6.5 Crazy

[257 Ackley]

My gunsmith has been waiting 2 and a half months for the reamer ordered to build my 6.5X47 :evil: . Mine will be on a Bartlein 8 twist, fluted sendero contour as well. Did you try R15 with 130 VLD's?

 

[Desert Fox]

Joel, So far, I've only tried IMR and Hodgdon 4350's. Both powder are slower than Reloader 15 therefor has better density. I can push the 130 VLD's at over 2900 ft/ sec, enough for 1 K.

Which reamer did you ordered? Mine is JGS and has .291 neck. Franks rifle was rimmed with PTG and has .294 I believe. Either way, both rifle shoots good.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Guys, understand that this cartridge was designed by Lapua with accuracy in mind. Lapua wants a cartridge that can compete with 6MM BR at 300 meters but with better ballistic coefficient and longer barrel life. The 6.5-47 is also great at 600 and 1000 yards. As a hunting round, I believe the cartridge with the right 140 grain bullet will be a good deer or even elk round.

Yes scary gun with a 140AB or PT deadly accurate. It sure would-be a lot of fun all in a short action to boot.

 

[257 Ackley]

Which reamer did you ordered? Mine is JGS and has .291 neck. Franks rifle was rimmed with PTG and has .294 I believe. Either way, both rifle shoots good.

Rommel -
He ordered a PTG that has a .291 neck. I am planning on using the 130 VLD for any competition shooting, but will use this rifle for some p-dogs and maybe even deer if it doesn't have to be humped very far.

I read several articles from guys that used R15 with 130 weight bullets, that had better velocities and groups than the 4350's. Jeff (USMC89) is using H4350 for his as well, so I'm sure there will be a need to try them all. I use R15 for 4 calibers, so it would be nice to just buy 5 lb jugs for all of them instead of a seperate powder for one caliber.

 

[Desert Fox]

At .291, you might have to turn the neck or you'll encounter pressure issue like I had.

 

[257 Ackley]

The necks are all turned on the 6BR for consistency, so one more caliber to turn won't be a big deal. The new Lapua brass (blue plastic box) seems to be thinner than the older gold box brass to start with. I checked with the gunsmith today and he said it was ordered at .292, not .291 like I thought.

 

[Desert Fox]

.292" won't be a problem. You might be able to get away without turning. Are you going too use bushing die?

Here's the fired brass

After neck sizing using .286" bushing and turned just to remove the high spot

The loaded round is back to .290" with .002" neck tension and only .001" clearance to fit the chamber.

 

[usmc 89]

H4350 Joel, I like the re15 and used it in the 308 and the 22-243 middlested but I found it a lot less predictablewhen the temperature got up past 80 degrees. I use 41.5 grains of h4350 in my 6.5x47 and it fills the case nicely and have had no issues with pressure at any temperature. velocity is right at 2950 with a 130 vld. which in my opinion is the best weight for that case. I wouldn't be be afraid to shoot an elk with it either. looking forward to seeing your rifle in October. oh yeah got my tags for the year and it was ladies night on the antelope doe only.

 

[257 Ackley]

DF -
I already have the bushing die purchased (went with Forstner) and 200 rounds of brass waiting to be loaded. I sent the gunsmith 4 rounds last week to do his shots with and make a modified case for the Stoneypoint.

Jeff - h4350 will get a chance to prove itself with the 130 VLD. I know how sweet your rifle shoots, so we will have to see if mine likes it as well. Bummer on the speed goat tag, but Montana is still trying to recover from what others have said. I'm just glad the cow tag for Dillon came through for me. We will hopefully be able to use that nice private 1000 yard range in your back yard to make sure everything is shooting right by the time I leave Billings.

 

[Wincheringen]

I was always a big .25 cal fan until I got my 6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor. I still have plenty of 25s but the thought of a 6.5/06AI is pure poison.

 

[Desert Fox]

Great!

I use the Forester to seat the bullet but neck sized with Wilson. The runout of the loaded round is very minimal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJrw6o7b ... ture=g-upl

 

[SJB358]

but the thought of a 6.5/06AI is pure poison.

That is a very cool cartridge right there. It would have to be a great hunting rifle, since there are so many great bullets available for it.

 

[257 Ackley]

DF -
The run-out gauge is high on the list of components to purchase yet. I have a Sinclair neck turner that is used for the 6BR so far to take the high points off the necks. My chamber for that rifle is .272, so there hasn't been a need to worry about too tight of a chamber yet. The first necks I turned were shot the following week for the league I shoot in and it wasn't pretty . Some of it was not being comfortable on the line that night, but some of it was the concentricy of the necks. That seems to be straightened out now.

The matches this weekend will require a total of 139 rounds and I have only been using the first box of Lapua brass all summer. 50 more cases were prepped (flash holes and primer pockets) Wednesday night and shot yesterday at 100 yards with 5 rounds from already fired brass to see where POI was. After 2 foulers, the last 8 were through one hole double the size of a 6mm round. :grin: That tells me that what I am doing is pretty consistent and there won't be a need to worry about fire forming all the new brass before the match. Now it is going to be about whether I can read the wind and make adjustments.

 

[Woodycreek]

but the thought of a 6.5/06AI is pure poison.

That is a very cool cartridge right there. It would have to be a great hunting rifle, since there are so many great bullets available for it.

I will second that! Wonder what the 6.5-280AI is? Venom :mrgreen: I am leaning hard toward building one sometime next year.

 

[JLC0311]

the thought of a 6.5/06AI is pure poison.

I absolutly agree. I love 6.5's. Currently for commercial rifles the only one I have is a Model 70 Featherweight in 6.5x55. I used to have a Pre 64 Model 70 Westerner. I like the ballistics on the 264 WinMag but it's not all that efficient. Here pretty soon I'm sending my Montana off to PacNor to let them match the contour so I can keep it in the same McMillan. The 6.5/06's are considerably less overbore than the WinMag, not as finicky, and match its performance where the 06 is and out perform it with the AI.

Now only if I can get my hands on the new 140 gr. 6.5 Ballistic Tips...

 

[SJB358]

Now only if I can get my hands on the new 140 gr. 6.5 Ballistic Tips...

I really like those 140 BT's in the 264. They run nearly 3200 out of my rifle and are insanely accurate in my rifle, well, probably better if someone shot it, but they do well.

3 shots at 300

Those 140 BT's really made me stand up and notice the 264 Win Mag. I am looking forward to collecting some meat with it this year.

 

[JLC0311]

SJB, What kind of setup is your 264? For 140s those are some pretty good speeds.

 

[SJB358]

SJB, What kind of setup is your 264? For 140s those are some pretty good speeds.

Mine is a Winchester Model 70 Classic Sporter 26" barrel. I run RL25, CCI250's, and Nosler Brass. I got a run around with two different lots of Nosler brass, but once I got it sorted, it dialed in very nicely. The 140 AB's run exactly the same as the 140 BT's with the same die settings and powder charge. I am very happy with the load. If RL33 ever surfaces, I may try it as well, but for right now, a 140 at 3200 works pretty well for me.

 

[JLC0311]

I was thinking you were running a 28 inch tube on there. The best I ever got out my Pre64 Westerner with a 26 inch was 3015 fps with 140 Sierra G/Ks over 63.5 gr of Retumbo.

Very good looking rifle

 

[SJB358]

I tried Retumbo, and while I got excellent speed, I could not get the consistency I wanted, whereas RL25 gave me both speed and consistency..

Forgot to mention, Welcome aboard to another Marine! We are getting pretty thick around here!