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I'm going to have a custom rifle built in 6.5mm/.264. I want something w/ more speed and range than 6.5-08 (.260 rem) and less recoil/muzzle blast than 6.5-06. Thinking of 6.5x55 Ack Imp, 6.5x.257 Roberts Ack Imp, or .260 rem Ack Imp. Leaning toward the 6.5x55AI. I want a very accurate long range cartridge w/ some oomph. Any suggestions/experiences? | ||
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Will , I have several 6.5x55s . I realy like the cartrige, but I have checked out the 6.5-06 in my loading manuals thinking Id like to try for some 270 velocitys. What is puplished in the Nosler and speer catalogs , there is not that much gain in velocity with a 6.5-06. There is alittle , I dont have the figures here close , but the 6.5 -06 isnt as fast as the 270 at all, and not much faster than my 6.5x55. So im happy with my swedes... | |||
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The 6.5-284 is somewhat popular. Make up a 6.5 WSSM! | |||
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Why not a 6.5x65 RWS? | |||
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glighti, I understand the rifle that shoots it has more intrinsic accuracy than the cartridge itself. Therefore, if it is accuracy that you are looking for, maybe you'd better direct your efforts towards building an accurate gun in ANY of the cartridges you mention. By the way, my choice would be the old and classy 6.5x57 regards, montero | |||
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6.5x65 => very expensive brass, poor availability (only important if you want to avoid making cases, or want the right headstamp) 6.5x57 => great caliber, but a lot of them suffer from overly long freebores. You might have to think about getting a special reamer, or at least ask whether your smith can set up the freebore to suit you (be that long or short). The 6.5x57 is really the "6.5-257" mentioned above... Some things go in circles.  I personally doubt the 6.5x57 will show significant gains in velocity when compared to a .260 Rem, say. Maybe there will be a gain, but I guess at a level where it is hardly worth the effort.- mike | |||
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mho, my kipplaub�chse in 6.5x57R does not suffer much from its long throat. it consistently groups a number of loads in the .40" to .70" range. a long throat is not necessarily an evil. it is when things supposed to be cut straight are cut crooked. or when mass production induces to sloopy tolerances. the 57mm case, and a long throat, will necessarily be capable of higher speeds than the .260 rem case when both are loaded to the same pressure. a small difference in speed may or may not be relevant to someone in particular but, as long as you pay a reasonable price for it, is always worth. you may not use it if you don't want to, but it will be there should you need it. regards, montero | |||
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Quote: Just look at the 6 mm Rem based on the x57 mm case and the .243 Win designed on the .308 Win case. The former has a higher case volume. For the 6.5x57 mm R afficionados aout there, in any modern weapon like a KLB 95 it can be easily loaded to the pressure of a 6.5x57 mm rimless. After all, Blaser does the proof shooting of all locking blocks for the KLB 95s with the 300 Win Mag. The performance of this fine cartridge is then already close to the 6.5x65 mm R. | |||
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Thanks very much for the info guys. I really appreciate it. I think I'll go w/ the 6.5x55Ack Imp since I can fireform the brass, no resizing necessary, and in a pinch I can use factory ammo. | |||
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Since ur saying u want 2 go w/ a wildcat, TRY the .256 Newton.It'll duplicate 6.5X55 improved versions and u won't have to fire form. And long throats don't equate to sacraficed accuracy either. They relate to increasrd versatility for the sharp reloader who can know and appriciate the differece between , lets say a 6.5X55 and a short bullet shooter like the .260    roger | |||
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If you are going to go wildcat why not go 6.5-284. It currently holds the 1000yrd record for group size. So if you have an accurate rifle the round is up to using it. You can get factory brass for it with the correct head stamp I believe from Norma (great brass btw). Regardless, nothing wrong with the 6.5x55 and alot of classly history to boot. | |||
