Thread: Seriously underrated 6.5x47 Lapua

My 260 has 21 inch tube and 1:9 twist cause im happy with 120-130gn pills yes bc not great but i only comfortable shooting game to 350ish
Ill go for 1:8 or 1:8.5 6.5x47 on next barrel fits my short arse mag length and be able to play 130gn or higher pills this thread making my wallet nervous lol

Originally Posted by Tussock

Gimp only irritates me because he now advocates factory ammo and it seems like going into a fly tying forum and telling them they are wasting their time because you can buy flies at the fishing shop.

As much as he is the most irritating person at times he is frequently right so I had another look at 6.5 Creedmore last night. I considered it because it seems cheap and plentiful. I dismissed it because it lacks two characteristics I like about the 6.5x47L. First, it used a large rifle primer and the x47s small primer pocket (and thus thick solid case base) and the hard federal primers make perfect sense to me. I think a large rifle primer in such a small case plays more than a priming role. There seems to be abundant data that show a small rifle primer and a small flash hole produce a more accurate round. Lapua thinks so anyway.

If I want a chambering, I look through Lapuas catalogue because I don't use other brass. Years ago I had a shitty time with mixed Hornady brass because it was inconsistent and it put me off. If I use Lapua, I know I can forget about the cases.

Secondly, the Creedmore seems to need more barrel for the same velocity and for a dual purpose target/varmint/hunting rifle which I like to build, I want the shortest barrel I can get away with without sacrificing any velocity. I want single shot accuracy, up to 3 rounds. I don't actually care as much about groups as I do how much a single shot from a cold barrel deviates from the point of aim. Nothing has performed like the x47 in this regard.

Can anyone shed some light on this? I see Wingman is getting better velocity from the x47, all things being equal. Does the Creedmore really need more barrel to match the x47 for velocity?

I also note the Creedmore has Lapua brass with a small rifle primer and flash hole. Has anyone tried this? This basically makes it a x47 with factory ammo which is attractive. If most of the deformation is in the case head, and you have a robust case head, a hard primer, a tight firing pin and you are not stretching your brass, you can handle more pressure. If I ever end up with a three lug Sako bolt through my head you will know I was wrong.

I am not certain there is not some engineering magic in the shape of the x47 case that explains the inherent accuracy (which is phenomenal) and the efficiency. It is a rare example of a case engineered from the ground up by people who know about these things. There are not that many engineered rounds out there. Most are modifications of an engineered round.

@Tussock i run a Creedmoor with Lapua SP Brass, I'm only on about my 6th firing for the cases though.
And @Micky Duck I use W760.

Never chrono'ed the load but working backwards with a ballistic app it works out to about 2770 FPS for 139 grain Scenars

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Most people these days shoot prone/bipod with the non-trigger hand tucked in under the buttstock. And all power to them. I learnt to shoot prone a long time ago with no bipod, supporting the air rifle or .22 with my left hand, then the same with centrefires. And no amount of anything can get me to change that now, irrespective of what kind of rest is up front.

Interestingly my wife who is army trained, also controls the forend with her left hand, for exactly the same reason, most of the training was done without a forend rest, especially with the R4. Now she tells me this evening that when using the 7.62 R1 (FN-FAL) with the bipod, the taught position was still left hand on the rifle forend, which obviously is at odds with the US Military for example.

Just a simple case of old habits die very hard, when the old habit doesn't appear to hinder you in anyway then why change?

Not wrapping through the sling and locking the rifle in, just feels plain weird to me, and you shoot just as well as the guys that have bipods and rear rests. And you can transfer the same hold to kneeling, sitting and standing. Maybe I'm just a control freak.

I don't use a bi-pod. I shoot off a backpack. As the guy who taught me to stop holding it said, "why bother, the projectile is long gone".

So tell me straight, same pressures same projectiles, same action, same 21” barrel will the x47 push past the x55?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Tussock

I don't use a bi-pod. I shoot off a backpack. As the guy who taught me to stop holding it said, "why bother, the projectile is long gone".

I guess you best tell Tiger Woods he no longer needs to follow through with his golf swing too then...after all the ball is long gone....

Originally Posted by Danny

So tell me straight, same pressures same projectiles, same action, same 21” barrel will the x47 push past the x55?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

same pressure from same barrel it cant....pressure=push so if push is the same so must be velocity to have higher velocity from same barrel it MUST push it harder so would NEED higher pressure. speed of powder wont come into it as barrel is same........is is not????

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

I guess you best tell Tiger Woods he no longer needs to follow through with his golf swing too then...after all the ball is long gone....

I think if you look, Tiger woods does not hit a gold ball at 3000ft/sec. The key is to not move at all for a tiny fraction of a second, so I'm not sure what a follow through might look like? Muzzle flip happens after the projectile leaves the barrel, it is the feeling of the gas leaving the barrel. So your saying by physically trying to control something that happens after the projectile leaves the barrel, this helps you to move less during that fraction of a second?

What does a follow through on a rifle shot mean? Because a golf swing is a dynamic movement and an accurate shot is the absence of dynamic movement. If I throw a punch, as a boxer do I need to follow through? Only if I want to get punched in the head.

I do not think this is a universal rule.

Originally Posted by Danny

So tell me straight, same pressures same projectiles, same action, same 21” barrel will the x47 push past the x55?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why would the pressure and the action be the same?

Originally Posted by Tussock

Why would the pressure and the action be the same?

I think he is asking if you have the same Action (say Sako A7) and quality brass (Lapua) you could theoretically load to the same pressure. Having the same barrel length would there be any speed advantage of one over the other?

Follow through is vital. A rifle moves about 1/16" before the projectile leaves the barrel. Can't avoid the laws of physics . . .

're velocity. A lot of the modern cartidge brass seem to be able to stand around 70,000 psi without showing the traditional signs of pressure. Possibly you'll get away with it in a modern action but if there's a manufacturing flaw or someone with an old mauser gets your ammo by mistake - look out!.

Leade design also plays an important part in velocities - a long leade is the same as seating out.

I was always taught to follow thru or dwell after the shot was broken with a rifle.
Pretty sure the projectile is still in the barrel during initial recoil impulse depending on a few things.

I don't have any accuracy issues if I do my part no matter how I shoot my rifles. Bipod, pack or any other traditional position. They all shoot within an acceptable POI inside say 500 yrds.
I only hold/support the front when shooting without a bipod.

It is a concrete marksmanship principle.
Shot must be released and followed thru with minimum disturbance to the rifle or shooters position.


Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

It may be a concrete principle, but I have seen vastly better shooting from people who don't bother. If people are shooting 5 shot round bug hole groups from field rests with no fore end control, what are you expecting to gain?

How is it vital if people are shooting extremely well without it?

These are two three shot groups at 1100m from my old Savage F-Class. This is about 6-12 months after I abandoned trying to control the fore-end. When I tried to control the fore-end, this is what my 100m groups look like.


I can only credit the people who taught me to shoot as before that I was hopeless, but those groups were shot leaning over the back deck of a flatdeck ute. Unless you can come up with a concrete reason, I will stick with being in awe of the concrete principles they taught me.

F-Class .22 by any chance?