Ah nope!
reloading 6.5
- Thread starter Milt Dale
- Start date
Ah nope!
Yes, I recently bought a new Zastava M70 98 Mauser. Full length Mauser mag. Balistically, the .260 has a slight edge on the 6.5 CM with light bullets; the 6.5 x 55 has a bit of an edge with heavy bullets, as OAL can be tuned to the rifle rather than to the mag. Fit and finish on the Zastava is amazing as is the accuracy. I am using cheap 120 gr bullets to play with loads right now, but with some of the hotter loads, sub MOA is easy and even a few < 1/2" outside to outside, not centre to center were shot. Rifles like the CZ, Zastava, Tika and a few others are designated "SE" and can handle modern high pressure loads.
The 6.5 CM is not about making an improvement, it is about another company trying to burn their own piss-hole in the community snow bank. For a short action it's OK, in the world of the 6.5, it is "lunch-bag-let-down".
Not at the muzzle, but fast downrange!
What?!?! It increases in velocity down range?
I think he means retains it's velocity better down range.
Don't forget, not doing anything any of it's predecessor can do better.
Uh, what...
Because the creedmoor does a better of being able to load heavies while still staying within mag length limitations on a short action footprint.
The only way this statement can be made is if you don't understand the nuances between the different cartridges.
Is the 6.5 creedmoor better then any of the other cartridges here? That really depends on what you are trying to do. If it's for optimally mag feeding heavies in a short action, then the answer to that question is yes. If your criteria is different, so does the answer to that question.
Hi MD. I have been reloading my Tikka T3X Stainless Varmint in .260 Rem, 1:8 twist, for about 3 years now and it has over 2400 rounds through it. I have never had a major problem, but I guess it depends on what the context of the problem originally mentioned was.
This is a factory rifle in its plastic stock, so its not a benchrest rifle. But it does pretty well for shooting sub-MOA reasonably consistently. My purpose for it is long range shooting steel targets beyond 500m, but I mostly work up loads to practice at my local range on paper at 100-200 yards (because I have to travel long distances to be able to find LR locations to shoot).
I use Lapua brass. Primers used are CCI 200, CCI BR-2 and Federal 210 Match. Powders are H-4350, Varget, IMR-4451. I have been seating 136gr Lapua Scenar L and 139gr Lapua Scenars longer than magazine length and single loading them bench shooting at the range. Typical seating has been 0.010 off the lands, but I have recently been experimenting with seating deeper out to .035" off the lands, and seeing some positive results.
The Tikka's chamber throat has eroded, but I can still seat bullets to touch the lands with more than enough bearing surface in the neck. However I prefer to seat off the lands, and in doing so I have not seen any pressure problems loading to max loads listed on the Hodgdon website data.
I generally can achieve sub-MOA in 5-shot groups, often averaging about 0.6 to 0.7 MOA at 100-200 yards. But occasionally I mess up and it shoots over 1 MOA. Might be me on the trigger pull. Might be other issues.
Velocity-wise using H-4350 charge of 42.0gr, my Magnetospeed data is showing average 2703 fps for the 139gr Scenars, and 2721 fps for the 136 gr Scenars (but tested different days, different temperature, humidity and barometer, etc).
I don't have data for magazine length to offer. Never shot hunting bullets through my .260 so don't have that data either.
I have not reloaded and shot the other calibers mentioned, but of course they can all be excellent from what I have read.
I have read that the 6.5x47 Lapua is a sweetheart to reload for and is not finicky. I am saving up to one day buy one and compare it to my .260.
This is a factory rifle in its plastic stock, so its not a benchrest rifle. But it does pretty well for shooting sub-MOA reasonably consistently. My purpose for it is long range shooting steel targets beyond 500m, but I mostly work up loads to practice at my local range on paper at 100-200 yards (because I have to travel long distances to be able to find LR locations to shoot).
I use Lapua brass. Primers used are CCI 200, CCI BR-2 and Federal 210 Match. Powders are H-4350, Varget, IMR-4451. I have been seating 136gr Lapua Scenar L and 139gr Lapua Scenars longer than magazine length and single loading them bench shooting at the range. Typical seating has been 0.010 off the lands, but I have recently been experimenting with seating deeper out to .035" off the lands, and seeing some positive results.
The Tikka's chamber throat has eroded, but I can still seat bullets to touch the lands with more than enough bearing surface in the neck. However I prefer to seat off the lands, and in doing so I have not seen any pressure problems loading to max loads listed on the Hodgdon website data.
I generally can achieve sub-MOA in 5-shot groups, often averaging about 0.6 to 0.7 MOA at 100-200 yards. But occasionally I mess up and it shoots over 1 MOA. Might be me on the trigger pull. Might be other issues.
Velocity-wise using H-4350 charge of 42.0gr, my Magnetospeed data is showing average 2703 fps for the 139gr Scenars, and 2721 fps for the 136 gr Scenars (but tested different days, different temperature, humidity and barometer, etc).
I don't have data for magazine length to offer. Never shot hunting bullets through my .260 so don't have that data either.
I have not reloaded and shot the other calibers mentioned, but of course they can all be excellent from what I have read.
I have read that the 6.5x47 Lapua is a sweetheart to reload for and is not finicky. I am saving up to one day buy one and compare it to my .260.
Thanks to all for the input, I am going with the Swede mainly for the rifle choice a Husqvarna 1900, for my purpose, mainly deer hunting usually under 200 yards any of the three would be fine, I have other rifles for longer ranges. The other two choices for me in rifles were a Sauer in a Creedmoor or a Remington 7 in .260. The stocks on the other two do not shoulder as well and I have a shortage of wood and blued rifles.
