Got a client who is thinking about doing a 6.5 on the 7.62 x 39 case. Anybody done one or have info about it?

Jim

6.5 Grendel

www.65grendel.com

The forums are inaccessible right now due to some technical issue.

Jim,
I have a 270X39AI reamer. It is a very accurate cartridge for a youth rifle.
Butch

The 6.5 Grendel forums are back up if you want to check them out. I have a 6.5 Grendel on a CZ527 that was a 7.62x39. Brockmans Rifles installed a Lothar Walther barrel, free floated it, set the trigger to 2.5 pounds, slicked up and bedded the action. It wears a 2x to 7x Burris compact scope in CZ rings, and is a sweet little setup.

I can't say about the 6.5x39,but I made a 25x39 on a 95 spanish action.It was made to shoot varments and shoot it does.So far coyotes out to just short of 600yds.I shoot the 75gr v-Max about 3025fps.

I did a 6.5 PPC awhile back. VERY accurate with the 100s and deadly on Blacktail deer.
Aloha, Mark

quote:

Originally posted by plainsman456:
I can't say about the 6.5x39,but I made a 25x39 on a 95 spanish action.It was made to shoot varments and shoot it does.So far coyotes out to just short of 600yds.I shoot the 75gr v-Max about 3025fps.

that sounds kinda cool!

Seafire,I have a 25in barrel and this sucker doesn't even try to kick.You can see hits with no problem and they are something to see.Good Luck

There was a fellow who used to shoot a 6.5x39mm in a handgun in the IHMSA silhouette game. It was quite accurate. I do not recall anything about velocities, but, obviously, they would have been rather less out of a 10 3/4" barrel than you should expect from a rifle length barrel.

Another man I used to shoot with kept a 300x221 rifle in his jeep when guiding so that clients (and their wives, especially) could have something they could manage recoil wise to take a deer. (It seems that too many guys put a 7 Mag in the hands of an inexperienced shooter and then wonder why she has a bad experience.) It took deer sized game out to 150 yards or so very reliably.

The 6.5x39, 6.5 PPC, or the 6.5 Grendel should all give you something "a little different" that will work well if you use it appropriately. (One of the developers of the 6.5 Grendel shot a 6.5 PPC for years in an across the course rifle and thinks the Grendel is an improvement on it.)

Just do not expect the small cases do do things that a 6.5x47 Lapua, .260 Remington, or 6.5x55 Swede will do. Those will do everything that the 6.5x39 and its variants will do and more with rather mild recoil. You might give some consideration to them. I have experience with each of these and would choose them in a heart beat over any of the small cases unless there were a very compelling reason to use the little case or I was building something on a mini-Mauser that would not accept the longer cases. (Oh, any of the three longer cases is easy to load for...you almost have to try to get a combination that does not shoot at least OK and most shoot very well, indeed.)

I have experience with a 6.5 BR Improved that was something of a disappointment, although it was a very good shooting rifle. The problem was that I was unable to achieve the velocity I wanted from it with a 139 grain bullet. With any of the three longer cases I mentioned you can load them up or down as it may please you. I just think that they are a more flexible and hence better choice in the long run.

If your client just has his heart set on something built on the 39 case I would ask what his experience is in reloading and developing loads for a wildcat. Unless he is well experienced, I would be inclined to recommend the 6.5 Grendel because there is a body load data that has been developed for it that should help keep him out of trouble...as long as he does not use the VV 5XX series of powders.

The one other consideration of choosing either the 6.5 PPC or 6.5 Grendel is that they are better off with a bolt which has had the firing pin hole bushed to a smaller size (typically 1/16" or 0.062") because of the small primer.

Let us know what your client decides.

Cheers!

Plainsman,I tried to send you a reply to your last PM, but it came back "unknown ",so any chance of some pics of your rifle ? I might have a play with a 6.5 x 39 in a '95 action

Roger

I think it's called a 6.5 AR. I was just reading it on a site in the past week. I cannot find that site again to pass it along.

ghostrider272,

I think the web site is http://6mmar.com/

I think the 6.5mm version is just the 6mm ARM necked up. There is also a 6mm AR Turbo that has the shoulder moved forward and, I think, a 40º shoulder. I am not sure whether they have done a 6.5mm version of the Turbo as yet, but it would not surprise me if they have.

P.S. I would be hard pressed to say there would be a difference in the 6.5mm Grendel and the 6.5mm AR as the 6mm AR is simply a 6.5mm Grendel case necked down to 6mm. The turbo, on the other hand, has some additional case capacity which might be of use.