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OP
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I'm thinking of building me a 6.5 - something or other. I'm tossing out the question here to get some feedback/ suggestions / education / information to help me decide which one.
My goals are:
-Consistent 500 and in shooter. -Occasional target and hunting out further - hunting to around 700 and target out to 1000 (further if I can find a place to shoot that far) -cases fairly easy to find off the shelf or to make from off the shelf brass -Can handle a wide variety of bullet styles -Built on a 700 or Mauser long action (because I have those already) -muzzle velocity of 3000 or slightly more with a 140 gr - sporter-weight barrel
What I'd like to find out is:
- what cartridge and why? - barrel length - anything else I should be thinking of in regards to the 6.5 cartridges.
Thanks in advance.
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I like the 264WM and have a Remington 721 with a 30" barrel. I have reached 3261fps with a Woodleigh 160gr PPSN so this will put you in the velocity range you want. A 26" barrel also works will with the 264WM, Most will say that barrel life is a issue with the 264 but it depends a lot on how you shoot. I shoot 85gr HP, 95gr Vmax, 100gr HP, 100gr Ballistic tip, 130gr VLD and the 160gr PPSN so there is a wide range of bullets that you can experiment with. There are a lot of 6.5's out there that will work.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Assuming your long actions are '06 bolt face, I'd go 6.5-06, or if you hate case trimming enough, the Ackley version of the same. One pass through the 6.5-06 die with a .270 case and you're done. 8" twist, of course…
John
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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26 Nos, 26" Shilen Match. Because it be fast... And easy to load for using ultra slow powders, US-869 the best so far. I have a 6.5x55, 98 FN Mauser/23" Shilen and a 6.5-284 M-70/26" Krieger. These are both great guns and I like them a lot. Because the 26 Nos is my latest, it's the one I'm working with currently. And, the one I'm working with at he moment is always my "favorite". DF
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Assuming your long actions are '06 bolt face, I'd go 6.5-06, or if you hate case trimming enough, the Ackley version of the same. One pass through the 6.5-06 die with a .270 case and you're done. 8" twist, of course…
John +1. I was going to say .260 Rem until you included 1,000 yards and the long action. You'll get an extra 100 fps with the AI if you want it.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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The 280 Remington is overbore.
The 7 Rem Mag is over bore.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Agreed. The clear winner once you said long action, IMO.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Agreed. The clear winner once you said long action, IMO. I obviously like the 6.5-284. The 6.5-'06 would probably feed smoother than the 6.5-284 without tweaking the rails and follower, doing some smith work on the action. That said, it's not that big a deal to have a LA smoothly feeding the fatter 6.5-284 round. DF
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I had someone to suggest a 6.5x257AI to me once but I haven't tried it yet.
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You're 3rd requirement is the main reason.
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Agreed. The clear winner once you said long action, IMO. I obviously like the 6.5-284. The 6.5-'06 would probably feed smoother than the 6.5-284 without tweaking the rails and follower, doing some smith work on the action. That said, it's not that big a deal to have a LA smoothly feeding the fatter 6.5-284 round. DF the 6.5-.280AI comes quite close to the capacity & performance of the 6.5 GAP/SAUM with a longer neck to help mitigate throat erosion.
History May Not Repeat, But it Rhymes.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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There's zero practical difference between the powder capacity of .270 and .280 cases, in fact it's so small a difference in the weight of brass can cause some overlap. Also, one of his requirements is fairly easy to get brass.
My vote would be for the 6.5/.270, whether standard or AI. There's no ballistic difference between it and the 6.5-06 or 6.5/.280, but the neck's the longest of any, reducing throat erosion. And you can just run .270 brass into the sizer and not have to trim off a bunch, as you do with the 6.5/06.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Off-the-shelf brass is hideously expensive and .284 Win. brass can be hard to find.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Campfire Outfitter
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my 260AI and 6.5-06's run pretty close in speeds. either will do what you want, as will the x47 and creed.....some will do it faster, some will do it longer....
a rig that doesn't crack a throat at 100 rounds is a bonus. It will be a coin toss between more math or more frequent barrel swapping.
I would not buy something that runs on any kind of primer given the possibility of primer shortages and even regulations. In fact, why not buy a flintlock? Really. Rocks aren't going away anytime soon.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Off-the-shelf brass is hideously expensive and .284 Win. brass can be hard to find. If you likes Lapua brass you pays the price... And you don't have to find .284 brass, just order 6.5-284 brass. If headstamps don't matter and you aren't easily embarrassed, JB's 6.5-270 solution sounds good. That could be a creative use for .270 brass... DF
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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And you don't have to find .284 brass, just order 6.5-284 brass. Ahhhh, that would be the "off-the-shelf" brass I mentioned, correct? And it's all expensive, not just Lapua. Hornady, Nosler, Norma, all well over $1/case.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Off-the-shelf brass is hideously expensive and .284 Win. brass can be hard to find. Makes sense. I'm just asking...never owned any of them.
The 280 Remington is overbore.
The 7 Rem Mag is over bore.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Lots of good options. The Big 26 would sure be fun but it would be expensive to feed.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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And you don't have to find .284 brass, just order 6.5-284 brass. Ahhhh, that would be the "off-the-shelf" brass I mentioned, correct? And it's all expensive, not just Lapua. Hornady, Nosler, Norma, all well over $1/case. Yep. I at one time thought 6.5-284 brass was expensive. I at one time complained about Wby. brass prices, even went to the trouble to get a CH4D die to swage .25-06 W/W cases costing fifty cents into .240 Wby brass, costing a buck fifty. Now, I can't find fifty cent W/W .25-06 brass. I get the feeling when that brass eventually resurfaces, it won't be fifty cents any longer. Then, I became interested in the 26 Nos. Even at SPS blem prices that brass is over two bucks a copy. But, it's very concentric, very high quality, already prepped, etc. etc.... At least that's what I keep telling myself. So, I guess it's all relative... DF
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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It really doesn't matter what you thought was expensive or what I think is expensive. Bob asked the question, I gave an answer. It's just one factor out of many for the OP to consider in making his choice.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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