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I agree with montero - accuracy comes from the rifle - but make sure you practice, practice, practice. I just went through the same process but I was looking for a rifle I could mainly use in the woods of northeast PA. Settled on a Ruger 77 in .260 and had my gunsmith do a trigger job and other magic - it was much less expensive than the custom route and I am delighted with the results. Grouped 2 sets of 5 shots into less than .8 inch at 100 yds with factory ammo (140 Sierra) and this was after breaking the barrel in with only 60 shots. I haven't had a chance to handload for this particular rifle yet but I'm sure I can get the groups smaller yet. If I switch to the 100 or 120 grain Nosler I will get greater velocity and flatter trajectory. Took two deer with two shots within 20 minutes in December, one in which I had to thread the needle through some thick stuff. Since I wanted a woods/mountain rifle I settled for 22 inch barrel - sweet handler. To get the performance you want you may have to go with a 24 inch or longer barrel. | |||
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Dunno about the most accurate, that's up to the rifle builder and the shooter. A 6.5 x 55 Improved will push a 140gr pill 2900fps vs a standard round at around 2550fps. Quite a healty gain which is close to matching a 6.5/.284 | |||
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I'll bet it gets that 100 gr really sizzling - would probably have to use controlled expansion bullet at that velocity. Thanks for the info. | |||
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Atlatl, come on, be realistic, there is now way the AI case will produce a velocity increase of 350 fps or 14% over the standard case! at least on the same gun, same barrel length, same load and -very important- same peak pressure. all other things being equal, there is no magic in AI cases. a 5 or 10 percent increase in case capacity will produce a velocity increase in the neighbourhood of 2 to 5 percent, roughly 100 fps in the case described. regards, montero | |||
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The standard 6.5x55 will produce close to 2800 fps with a 140 grain bullet when loaded to max pressure in a modern firearm. The 6.5x55 BJAI will indeed up this to 2900+. The original 6.5x55 has a tremendous amount of taper compared to the 308 or even the 7x57, so a respectable gain can be had by improving. The 256 Newton is a great hunting cartridge that is often overlooked. It has enough case taper to insure reliable, smooth feeding and has a capacity to send the 140 grainers around 2900 fps. Of course, no commercial ammo will fit it. The 6.5-284 in a short action will do about the same, but again, no commercial ammo will fit it (Norma's is loaded too long for short actions). Unfortunately, I haven't had any experience with 6.5x257 or it's improved version. It's case capacity is verynear to the 6.5x55, so I haven't bothered with them. I would look seriously at the standard 6.5x55 with a good chamber. This cartridge can provide great performance in a modern rifle and allows for commercial ammo to be fired if that's a concern. John | |||
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I couldn't agree more with you JPTerp, roughly 100 fps gain.  montero | |||
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The 6.5X55BJAI is a great little wonder.. I wanted to build a 6.5-06, but could not see any advantage other than it could be slower... (Due to case design) To much fun | |||
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Since no one else has really given you any data on the 6.5-06, I will. I shoot 2 loads for hunting with the Sierra 120 Grain Pro Hunter, which group under .75", in my custom 03 Springfield. Using Reloader 22, I get 3070 fps with the 120 grain,with IMR 4831 and the same bullet, velocities are right at 3175FPS. Is that close enough to 270 velocities? The 6.5-06 has some interesting advantages over the other 6.5's, imho. Plenty of case capacity to drive any bullet you wish at higher vels than most others. Feeding is never a problem, in a standard action. Cases are cheap and easily formed, I use trimmed Remington 270 Brass, makes it easy as I use Winchester in my 270's. Best of all, as most 6.5's they shoot like a house of fire. The 06 case offers a ton of versatility. Going with the 6.5-06, gives another advantage, you never have to look back and wish you had chambered your rifle for the longer case. On a recent antelope hunt in Rawlins Wyoming, I shot a nice buck with the 6.5, and the Sierra Bullet. One shot 120 yards, shot placed right behind the left shoulder, he hit the ground and never moved. BTW, the 6.5-06 is not my favorite cartridge, the 270 Winchester is, but I love the 6.5-06, in spite of my earlier prejudices. Jerry | |||
