Thread: 25/06 to 6.5/06 What Barrel?

Originally Posted by gilly

Hi Team. I bought a Sako 75 in 25/06 off Trade Me and thanks to some great fellas on the forum have worked up an awesome load for it, accurate and hard hitting.

It’s a lovely rifle but the caliber has some limitations eg in wind and I’m limited to about 300yards in terms of taking shots.

I want to keep the rifle and am thinking about rebarrelling to a 6.5/06. I was under the understanding that you could have a 6.5 barrel fitted and then develop your loads accordingly after sorting brass etc. However some barrel manufacturers list both 6.5 and 6.5/06 barrels for sale.

My question is which barrel do I purchase, are there any differences or are they one in the same?

Cheers

Gilly

Fucks sake! killed any animals out to any decent ranges with the Prohunters yet? , maybe you should. Numbers say this, numbers say that, must believe only the numbers, not practical experience. If I can kill stone dead on the spot Tahr at 400yd with 117 Ph and account for wind doing it, so can you and deer are a damn sight easier to flatten than Tahr. If you really must have numbers that help you believe you can kill an animal out at and past 300, switch to the 115 Berger, outstanding killing bullet that just sacks them, or go hard pill like @Moa Hunter and his 110 AB, works for him and he knows the cartridge well, as do I. Save your money and the faffing about, just bloody shoot it.

Yesterday I killed a Fallow spiker at 295 with an 85 gn Sierra Sp and a porker 3 minutes later with the same pill at the same range, out of a 20" barrel .243, check the ballistics and compare against your 2506, you might decide to trust it and use it.

Mate uses 117gr Barnes triple shocks full copper 1s and he can punch both shoulders out of a bull tahr at 350m

To answer your question, a 6.5 barrel is a 6.5 barrel no matter what.
It is what you chamber it to, eg 6.5x55 ,6.5-06 etc that makes it into what 6.5 caliber you want you want.
So Buy a 6.5 Bartlein Barrel [Great barrels]off Alpine Precision that advertises here or any 6.5 barrel off any manufacturer you want, have it chambered for 6.5-06.

If it's going to be a hunter look at profile and length , to fat and long you'll regret, it but I'd advise min 24" for 6.5 06 after fitting .
Brass is easy to make from any 06 based brass just some need more work than others.
Run the numbers with Distant Stalkers 3k, even 2850- 2900fps and decide.

Like others I've had a 6.5/06 and the AI version and you gain very little over the standard .260 or Creedmoor and you need a much longer barrel.
My .260 with a 20" barrel will push the 143 ELDX at 2860 fps.
I've also had a 25/06 for many years and they are awesome push a 115 or 120 grain pill at over 3000fs and it will kill.
It depends on what you want.

Sent from my CPH1903 using Tapatalk

Thanks guys for the good and practical advice. As I said I was only thinking about a re barrel. The experience of you guys is telling me not to waste my time and money faffing around when the 25/06 is fine.

Cheers

Gilly

Not in good conditions at reasonable ranges. The slippery bullets make wind calling 'easier' when conditions are less than ideal. This can also be mitigated by stalking closer or practicing more.

A quarter bore will be a talking point of difference on the hill. Makes life interesting

If it was me, I'd keep the 25-06, great calibre, capable of way more than 300 if you have the trigger time, plenty of projectiles that kill shit. And I would build a 6.5-06 to the specs I want for the distances I want to shoot, and go shoot shit with that as well - a man cant have too many guns!

a man cant have too many guns

Amen

Mark and Sam after work did a comparison between a 6.5 Saum and 6.5 06 AI. With the exact same powder charge and barrel the Saum produced 200 fps more velocity. So if I was changing barrels I wouldn't be going to an inefficient case design. The 2506 is an interesting cartridge, it doesnt kill as quickly as a 270 with a poor hit but it is so easy and pleasant to shoot accurately you dont get poor hits. It is like a 243 but with the failings / faults fixed

Both 2506 and 6.506 are good calibres, have owned and hunted both. My case I took a shot out Sako 75 2506 and rebarrelled to 6506ai. Job was done by Truflite. The ballistics offered by 6.5 do offer superior down range performance due to high bc’s. The old qtr bore does not have the same pill selection unfortunately. To get best out of 6506 you need the right powders 2217 is ok but RL25 or 26 get the old 140 AMAX going at 2950 fps out of 24in bbl. The accuracy has never been a problem with the rifle, easy to get 1/2 moa. The trick is to find the right powder. Bartlein bbl are superb, have several on other rifles. Nothing wrong with a 270 or 280 either

If going 6.5-06 id be doing faster twist. Mentioned it on another thread but some of the newer 6.5s tout better down range ballistics than a 264 win mag because whilst they are going slower, they utilize a faster twist which some of the longer high bc bullets require

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

Mark and Sam after work did a comparison between a 6.5 Saum and 6.5 06 AI. With the exact same powder charge and barrel the Saum produced 200 fps more velocity. So if I was changing barrels I wouldn't be going to an inefficient case design. The 2506 is an interesting cartridge, it doesnt kill as quickly as a 270 with a poor hit but it is so easy and pleasant to shoot accurately you dont get poor hits. It is like a 243 but with the failings / faults fixed

gee, you're a hard man @Moa Hunter. They've fixed the 243 well up with higher bc bullets and fast twist barrels

Would 6.5-284 cases fit and feeds of your magazine? That might be a good alternative.

If it was me id do whatever the fuk i like its my money i earnt it and ill spend it how i want. I had a 6.5 06 built and i love it. Just one of the many rifles in the cupboard. You can make the 6.5 06 rounds by just seating your pills into your 25 06 brass. Mine is a heavy weight rig tru flite palma profile but i like heavy rifles. If you want to build one do it not what everyone else wants you to do....

Fuk, you're way out there. Next you'll be advocating for bring an authentic individual