Thread: Which 6.5

Apologies if its been done to death, nothing showed in the search, so here goes.

So I am considering going to a 6.5 but which one? Most of the shorter versions seem to be trying to emulate the 6.5 x 55
260 Rem sounds nice but then as I see from other threads that there's several improvement versions.
So how about 6.5 x 284

What do I want to achieve.

Lighter rifle platform, most shooting under 300M but able to confidently shoot to 400 when needed ( not a game changer though )
Short barrel of 20 inches or less.
I like to reload so need to consider seating ability / variations which impacts on action length ?

Currently shoot 270, but these days I find it to be too much gun for carrying any distance.

Fire away with your options and opinions please.

Its right here John, all you will ever need
http://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.n...t-260-a-31757/

6.5 Creedmoor is all the craze, very du jour.

Buy that little savage LW in 6.5CM that outdoorlad is selling, fits your new lightweight outlook on life and is wood blue too, since I noticed you liked rifles that rust

Love my 6.5x.284, LA so not what your after, a few extra grams though really isn't much, but that said all depends on what you find out there, mine is certainly a goodie IMO.

Plenty of goodies already to go here, should snap one up...

There is only one 6.5 that's the 6.5x55 the others are just marketing hype by rifle manufacturers trying to sell new rifles, In modern firearms the 6.5x55 can be loaded higher than the original 94/96 Swedes
the new upstarts are already loaded as hot as they can safely go, if you go for a Tikka T3 the action is one size fits all so there is no weight saving, the 6.5/284 is a barrel burner and with a 20" barrel the Swede
is more efficient 6.5x55 brass is all top class stuff and factory ammo is available in most Gun shops, and it will handle the 140+ grain bullets better than the short cases for a bush load the Norma and Lapua 156 gr RN
bullets are hard to beat

If trying to decide between 6.5x55, 6.5 Creedmoor and .260 I would just look for what calibers are available in the rifle you want.
Tikka and Sako seem to be sticking with .260 whereas Ruger and Savage have jumped on the Creedmoor band wagon.
6.5x55 will come in a medium/ long action whereas the other two are short action, but if you get a Tikka or go custom you may just go long action anyway.

6.5x55 has the best selection of factory ammo, but it's not loaded very hot. Reloading for the 6.5x55 should get you the highest velocity.
6.5x55 and .260 both have Lapua brass along with many other brands, Creedmoor has Hornady and Norma but not Lapua.

I've got a .260 and am happy with it, I would consider 6.5x55 for my next purchase though, no reason other than a tiny bit faster.
6.5 Creedmoor has jumped to stardom pretty quickly for good reason, but the main selling point is the availability of good well priced match ammo in the states, which isn't major factor here in NZ. 6.5-284 is certainly the best balistically, but burns barrels a lot quicker and doesn't come in a huge amount of factory rifles.

A Sako or Tikka in .260 would be a good lightweight rifle.

Buy the finlite posted above and save the rest of us, Its a mint shooter

Originally Posted by Nick-D

Buy that little savage LW in 6.5CM that outdoorlad is selling, fits your new lightweight outlook on life and is wood blue too, since I noticed you liked rifles that rust

Oh you can be so cruel, Nick

I am leaning towards a standard 260, since its going to be shortish I dont think the AI is of any benefit to me. And the larger cases just burn barrels faster apparently....mind you 6.5 06 could become flavour of the month anytime soon, but I suspect they will have the same issues for short barrels as the 270 etc.

That Finnlight looks like a goer, just need to flick a rifle to aid finances.........anyone want a vixen $500 whoops meant to say XTR .270 $850

6.5 creedmoor is getting chambered in tikkas now and lapua brass in 6.5 cm will be available in 2017. But if you go tikka you may as well go 6.5x55.
Your 260 option in a sako is very good as well.

Originally Posted by johnd

Apologies if its been done to death, nothing showed in the search, so here goes.

So I am considering going to a 6.5 but which one? Most of the shorter versions seem to be trying to emulate the 6.5 x 55
260 Rem sounds nice but then as I see from other threads that there's several improvement versions.
So how about 6.5 x 284

What do I want to achieve.

Lighter rifle platform, most shooting under 300M but able to confidently shoot to 400 when needed ( not a game changer though )
Short barrel of 20 inches or less.
I like to reload so need to consider seating ability / variations which impacts on action length ?

Currently shoot 270, but these days I find it to be too much gun for carrying any distance.

Fire away with your options and opinions please.

6.5/06 maybe even AI

Originally Posted by johnd

I am leaning towards a standard 260, since its going to be shortish I dont think the AI is of any benefit to me. And the larger cases just burn barrels faster apparently....mind you 6.5 06 could become flavour of the month anytime soon, but I suspect they will have the same issues for short barrels as the 270 etc.

That Finnlight looks like a goer, just need to flick a rifle to aid finances.........anyone want a vixen $500 whoops meant to say XTR .270 $850

havnt found a fault with my 6.5/06

I use a 6.5 06 with a 20 in barrel. No trouble with 400 yd shots. Using 100 gr tsx's at 3300.

Originally Posted by Double Shot

Love my 6.5x.284, LA so not what your after, a few extra grams though really isn't much, but that said all depends on what you find out there, mine is certainly a goodie IMO.

Plenty of goodies already to go here, should snap one up...

Attachment 60325

That gun reminds me of the US "woody wagons" of the 1960s