My old GA Precision Crusader .260 just made a return trip complete with a brand new Bartlein MTU, 27" 5R, 1-8.5" Chambered for 6.5 SAUM. I've been testing the 140gr JLK with pretty good results. After 300 rounds, the barrel is at max speed, and producing 3225-3240fps with a good dose of H1000, Remington cases, and Tula LRM primers. Using a G1 BC of .670 the load matches up real close to JBM calcs.



This was from a few days ago, four at 500M. I knew they were tight from the rifle, but it's always nice to walk up on a string like this! With a 200M zero, I had 1.8 mils dialed.

I took it out to 1100M this morning before the wind got too violent...results to follow!

Very nice!

Day-um.

Pat, what went into the 260 to 6.5 SAUM conversion? Just swapping mags and opening up the bolt face?

Tanner

Looking good Pat... That things gonna hammer coyotes!

Used a .2 holdoff for these five. Elevation was spot on with 2.6 mils.



Shooting into a headwind with a bit of a push right, left. 4.7 mils elevation.



First shot missed the plate left .1. Hits on the next three with 7.2 mils elevation. Always a huge difference from 800 to 1100 and beyond.

New bolt, same AI mags with the front plate removed for a little longer COAL(2.945")

I do not want to anger Scenarshooter unless I'm a long, long ways away

Great shooting.

That's badass.

Icebreaker is gonna be fun !

Wow. Just wow...

Compact cartridge with credentials like that makes me wonder why I dont have one..Lots to like there.

I'm jealous....

Man that's some good shooting.

Awesome, Pat. That SAUM really thumps the steel.

I agree, I'm just about ready to jump in..............

Looks like Hornady will have the brass by late summer.

Nice work as usual Pat.

Looks like Tanner is getting the itch....

This round interests me.
What are the current brass options and is there a line to get in for the Hornady brass?

Who is chambering the 6.5 SAUM besides GAP? I have a Kimber WSM action I'd convert but they don't work with Kimbers.

Neck down and turn 7 SAUM, or .300 SAUM brass. Buy prepped brass/loaded ammo from Copper Creek. Most of my brass I run, I've prepped myself, and it's Remington. It's very scarce right now, but Nosler/Norma is still obtainable. Remington brass is a little lighter(more case capacity) than Norma, so the powder charge may vary.

The Hornady brass will be available through GA Precision. I'm not sure if there is a waiting list as of now, but I can find out. George is meeting with Hornady next week. They've been pressure testing the round, and the numbers are very close to what we assumed when we were load developing. I'm hoping to get my hands on some prototype brass soon.

He would just dial up...

Nice upgrade.

Bravo! Well done.

From the looks of things, your gonna need tougher steel.

Any idea on Price of brass from Hornady?

Pat, any idea why your BC is so much higher than the advertised BC for the 140JLK?

We're thinking the higher velocity we have been getting has something to do with it. Litz's G7 BC of .327 comes out almost perfect at my velocities.

It will be a lot less than Nosler 7 SAUM brass.

Yep.

VERY long ways away...

Like the next county...

DF

I just spoke with George, and he thinks the brass will be in the $1.25 each price range. It will be available late summer, July/August. It will be stamped 6.5 GAP.

Pat,thanks for checking on the brass!

Hornady is making a test run on that brass right now, and I will have a couple hundred of them to T&E very soon. Looking forward to it.

Fixed it.

You got that right...

DF

Superb shooting as usual Pat. I'm putting together a 6.5 Creed, but a 6.5 SAUM is next on the list. I already have 250 new 7SAUM Norma brass.....guess I should have waited. Oh well, nothing like sizing your own!

Great looking rifle Pat.. I look forward to your results with the Hornady brass. If all goes well with it, I'd be in for 1K-1.5K or so for my (3) 6.5 SAUMS.

This round is very, very appealing. The limited availability and price of brass is probably the only thing holding me back..

Hoping hornady can come through with making the brass not such a scarce item.

Looking at the GAP rifles, it's hard not to have a bad case of rifle envy!

Hell, it looks like he's done this before.

A solid concept well executed.

We had two of these rifles at the Icebreaker Shoot this past weekend built with the same exact specs, other than one was a Surgeon 591 action, and mine a Templar, both smithed by GAP. The barrels were made at Bartlein the same day, and both were chambered at GAP the same day, with the same reamer. Both wore S&B 5-25 PMII's. Both rifles had the exact same come-ups, shooting the 140 JLK all the way to 1800 meters(19.5 mils). That was sure fun shooting side by side with my hunting bud, taking turns raking steel all the way out to, and beyond a mile....pretty cool stuff! Good shooting Jake!

Pat,

How are you making out with the testing of the Hornady brass? Looking forward to your results..

