I am thinking of building a 6.5x47 and am looking fo ractuak chronographed velocities in shorter (~22") barrels. The articles I have read on the net were about benchrest guys who had long (~28") barrels and I imagine loaded it up to typical benchrest pressures.

Has anyone clocked this round out of barrels in the 22" range?

Thanks!

Have you corresponded with the factory? Seems to me they could ballpark you even they haven't tested shorter barrels. Have you PM'd Zak Smith? He offers some velocities from a 25 inch barrel here http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek084.html from which a fella might extrapolate velocities for an even shorter tube. Were they loaded to the same pressure seems to me the Lapua would be slightly milder than the Remington. Whether the Lapua's extra 3k psi erases the difference is question for smarter guys than me. Please keep us posted.

Thank you very much for that link. I had read 6.5L info on 6br.com but had not seen that particular article. After doing more reading i am feeling better about the pressure. I am not areloading hot rodder and admit to being a little squeemish when it comes to bench resters' reloading data. I know high pressure works great for most of what they do, but for my uses I am happy with lower pressure.

I have gotten to where I never post pics of my work. Every time I would do it I would get flooded with emails asking for quotes. i am ill and unable to take nay new commissions at this time, so i am just (barely) tinkering on personal stuff. but i am going to post pics of this rifle when it is complete. The main reason is to hopefully convince some folks that the word "can't" is poison and needs to be handled carefully. A lot of htings can be done if you keep an open mind-such as putting 6.5 Lapuas in Sako L461 actions. THis is the smallbore forum and hopefully a couple or three guys will start thinking outside of the box when they build new rifles. I like petite or trim rifles, and nice small bore rounds can safelky be put in small actions. Makes for very handy calling or walking varmint rifles. Or even deer (and up to moose) rifles, such as mine will be.

I think you should realistically expect 2900 at peak not much more, with 120s, 2800 130s and 2700 140s.

Use an 8 twist for 140-160 capability, those comp guns with 8.5 are often used with 130s in this round, or 140s in hotter 6.5s...read faster.

Also, I think the L461 may be borderline, you are really making the metal thin when opening up beyond the PPC, and I believe a loaded 6.5x47L will make you remove the bolt to unload, and not sure a 2.8 OAL is possible in the L461.

Keep in mind the Lapua was designed to not push a loaded round beyond the 2.8 mag box and still have the bullet chasing lands, and with the bottom of the BT juncture of the bullet, not below the bottom of the neck of the brass.

Butch Lambert has a rifle or two on Model 7s, with 22" or so bbls, you might PM him.

I am interested in how this round achieves velocities that I can only just achieve with a 24" 6.5x55! I have figured that it must run at really high pressure to do so and as such isn't going to be a lot quieter (ie easier to supress) than a softer loaded 260 or 6.5x55?

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
I am interested in how this round achieves velocities that I can only just achieve with a 24" 6.5x55! I have figured that it must run at really high pressure to do so and as such isn't going to be a lot quieter (ie easier to supress) than a softer loaded 260 or 6.5x55?

Adam, I did a lot of reading around the various 6.5's over the past few months as you know.

To answer your question, I would think you are talking about very high quality Lapua brass combined with high operating pressures for this load to achieve the alleged velocities. I would expect there is quite a crack of it.

Most of the articles relating to this round seem to feature long barreld tactical style rifles rather than traditional deer rifles.

RE: usefulness of the 6.5L. I think it really only has a use in trying to cram it into a small action that is too small for the .260, etc. if I had a M700, M70, or whatever short action i would never chamber it for a 6.5L. Has no advantage over the .260 and actually sucks hind tit to it.

Benchresters do a lot of stuff on superstition and voodoo. It is loosely backed up with engineering and science, but often true facts are taken out of context or too much is assumed about completely unkown variables. Point being I think a .260 will do anything the 6.5L will do.

And yes, jacking up the pressure is the only way a smaller case can match the velocity of a larger case. Forget any "efficiency" bull shit written by gun writers. Don't even get me started on that tangent!!!

As for cramming the round into an L461, it is a CUSTOM RIFLE, so it will be extensively modified. Definitley will not need to remove the bolt for extraction or ejection. This is not a project for anyone who cannot think outside the box.

As for the size, yes, it is pushing the envelope, but i feel not enough to tear it open. It is no different than the .416 Rigby in a M98 thread in Gunsmithing last week. Some come down on each side of the issue and we all need to decide which way we feel comfortable.

May not go with the 6.5L in the end. I keep bouncing around. Only reason is that it is a new cartridge and something like a .250 or .300 Savage is more classic.

Marc, The one thing I would consider is that the small Sako action does not have the bolt lug bearing surface of a larger action. Whether or not there is adequate support is a question for smarter fellows than I, but worth thinking about.

I failed to mention, and that is more where I believe an issue can be raised on safety is lug strength, but I cannot speak to that....as to the 47 vs. 260, very true, it will never be quite a 260 on speed, but perhaps edge it out slightly in accuracy, 260s using consistent brass and good loads will shoot however, very well. For hunting it will not be of any siginificance in the field, but I do like the 47 round. I do like efficiency when achieving my endpoint.

Most often the 47 is used in longer comp/tac style guns, but I see it as being even closer in performance to the 260 in shorter bbl guns. Blast would be slightly less, in a longer bbl it is mild.

Marc, no doubt when a gunsmith can use tools, many things are possible. Me, in Sako I'd take an L579 or perhaps a new 85 and use it's mag length ready to go, use a light stock....but a Kimber 84 Montana could be a sweet platform for a 6.5x47L in my mind...or a 250 or 250 AI. They are very light.