how about a new commercial 6.5

A 6.5 Gibbs in a 300hh length action rifle, with a 26" barrel. should get 140gr bullets flying pretty well. Since factory brass is avalable through midway, it might get some traction
 
I like the 264/6.5mm.

Good bullets good BC good SD.
Problem is the 7mm IMO offers better selection and 1/2mm is no biggie.
 
Guy Miner":3sqfyx6m said:
I guess it's the practical nature in me, or maybe a bit of the logistician...

I'd be a happy camper if all we had avail was:

.22 long rifle

A varmint cartridge.

A medium game cartridge.

A bigger/dangerous game cartridge.

Yup. That would do it for me. I wouldn't be all that picky about which one either. Could see a .22, a .223 Rem, a .308 Win and a .375 H&H - or any number of other combinations. Of course, this will never be reality, but I'd be happy with it!

Regards, Guy


Guy,

That would make for a boring camp life, we wouldn't be able to argue about killing power. :lol:

JD338
 
Sometimes I just get bored to pieces with all the inane arguing about this cartridge or that when it doesn't make a bit of difference in the field, and what we really ought to be doing is burning out our barrels becoming better marksmen as well as out practicing our fieldcraft so that we're better hunters.

I've enjoyed taking game with a pretty wide variety of cartridges over the years but could have made most of those shots just fine with the ancient .30-06 Dad had me try when I was just a kid back in '66. I still have that rifle come to think of it... :grin:

So this "new" 6.5 is a bang up deer cartridge... Big whoop. So are a couple of dozen other cartridges... Yawn... I've got no problem with the 6.5-06 or any other cartridge, but gimme a break. Here's some deer cartridges off the top of my head:

.243 Win
6mm Rem
.240 Wby
.250 Savage
.257 Roberts (and the AI)
.25-06
.257 Wby
.260 Rem
6.5x55
6.5 Rem mag
6.5-06 for you wildcatters
.264 Win mag
.270 Win
.270 Wby
.270 WSM
7mm Mauser
7mm-08
.280 Rem
7mm Rem mag
.30-30
.300 Savage
.308 Win
.30-06
.300 WSM
.300 Win mag (and all the other .30 mags...)

And I left out quite a few... Essentially on deer, they all do about the same thing in the field - kill them. Three hundred yards is not a problem with the vast majority of cartridges I've listed, and most of us have no business shooting deer much beyond 300 yards with a hand-held typical sporter rifle anyway. A different cartridge isn't going to change that.

Marksmanship will.

Regards, Guy
 
From that list, I've only killed with:

6mm Rem
.25-06
.257 Wby
7mm Rem mag
.308
.30-06
.300 Win mag

Among those cartridges, there was essentially no difference in field performance. Put the crosshairs on the vital zone out to about 300 yards, squeeze and go collect the venison... I think that's why I eventually came back almost full circle and settled on the .25-06 as my main deer rifle. A lot of gun simply isn't needed and the .25-06 is fun to shoot. No recoil, dead deer instantly. What more is needed?

Could do the same thing with a 6.5-06, but I'd like to see about 3/4 of those cartridges just go away. Quietly. I don't really care which ones either. They're answers to questions which didn't need to be asked.

Below the list, I've killed deer with the .223, and above it with the .45/70 as well as the .50 traditional muzzle loader, and a .45 ACP come to think of it.

FWIW, Guy
 
only problem with your list is those are relatively boring cartirdges to talk about dont get me wrong I have a deep respect for all of those listed but there is something to be said about the cross look you get back when you are asked what you are using and teh one asking has never heard of what you speak of.

I really have no need for another rifle I actually have too many already but I will get more.
 
The .257 Weatherby is boring? :grin: Okay...

Again, I have nothing against any of these cartridges, or any others for that matter. After all these years of hunting though - I've yet to see one cartridge stand out head and shoulders above the others as The Deer Cartridge... Adding another one is kind of pointless when we're already at Baskin Robbins with 31 flavors! :grin:

Run down the longer list I posted. Ask yourself "Shoot a deer at 300 yards with it?" The only one I'd rule out is the good old .30-30, and it's wonderful in the role of a modest range game taker. Otherwise that list kind of spans everything from a 100 gr bullet at 3000 fps to a 200 gr bullet at more or less 3000 fps... A dead deer from one is as dead as a deer from the other, and that's what I keep seeing year after year. It just hasn't mattered if a guy had a .243, a .300 mag, or a .350 Rem mag...

Bring the magnums! Why not? I really like hunting with a 7mm Rem mag. Other cartridges work really well too. My son hunts with that little 6mm Rem, and my last three mule deer bucks have been with the little light-kicking .25-06 Rem. A couple of my buddies can't understand, since they shoot .30's and bigger at the same deer, but we all bring 'em home, normally with one shot per deer, out to about 300 yards... Difference on paper yes. Different actual ballistics, of course. Different in any meaningful way while out in the field hunting deer? Nope. Deer in the crosshairs = venison with any of them, therefore no real advantage to any as far as hunting goes. Except of course that I found I didn't have to deal with the recoil of a .300 maggie anymore. :grin:

Want a 6.5-06 for some reason? Fine, build one! Re-barrel any worn - out ol' .30-06, or other long-action bolt gun and you've got it! Hopefully better than any factory built rifle anyway... Enjoy!

