Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting What's the deal with all the 6.5mm?

It surprised me to see far more Bushnell's than Leupolds in that mix....that there were lots of S&B's is not surprising.

What was an eye opener was the clear domination of Krieger, Bartlein, and Brux barrels....I shouldn't be surprised though....they lead the pack among competitive shooters back here, too.

Interesting info for sure!

The popularity of the 6.5mm is relatively new here in the States, but not in Europe. The Swedes, Finns, Norwegians, and Germans have known about the 6.5mm and used it extensively since the late 1800's starting with the Swedish Mausers and Krag's.

Scandinavian hunters have been killing big game for well over a century with it, as well as seals, deer, raccoon dogs, boar, bear, and everything in Alaska when they have gone to hunt there as well.

Here is where I see the real benefits of 6.5mm:

* I think we can agree that the shooter who has more time on his or her rifle making successful, accurate shots in practice/training, is much more likely to make good hits in the field.

* The more you can properly practice with your rifle, the higher your hit probability will be.

* The less recoil your rifle has, the more you can comfortably practice, with utmost focus on maintaining a great sight picture throughout the process of taking the shot.

* The 6.5mm projectiles have the optimum BC for weight within a short action rifle. In a 7mm or .270, you have to increase the weight significantly to match the BC and Sectional Density of a 6.5mm.

* If you want a nice, lightweight hunting rifle, the 6.5mm in a short action is hard to beat. The 7mm smokes it when you step up to the magnum cases pushing 180gr Bergers, but rifle weight and recoil start to become a penalty.

I grew up on the .270 Winchester, and will always hold onto it and shoot it occasionally, but my .260 Remington and 6.5 Grendel have really dominated my range time for distance work over the past several years. I still think the 7mm-08 is a great cartridge, and should have been the military chambering over the 7.62 NATO, but that's another debate.

I would also add that if we really want to compare BC's, the G7 values are better for any pill with a boat tail, whereas G1 drag profiles are for flat-base bullets. The new Nosler Accubond-LR line has some very high BC's for us all:

I hope the BCs for the ALR are accurate, but I am very skeptical. If Berger can't get near those numbers with their .277 150gr VLD, I have a very hard time believing Nosler can do it with their bullet.

John

I can' see the chart good enough to read it but what are the listed BC's for the 6.5 and .270 on it?

Thx...

Dober

Chuckle...

.561 & .625 respectively

Damn! Those new AB .277 bullets are already a world beater....anyone in here tested them?....chuckle.

+1, I'll be interested to see the results if/when Litz gets around to testing them.

6.5 129gr G1 .561, G7 .285
.277 150gr G1 .625 G7 .317


Yeah.... Right...

John

Litz has already stated he cant see how those numbers are even possible..I'm not expecting them to hold up, but we'll see.

I stopped by Swift's booth at SHOT last month, and asked about the 130gr 6.5mm Scirocco's stated BC of .571, and if they had tested that at 600yds or further. I was told that it was a theoretical BC, but those who have tested it said it works out to be around .541 IIRC. No G7 data on it currently available that I'm aware of, unless someone has seen it.

Yeah, when I saw the stated BC for the .277 Nolser ABLR, I envisioned a spear-shaped bullet, because that is very high compared to the 7mm and 6.5mm pills.

Not a whole lot seems to have been done for the .270 and VLD-type bullets, especially for hunting. Exceptions are:

150gr Hornady SST with .525 BC
150gr Hornady InterBond .525 BC
150gr Berger Hunting VLD .531/.272 BC

I know one thing: When my wife fired a factory 130gr Soft Point from my .270 Winchester, it was her first and last time.

Didn't think this thread would be so popular.

I appreciate the knowledge everyone has shared about 6.5mm; certainly seems like a neat little round. Doesn't exactly fill a niche for me though. Different strokes

I very intrigued in the Lapua 136 Scenar. Waiting to see what the real BC are on this bullet.

As soon as you get one, you'll understand!

Will this help answer your question??


15 rounds from 1000 yds. with 6.5x47 Lapua by Sharps45 2 7/8, on Flickr

And it does this using only 38 grs. of Varget.

Most know I'm a 6.5 slut, but I'd love to see Pat run a 270 in an accurate rifle with his pet S&B and all the dope worked out with something like a Berger 150 or Ballistic Tip 140-150.

I bet Pat could drop those into vitals WAY out there, and animals thus hit would die rapidly.

Windage is there for all rounds, as drop, and both must be compensated for, so when shooting LR, one best get a handle on the distance/angle/wind and hold/twist accordingly.

Folks like Pat have learned their gear and don't need much help, just opportunity. When we stop and think what was done with 30/30s and 45-70s, most modern rounds will reach far beyond the average Joe Blow can steer, until they master their gear.

I used to own a model 7 in 260rem. Had to send it down the road as I was low on funds and I didnt want to get rid of my saum. I still wish I had that rifle. I'm glad I had the chance to take a couple of deer with it.

JLK has 130 gr vld and 140 gr vld at .620 BC

The JLK 140gr is .630 also Woodleigh makes a 160gr protected point soft point with a .509 BC.