I am sorry if this has been covered befofe-I searach all over AR and many other websites. I am looking to build a light weight and small rifle for hunting deer. I want to use as small an action as possible, with the Remington actions being too large for the rifle.

I know it will take a lot of work, but can the 6.5x47 Lapua fit in an L461? .416 RIgbys are crammed in M98'a and the .505 Gibbs is shoehorning into magnum Mauser actions.

What about the 6.5Grendal-would that fit in an L461?

Thanks!

ETA-what is the factory round OAL? I am finding tons of info on brass size, but nothing on SAMMI OAL. I can cut meat out of the front and rear of the magazine, but not sure I can remove enough to fit these rounds in it

anything on the .223 or .222 mag case will work fine.....I have a 6 X 45 working fine in a L-461....I built it to evade the law in Minnesta requiring .23 and larger calibers.

You might consider shooting the 100 grain bullets as velocities will be a bit retarded.....I'm actually using the 70 Grain Hornady SX in my 6 X 45 with very good success.....darn thing just works!

FYI....I don't know what the 6.5 X 47 Lapua is.....assuming it's the .222 mag case necked up!

The Lapua round is on a different case and a good bit larger. I did think about the "old" 6x47 built on the .222Mag case, but i would really like to step up to the 6.5mm bullet

I don't think there is any chance the 6.5 will fit. It is a problem with bullet length when you go over 6mm.

I have an older L461 in 6x45, a newer Mini MarkX in 6x45 and one of the recent Charles Daly mini actions with a .473 22-250 bolt face.

The 6x45 fits fine. The 6x47 will not. Not wanting to start a war, but the L461 I have was built as a 6x47 originally, and I bought it from the original owner because it would only function as a single shot. The magazine is simply not long enough for any reasonable 6mm bullets. You can't even seat them deep enough. If you seat a 75 gr deep enough to function, the ogive is inside the case mouth and it hangs up. I tried to get it to work for years, even considered shortening the case necks, and gave up. I set the barrel back to 6x45.

I would like to make the Daly a 6.5 BR, but it is too short for the 6.5 bullets, even with the short BR case. I am going with 6 BR.

I have had several people report that the 6x47 works, but I have owned and smithed several versions of this action (they are all the same, parts interchange) and none of them worked unless you start cutting on the action or magazine.

6.5x47 Lapua (and the similar 6.5 Creedmoor) is intended for 308 sized actions, so it's a non-starter in your L461. There were small action Sakos chambered for 7.62x39 and 6mm PPC so you might find someone who can whittle your 222-sized action to take the Grendel, but a CZ527 can be converted with little more than a barrel swap, so why make the one-way trip with a classic little Sako? I've heard from one correspondent that the 6x45 loaded with 80 gr spitzers will fit and feed in the L461 without modification. Some folks have cut on the Sako to make room for the 6x47 but OAL might become an issue. To avoid OAL issues others have used the 222 Remington case necked up, most famously Wooter's 25-222 Copperhead, which can run with 25/35 when loaded with 117 gr roundnose softs.

How about the 6.5 TCU? I have a Sako AI in 17 Rem that I would like to rebarrel to 6.5 TCU. It would sure make a light little blacktaul getter. Thanks, Lou

FWIW.....when I look at those little tiny locking lugs on the cute little Sako L-461 It makes me very reluctant to use any case other than the .223 family....(.375 Dia case head)

I have no first hand info that those lugs wouldn't hold a .22-250 size case.....but I'd never own such a conversion as it would forever scare me.....no data here....pure emotion...

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Lou:
How about the 6.5 TCU? I have a Sako AI in 17 Rem that I would like to rebarrel to 6.5 TCU.

The TCU cartridges were designed for use in the T/C Contender single-shot where OAL is not an issue. The longest cartridge the L461 was chambered for was the 222 Remington Magnum, which has a SAAMI maximum length of 2.280 inches. According to a Googled Accuratearms load data PDF the 6.5 TCU runs 2.400 to 2.495 loaded with 85 to 120 gr bullets.

The Grendel will work as it is a PPC or 7.62 x 39 derivative. I had Bill Wiseman make a 7.62 x 39 on a small Sako years ago, still shoot that cute little thumper.

The Grendel would be a very nice package.

quote:

Originally posted by 308Sako:
The Grendel will work as it is a PPC or 7.62 x 39 derivative.

Correct. At least the 6.5 Grendel will work in terms of action and bolt size. There would probably be problems getting it to feed from the magazine, but I guess you have already taken that into account.

The bolt of the L461 has the same diameter as that of the A1 - a gun which was chambered by Sako in 6mm PPC USA. So there is room for the cartridge in action, and the bolt face can be opened up to PPC size (new extractor needed as well).

- mike

I was planning on having to lengthen the mag opening and feed rails with whichever round I used, so that is no big deal as long as I have enough metal left over.

308Sako-is your rifle magazine fed or single shot?

Looked up the 6.5TCU and it appears to be a little too anemic for my liking. But the Grendel may shoot hot enough for me. I am not one to hot-rod my reloads at all, so I am looking at a round big enough to give me the fps I need with a 120-13gr bullet. I think the 6.5mm 125gr Nosler Partition would be just right for me.

Marc, It is a repeater, and due to the diameter of the cases, and the unmodified magazine box... it is a 4 shot; 3 and 1 up. Feeding is good though, as I load Nosler BT's 125, and 150's. 2400 and 2250 ft/secs. There is also a .30 PPC version which might offer some smack.


Don't cringe, but on a friends 6/284 on a medium action Sako (actually an older H&R Ultra rifle) we removed the magazine box to aid feeding... it works!

THe easiest [and cheapest] way to go is get one of the Howa or 1500s in 224 and toss the barrel and go from there! You can easily open up the bolt anything , even the 5.6/50 case and it`ll work. The extractor is easy to modify and cheap too, from Numrich. The barreled actions can be had for about 300.00! Not too bad a deal.
Aloha, Mark

Mark,
That CZ 527 carbine with the 7.62 bolt is a great conversion to 6.5 Grendel. I chambered up a lightweight barrel and put together one for my daughter (she's only 3). Still have the bedding and stock finishing left, but it is a great little rifle. Light and handy. In a bolt gun if I'm not mistaken you should be able to hit 2600fps or even a bit more with the 125gr partition in the Grendel. If you can tell, I'm a fan of the round. I built one on an AR platform for a buddy of mine and this fall he took 3 deer with the 120gr Ballistic Tips. Worked perfectly, good blood, destroyed vitals and short trails.

Matt