just single digits, and with cci 450s which I use year round with 123gr to 140gr bullets, there are zero problems.

Here is what I reported a few years ago in a mother thread:

**********************
A while back I asked on the forum if anyone had experience with the 6.5x47 in cold temperatures and if there were any issues with delayed ignition or no bang at all. My questions were not answered to my satisfaction so I had one build over the summer and went out today in -33F (not counting windchill which was -47.2F) and wanted to see for myself. I left the rifle and ammunition exposed on the bench for the entire session (3 hours) and then fired several shots prior to packing up and going home. Load was 36.3gr Varget with a cci450 and 140 bergers. Every single load went bang perfectly just like in the summer. No delay or anything. My group and POI was unchanged as well. I was going to use 22-250 in cold weather if needed but I won't have to go through that now. The cci450's and varget work perfectly in -33F and if you've been wondering if small primers will be a problem, perhaps I have given you some useful information.

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To the OP: I highly recommend the 6.5x47 lapua.

I went plane Jane 260. defiance rebel, mcmillan Classic in rhino, and bartlein #3 at 22". Smithed by dana english. Ships to me this Monday. For me it was brass availability such as Lapua and roll my own off of the abundance of 308 and 243 I have. I didn't go AI because reloading is new to me and didn't want to get in over my head at the beginning. The creedmore just didn't really have enough to sway me seeing as I can only buy hornady brass. I bought 3 boxes of hornady 243 brass last year, and most had dented necks, and primer flash holes way off center. I bought some remington like that before too. I know dented necks don't matter but it bothered me. I guess my ocd covers reloading too

I own 4 Swedish Mausers, have sporterized and shot one. It shoots ok.

I have built (2) 260s
Mauser 10" twist Douglas
Mauser 9" twist Shilen

Neither of those shoot well.

I am building a 6.5-06 ratchet rifling 8" twist right now and have fired it 36 times.

This 1.4" 5 shot group 142 gr Nos AB LR at 100 yards is cherry picking. I still have problems.

I like burning powder and making noise. Built on a blueprinted LH SS 700 Ultra Mag action.

Forster does not make 6.5-06 sizer dies, nor does Lee make 6.5-05 collet neck dies.

But Forster offers a honing service on their FL die necks. So I ordered a 25-06 FL die body with the neck honed out to 0.292". They charged double [$20 hone +body + Ship = $57.70] for the extreme honing from .272" to .292".
With this die body and a 6.5-06 Hornady sliding sleeve seater die, I have a quality 6.5-06 die set.

But Lee does offer a collet neck die mandrel reduction service. So I ordered a 270 mandrel reduced from 0.275" to 0.262", but leave the top alone @ 0.275" where it fits in a 270 collar. They charged triple [$15 labor + $5 parts + $6 shipping = $26] for the custom step.
With this I was able to convert an extra 270 collet neck die to make a 6.5-06 collet neck die.

Another vote for the 6.5-06

I'm building a 6.5 Creedmoor on a .22-250 70's vintage M-700 with a tired barrel. I bought a used HS stock (26 oz.) on the Fire Classifieds. I'm fitting a 24" #2 Shilen Match. I like the way the Creed was designed around the SA. It's a neat set up for long, heavy bullets and I like neat.

I have a custom FN 98 Mauser/Shilen CM 6.5x55, a custom Pre-64/Krieger 6.5-284 and a M-700/Shilen Match 26 Nos. So, I have plenty of 6.5 components.

DF

good info, Clark