i just ordered a lothar walther barrel in 6.5x57 to screw onto a brno 98 mauser action. where can i get properly headstamped 6.5x57 brass? thanks in advance...bud

Huntington's lists 6,5x57 brass by Hirtenberger at $64/100 - see their website:

http://www.huntingtons.com/CasesHirtenberger.html

I must be a peasant!



My 6.5 x 57's brass say either 257 Roberts + P /Winchester on it, or 6mm Remington/ Winchester on it.



Occasionally if I am short some of those cases it says 7 x 57 Mauser on it.



At $64.00 a hundred for Hirtenberger's,. I can have about 250 cases that say the other stuff on the bottom. Plus I like things made in the USA once in a while, especially when it comes to brass.



Cheers and Good shooting

seafire





PS, welcome to the 6.5 x 57 club. We are a small but dedicated group. It is my favorite cartridge!

C�mon, also at RWS and Norma MS-Windows runs on their computers. It would only be fair if in exchange you yanks purchased a couple of cases from them as well, once in a while...

By the way, any Blue Dot experiments going on with this caliber as well?

Hi Seafire

If you like stuff made in the USA, how come 6,5x57 is your favourite cartridge

Sorry couldn't help myself.. I like american stuff too, even though I am a Dane

Niels

Hi, Seafire -

Your brass may not be just American, it may also be better than Hirtenberger.

I have only tried Hirtenberger cases in four different cartridges (.308, .270, 6.5x55, and 8 m/m) but in each, it was not of quality to my liking. I found mine not to be annealed as I prefer, and to therefore have short case life.

Some of that may have been because of specs requested by the firms for which they made it (the .308 and .270, for instance, were made for Musgrave of South Africa), but to be more blunt, the brass was dreadful. And accuracy was awful, even for factory ammo.

Anyway, forgetting the American thing, I'm with you. Why
pay $64/100 for brass you can equal or better with a little sweat-equity and $24/100 or less?

AC

Oh, almost forgot...some Hirtenberger brass I've tried had smaller than usual flash holes, so to use it I either had to ream the flash holes to .080" or change decapping pins in my dies.

Don't know if you can get it in the States, but 6.5x57 headstamped RWS is available over here. I say "headstamped" as opposed to "manufactured by", because I don't strictly know the manufacturer. But RWS brass is usually of good quality - if not exactly cheap... Ask your regular RWS supplier in the US, whoever that might be?
- mike

Niels,

I love the 6.5 x 57 just because it is practical over the 6.5 x 55, since it uses the same case head of most other cartridges based on the 7 x 57's .473 size.

I use the European Name, for it. However stateside, since the 257 Roberts is based on the 7 x 57, the same cartridge has been called the 6.5 Roberts, or the 6.5/257 Roberts, the 6.5 Spence Special, the 260 AAR and a host of other names.

A lot of Japanese Arasaka rifles that made it into the USA after the war, were ream out to take the 257 Roberts case since it was useable and available. The Arasaka was a 6.5 bore, but brass was not available.

I like the 6.5 x 57 since it is a very old cartridge, even older than our own 30/30. Yet I find it still one of the most efficient cartridges out there. Using a long action rifle, one seating bullets out long, I can get as much velocity with a lot of bullets that run close to 264 Win Mag velocities. Yet with 6.5 bore bullets I don't need to and recoil is a weak as a 6mm cartridge yet performance is on par with a 270 or 7 mm cartridge.

I am just acknowledging credit where credit is due.

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

" any blue dot experiments in this caliber"



DUK just for you Sir!



I have done 6.5 x 55, and I don't envision there will be any variation in results, but I will load some up as I hunt with my 6.5 x 57 a lot. As I say, it is my favorite cartridge.



As far as sending money back to support Scandanavian economies, I own a Volvo Station Wagon, and have driven Volvos since 1978.





Cheers and Good shooting

seafire

Okay, okay No need for a long story, I was only kidding.

The rimmed version of 6,5x57 is chambered in a Blaser Kiplauf (breaktop). I just saw what it does to a Roebuck, and I liked it, but letting it sit with .270.... that must take massive overloading.

Nah, just using the rifle powder combo, and watching for pressure signs as you work up a load.

IMR 4064, and 4350 both achieve that feat quite easily.

You need a little more faith in the 6.5 x 57.


Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

DUK,

So how did the Blue Dot and 338 loads turn out?

It should have been on par with the older 8 x 57JR rimmed loads wouldn't it? 200 grain bullet in the 2200 fps range or the 225 gr bullet in that range?

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

Here's what you do. A compromise, if you will. Order up a few boxes of Sellier and Belliot. You should be able to find them for $10-12 a box somewhere stateside. Upon receiving them, promptly discard all the ammo, as it, and the cases, are beyond worthless, especially in 6.5x57 . Keep the boxes, however. Now, order up some Winchester brass in 7x57 ($13/50), and neck them down and fireform them (shoulder forward and out a bit), and store them in the recently vacated 6.5x57 S&B boxes. While this won't eliminate confusion, it will minize it.

well, this thread has really taken off since i checked it last. thanks to all for the ideas and comments in general. i now have the stock and action in hand, and the barrel is ordered from lothar walther. i'm getting a good feeling about this project. i see that huntington also has rws brass that only cost about 65% more than the hirtenberger kind so i guess i'll go with that. again, thanks...bud

Hey, I have a NIB Redding 6.5x57 (NOT 6.5x257) neck sizer, if you need one. I'll sell it to at a very reasonable price if you're interested. Drop me a PM...

Also, RWS brass (and S&B "brass") has a reputation for sometimes having thick rims, so you may have problems getting them into your shellholder. JFYI....


9.3

9.3 x 62:

Would you consider selling that Redding Neck sizer die out this way!

I sure would appreciate it.

Let me know what you need for it, or anything you need that you might want to consider a trade might be an option.

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire