6.5 Br

R

rem40xb1

Guest
I would like to know what people think about the 6.5 Br. I am looking for a reduced capacity in 6.5 cal that has a good accuracy potential. I already have a 6.5x47 and a 6.5x284. I plan on shooting bullets in the 100-300 grain range. Any information or load data will be appreciated. I found a reamer with a .288 neck that I plan to use. This should just clean up the neck. Ross
 
I had a reamer made about 8 years ago. At are club we have about 6-8 people chamber for this cartridge. Some for 300 and 1K yard BR and Silhouette. The 30 BR is now taking over some of the BR shooting. Anyway you can get up to 28xx with this case and 140 gr bullets. At this vel. you are running some pretty high pressure. At 2750 fps it is fine. We are getting very good groups and low recoil. 140 gr bullets are a little much but they do shoot good. I'm going to start shooting 12x gr and see what it will do. I had a 6.5x284 barrel re-chamber to the 6.5 BR improved and it is shooting very well. I ran out of bullets, 120 Sierra, but ordered some 123. I have some loading data, but most is for 140 gr. bullets
 
Bullets ??

rem40xb1 said:
I would like to know what people think about the 6.5 Br.
Click to expand...

Since this is a Bench Rest forum I must ask where are you going to get Match grade bullets ?
If there are any at all available the selection will be very limited. This was the problem I encountered when I shot the 25 BR for a while

Dick
 
Bullets

There is a gentleman who shoots a 6.5BR from the midwest that has started making 6.5 bullets just recently. I warned him if he starts they will come. Hopefully he will respond. Also Catterucio?? sells 80grs. Good luck.
 
Match Grade 6.5 Bullets

Berger send me a box of their new non-VLD 140 gr BT bullets for testing.

These are very good bullets! We had planned to test them in the 6.5 BR but Mark Cook who shoots a 6.5 X 284 would not let go of the box. Mark is shooting a custom Rem 700 long action with a 28” match grade bull barrel. The chamber is a match 6.5 X 284. Neck diameter is set for a no turn Laupa case. In the past Mark has been shooting A Max 140 gr. bullets, and two other 140 grs. VLD bullets over H-4831. Mark was shooting the A Max bullets into ½ inch groups. The best groups with the A Max were about 3/8”. Velocity was about 2,900 fps.

We were shooing on the 100 yard range at Indian Hammock. Winds were mostly incoming from 12 O’clock at 5 to 12 mph with gust to about 18 mph Attitude Density was from 1500 to 1900 feet most of the time. Wind swirls and down gust are tricky on this range due to the bunker configurations. We were shooting over four Smiley wind flags.

We switched to the Berger 140s over the N 165 powder and saw this load favored the higher pressures loading which is common with the Vitavuori powders. The load we worked up for the new 140 Berger using VV N-165 with the bullet set about 0.090 into the lands had the velocity at about 3100 fps. Max speed deviation was only about 15 fps. All charges were thrown using a Redding BR powder measure at the range, (+/- 0.3 grs accuracy is typical with this measure and these conditions.)

The new non VLD 140 grain Berger bullets consistency shot about ¼ inch or less. The range was short, only 100 yards. The bullets shot though the wind conditions better than the other VLD bullets and the A max bullets. This indicates that the bullets are stable in the first 25 yards or so and are not nosing or conning.

Based on the limited testing we have done to date these new non-VLD bullets are looking very good! They shoot stable. They come out of the barrel with little to no upset and spin about their true axis. They are very easy to "tune". In very trick wind conditions they will shoot bug holes at higher velocity loading at 100 yards. None of the VLD bullets I have shot in the past have been this good at short range. I think because this bullet is dimensionally correct and comes out of the barrel with a coaxial spin it has a lower “actual” drag that the similar weight VLD bullets that take time to go to sleep.

We had planned to use these new bullets in the AR-15 we have set up with a 6.5 BR barrel. But as Mark loaded them all for his long range rifle we are on standby on this project until Berger starts shipping these new bullets.

