Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tell us about your 6.5-06

djs,

I wrote the Shaw rifle up in HANDLOADER and VARMINT HUNTER.

I won't argue with that!

Actually, I really like my 6.5x55 Swedes a lot. They are "enough gun" for my hunting purposes. Drill both shoulders or CNS with a 140gr Hornady and watch four hooves fly up in the air. It thrills me to no end not having to track at night, or on the neighbor's place, or not find the deer at all. And if I wait until they are standing in the right place, I can drive right up to them and load-'em in the truck, "rickey tick."

Big Red & smokepole - All that is great BUT I guess a 270 can't do the same thing?

A 270 is ONLY ahead of the 6.5x55 for 649 yds according to RamblinRazorback. It's such a pitiful cartridge, don't know how it has survived so long!

Jerry

Similar, but not the same. I have a custom 6.5-284 that I like a bunch. Its a 8.5 twist 26" med sporter wt. Krieger on a pre-64 M-70 with Jewell trigger in a Boyd, Jon Sundra laminated stock, pillared, glassed, free floated and torqued. It wears a Swaro Z5 3.5-18x44 BT with Outdoorsmans turret, calibrated to my best load of 140 gr. Bergers or SST's and Vv N165 at 2,950 fps. Off a bench, it will group 4 1/2" at 600 yds. with progressively smaller groups back to teens and twos at a hundred.

Its a great whitetail, pronghorn, hog and 'yote rifle. I have several deer rifles and this one is my favorite. From a solid rest, almost anything out there is in jeopardy. Its the confidence, knowing what a piece of equipment will do, that adds to the enjoyment of a hunt regardless what ends up in the freezer. A very pleasant rifle to shoot and a pleasure to hunt with.

DF

Big R, I'd like to have a Swede someday, no doubt. And a 7 X 57. Dirtfarmer, my '06 improved will shoot the 140 Bergers at half MOA at all the ranges I've tried, out to 550. ANd with the load that Mule Deer suggested (H-1000) it runs 3,050.

What's not to like about that?




The .270? Me neither.

That 6.5-06AI sounds like a keeper. That 6.5 has a bit more punch than the 6.5-284 and I would think it was more accurate than a .264 Win Mag, although I'm sure some will squawk about that statement.

Stated another way, I think it should be easier to get good groups out of a 6.5-06AI than a .264 Win Mag. And I would think you could push it pretty close to .264 Win Mag performance.

DF

It is a keeper, an M70 in a Mcmillan, handles well and not too heavy. But now that you mention it, my 26-in barreled .264 (new rifle, not much load work yet) will shoot Berger 140s between 3150-3200. Best group so far was a 4-shot group at a little better than 3/4". Only tried 2 powders so far, and I want to try 1-2 more.

I'm relatively new to 6.5's, but I'm really starting to like 'em.

Check out Vv N165. I heard that some of the long range 6.5-284 target shooters were using it and it worked great for me. I could beat the velocity with RL-17, but not the accuracy. With the turret, I don't need a slightly flatter trajectory, I need pin point accuracy.

Superperformance is reportedly good in the short mags. I read somewhere that it burned pretty dirty, so I don't know. The Ramshot powders are good and reportedly burn clean. I guess Magnum would be the one I would try in that gun.

DF

smokepole - got a ? for you. When was the 6.5-06 EVER recognized in a FACTORY rifle or cartridge?

Wonder Why?

You will get better barrel life from the 6.5-06 over the 6.5X284.

Think neck length.

I've heard that. But, the .300 Win Mag has a short neck, as do a number of cases.

DF

6.5x64 Brenneke and 256 Newton

Variants...

Even longer necks...


Anyone here have experience with the 6.5 SAUM ?

It hasn't. Is that your point? That being "EVER recognized in a FACTORY rifle" makes a cartridge superior?

Like a .35 Remington maybe?

I see what you mean, the .35 Remington is a real barn-burner.

No, that wasn't my idea BUT even the 35 Rem was 'legitimatized'

as a hunting round. I wonder how many 35 Rem.s have been bought.

Compare that to the 6.5-06

Jerry

Yeah, you're right popularity/numbers always mean a lot.

Kind of like the number of Lady Gaga albums sold......

One other thing--the first commercialized .25-06 didn't appear until about 1969, but the earliest versions popped up in the 1920's. So the way I see it, it takes the herd a few years to catch on, and 6.5-06 shooters are just way ahead of their time.

Thank You.

It's the difference in Survival & Death when it comes to the gun industry.
Jerry

Survival & Death? Sounds serious.

I thought we were talking about the merits of different cartridges, not what sells at Walmart?

I note that the Butt-Out tool is still in the catalog at Cabela's, that means it's "A Survivor." So what.

Also, in case you missed it, no thanks are required, because the quote you selectively chopped above was not an acknowledgement that you had a point......

.

Barrel life of a 300 winny...what 1200 to 1500? About the same for a 6.5X284 if you run em hot. I got 1300 and change from my 6.5X284 1K BR gun.

6.5-06 will give you a few more rounds down the tube. Shoulder angle and long neck put the hottest point of combustion in the neck of the case instead of the throat of the barrel.