I could use any information on this cartridge from peole who have real life experience with it. Can 3,000 fps be achieved with the 140 in a 26 inch barrel without excessive pressures? What neck dia. are you using? Any and all info would help.

May your aim be true

Yes it can be done. Sadly I witnessed it with my own eyes, on my own chronograph. You see, I have a 6.5 Gibbs, which is supposed to be "improved" over a 6.5/06. My friends shoots a 6.5/06 (6.5/.270 actually, it has the longer neck so he can use .270 brass without trimming). He always gives me a hard time about "one-upping" him, cuz he had his 6.5 first.

Anyway, about 2 months ago we were at the range, and he was shooting a load of 56gr RL 22, 140gr Nosler Partition, CCI 250 primer, 24" Stainless barrel (by Ron Smith), 9" twist. It chronied almost 3100fps (3080 actually)!

Meanwhile, my Gibbs was only clocking 2900fps with 54gr RL 22, 140gr Sierra BT, CCI Br-2 primer, 24" stainless barrel, 10" twist. You can believe he hasn't let me forget about that!! So now I have to go stuff some more powder in my Gibbs and use a magnum primer, just to get some respect! My Gibbs is throated for 120gr bullets though, so I don't know if I can pull it off. (BTW, mine has a .292 neck, his is SAAMI spec).

Don't hesitate to get a 6.5/06. They are truly awesome.

FWIW, Canuck

[This message has been edited by Canuck (edited 09-22-2001).]

Glad to read Canuck's remarks. I have a 6.5 Hawk in the mail. Custom rifle, VG-24 action and douglas barrel. The Hawk line can be seen at z-hat.com; basically a .280 improved. My first load workup will be 140 grain partitions. I plan to report the entire custom rifle experience in the next few weeks in the gunsmithing forum. good shooting

I am not arguing over your results, yet the Nosler and Hornady manuals state for RL-22 and 140 gr bullet the max load is 50.5 for Nosler and 51.4 for Hornady. Are there any pressure signs with the 6.5-270 load with the additional powder?

Also, can you use normal reloading dies when using these longer than 06 type cases?

Thank you.

[This message has been edited by genesispg (edited 09-23-2001).]

I have a 6.5-06 as well as a 6.5 Gibbs. With the 6.5-06 and 53.0 grains RL 22 behind a 140 gr Sierra I average 2908 out of a 24" barrel. I can increase the powder and reach 3000 but, the pressure is high and brass doesn't last. The 6.5 Gibbs averages 3065 for the same bullet with 56.0 grains of RL 22 in a 26" barrel.

If you have to have 3000 fps go to the Gibbs or the Ackley Improved.

Ask yourself this: What will a .270 Winchester do with the same weight bullet? Whatever the answer to that question is, the velocity with your 6.5/06 will be a tad lower at the same pressure.

Some .270's will do almost 3000 FPS with 150 grain bullets, so it is reasonable to assume that a 6.5/06 will be pushing it, but could make 3000 with a 140.

That's damn good velocity with a 140, because a .264 Win will be stretching to make 3100 to 3150 with very slow powders out of a "normal" (24") barrel.

Canuck,

I would suggest that your friend mic his case heads before and after shooting. Based on my experience with both of those rounds it sounds to me like he is running real high pressure. Gibbs data with a 26" shows 54 grs RL22 @ 3028 for the 140. If this was Rocky's data he normally measured his barrel from the front of the bullet. Either way I think your friend is pushing the envelop.

Hi guys,

It turns out my memory was a little off, but not far! My friend read this thread and reminded me that he was shooting only 2998fps that day, and his load was 55gr of RL 22 and Fed 210 primers with the 140 Noslers. He also mic'd his brass, just to see, after reading ramrod's post. Less than .001" difference before and after shooting, and no flattening of the primer. Personally, I think his pressures are OK because of the long throat in his particular gun.

We went to the range today and I tried a couple loads with my Gibbs. The results are as follows (24" barrel, 10" twist, 3-shot strings):

140gr Sierra, 54gr RL 22, CCI BR-2 -- 2902, 2905, 2925fps.

140gr Sierra, 56gr RL 22, CCI 250 -- 3020, 3025, 3007fps.

140gr Sierra, 57gr RL 22, CCI 250 -- 3085, 3087, 3097. (primers starting to flatten a little, but still OK).

Temp was 15 degC (59 deg F), sunny, & shooting at 1300m elevation (approx. 4000 ft).

Canuck