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Quote: Seniore Montero, good to hear you are alive and well. haven't seen you on the boards recently. As Atlantl is talking about, in the USA our ammo people do download the 6.5 x 55 quite a bit. We only have 6% of the worlds population but 71% of all the lawyers in the world. That is a good reason why they are downloaded. Because one old guy might own ONE old rifle that is in poor shape, so they download all factory ammo. For a handloader, in a regular 6.5 x 55, with RL 19 and 22 ( made in Sweden, but don't know the European equalivalent if it is sold over there) and 50 grains of it, with a 140 grain bullet seated out to the European specs, one can get 2900 fps plus out of this cartridge. This is not with an ackley improved case either. Both lack of seating depth and the RL powder quality and the strength of the 6.5 x 55 brass, it is both a safe load and an accurate load in a modern pressure capable firearm. My 1920 Swedish made 6.5 x 55 with a 29 inch military barrel actually will break 3,000 fps with this load. RL 25 will not do anything to increase velocity, nor will IMR 7828. Velocity and accuracy are trade offs. The 6.5 bullets are so aerodynamic, look on a trajectory chart and you might be surprised to find that 200 fps or 300 fps will not increase your point blank range by a whole heck of a lot at all. So why push it 200 to 300 more fps to get another 30 or so yards as point blank range? If you want flat shooting, then just use a 100 grain Ballistic Tip or Partition with 43.5 grains of IMR 4064 in a 260. It will yield 3350 fps in a 22 inch barrel and 3500 fps in a 26inch barrel. I took a deer with this combo at 300 yds with the scope on 4x off the hood of a pickup and I saw the deer go straight down in the scoop before the recoil took it out of line of sight. What more does one need in the real world? | |||
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Seniore Montero, As you remember we both are 6.5 x 57 affectionatos. It is my personal favorite cartridge. However, owing a number of 260 Remingtons, and one 6.5 x 57 I offer the following observations for anyone to draw their own conclusions. Don't know the availability in Europe but in the USA we have H 380 powder which is a ball powder ( literally). It meters very easily. Its burn rate is between IMR 4064 and 4350. It is a little slower than IMR 4320. For 260 Brass I neck down Winchester 7/08 brass. For my 6.5 x 57 I neck UP Winchester 257 Roberts brass. ( I prefer Winchester Brass over Remington etc, the European stuff is too much more without giving me a lot more in return). One day I asked myself the question of velocity potential out of a 6.5 x 57 vs a 260 Remington. To my surprise, the 6.5 x 57 case ( 257 Roberts) only held one more grain of powder than did the 260 ( necked down 7/08 case). So I concluded that the difference in velocity in the two rounds had to be more based on the firearm and seating depth and barrel length than case capacity. A friend who has a 6.5 /06 has wreaked some cases trying to out perform the velocity I get out of the 260/6.5 x 55/6.5 x57 cases. Throat erosion increase dramatically as does powder requirements and velocity gains are minimal. Old Sven and Ole knew what they were doing when they designed the old 6.5 x 55 back in the 1890s. We really have not improved on it much if at all. | |||
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Roger, of Roger's Rifle Shop of West Valley City, Utah built himself a 6.5 WSM and found it to be very inefficient. He says that a .260 Remington would be the best configuration for that size cartridge. | |||
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I run 264WM & 6.5x47, of the traditional style hunting bullets, both like Nosler 140gr Accubonds. Of the VLD type bullets, the 264 loves the Berger 140gr Hybrid and the 6.5x47 loves the 142gr Nosler ABLR. I have not had a failure with any of those bullets, but had a blow up with 129gr ABLR out of the 264 @ 120mtr. I have only hunted a few times with my 6.5x47, as it is a dedicated F-Class rifle, but is does a fantastic job. Cheers.  | |||