Best regards,

Bob

I have to ask any idea if we can get this brass in Canada or will it just be an exclusive item for GAP. I'm thinking of doing one since I love 6.5's a lot.

Here's a first look at the new Hornady 6.5 SAUM brass.

I'll start the testing this weekend...it's very uniform in weight, and very little run out on the necks, without any prep.

Agreed Pat.

here is what I figured out so far...

h2O capacity is 72.5 and the new cases weigh average of 230.75 with 1.2 GN difference.

My Rem. 7saum weigh average of 219.6 with a 3.7 GN difference.

The new brass is far more consistent like you said !

Looking good.. How about a pic of the case head...

There is nothing stamped on the head of these test pieces of brass...kind of cool.

yup !

Good to hear Pat, looking forward to the report.

That is pretty neat... Although it would have been nice to see "6.5 SAUM 4S" printed on there.. Man, I would love to test those in my 3 Gradous SAUMS!

LOL, I've heard people make the argument that headstamps aren't important, but that's kind of extreme ain't it?

Well chit, that .264 blank in the garage was going to be a 260 Rem to pair with one I built for my son so we could carry them together. With commercial brass available, looks like I need to be shopping for an action with bigger bolt face.

Pat, you still using a Redding 7SAUM die with .291 bushing to size or has someone built specific dies?

I'm still using those, and they work great. Redding is now making dies for the 6.5 SAUM, and are available at this time through GA Precision.

So, I just put together 10 rounds with the new Hornady brass, using 61.0grs H1000, and 140gr JLK's. I ran them through my concentricity gauge only to find out there is less than .001" run out. The bullets felt very even, and uniform pressure when seating....I'm expecting some good results...I plan on fire/load/fire, until the brass gives out.

That'll take till, what?, noon tomorrow?

Lots to learn about reloading but are you full length sizing or is the bushing you mention shoulder bumping?

Would be interested to know how often you have to trim. Also, did you guys anneal or did they come that way?

Sorry for the JV questions.

What is the COAL for your 6.5 GAP?

What do they have for neck wall thickness?

With a 140gr JLK, it's 2.940". At that seating depth, the bearing surface of the bullet, just above the boat tail is slightly above the neck/shoulder junction. Jump is .005 to the lands.

.014"

That was my thought too....

Cmon, Scott. George and Pat have probably put a few hundred rounds out of the new brass down range already!! grin

I got a handful to test .... Grin

Here is what I posted in 6.5 thread....

New Proto-type 6.5 SAUM brass from Hornady. I got a handfull to test and run thru the paces. Here is what I figured out so far...

h2O capacity is 72.5 and the new cases weigh average of 230.75 with 1.2 GN difference.

My Rem. 7saum weigh average of 219.6 with a 3.7 GN difference.

The new brass is far more consistent !

Necks, case weight, and run out is excellent ! Shoot the crap outta them and see how they hold up. Will post more as it goes.

Sendero Man,

How's the new proto type brass doing?

I'm speechless, like jaw-dropped and drooling speechless. Someone noted that this is a great concept and well-executed. I concur.

It is hard to believe that you're on the same planet that I'm on, Pat, because that incredible shooting and those drops from that wee gun seem like another world from the one I live on!

Reminds me of Quigley.

It always takes the wild-catter to come up with the right cartridges.

How are these cases holding up so far? How many firings do you have on them? If you need a hand testing, I would be more than happy to volunteer my services.

haven't shot, we have had nonstop rain and wind
flooding and rock slides everywhere

I see the weather is on the up and up out in your neck of the woods these days. Have you had the opportunity to take advantage of it?

Best regards,

Bob

Do we have any 6.5 SAUM vs Coyote pics yet?

Why did you have to say that? Coyote met the 6.5 SAUM, and it was a bang flop, tipped right over. Hammered this coyote!

Theres nothing like a 6.5!! I love my .260

I find this very interesting as the 6.5 Rem. Mag Imp. has a capacity of 72.7 grs. of H2O. Anybody on here shooting one of the R.M.'s,if so care to tell what you are getting on the same slug as used here.
Cheers NC

Just finished up this test run today.

Think the new brass is a keeper!!

Very nice Pat....

Very nice Pat....

It might be the best brass I've ever shot, including Lapua...

That load isn't mild either. 3200fps with a 140 is pushing it.

I've got more loads with the test brass to T&E in my other 6.5 SAUM, loaded with 130gr JLK's to 3325fps.

Nice to able to shoot/load right at the shop.....grin!

Thanks Greg! That rifle is really fun to shoot. It has 850 rounds through it now.

So far, so good.

Think of this, 100 pieces of brass will last the entire life expectancy of a barrel.

I like the looks of that Pat..... Thanks for the report.

I can't think of a better coues rifle...

