Need some help with my next project

I have an old 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser with a short 3 step military barrel that was sporterized years ago. I have several rifles and it is the most accurate tool I have. If you can get close to the results from a barrel on your list I believe you will be pleased. I was surprised years ago when the 6.5 x 55 out shot anything I had then. Not having shot the newer 6.5 cartridges I would hope they would be an improvement on it, or at least as good.
Safe loading happy shooting.

Id probably go with the x47 or CM, tho the 7 Rsaum would also make the list.
The others maybe an little (to alot depending on chamber) long for the mags with vld type bullets, unless seated quite deep.

The 7mm wsm and 7mm saum will not fit your bolt face. The 6.5x284 may not fit in your magazine and may be too long for your ejection port to be able to eject a loaded round. I'm guessing you have a sizable qty of 308 brass left over, a 260 or 7mm-08 would be useful for using that up after sizing and neck turning.

Dont get caught up in the 6.5 fad. Rebarrel in 308 Win.

Compare the 6.5 cartridges using 140 gr bullets with a 308 win using a 130 gr bullet.,
The 308 has a lot more velocity (300fps)at the muzzle. But the 6.5 does have less drag for long range. Need to study bullets and ballistics.

Hodgdon data.

try this guy: https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/6.5-284+Norma.html

there is an excellent article in the current issue of handloader magazine, penned by brian pearce, that details the history of the 6.5-284 norma cartridge and provides load data for the cartridge. the rim diameter is the same as the 308 win, so should work in your situation.

luck,

murf

130 gr VLD Hunting 0.562 0.288 0.925 1:8″ 26503 6.5
155 gr VLD Hunting 0.464 0.238 0.981 1:12″ 30508 308.

At the same velocity, the 6.5 is the best known , long range choice to kill paper targets.

Berger Bullets. http://www.bergerbullets.com/products/all-bullets/

243winxb said:

Dont get caught up in the 6.5 fad. Rebarrel in 308 Win.

Compare the 6.5 cartridges using 140 gr bullets with a 308 win using a 130 gr bullet.,
The 308 has a lot more velocity (300fps)at the muzzle. But the 6.5 may have less drag for long range? Need to study bullets and ballistics.

Hodgdon data.

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That's just it; for sort action stuff, the 6.5mm wins because the heavy-for-caliber bullets fit magazine OAL without encroaching on case capacity, and with a higher initial velocity. The 150 gr. .264" Sierra Matchking has a .713 BC, while you have to step up to a 240 gr. .30 cal to see a number that high. Well, the 6.5 Creed can launch that 150 grainer at 2,700, but you'll only see about 2,300 FPS max with .308 win shooting 240s, and they will be too long for magazine.

.30 cal really shines over the 6.5s when you start running those 240s (and heavier) from large magnums like the .300 WM and .300 RUM, but there's a blast and recoil penalty. The .308 just doesn't have the capacity to push them.

Nature Boy, I reload for 6.5CM and 6.5x47 and if I were building or buying another rifle in 6.5 it'd be a 6.5x47. Great accuracy/precision, small rifle primers, great brass, good brass life, very good loads with easy to find Varget and very low ES numbers (10 FPS or less). All of these criteria might explain why it's the preferred 6.5mm cartridge in the PRS. Bullet weight isn't quite as flexible with the Lapua but there are plenty of excellent target and hunting bullets available that work very well in that cartridge.

6.5x47 sounds good to me too

MCMXI said:

Nature Boy, I reload for 6.5CM and 6.5x47 and if I were building or buying another rifle in 6.5 it'd be a 6.5x47. Great accuracy/precision, small rifle primers, great brass, good brass life, very good loads with easy to find Varget and very low ES numbers (10 FPS or less). All of these criteria might explain why it's the preferred 6.5mm cartridge in the PRS. Bullet weight isn't quite as flexible with the Lapua but there are plenty of excellent target and hunting bullets available that work very well in that cartridge.

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Not having any experience with the x47, I'm curious, now that brass is available from pretty much all makers for the Creedmoor and small primer brass is available from Lapua and Starline. Why wouldn't most of those advantages apply to both the x47 and Creedmoor? It seems like the x47 would need to have some really drastic advantages to overcome the advantage of ubiquitous market support that the CM now enjoys.

If it were me, I'd go with the Creedmoor, maybe in a 7.5 twist barrel so that the 150gr SMKs would be an option. I think If you want to shoot the heavies (140's and north) something like the 6.5 CM or .260, with their larger capacities should give you better velocities.

I don't know how long the SPR action is, but the 6.5x284 would be an interesting option for top performance, if you have the space.