If you have not heard about these bullets you should check with your dealer and get an order in soon. I think Berger will be hard pressed to keep up with the demand.

Maybe we can get Eric Stecker, Berger, to chime in here and give us an update for the production schedule for these new bullets.
 
I'm with Dick,

Went through this a couple years ago...no bullet (match) for the 6.5 you'd probably need something in the 85-95 gr weight for 100-200yds for the 6.5 and as far as I know there not out there.
 
I agree with Redrock and Dick. I ordered some 123 Sierra and Hornady is coming out with some 12x, and Berger probably has some. These are the best I can come up with.
 
Berger makes a 6.5 120 Gr Match and a 130 Gr VLD Match.

I got a box of each in last week and will be giving them a run in the BR as soon as time permits.


Octopus
 
Not yet

Rory,

Not ready making bullets yet. Last update both the core-seater and point-up dies are ready to ship, but not the core-forming die. So it is at least another six weeks of wait..Patience goes quite well with this sport, and not necessarily only when watching the flags :rolleyes:
I am targetting bullet weights in the 81gr-84gr range. So far I have seen that a full case of N133 gives me velocities of 3450 fps using 81gr bullets, with no sign of overpressure.
N133 might be slightly slow for the 81's, so that's why I may try up to 84's to get the pressure right there at full case.
For these bullet weights, H322 is slightly too fast, and Benchmark too slow.

I haven't tried heavier bullets, as barrel is slow twist, and all I shoot are 100Y, 200Y and 300Y matches.

George
 
Shoot 80 Gr. Larry Fuesse In Mich. Shot Very Accurate With Them In His 6.5 Br. I Also Made The Bullets For Palminso To Test 6.5 Grendel. In Testing Broke All Records. Bill Brawand In My 6.5 Wssm Hunting Rifle 3 Shot Groups In 3tenths 81gr. In 25 Cal. Are Now Very Good.
 
6.5 bullets

Jim Ridding of Outback sportsman is making a 85 gr 6.5. I dont have a 6.5 and not know nothing of the bullets, only that he is producing them.

Larry Sivils
 
Berger 100 gr FB

We are testing a new Berger 6.5mm 100 gr FB. If this bullet works well we will also be making something in the lighter weights like an 85 gr or so (depending on what folks want).

If the 100 gr FB do not work well we will have to go back to the bullet die drawing board. We'll see.

The next production run of the new 6.5mm 140 gr BT will happen later this month.

Regards,
Eric
 
Good news

Eric, that's some great news.
One thing to keep in mind is that a 100gr 6.5mm bullet, and a 85gr 6.5mm bullet are two things "disconnected" or unrelated to each other. What I mean is slow and fast twist applications.
1) For fast twist 6.5 barrels, the 100gr is in the lower end of the scale, so it can potentially target for example 6.5x47 users who want lighter bullets for flatter trajectorires or lower recoil for instance.
2) For slow twist 6.5 barrels, the 85gr is just about dead center, and it can target those who wants to use 6.5BR, and 6.5Grendel in benchrest platforms.
It is a good balance between recoil and ballistics, and it can (with all kind of help!!) challenge the status quo of group shooting, mainly at 200Y and 300Y.

If the market responds positively to the 100gr, might not respond the same way to the 85gr, and viceversa, due to the difference in applications.

No matter the outcome, I want to thank you for just even thinking about it.

Thanks,

George
 
I would like to ask if somebody could say a little more about the experience with the 6,5mm bullets that are available.
As I understand it Jim Ridding makes a 85gr bullet and it has been for available for almost a year now, so maybe someone could say something about it?
As I understand it Bob Cauterucio makes 81.5 87, and 91gr bullets? Anyone who can say something more about these?
And in this thread: http://benchrest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42541&highlight=Cauterucio, Cabrera is referring to a 80gr bullet witch seems not to be available. Are these “home made” bullets?, at lest I don’t understand who makes it (but as I have said before I am green, and a foreigner..)
 
Bullets available..

These are my results on the bullets I have tried. Barrel Bartlein 1:13.5", on an trued-up Savage action.
Tests done at 200Y.

