# Dream dream dream



## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I have plugged the 6.5 for years, but didn't have one myself. Reading all the literature they sounded great. Now the first one I bought last year, the 6.5X284 just stoked the fire for a new one. I'll have to wait until August for the new barrel to get here. I thought that would be easy, but the brass and dies showed up.

I have heard people knock Hornady brass in the past. I was hesitant to buy any 6.5X284, but did order the 6.5 Creedmore since it's sort of Hornady's baby. What a surprise. I don't know how it will shoot yet, but every one I measured was .013 all around the neck. It was more consistent than the Lapua I bought for my 6.5X284. The annealing shows clearly and running it through the sizing die the neck stretches easily. I have my hopes up.

It's sure a long way to August.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

You're going to like the creeedmoor. Ive shot quite a few rounds out of my buddies rifles and they do the trick. In fact his load was keeping up to my slow load in the slr.  i believe he was shooting the 140 bergers. He had 14MOA drop at 720 if i remember right. we were dialing 1.5moa into the wind and he was doing a good job keeping that round on the plate.

xdeano


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

The 6.5's have really caught on in the last several years. So getting any kind of need equipment is going to be a time consuming prospect. At least Hornady is keeping up with demand on the brass now. I had though about putting a creedmoor together several years ago and people looked at me funny for even asking about the cartridge. So i put it on hold tell it came out a little more. Looks like it's at the point that it'll be easier to find components for anyhow. I may do a 6.5 some time in the future, i'm just having fun with the 6's for now. If it were down to deciding which cartridge to choose, it would be down to the creedmoor. The design is what draws me over a straight 260 or 6.5x47L. It would be a hard choice between the creedmoor and the 6.5SLR. But they're basically the same, you may get a hair more velocity out of the SLR but it's not going to be enough to speak of.

xdeano


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

My biggest reloading surprise in a long time was the apparent quality of the Hornady brass. As a matter of fact I started this post, then stopped and went down stairs and measured a half dozen more cases. At first I thought I spoke to soon. I was getting variability. Then I chamfered the mouth. I did find one case .013 to .014 which still makes them some of the most uniform brass I have measured. It should be simple to turn variable cases to .013. I'll check the throat on the new barrel when it shows and decide then on .013 or .012. There is a lot of resistance of the sizing ball when withdrawing the case from the sizing die. I would like less resistance, but I don't want to overwork the neck area either.


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## rasmusse (Oct 24, 2006)

At some point in time, you may also want to try the 6.5x55 Swede. I have been shooting the 6.5x55 for over 15 years in Swedish Mausers and TC Encore and it is a great cartridge, to shoot and to reload.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

rasmusse said:


> At some point in time, you may also want to try the 6.5x55 Swede. I have been shooting the 6.5x55 for over 15 years in Swedish Mausers and TC Encore and it is a great cartridge, to shoot and to reload.


I have heard that, and that the reloading manuals don't bring the full potential out of that cartridge. The norsky have been shooting moose with that caliber for many years. I was just watching a guy shoot an elk at over 600 yards with the Creedmore, and reading about Wayne van Zwoll shooting an eland with it in Africa. If I remember eland approach a ton.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Theres a reason lapua's 6.5mm caliber has fallen to the rear of the 6.5 pack. It just cant quite hold its own with the .260 and the Creed. Close, but not quite.

I just wonder if Remington will quit hitting the snooze button and embrace the .260. They introduced the damn thing in the late 90's, pretty much abandoned it after a year. And now that its got a strong following and growing more in popularity, still only offer it in a couple of the more obscure models.

A .260 chambered SPS or Sendero I think would be a hot seller (if they back it up with factory ammo).


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

barebackjack said:


> Theres a reason lapua's 6.5mm caliber has fallen to the rear of the 6.5 pack. It just cant quite hold its own with the .260 and the Creed. Close, but not quite.
> 
> I just wonder if Remington will quit hitting the snooze button and embrace the .260. They introduced the damn thing in the late 90's, pretty much abandoned it after a year. And now that its got a strong following and growing more in popularity, still only offer it in a couple of the more obscure models.
> 
> A .260 chambered SPS or Sendero I think would be a hot seller (if they back it up with factory ammo).


