Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 6.5 Wby Handloading Issues?

I've got an opportunity to pick one up at a decent price. The rifle is a Weatherby Arroyo. I'm interested in first hand experience on the ability to work up accurate hunting handholds (I've struggled with matching both accuracy and velocity at the same time with a couple Wby rifles in the past. Is it particularly picky? Rifle will be primary for deer hunting so I'm flexible on bullet weights/styles. It will join a stable of rifles including a 300wby, 340wby, and 7mmSTW. Thanks.

My 26 Nosler isn’t picky, don’t see why the Wby would be. I would try the 140 Accubond. I use 869 powder in my 26, great groups. I would load to factory length, see how it shoots. Maybe try a box of factory shells first. Weatherby cartridges have free bore.

Nope, no problem at all. H869 and RL33. 127 LRX and 130 AB's at 3500 fps and usually 1/2" or smaller

My factory target

869 is a good one in the 26 Nosler and it should work well in the 6.5-300 Wby.

One can get Vulcan pull down powder much cheaper than canister powder and in my experience with the Nosler, 872 and 869 are just about interchangeable. The bonus, 872 is $55 per 8# jug. Give Jeff Bartlett a call, he knows his stuff. http://www.gibrass.com/gunpowder.html

Another powder with promise is Vv N-570, very coarse stick, double base, high energy. QL gives it high marks on performance in these big cases. It doesn't flow well thru a powder measure, stacks badly. I remove the drop tube in my Uniflow, drop a charge in a scale pan and weigh. Goes pretty fast.

DF

140 NAB is a great choice.

I've had good results with 120 TTSX and E-Tips, equal performance. At 3,450 fps and not pushing them, they are very accurate (half MOA) and at that speed, mess up tissue with DRT kills.

DF

Thanks for the replies. Are you guys crimping at all? With a couple Weatherbys I’ve loaded for my challenge was matching factory crimping to get velocity and accuracy at the same time. My hesitation on picking up the rifle is NY prohibits online ammo sales and factory ammo is nearly impossible to find.

Not me.

DF

I don't crimp any of my weatherby rounds.

Has anyone tried IMR 7828SSC in the 6.5-300?

What are you guys getting outta 130’s?

I don’t crimp

Rodell,

IMR7828SSC is a little fast-burning for the 6.5/.300, except possibly with very light bullets. Even Retumbo is a velocity also-ran with 140-grain bullets.

In my rifle US869 and the new Enduron IMR8133 are the velocity leaders with bullet weights from 127-143 grains.

John what are ya getting outta the 127–130’s? Thanks

Around 3450, but have only tried Hodgdon's published data. So far I haven't seen any other pressure-tested data, though haven't checked for a while.

Copy that. Thank ya sir

Fifty years ago, the 6.5x300 WBY was the most popular long range hunting cartridge on the planet among l/r hunters.
And the planet as for l/r hunting at that time consisted of pretty much just N/C PA.
And the reason was there was only one good bullet on the planet which happened to be the 140 gr Norma match.
Research if you will, and look up Alex Hoyer from Lewistown PA.
Also, research the very early days of the original 1000yd club as to what guns were being used.
When Joyce Hornady introduced the 162 gr 284 match hp bullet around 1970, it was like all the rats were leaving a sinking ship.
But they weren't rats at all, but shooters/hunters who as fast as they could rebarreled their guns to 7x300 WBY.
Shortly after, somebody got the idea of using an 8mm mag case, and guess what that turned out to be?
The original 162 gr bullet is still being made and still being used by lots of hunters, (including me, and it frankly isn't exactly the same)
With an equal length barrel, equal velocities aren't hard to obtain when comparing the 162 and the 140.
What am i missing here? And why did it take Wetherby all those years to wake up?
Fact is it didn't, they just recognize a trend and wanted to get on board.

Ya laynes 6.5 stw never caught on either. 6.5’s used to be the red headed stepchild, now days folks are embracing them. Good bullets have helped of course. I’m a 6.5 slut....

Well why all of a sudden did somebody say, you know what? i think I'm gonna build me a 338?
I never owned a 6.5x300 WBY because by the 70s when i got involved, the fire had burned out.
But i will admit that i always had a little remorse for having (missed out).
About 10 years ago, talk about 6.5x300 WSMs was heating up, and claims were pretty much what the old 6.5x300 wby was capable of.
So i built one on the excuse i needed a good long range antelope gun for a trip west, and of coarse my 25/06 just wasent up to that.
I did shoot a couple of antelope with it, the longest being 610 yds. I was getting good accuracy at about 3350 with a 140 from a 28" barrel.
After about 320 rounds i wasent as thrilled with my decision as i had been. Especially when my 7x300 would out perform it shooting at rocks.
Funny thing is I'm not seeing much on that cartridge anymore. So I'm not regretting about letting it go to a new home.

A 140 NAB at 3450 is nothing to sneeze at. These fast 6.5's are looking good. One of my LGSs has an M48 in 26 Nosler that has been sitting on the shelf for months. 🤔🤔

Can you add some input for a 7x300wtby... likely nothing lighter than 150s, and up to 180s... Thanks, Jeff

Buy the cheap azz Lee powder measure.. 19 bucks or such.... I doubted the advice... for nasty powder. I"ve been pretty impressed...

Jeff

Jeff,

Haven't played with a 7mm-.300 Weatherby, but have handloaded some for the 28 Nosler, which has just about exactly the same powder capacity. Slightly faster powders than those that work in the 6.5-.300 did best, including RL-25 with 150's, Norma 217 with 160's and H1000 with 175's.

3500+ with RL33

Also--- 140 Accubonds, 91g US869, Fed 215M primer. 3200 fps +

Recipe fotis? That’s not a bad place to be....

90+ gr powder for 3200?

My 7 Wby will push 140's to 3400 with 74 gr powder. Quite a disparity.

I don't comprehend.

Thanks, just still looking in case something better is out there. 25 and 1000 did nothing on the accuracy side for my gun. May well be the gun but would be the first by Mickey that didn't shoot that well.

Will maybe have to see if I can find Norma 217

88 gr is my max 3.7 COAL 215 Match caps. Please work up slow from 84

Gotcha. Obliged

https://thehandloadinglog.wordpress.com

first article enjoy!