Hornady 95gr Vmax......Not accurate. Only one lot sampled. V=3100fps
TNT 90gr...................3 in one hole, 1 way out there. Two lots sampled. V=3250fps
TNT 80gr (Prototype)....Best so far. Good in the wind. V=3530fps
Cauterucio 81.5gr........Second best. Good in the wind. V=3450fps
Sierra 85gr Varminter....Third best. Accurate but unsuable in the wind. V=3280 fps
Jim Ridings'................Have not tried them

Good shooting,

George
 
6.5 BR - My experience.

I first started experimenting with the 6.5 BR in 2001 when I got some bullets from Roy Oines. They were 95 grain on jackets that were pinch trimmed to .960. They shot well in my Krieger 12.5 twist at about 3150 using H4895. I even won a couple aggs. I now own the dies to make these bullets. I have also used some bullets made by Bill Browand, as he said, in everything from 81 gr. to 95 gr. He makes his bullets from .25 cal. J-4 jackets. They are real good bullets in both fb and bt. I believe that 85 to 87 gr is about the best with these jackets. I have also gotten some bullets from Cautericco but never put them to a good test. I have had about 3 other 6.5 barrels, but none as good as that first Krieger.

The real problem with the 6.5 BR is the lack of suitable jackets. I have tried to get J-4 to make some jackets in any length between about.900 and .930, but unless they have the potential to sell around 500,000 jackets a year, why should they bother. Until we have jackets available to work with, this will be a more or less dead end effort. The concept is good and everything else is in place, but without a good quality and dependable jacket supply, oh well?!

Larry Feusse
 
Jacket buy

A few months ago, last year, I talked to Erick Stecker about J4 jackets in 0.92" long. He then gave me two options:

Option (1) To use their shortest jacket at the time, a 1.050" jacket out of a 50,000 run they had done to experiment with a 6.5cal 100gr bullet. That project was on hold at the time, and he was willing to let me have some of those.

Option (2) They would do a special run for me, at my specified length, as long as I buy the whole 50,000 jackets. For them does not make business sense, he explained, to do a shorter run than 50,000.

I opted for Option (1), and bought 3,600 jackets last year, that I still have to find a good way of trimming from 1.050" down to 0.920".

And this brings to this request to those interested in this caliber/cartridge. Please, without any commitment to anything, please you 6.5 fan out there, send me a message (I think it is better than publicly) to coordinate and see at least how many people we are, looking at this alternative. Maybe a good idea could come out of it.

Good shooting,

George
 
Very Interesting

I am reading this thread with great interest. I am particularly interested in the potential for a lighter 6.5mm. Frankly, we do not get many calls asking for this bullet but there may be an untapped (due to no or minimal availability) group that can use these bullets.

I have learned that the testing of the 6.5mm 100 gr FB bullet did not go well and the rest of the bullet are being sent back. The folks shooting these bullets reported rifle issues that negatively influenced the testing. When the bullet arrive I will be eager to pass them along to anyone who can use them for testing purposes.

I am also intensely interested in what George said about different weights for different applications. I am completely out of touch with the light 6.5mm and ask for further education on the subject.

We used the dies that we had available to make the 100gr FB. Maybe this is the wrong ogive profile for this weight (or lighter weight) bullets. This is an area where I will gladly make jackets for any of the custom bullet makers if there is something to this caliber.

Please educate me further on what is being done with the 6.5mm lighter bullet and we might make some jackets without the 50,000 requirement from one bullet maker. If it provides a benefit to the shooting sports then I will support it. If it is just that you folks can't accept the fact that the 6mm and 30 BR dominates the earth then this is a different story (kidding of course). Please help me understand the true need.

Regards,
Eric
 
6.5 100 Gr Bullets

We have a 1-8 Twist 6.5 BR 26" bull barrel on an AR-15 platform.

If you get any of the 100 grs back I would like to give a few of them a try in this barrel.

With the chamber pressure limitations of the AR-15 the 140's are a little heavy to launch. We have been working with 120 grs.

Octopus
 
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