The Lapus brass I was talking about was for my 6.5 X 284. I picked up 100 from Scheels in Fargo, and another 100 from Midway.

My son had a 260 Browning A bolt and he wishes he had never sold it. He now has a 260 custom built off a Remington XP100 action and an eight inch target at 800 yards is boring. Nice to be able to size and neck turn 308 brass.

I think the Sendero in 260 would be a wonderful long range rifle.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

When I was researching the 6.5s trying to decide what one I wanted to try, I was able to rule out the 6.5x47 pretty quick.

But man, talk about a tough decision between the other two!

My choice wasnt so much performance based (considering the two are so darn close), but when I heard Lapua was gonna run .260 brass, that was the clincher (and here I sit having never shot lapua brass through it yet! haha). The fact that Hornady brass was the only game in town for the creedmoor kinda scared me. Especially considering their first runs were pretty soft and short lived. I think they got the brass figured out now though.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

It was a tough decision for me sitting on 2000 308 match brass that could easily be resized to 260 and neck turned. The only thing that got me to go for the Creedmore was the ability to load the 140 VLD way out and still get it in my magazine. I am putting the barrel on my model 16 Savage. The guy I talked with thought I may need a new magazine box, but I stuck one loaded round in and it fed up the ramp perfect. Couldn't go all the way because it's a 22 caliber barrel on it now.

What would you guys suggest for a good stock. The fellow I bought the barrel from said he didn't mind a big gap between barrel and stock and he would just throw on a Bell and Carlson Duramax. My friend has one on his 308 and it's a well built stock and not expensive. I see I can pick it up for under $100 and the slightly better Bell and Carlson is $225. Also, it's hard to find a stock that isn't a blind magazine. I have the floor plate so I may have to go with the Duramax. Opinions would sure be appreciated. Thanks.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Check out stockysstocks.com

They have pretty good prices on HS Precision and B&C stocks, and now carry spendier stuff like Manners.

You can get a B&C Medalist off stocky stocks for any of the big three (Rem, Win, or Sav) for around $200 last I checked.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

Plainsman, I have a.......wait, never mind. You are looking for a 16 not a 116. If you decided to put it on a LA Sav(if you have one) I have a Joel Russo stock that is inletted for a hinged floor plate(should also work for the DBM version). I too had a very hard time finding any thing but a blind mag stock. Having some one inlet the stock would have ended up being close to the same price as getting a custom.

Why all the hoopla over the 6.5s? Every thing I have read says the 7s will beat them down any day. I would think a 284 or a 7WSM would be ideal for a shorter cartridge if we are just talking over all performance. I do understand about mag length and loading long and such. I love my 7RM, and I can't wait to get my 7STW up and running!


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## KurtR (May 3, 2008)

these are good guys to deal with got my b&c from them http://www.redhawkrifles.com%20/


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

The Duramaxx stock might be a decent stock, It's aluminum pillar bedded so the action will have a nice fit, but i couldn't tell you how the front end will act, flexibility wise. I'd say give it a try, you can always sell it if you don't like it.

xdeano


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Thanks for all the info guys I appreciate it very much.