I'll bow out now. Call me the curmudgeon. I guess... :grin: I've got nothing against the 6.5-06, and in fact I really like the high BC bullets avail for the 6.5's, but I do grow weary of the continual "if only" cartridge debate/discussion. It's like arguing how many angels dance on the head of a pin...

Regards, Guy
 
no the 257 bee is not boring but with it now available to all markets via the vanguard it is really common

I too hunt with a 25-06 as of last year yet to kill a buck but hosed several yotes
I am acyually considering getting a 2nd

do we need any more different or new round no I guess I was thinking maybe someone with some pull may see us and build it

heck give me a 6.5 rem mag in a 700 and I would be tickled pink heck next time I see a 673 for 500 I may just pick it up heck rename it like they did the 280 back in the day

we got some good conversation out of this thread and it did not go down the road I expected I like what ww discussed
 
Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to derail it... I went off at an angle didn't I? Oooops.

So, how 'bout that 6.5-06? :grin: Great cartridge (a buddy hunts with one) because:

1. Very High BC bullets that are very effective on game and accurate.
2. A great case to work with from the start. How do you go wrong with a .30-06 case? It's been necked down and necked up from .24 cal to .40 cal as far as I know...
3. Excellent powder capacity, without being grossly overbore... Nicely balanced round.

Yup, it's a good one. My buddy uses his on black bear and mule deer and also shoots F-class and tactical matches with it!

Regards, Guy
 
no need to appologise

I guess I just wanted to state that it is inevitable someone will come out with the next latest greatest and the way I see it is no need to reinvent the wheel when we have something very practical and effective waiting
 
Guy,

You bring up a good point.
Actually, its the bullet that does the work. Pick the correct bullet for the application, it will quickly do its job. Pick the wrong bullet,..........

The cartridge is just the engine, gets the bullet off to do the work.

JD338
 
Guy's kind of right.
100+gr bullet at 2000+ in the boiler room is going to kill a deer.
Doesn't really matter what rifle launches it.
 
JD338,

I shot the Berger 130 gr/.264" VLD in my 6.5-'06 last season, and that bullet just pure knocked the snot out of an antelope at 300 yds.
65-06Berger.jpg


I also shot my first deer with a 6.5X55, I think that warped me to the 6.5 side.

I also have a 6.5 TCU, but haven't hunted with it (10" TC Contender).

In my opinion big game cartridges start at 6.5mm and obviously go up. I leave the .257s to the dual purpose varmint/deer category. YMMV.

Remington has discontinued their 6.5 Rem Mag M673 rifle, so they are available on the Internet sale table. If you are thinking about one, now would be a good time to buy.

jim
 
I shoot a 6.5 Gibbs, mines a 29.5" 8 twist kreiger, it runs 140 bergers at 3340 fps. groups are averageing 4-5" at 830 yards, would probably do better but I'm running it pretty hard. It will hit a pie plate darn near every shot at 1060 yards, from a bipod. Its very good at ruining a whitetails day and only burns 61 gr of powder.
100_1183.jpg


even compared to its parent case (270 win) a loaded round looks like it'll outrun the space shuttle
100_0288.jpg


A target pic during load developement, 7 shots fired from a bipod no rear support, 3 at 100, 3 at 604, the 7th round was tweaking my 300 yard zero
at 100 yards
600group.jpg

RR
 
Ridge_Runner

Impressive results you have with the 6.5 Gibbs. Nice looking rig that performs well. Good to see your little helper. :grin: I hope she follows your lead and does some hunting with you.

I have had both my daughters out hunting with me . They actually liked it until the got older and the boys showed up. :evil:

JD338
 
JD338":32ddu16c said:
Ridge_Runner

Impressive results you have with the 6.5 Gibbs. Nice looking rig that performs well. Good to see your little helper. :grin: I hope she follows your lead and does some hunting with you.

I have had both my daughters out hunting with me . They actually liked it until the got older and the boys showed up. :evil:

JD338

JD, I take her whenever she wants to go, but she makes me look bad.
her deer from last season
lastday08002.jpg


and the entrance wound
lastday08001.jpg

RR
 
Thats awesome Ridge! Congratulations buddy to both you and your daughter.

JD338
 
sorry to hijack the thread but I gotta tell the story .

before she shot I had just given her explicit instructions to hold behind the shoulder, gun cracked, deer went belly up.
I'm telling her to notice how things work so well when she listens to daddy, while I'm thinkin man those 64 gr powerpoints are hard on the lungs. and I see this, I explain how the brain of a whitetale is absolutely the smallest kill target for the species.
She informs me that: I make her shoot squirrels in the head and they're lots littler, and besides the shot felt right before she pulled the trigger, all I could say was good job, and went about the guttin and draggin detail.
RR
 
Great story, RR. Certainly humbling when our young'uns demonstrate the advantage of youth.
 
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