I just slugged the bore of my new (old) 1925 J.P. Sauer stalking rifle chambered in 6.5x58R Sauer. It measured .254" lands and .263" grooves.

The goal is to find a GC bullet in the 90-120gr. range that will have reasonable expansion on small deer inside 150 yds. with muzzle velocities fron 2400-2600 fps.

What diameter bullet do you folks reccomend and can it be bought?

Thanks for the advise,
Ian

Is this a trick question?? On the surface, it sounds like you simply need a .264 cal bullet and may have to be a tad careful when you work up your load.

European "7mm" bullets are a bit larger (few thousands, I forget the exact number) than .284 cal, but they can still be shot in SAAMI spec .284 cal bores, provided you watch your pressures. I fail to see what is different in your case, although I admit to not knowing what a modern 6.5mm bore would measure.

- mike

According to my RWS manual the minimum measures of the 6.5x58R are .252/.261 but they don't list any relaoding data. However the measurements are the same as for the 6.5x70R and for this cartridge the RWS-manual suggests the use of .257 bullets. Maybe this is of any help.

BTW the non-rimmmed version 6.5x58 has the same measurements as the modern ones: .253/.264

Thanks to both of you for your help. Regular old .264 jacketed bullets performed perfectly this afternoon.

There is plenty variation in the old german "6.5 mm" dimensions.
Slug your barrels, and choose bullets carefully.
Old break-action guns do not like overpressure.

Minimal bore diameters, taken from the 1940 RWS handbook:

6.5 x 52R (or .25-35): L (land) 6.30 mm, G (groove) 6.55 mm
6.5 x 54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer: L 6.48 mm, G 6.78 mm
6.5 x 54 Mauser: L 6.40 mm, G 6.64 mm
6.5 x 57 (rimless and rimmed): L 6.45 mm, G 6.70 mm
6.5 x 58 R: L 6.40 mm, G 6.64 mm
6.5 x 68: L 6.45 mm, G 6.70 mm

Note that these are the "normalised" dimensions, introduced in the late 1930s. Bore dimensions in older rifles may vary.

Fuhrmann