Short action 6.5 jobbies which one would you go for

[Alpha1]

If you had a spare short action and got it rebarreled in a 6.5 caliber which one would you go for and why. It will be used from 100 yards out to 600 yards and may be once a year at 1000 yards. It will not be shot competitively. It must be capable of being hand loaded and dies plus components readily available.

[phaedra1106]

260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor, both very easy to load for and both very accurate.

[The Gun Pimp]

6.5x47 Lapua or, leaning more towards 1000 yds - the 6.5 Creemoor - using Lapua small-primer brass.

[Alpha1]

What sort of barrel life can you expect from the 6.5 creedmore for example and how does that compare with the 6.5x47 and the .260 remington.

[ovenpaa]

Have you read Zac Smiths (demigodllc.com) articles on the 260 versus 6,4x47 versus 6.5CM?

[WelshShooter]

Of the 6.5mm rifle calibres I have only shot and owned the 6.5x47 Lapua, so my opinion will be biased towards this calibre. In this calibre brass is only made by Lapua, costs around £110 for 100 cases from UK vendor (same price as Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor brass) which features a small rifle primer pocket. So far I have reloaded cases 4 times (only sizing, no annealing) with no issues. Dies are offered by RCBS, Forster or Redding. I own the Forster Benchrest kit which has full length sizing die and seating die, costs around £100, and are good quality. Other than that, all other components are off the shelf in plentiful supply - 6.5mm bullets, small rifle primers and powder.

It's a very easy calibre to load for and it has always shot pretty well for me. 5 shot groups above 1" is seldom seen, if they are, then it's usually down to shooter error. There is good loading data using Vihtavuori (N140, N150, N540, N550), Reload Swiss (RS50, RS60) and Ramshot powders (Big Game) and it is highly likely that you will be able to find a suitable load for your bullets. The 123gr and 139gr Scenar's are the most popular bullets used in this rifle, although the 130gr Berger is also another popular bullet (although a little pricey for non-competitive shooting for me!). The 123gr Hornady A-Max also shoots well, but the Scenar performs better at longer ranges (~1,000 yards). Just use either of the two which can be found for the lowest cost. My round count is around the 1,000 mark through my 28" Border barrel and it still prints 0.5moa groups at 100m, and still knocks down Fig11 targets at 1,000 yards with ease, so no detriment to accuracy yet.

One thing to think about is the rifle this calibre is being used in. My rifle was previously a .308win Remington 700 and the firing pin hole was quite large which causes the primers to pierce, or blank (this issue has been covered in detail a few times on here, I even made a thread regarding a solution by McKillop Engineering). My bolt currently has a firing pin of 0.060" diameter and the firing pin hole is 0.062" and I no longer have this problem. Other rifles which tighter tolerances may not exhibit this problem.

If I were you, I would use the above information I have provided and directly compare it with the 6.5 Creedmoor. For the average shooter, and the ranges you are shooting at, there is very little difference in the performance of the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 6.5x47 Lapua. I would add up the costs of brass, dies and then rifle selection before deciding on which calibre you want. Many gunsmiths have 6.5x47 Lapua chamber reamers available for a custom job, but I am not sure about the 6.5 Creedmoor, something else to consider if you go down the custom rifle route.

[Alpha1]

Have you read Zac Smiths (demigodllc.com) articles on the 260 versus 6,4x47 versus 6.5CM?

I have now thanks.

[ovenpaa]

I routinely shoot my AI chambered in 6,5x47 Lapua out to 1200 yards with pointed 123 Scenar bullets and on a nice still day it is superb, add some significant wind and it takes a kicking from the heavier 7mm/.284 chambered guns. I run mine with a 26" Border barrel and my own design sound moderator with a measurable free boost. I can get to 1200 with my 'scope on all buy the coldest of days as it maxed out at 13,1 mils from a mechanical zero.

I do agree with the point on pierced primers and my AI with its generous firing pin hole will blow primers with quick loads however dropping back by 0.1 grains of Varget resolved the issue. I keep meaning to bush it...

Zac comments:

Put in order of ballistic performance, the 6.5 Creedmoor and the .260 Remington are almost neck-and-neck, pushing the same weight bullets at about the same velocities from almost identical case capacities. The 6.5x47 Lapua in factory form lags by 100 to 200 fps due to less powder capacity; however, it has already gained a reputation for having a strong case that puts up with the high pressures some reloaders push in their custom rifles. The .260 Remington's main problem for the reloader is lack of high-quality and affordable brass and to date there has only been one factory load produced which was appropriate for serious long-range competition for the non-reloader. The 6.5x47 was designed for intermediate-range competition and very accurate ammunition is available from Lapua; however, these factory loads are at a ballistic disadvantage at long range compared to the .260 Remington and the 6.5 Creedmoor.

[The Gun Pimp]

What sort of barrel life can you expect from the 6.5 creedmore for example and how does that compare with the 6.5x47 and the .260 remington.

If you're just plinking it might do 2500 rounds or more but, if you're competing, expect accuracy to fall off after 1250 - 1500 rounds.

There will not be much difference between the three - all burn 40-odd grains of powder through the same size hole. Usage will be more a factor of barrel-life than round-count. Use it for F Class - firing a shot every 2 or 3 minutes - is a lot different than 5 rounds in 15 seconds in benchrest.

Does anyone ask how long the tyres will last when buying a new car?

[Alpha1]

Thanks for the replies I think I have got it sussed now.

A Tikka T3 Super Varmint in 6.5x55 first just need to sort out the certificate etc. Once I have acquired that then the short action can be rebarreled in whatever caliber I decide to go for.

Cheers.