I'm just wondering why I'm even working with other rifles...

Although the thought of a 130 VLD hitting a whitetail at 50 yards is concerning to me. Maybe the 136 scenario would be a good bullet for that situation.

One of these days, I'll make my way down there. I've always wanted to hunt for a good Coues buck.

No kidding. I am impressed with it too. Get back out and shoot mine more in morning. Think they got it figured out !!!

At the rate most people shoot 10 cases would last a lifetime at 20 firings a case... Hopefully it will be available soon and in quantity...

Nice shooting, Pat! The brass looks great, but more impressive to me is that the rifle is an absolute hammer! The driver didn't do too bad, either! <grin>

20 shots into ~1" at 200m is very impressive!

I doubt I could do that well no matter the rifle.

Guarantee I couldn't.

That is very impressive.

Simply amazing!

I want one! Talk about the ultimate deer round, slinging a 140gr accubond or partition..... I still want to build a lightweight mountain rifle based on this round with a titanium action. Might have to watch for brass when it comes available. I have lots of 300saum brass but I don't want to go through the process of resizing it to 6.5

That looks really great both the shooting and the brass being good for 20 shots.

Any word on when this brass will be available?

We're hoping early fall.

Hopefully they are going to crank out quite a bit of it!

I believe you need some AR500!

Looking great Pat.

Mines in the works now, on a Mod 70 WSM action.

Sure be nice if you could post some of that brass to Aus!

Look forward to more pics.

Cheers, Chris

Mine is coming along as well....

Mine is getting revamped with a new stock and muzzle brake. Should have it back in about 10 days.

What are you going with this round?

Got an eh3 and changed the bottom metal to APA RTG. Also adding either a vais or kampfeld radial brake.

Hornandy is working on an order of 150,000 pieces of head stamped brass for GA Precision right now....hoping for an early fall delivery....

Pat,
Do you know how is GAP going to handle sale of the brass? Pre-orders or first come first served? Quantity limits?

I can find out.

Based on what I've seen from Pat's tests, about 100-150 pieces ought to last the life of the barrel...

61 grains of IMR 7977 is shooting great. Great alternative if ya can't find H1000!

Test brass has 14 firings now, trimmed twice, pockets still nice and tight with CCI 250's.

3187 FPS avg. out of the Heavy Saum with the 140 JLK's

150k will be gone in an instant!

Then they can make another 150K............

ttt for updates

I see brass is listed on GAPs website.

How's the recoil?

About the same as a .270 Winchester...

In addition to the accuracy, one of the most enjoyable parts of shooting the 6.5 SAUM is the incredibly light recoil. Really pleasant to shoot.

awesome - how needed is a brake?

Agreed...

Ditto

A look at the new brass.

The first 150,000 pieces sold out in just two days.....there's more coming.

Are they an exclusive for GAP or will Hornady be selling them as well. Might have a chance to get them in Canada if it is the latter.

Good looking brass, sounds like Hornady did a great job building them.

Pat are you planning on doing a durability test with this production brass as well? George mentioned one he did on the Facebook page and it wasn't as overwhelmingly impressive as your last one.

I thought the brass would last a while and didn't jump on any. Luckily I have enough remington 7 saum stuff I converted to last a while. It has been working fairly well anyway...

If you haven't seen the loading blocks for the 6.5 SAUM that Jon from Area419 did .... here is the link !

http://area419.com/index.php/featured-items

Congrats on some great shooting!

Thanks to Pat and Scott's help and the rest of you finally ordered my own SAUM!

Gonna be a long 4 months...

I'd like to see some more pics 6.5 4s kills.

At last!! Great pics-been looking forward to something coming from your way. Thanks for posting.

Now that you guys are getting into the correct headstamps, could some of you RP 7saum brass hoarders give some of it up?

Ringers....Geeeshhh!

Lots of nice critters, Pat!

Great stuff!!!!!!

Impressive.

Congrats to all.

Great pictures!!!

Thanks!

Ditto that! Pat's pictures are always fun...and come in multiples!

Thanks for the tour Pat!!

Great pictures Pat,

As always, thanks for sharing!

I think this is the finest animal I have ever seen
(the one with horns )

Pat,


Would a 6.5 4s reamer clean up completely in a standard .260 rem chamber/barrel?

I thought I saw a super chicken scope in there somewhere...

I need to save money and go hunting with you Pat......
Dang you have a Muley honey hole.....

This is a great thread!

Heck - you could head shoot cow elk at 900 yards with that......

Yes.

Cool thanks.

What scopes are you guys currently running?

Any idea on bore life?

I'm using the S&B PMII 10x42. Might move the LRHS back to it as my "heavy" rifle...

Thanks.

Looks nice, congratulations on all those smiles.