Choice of 6.5

[Bob edwards]

I'm new to this forum BUT I have had 6.5x55 for over 15 years mainly styer manlicher but I switched in Feb 19 to a 6.5 creedmoor using 139grn home loads and it's a Sauer field shoot and at 750 yds my longest I can practise on its hands down a better group, smoother in a 24" barrels I may also add but I love this gun

[KABOOM]

What starts faster would be my choice, any would work as you note. I love the 6.5x55 as im traditional and shoot one now. I have no idea about brass availability in the UK but if no consideration my choice would be the 6.5x55, I seem to recall CIP data is higher pressure than Saami data for the 6.5x55, A modern action will handle higher pressures within reason.

 

[Popsbengo]

6.5x55 very widely available for brass or factory ammo.  Yes, we are aware of the different pressures for older guns vs. modern stuff.

I'm swinging towards 6.5CM as it's popular (good choice of rifles) and brass etc is plentiful

[One on top of two]

7 minutes ago, Popsbengo said:

6.5x55 very widely available for brass or factory ammo.  Yes, we are aware of the different pressures for older guns vs. modern stuff.

I'm swinging towards 6.5CM as it's popular (good choice of rifles) and brass etc is plentiful

Get one pops , your love it and you know you will . 
 

[Popsbengo]

10 minutes ago, One on top of two said:

Get one pops , your love it and you know you will . 
 

variation is in 😄

[One on top of two]

7 minutes ago, Popsbengo said:

variation is in 😄

Apologies if you have already flogged it to death , but have you narrowed your choice of rifle down , off the shelf or are you going down the full/semi custom route ? 

[Popsbengo]

3 hours ago, One on top of two said:

Apologies if you have already flogged it to death , but have you narrowed your choice of rifle down , off the shelf or are you going down the full/semi custom route ? 

don't know yet, fancy a custom job

[meles meles]

We have a 32" barrel for our DTA in 6.5x55 Norsqueagian, plus a nice Carl Gustav 63 with Soderein dioptre sights that is awesome on the 1,000 mard target at Eskdalemuir.

[Deserttech Europe]

that looks lovely

[terryh]

Good looking rifle Brock, LH?

Re. the 6.5x55, always liked the cartridge and had a couple of rifles in the past for stalking, always got the job done, very consistent & considering its about a 120 year old design not too shabby, think  P O Ackley said something along the lines of 'not worth Acklying as no great gains?

But even using Skan data cannot see the advantage of the 55 over say a Creed (or 47 in real terms for that matter  ). The general trend has been towards smaller capacity cases for better accuracy e.g. PPC, 6mmBR  and when the switch to 308 for TR the folks who had the option to remaining with 30-06 during the change over opted for the 308 ( caveat: from memory on that last one)

Plenty of nice rifles out there, things like the Tikka in its various forms, Sauer 100 Pantera all seem to shoot out of the boxe, which does question the custom route (but custom is nice ! )

Here is a 285 yard group from a stock Tikka Tac using factory ammo:

Choice is your's really.

T

 

[Catch-22]

I believe the switch from 30-06 to 308 was driven more by the rules of competition.

However, it is worth noting that the standard .30-06 leade angle is 3 degrees, whereas the .308w is 1.5 degrees. The .308w shallower leade is better suited to competition bullets and permits the bullet to ‘gently’ slide into the throat and engage the lands less harshly. The .30-06 3 degree leade is an older design, more akin to WWI and WWII military design.

German Salazar (US comp shooter) created a tweaked .30-06 reamer that featured a a 1.5 degree leade. He believed this change leads to greater accuracy. He’s shot very well in 1000yd comps. 
I’ve recently had a .30-06 barrel spun up using the same reamer design and it does appear to be a good one. 

[terryh]

Catch, 

Yes it was a rule driven change, but there was a transition period where you could use either, majority chose to jump to 308 even though the 30-06 was still allowable i.e more capacity is not necessarily the best choice. I was just trying to be illustrative on the 55 vs the creed vs the 47 the latter being driven by accuracy considerations. Similar to say the 6BR vs a 243.

Was just a discussion point, nothing finite

T

[Leeman]

Guys,

TR is a British discipline and .30-06 was never used, it was .303 before the 7.62mm became the service round and as TR mirrors the service round of the day, the use of 7.62 target rifles became the norm and then 5.56mm could be used as it was introduced into the services.   I'm not sure how long after the change to 7.62 the .303 could be used for TR, it may still be an option for the die hard luddite.   .30-06 was always an American target round but you won't see that used much, even the .308 has been put on the back burner for most competitors other than Palma, the 5.56 is predominant in ATC as the AR15 dominates and most other disciplines allow any cartridge so the 6mm & 6.5mm rounds are widely used.

[terryh]

Apologies Lehman, you are correct, my mistake, should have said ‘Palma’

[Andrew]

On 3/22/2020 at 12:06 PM, Popsbengo said:

6.5x55 very widely available for brass or factory ammo.  Yes, we are aware of the different pressures for older guns vs. modern stuff.

I'm swinging towards 6.5CM as it's popular (good choice of rifles) and brass etc is plentiful

I have twelve 6.5x55's and four 6.5 Creedmoors. I love the x55 cartridge but the Creedmoor gets the nod these days.~Andrew

[Popsbengo]

7 hours ago, Andrew said:

I have twelve 6.5x55's and four 6.5 Creedmoors. I love the x55 cartridge but the Creedmoor gets the nod these days.~Andrew

Just rub it in why don't you ?  😂🤣

[The Gun Pimp]

23 hours ago, terryh said:

Good looking rifle Brock, LH?