I personally wouldn't go with a 7mm in your short action .473" bolt face constraints. Maybe if elk were on the menu, but for mostly targets and the occasional deer, why put up with any extra recoil... You've already got the .308 if you want a bit of extra shorter range thump.

Does that leave a lot of performance on the table, particular with Sierra coming out with the 150g SMK?

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That's a good question and ultimately a personal decision but the 150gr SMK supposedly works best with a 1:7.5 twist. Here's a recent article about the 150gr SMK.

https://rifleshooter.com/2017/10/6-5-creedmoor-loads-6-5-mm-150-gr-sierra-matchking-smk/

If it were me I’d do a 6.5 Creedmoor but that’s just me I really like the cartridge so for me it’s a no brainer

Nature Boy said:

I've said this before and I'll fess up to it again. My aversion to the "Creed!" (got to put an exclamation behind it, due to the religious adoration of it's followers) is irrational and strictly based on not wanting to be a me-too crowd-follower.

If the "Creed!" is indeed the best option I'll get over being contrary about it

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Maybe you could just call it the 6.5-30TC .... More numbers, sounds way neater.

MCMXI said:

That's a good question and ultimately a personal decision but the 150gr SMK supposedly works best with a 1:7.5 twist. Here's a recent article about the 150gr SMK.

https://rifleshooter.com/2017/10/6-5-creedmoor-loads-6-5-mm-150-gr-sierra-matchking-smk/

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Those seem like pretty good velocities for H4350, albeit out of a 27" tube. The Sierra load data has Superformance @ 2,800 fps and a few different RE powders @ 2,750 fps out of a 24" barrel. Interestingly the numbers really aren't far off of their velocities for the 142gr, must be a short bearing surface on the 150gr?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/sierra...9/sierra-bullets-6-5-creedmoor-load-data/amp/

Not having any experience with the x47, I'm curious, now that brass is available from pretty much all makers for the Creedmoor and small primer brass is available from Lapua and Starline. Why wouldn't most of those advantages apply to both the x47 and Creedmoor? It seems like the x47 would need to have some really drastic advantages to overcome the advantage of ubiquitous market support that the CM now enjoys.

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More good questions to consider. I haven't put together any hanloads using 6.5 CM Lapua brass so maybe the ES/SD advantage that I give to the 6.5x47 is now negated. Perhaps someone here can provide their own ES/SD data for 6.5 CM loads using Lapua brass. The author in the link that I posted used Norma brass that had been fired once. Given the bullet weight (length) range of the 6.5 CM maybe it's the better choice but I have to wonder why those that are competing with 6.5 mm bullets seem to prefer the Lapua. Maybe that will change.

Then you could also step it up and go Japanese with a 6.5x50 (Arisaka) round. No follow-me gang mentality there

I have a 6.5x47 Lapua (so I am a bit biased to this calibre) which was built on a former short action Remington 700 action chambered for .308win. Other than a change of barrel it didn't need to have any other modification to use this calibre. I use .308 magazines and I have plenty of room to load for longer COAL, but as it is, I have a short throat for 123gr bullets so I don't utilise a longer COAL.

Something to bear in mind with the small rifle primer brass, is to use the correct primer! CCI-400 shouldn't be used as the cup is not as thick to CCI-450 (magnum) or Remington 7 1/2 primers. The CCI-400 primers would pierce in my rifle and the CCI-450 would crater. I found that the cratering issue was resolved with bushing of the firing pin hole, but I still do not use CCI-400 primers. Check the firing pin-hole size and firing pin diameter to see if this would be an issue for your rifle, my firing pinhole now measures 0.062" and the firing pin 0.060".

You will need to price up the cost of the brass and the dies. I use Forster dies (FL and seating die) which are great quality. I imagine the Lapua brass might be pricier for you in the US than I since I live in Europe. My last batch of 300 cases cost me $105/100 cases. Grafs shows this as $116, so it's in the same ballpark.

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/3603/inline/1

If you every wish to shoot factory ammo, the "Creed!" has good availability and choice of factory ammo whereas the 6.5x47 Lapua is much more expensive and it's mostly target shooting ammo as opposed to hunting ammo.

Nature Boy said:

I’m talking to the gunsmith on Monday and making the decision then.

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Did you wind up talking to the gunsmith yesterday? If so what did you order?

You might want to read this article before you make a decision. 91% of the top 100 Open Division shooters choose to shoot a cartridge other than the 6.5 Creedmoor. Maybe that's significant, maybe it's not.

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2017/02/16/long-range-calibers-cartridges-what-the-pros-use/

Close to half of them shoot either 6.5x47 (20%), 6x47 (11%) or 6XC (10%).