BBJ it's interesting you brought up the soft brass. I get ejector marks on my Lapua brass at 3000 fps, but I can get to 3100 fps with no ejector marks with Winchester brass. I use Reloader 17 in my 6.5 X 284. http://www.6mmbr.com/reloder17.html You will notice this fellow got to 51 gr of powder and his bolt was only slightly sticky as he called it. In summer I shoot 49 gr and get 2965 fps and when it gets below zero I go to 49.5 gr and get 2965 to 2980 fps. With Winchester I have no problem with 50 gr and 3088 fps. I think the Lapua brass is soft.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Plainsman said:


> Thanks for all the info guys I appreciate it very much.
> 
> BBJ it's interesting you brought up the soft brass. I get ejector marks on my Lapua brass at 3000 fps, but I can get to 3100 fps with no ejector marks with Winchester brass. I use Reloader 17 in my 6.5 X 284. http://www.6mmbr.com/reloder17.html You will notice this fellow got to 51 gr of powder and his bolt was only slightly sticky as he called it. In summer I shoot 49 gr and get 2965 fps and when it gets below zero I go to 49.5 gr and get 2965 to 2980 fps. With Winchester I have no problem with 50 gr and 3088 fps. I think the Lapua brass is soft.


I think WInchester brass is known to be harder/more brittle than most others (sometimes TOO hard and brittle).

Lapua is known to be softer than Win, and pretty close to R-P in my experience. Ive never had much experience with either being "too soft". I dont get high pressure signs with either until im "supposed to".

I know Hornady brass got a bad rap when it first came out for being to soft and blowing primer pockets with just moderate pressures. But I havent heard much bad about them now, so its pretty safe to say they got it squared away. Likewise, R-P .260 brass had a spell where it was not highly thought of for being to soft blowing primer pockets, but I havent heard much of that issue in the last couple years either.

Overly soft and overly hard are definitely not ideal.

Ive used all three (lapua, R-P, and Win). Ive noticed the necks on Win brass dont last like they do in the R-P brass for my .22-250. Split necks with the Win at around 6-8 loads, vs 10-12 in the R-P. I dont anneal the 250 brass at all. I attribute this to the Win brass being a little harder (and thus more brittle) when new. It just seems like Win brass "works" a little harder when new, trims harder, sizes harder, etc. I know I could easily make the Win brass last longer by annealing, but thats just another reloading step, and I hate reloading.

Im shooting R-P brass in my .260 WELL over max charge with no pressure signs whatsoever and getting 3060 fps. So go figure.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Yes, I annealed the Winchester brass. I had to resize first or the shoulder collapses while sizing. So I size, anneal, then turn the necks to a consistent .013. The neck turning is much nicer after annealing also.


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

xdeano said:


> The Duramaxx stock might be a decent stock, It's aluminum pillar bedded so the action will have a nice fit, but i couldn't tell you how the front end will act, flexibility wise. I'd say give it a try, you can always sell it if you don't like it.
> 
> xdeano


I have my 10FP in a Duramaxx. Decent stock for the price. No flex in the fore end.

huntin1


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

huntin1 said:


> xdeano said:
> 
> 
> > The Duramaxx stock might be a decent stock, It's aluminum pillar bedded so the action will have a nice fit, but i couldn't tell you how the front end will act, flexibility wise. I'd say give it a try, you can always sell it if you don't like it.
> ...


I followed the advise of these guys and checked out stockystocks. The Duramaxx tan with black web may have to be in my save on that old Savage action. I think mine is old enough to fit that stock.

Savage260 I have never had a 7mm. I may be to old to have many new guns in my future, but I own a 270 Winchester which is very close to the 280 Remington. I had thought about the Remington 7mm Ultramag instead of a 300 for less recoil, but I would have needed a longer action. I think the thing people like about the 6.5 is the light recoil and down range energy because of the high ballistic coefficient. To beat the ballistic coefficient I am shooting the 210 VLD in my 300mag. At 3000 fps it has a little boot of the bipod.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Ooops, 4.4 inch centerfeed doesn't work with the Duramaxx. I listed my rifle, model, centerfeed, floor plate, and the lowest price to come up was right around $500. I could have a new Browning complete for that money.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

I can't believe the 4.4 CFs have been around for this long, and so few stocks are available. I also can't believe people actually pay 500-1000 bucks for good stocks for their Savages! I did it once, can't afford any more than that!

I would think a 284 would be a nice round with less recoil than the big 7s, and still keep the high BCs of the excellent bullets available.


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