Re. the 6.5x55, always liked the cartridge and had a couple of rifles in the past for stalking, always got the job done, very consistent & considering its about a 120 year old design not too shabby, think  P O Ackley said something along the lines of 'not worth Acklying as no great gains?

But even using Skan data cannot see the advantage of the 55 over say a Creed (or 47 in real terms for that matter  ). The general trend has been towards smaller capacity cases for better accuracy e.g. PPC, 6mmBR  and when the switch to 308 for TR the folks who had the option to remaining with 30-06 during the change over opted for the 308 ( caveat: from memory on that last one)

Plenty of nice rifles out there, things like the Tikka in its various forms, Sauer 100 Pantera all seem to shoot out of the boxe, which does question the custom route (but custom is nice ! )

Here is a 285 yard group from a stock Tikka Tac using factory ammo:

Choice is your's really.

T

 

Terry - your target intrigues me. If I'm not mistaken it's an IBS 1000 yard benchrest target.  I have one myself which I brought back from Hawks Ridge 1000 yd BR Range in North Carolina in 2004 - intending to get some printed for the UKBRA - where did you get yours - if you don't mind me asking?

[terryh]

Hi Vince,

It is indeed the IBS 1000 yard target, unfortunately it was shot in Texas on a friends farm, clay shooters who wanted to shoot rifles - when they realised they had a 1 mile straight wayleave with running thru' it!

So I pointed them at 6.5 Creeds (Tic Tac & RPR's) and Vortex's (now March's after they looked thru' and used mine) and the 1000 yard IBS targets as best bet for paper targets to shoot at - so a convoluted way of saying 'sorry' cannot help you ☹️

Brgds Terry

[The Gun Pimp]

3 hours ago, terryh said:

Hi Vince,

It is indeed the IBS 1000 yard target, unfortunately it was shot in Texas on a friends farm, clay shooters who wanted to shoot rifles - when they realised they had a 1 mile straight wayleave with running thru' it!

So I pointed them at 6.5 Creeds (Tic Tac & RPR's) and Vortex's (now March's after they looked thru' and used mine) and the 1000 yard IBS targets as best bet for paper targets to shoot at - so a convoluted way of saying 'sorry' cannot help you ☹️

Brgds Terry

Well thanks for clearing it up - I thought there would be a story behind it.  Fortunately, electronic targets have done away with the need for paper for 1000 yd BR in the UK - we just use a simple aiming mark but we still have the IBS target face on our iPads.

[OSOK]

The best 6.5 is a 7 ... If you want to hit target then most 6.5's will do the job but if you want to be competitive then a 7mm . I have a 6.5mm WSM and it won't live with one of my 7/270's running a pedestrian load .... not to mention the barrel heat !

Just my thoughts

OSOK

[Deserttech Europe]

OSOK has a very good point, I think the choice of 6mm or 7mm for different goals are superior to the 6.5.

 

Ewen

[Popsbengo]

OK, the time is nearly upon me to decide which 6.5 or do I go 7mm ?   We're talking long range targets only.  Cost of reloading is irrelevant (I own a .338 after all 😁);  accuracy is everything, historic interest is for others.  I don't want anything wildcat - factory brass a must (Lapua or Norma cases preferred)

Custom rifle build is to be the way to go so not fussed about availability of factory iron.  No requirement for magazine loading.  No limitations on competition classes for me but I don't want anything breaking into HME territory.

The front runner is 6.5CM because I have tried & observed this calibre and am suitably impressed.  OSOK threw a spanner with his 7mm / .284  thoughts.

What's the collective thoughts folks ??

 

[One on top of two]

2 hours ago, Popsbengo said:

OK, the time is nearly upon me to decide which 6.5 or do I go 7mm ?   We're talking long range targets only.  Cost of reloading is irrelevant (I own a .338 after all 😁);  accuracy is everything, historic interest is for others.  I don't want anything wildcat - factory brass a must (Lapua or Norma cases preferred)

Custom rifle build is to be the way to go so not fussed about availability of factory iron.  No requirement for magazine loading.  No limitations on competition classes for me but I don't want anything breaking into HME territory.

The front runner is 6.5CM because I have tried & observed this calibre and am suitably impressed.  OSOK threw a spanner with his 7mm / .284  thoughts.

What's the collective thoughts folks ??

 

Blimey only you can answer this one matey 😂 

my 2 penith 

if you intend to be competitive ie F Class and have no intention of using for anything else and not worried about barrel life ...... 7mm 

if you intend to have a go at anything and everything from 100 - 1200 m and maybe some PRL in the future then .... creedmoor 

[terryh]

If you are going 7mm the SAUM is nice, hand one for a while and found it a nice round and worked well with the 180g bullets to ‘way’ out there, not silly recoil and loaded sensibly reasonable on the barrel.

But actually a straight 284’s not too shabby?

As OoToT Said - up to you, the Worlds your Oyster, 

Terry

[KABOOM]

On 3/26/2020 at 3:32 AM, OSOK said:

The best 6.5 is a 7 ... If you want to hit target then most 6.5's will do the job but if you want to be competitive then a 7mm . I have a 6.5mm WSM and it won't live with one of my 7/270's running a pedestrian load .... not to mention the barrel heat !

Just my thoughts

OSOK

What will a 7mm do that the 6.5 wont on paper? I like 6.5x55, 7x57, and 7-08, nothing wrong with 6.5 creed either.6.5 wsm is interesting and im sure burns plenty of powder. If bullet weights are the same the 6.5 wins b.c .