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I would stick to the 6.5X55 Swed or the 260 AI The 6.5X55 is a great cartridge and I had a Winchester & Sako sporters in that cal. That was 15+ years ago. Very accurate and really effective on deer. I got almost 3000 fps with 125 gr Nosler Partitions and 2600 fps with 160 gr RN. The 139 sg SP bullets did 2750 fps. With modern bullets like the TTSX, you have even more flexibility. I would not bother with "improving" this case at all as it is a very advanced design for a 120+ year old round!! It was a very popular target round in the Scandinavian countries. "When the wind stops....start rowing. When the wind starts, get the sail up quick." | |||
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6.5 PRC ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Haven't used it for hunting, but the Savage 6.5 Creedmoor I have is very accurate. | |||
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Wow, this pig is resurrected from 20 years ago. Most accurate for hunting? Hunting what? That is a question with no answer. The most practical, now, is the 260 and the 6.5 Creedmoor. Nothing wrong with the Swede, but brass can be hard to find. | |||
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Not hard to find at all. https://www.grafs.com/retail/c...gory/categoryId/704? | |||
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 If long range is called for, fast twist .264 Magnum to handle the 160s and 156 grain bullets. roger  Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone.. | |||
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Not all 6.5's are created equal ! Most of the old originals had barrels cut to twist rates to go with the old style 158 ( 160gr) RN bullets and they did and do just fine ! In fact the old Portuguese and MS's were wonderfully accurate and very very deadly ! Not to speak of the 6.5x57 ! The problem comes when you are dealing with RWS's spawn in the form of the 6.5x68. This misbegotten piece of work was designed to hunt tiny tiny mousebuck with hyper velocity 93 gr bullets ? The rationale of this known only to the engineers at RWS because when they submitted the damn thing to CIP they did so with a 1:14 twist barrel which puts it out of contention of any of the modern long range bullets. its a screamer at 93 gr but bullets arrive at the target side on when you go 130 gr and longer. As to the old 264... made my acquaintance with them on old South West Africa where it was touted as the Springbok shooter of all times... only problem was not many survived as their barrels got shot out in short order | |||
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Dr. Alf, RWS screwed the pooch with the 6.5 x 68, but redeemed themselves with the 6.5 x 65mm RWS. It isn't perfect; the throat is designed for 127-grain bullets. I am having mine throated so that it will take 140-grain Accubonds and Partitions without drama. I am just having a 6.5mm barrel screwed onto a standard long action Remington action. I believe that using a Brown Precision stock, and a #2 barrel will make for an excellent mountain and plains hunting rifle. The Mark Bansner designed High Tech stocks are also strong and light. I slowly added to my modest pile of RWS brass, and now have enough for a couple lifetimes. The bolt will be bushed for a 0.062" firing pin, just because. A lightweight firing pin, and a strong spring will also enhance accuracy; any trigger is better than the factory unit. I had a Mannlicher Schoenauer that was hell on wheels with the long, round nosed bullets. Sold it for no good reason. I will hang onto this new creation.  | |||
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I had a short wait to get 140 of 6.5x65 RWS. Got it from Huntington's Die Specialties. Also available from Reimer Johansen. Pacific Tool and Gauge has a sale on the reamer right now. Of course, I will get a throater so the rifle will take 140-142-grain bullets. | |||
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It is the perfect 6.5 cartridge. Any more powder would make it over bore (the 6.5 x 68 abomination). Plenty flat shooting, plenty accurate. Easily made on a blueprinted Remington action, or by having an extra barrel made up for a Sako in 30-06, etc. | |||
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The European equivalent of RL-19 is Norma N-204. RL-22 is Norma MRP. The Norma powders are held to a tighter burning rate specification. RL powders are more lax about acceptable burning rate variance, lot to lot. | |||
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