I have been thinking of custom barreling a rifle for a long time and couldn't settle on a caliber. After reviewing the nosler book this thing looks like a badass if you can get in a 24" tube rifle. I have a .260 that might make a good candidate has had a lot of work done to trigger aciton etc. over the years so I wouldn't ever dream of getting rid of the rifle but it might be nice to have my beloved 6.5 with a little extra kick. Would love to hear from anyone with any experience with this caliber.
6.5 Remington Mag
- Thread starter ldg397
- Start date
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 36,951
- 5,161
This is a great cartridge that didn't deserve the fate of being produced for the wrong rifle. As BK said, brass may be a bit difficult to find.
Powerstroke
Handloader
- Feb 24, 2006
- 1,792
- 33
Yep - the 6.5 Mag as Nosler puts it = "the original short mag"
The demise was the short production barrel as you've noted. A 24 / 25 in tube would make it a top continder in my book.
Somehting just a little different. I see brass here and there occasionaly, however very expensive.
Would the 6.5 Mag give you more than doing an AI version to your .260 ? Case head diameter is definatly different than the .260, so a little bolt machining would be required........
The demise was the short production barrel as you've noted. A 24 / 25 in tube would make it a top continder in my book.
Somehting just a little different. I see brass here and there occasionaly, however very expensive.
Would the 6.5 Mag give you more than doing an AI version to your .260 ? Case head diameter is definatly different than the .260, so a little bolt machining would be required........
- Oct 30, 2004
- 24,067
- 2,568
Unless you really want to deviated from a short action I would go with a 264 mag.
If you gotta have it then in my opinion. 6.5mm WSM
If you gotta have it then in my opinion. 6.5mm WSM
- Thread starter
- #9
Thanks for replies. Something i found interesting after consulting nosler #6. If you use 125 grain Partition as standard.
260 24" tube = 45G IMR4350 2950; Mine only has a 22" so it would probably be around 2850
6.5-284 26" tube = 50G IMR4350 3052
6.5-06 24" tube = 48G IMR4350 3088
6.5 Rem Mag 24" tube = 55G IMR4350 3180
264 Win Mag 24" tube = 55G IMR4350 3172
Pop, funny you should bring up the .264 WM that is what I really wanted when I started looking through the book. I got to reading about the 6.5 mag and it has me leaning in that direction for two reasons.
1. 6.5 RM is said to be more at home in 24" barrel almost duplicating the .264WM in a shorter barrel. Also stated 264 has alot of muzzle blast in a 24" tube.
2. Short action for carrying and that is what I have that can be rebarreled
Some other question for you Pop.
1. First what are your experiences with barrel length on a 264 mag
2. I notice the max load in my example on the .264 WM is only 78%, in the whole manual for the 264 I don't see hardly any densities over 90%. Why is this? I tend to like a full case don't know that is helps but it is one of those things I look for when picking a load. 6.5 RM has hardly any under 90% for comparison.
Last question does anyone know if you chamber 6.5 RM in short action will you have any issues with seating depth. A lot of people chamber 6.5-284 in long action.
260 24" tube = 45G IMR4350 2950; Mine only has a 22" so it would probably be around 2850
6.5-284 26" tube = 50G IMR4350 3052
6.5-06 24" tube = 48G IMR4350 3088
6.5 Rem Mag 24" tube = 55G IMR4350 3180
264 Win Mag 24" tube = 55G IMR4350 3172
Pop, funny you should bring up the .264 WM that is what I really wanted when I started looking through the book. I got to reading about the 6.5 mag and it has me leaning in that direction for two reasons.
1. 6.5 RM is said to be more at home in 24" barrel almost duplicating the .264WM in a shorter barrel. Also stated 264 has alot of muzzle blast in a 24" tube.
2. Short action for carrying and that is what I have that can be rebarreled
Some other question for you Pop.
1. First what are your experiences with barrel length on a 264 mag
2. I notice the max load in my example on the .264 WM is only 78%, in the whole manual for the 264 I don't see hardly any densities over 90%. Why is this? I tend to like a full case don't know that is helps but it is one of those things I look for when picking a load. 6.5 RM has hardly any under 90% for comparison.
Last question does anyone know if you chamber 6.5 RM in short action will you have any issues with seating depth. A lot of people chamber 6.5-284 in long action.
- Oct 30, 2004
- 24,067
- 2,568
ldg397":17f9tcop said:
First of let me say that I am very anal with my guns. What I mean by that is that I want it all. Every last FPS (this thank God is diminishing due to my age/maturity) and the smallest groups.
That said I truly think the 264 maggie needs a 26" barrel to exploit it at its fullest. All my 264 Win Mag recipes feature 97 to 100+% loading density. The fastest powder I have ever used in the 264 (125 - 140 gr bullets) has been RL22 nothing faster.
The 6.5 Rem mag being a short action and the 6.5mm bullets (125-140) being as long as they are, will definitely suffer loss of case capacity for sure.
