6.5 '06 As a long range cartridge

[Uncle Mike]

Barrels are cheap, life is short, over bore is...crap, build it and shoot it, enjoy yourself with it!

 

[Kachok]

6.5 WSM that is a BAD BOY. It might be a barrel burner, but even if it was it would be so totaly worth it LOL. 120gr BT @3400-3500fps and 140 running between 3100-3200. I have already seen a few people make them with superb results. The WSM case is designed for noticably higher pressures then the .264 win mag/ 284 win/30-06 cases. It maxes out the pressure scale at 65,000 CUP! Of couse it is not really that much more overbore then the 270 WSM (6.8mm vs 6.5mm) and I have not heard the first person complain about having to replace barrels on them. Sharp angled shoulders supposedly reduce barrel burn.

 

[kaferhaus]

Sharp angled shoulders supposedly reduce barrel burn.

Nope, it's going to be a barrel burner. Some studies were done, you'd have to look for them, but I'm sure they're easy to fine... seems the main factor in burning out a barrel is a function of the bore dia vs the lbs of powder put through it...

I have a 6.5x284 that I shoot LRBR with and it's good for about 900rds of "competitive" accuracy... probably make it another 300 or so for a hunter. I put a new barrel on it at least once a year BUT I cut 4" off the breech end and re-chamber it for 6.5x47 Lapua or 260 and toss it on another rifle. That gives me a pretty much new 24" tube.

The throat is what gets burned out of them the rest of the barrel is fine.

 

[kludge]

Ok dumb question, how do you cut so much off the breech and still have something to thread? I suppose the bench gun isn't tapered or even thicker than the threaded part?

 

[kaferhaus]

Ok dumb question, how do you cut so much off the breech and still have something to thread? I suppose the bench gun isn't tapered or even thicker than the threaded part?

Six inches of 1.25 dia before it starts to taper. The only reason there's any taper at all is because we have weight limits..... Short range BR rifles are straight tube breech to muzzle but they're much shorter

 

[SpeedAKL]

I love fast catridges, and these hot 6.5s are impressive! I've always wondered why someone doesn't make a 6.5 mega-magnum, basically a .257 Weatherby case or larger with a 6.5mm bullet. Pushing a 6.5mm bullet to 3500 fps should be achievable.

 

[Kachok]

That is called the .264 win mag. i think they share the exact same parent case. (7mm rem mag)

 

[USSR]

I've always wondered why someone doesn't make a 6.5 mega-magnum, basically a .257 Weatherby case or larger with a 6.5mm bullet. Pushing a 6.5mm bullet to 3500 fps should be achievable.

Because they burn out the d@mn throat in about 800 rounds!!! And, barrels are NOT cheap, at least not quality ones such as Krieger. Figure about $350 for a decent barrel and then paying a smith to chamber and install it. Sorry, but I've got better things to spend $500 - $600 on.

Don

 

[Maverick223]

The WSM case is designed for noticably higher pressures then the .264 win mag/ 284 win/30-06 cases. It maxes out the pressure scale at 65,000 CUP!

Not CUP, but PSI, and FWIW the .264WM is a mere 1kPSI less (64kPSI).

Sharp angled shoulders supposedly reduce barrel burn.

Not really, barrel life is a function of the cross sectional area of the bore (not to be confused with the diameter) and the amount of propellant used. The throat is almost always the area that wears first.

Pushing a 6.5mm bullet to 3500 fps should be achievable.

4k fps is achievable, but stock up on barrels first. As great as the 6.5mm is (same goes for the 7mm), sometimes, IMO, it is just better to go with a larger bullet.

 

[Kachok]

Throat erosion happens when unburnt powder and high speed/heat gasses rub aginst the metal of the bore. I think everyone had that part figured out, well the modern theory is that the shoulder of a case acts as a funnel, at the focus point of which you will have a small area of high turbulence. If you can keep more of this turbulence inside the neck of the brass you will cause less erosion to the throat of the barrel, sharper angle shoulders bring the focus point and hence the turbulence further back into the neck of the brass. Sounds logical to me from an aerodynamics standpoint, turbulent ariflow would cause focused higher speed flows, I would need an MIT grade aero calculator to tell you for sure if it is true or not, or how much effect it has on erosion. Lets look at an example. 243 vs 6mm rem, both the same caliber both are used as dual purpose varmint/deer rifles. The 6mm rem uses noticably more powder then the 243 but has a longer neck and a sharper shoulder, so dispite it's very overbore nature and 4,000fps+ varmint loads, it does not have a reputation as a barrel burner in any circle I have ever spoken to. The 243 on the other hand has had more then a few complaints about their barrel life. I know this is not exactly scientific, these things are rather subjective, but food for thought anyway.