Contemplating my next rifle.

Any recommendations?

6.5 RPM

I guess I am looking for a faster horse.

Fly rod vs. salmon rod ... ?

3500 FPS Salmon rod.

I think so too, maybe their 270 necked down was too simple.
their RPM is a lengthened 284 case so should be real close to duplicating the 264 win mag. only with regular bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by just-a-hunter:
Being an owner of a 6.5-300 Wby, and never have owned a .257 Wby, I strongly recommend the .257 Wby. The 6.5-300 is way too damn touchy. It completely fouls the barrel within 10 shots. The .257 case is what they should have built their 6.5 on. Then they wouldn’t have had to come out with the RPM..

Todd

+1

I always thought the 6.5 would have fit quite nicely in the existing .257, .270, 7mm family. But I'm sure they were looking at having the fastest 6.5 so it went on the full length case instead.

Many years ago Herb Klein had a 6.5 built by Weatherby so they do have prior experience with it. I wonder though on which size case it was built on?

You will find a better selection of bullets in the 6.5 caliber.

.257 Weatherby

I kind of like matching things so if I had a 300 Wby I would get a 6.5/300, subject to a couple of things.

If I was going for lighter bullets like a 100 grains the 257 would be my pick. Not sure but I think the 6.5 is a 1 in 8 twist which would equate to 1 in 7.8 in 257. The 257 is 1 in 10. Mt experience has been that bullets in slower twists are easier to get accuracy and also less affected by wind.

There are a few of the 6.5/300s on Australia's biggest guns/hunting forum (more active forum than AR) and they are all very happy with them. Only problem they have, which would not apply in America, is lack of readily available powders.

Personally I think most of the negatives put forward on the 6.5/300 are by blokes who should not have bought one, sort of like the 30/378 etc.

One thing that would swing me to the 6.5/300 would be 120 grain bullets. I think velocity would be in the same area as 100 grains in the 257.

Ive always been a 25 calber fan..but I would opt for a 250-3000 or 25-06..I have some rancher friends that dote on the 257 Wby for elk, and it works for them..

used to shoot the 6.5WWH which by appearances is the same cartridge.
it was fast, hard on throats , then again the powders we had in the 70’s weren’t as “sophisticated “ as todays powders

IIRC the original 6.5 Weatherby was the Weatherby-Wright-Hoyer. Wright was Lt. Col. (Ret.) Paul Wright of Silver City, NM. Hoyer was Alex Hoyer, a gunsmith in Mifflinburg, PA. That cartridge was used some at the 1,000-yard bench rest shoots in Williamsport, PA. H-570 and H-870, both now discontinued, were some of the powders used but there just weren't a bunch of match-grade 6.5mm projectiles at the time.

I went to Cabelas and Sportsmans Warehouse.

Cabelas had a 2nd hand 26 Nosler, no 257's and no 6.5-300s.

Sportsman's had a Vanguard stainless with the bell and Carlson stock in 6.5-300, and a Vanguard Kuiu Vias with a brake in 257.

My plan A-rifle shit itself and I don't have time to fix it. I am taking my plan B rifle, a 14 pound 300 Winchester.

The 6.5 X 300 Weatherby is touchy and hard on barrels.

Build a 6.5 Grendel bolt rifle. Way easy on barrels. haha

If you want a race horse, buy a race horse and use it accordingly. Plan on 600-1000 rounds and then re-barrel. no big deal.

Use up the first 100 shots working up your load and then the next 500-900 shots killing stuff.

My vote is for a fast 6.5 because of bullet selection but I personally stopped at the 6.5 x 280 AI as my speedster.

Zeke

Seth, a 14-pound .300 Win Mag???
Are you attending an F-Class match or what?

you know if I was looking at 3300 plus with a 6.5 I would have to suck it up and go with the 26 Nosler.
I might even go this route and back things off to the 3-K area I have been wanting to target with a 130-145gr. 6.5 bullet.

Lamar, I am looking at the 6.5 PRC and the 6.5 WBY RPM, both of which cover that very ground with less drama.

I have a brand new in the box Weatherby Vanguard 2 for sale in 6.5-300 Weatherby. Gun is black synthetic and blued metal. I will ship private to your FFL for $525 OBO.

Yep it is heavy. I am finishing up the load development on that big 14 pound 300 this weekend.

If you want to meet me in Alamogordo, you can shoot it. It is a pansy rifle. Other than packing a 300 Win that anyone can shoot.

yeah Bill.
I'm kind of looking at all of the options.
I'm not needing a lot of recoil, and I really strive to keep all of my field shots around 300yds or less [preferably a lot less]

I'm also trying to judge which one of the 20 new rounds might last long enough for me to build up a brass supply.[cheaper than the rifle]
or at least be able to get a parent case I can convert.

I'm still leaning towards the 6.5-06, even though I have Brass and dies for the 264 win mag sitting here already.
and I have a 6.5X57 I could just re-work since the Barrel is about shot out.

Twenty years ago or so I had a Ruger 77 heavy target model with laminated stock in .300 Win Mag. I had been shooting .223 and .260 Rem out of Savage target rifles out to 600. Even with that rifle and scope combo -- close to 14 pounds -- I just did not like shooting a .300. I found myself adding recoil and blast management to my already limited target shooting skill set. Just me. But I appreciate what a .300 Win Mag can do loaded with Sierras or Bergers. It's a great round in wind and/or mirage.

I am beyond well pleased with my new 257 . . . and I finally posted up a follow up today on the rifle and shooting it too.

257 Weatherby or 6.5 PRC