Why no 6.5-'06?
- Thread starter hammie
- Start date
reynolds357
New member
Hammie, I am not knocking the merits of the 6.5-06. I am simply pointing out the commercial hurdles it would have to overcome.
2900 is certainly reachable in a .270 Win with 150 grain bullets. Accurate used to have data with Mag Pro that reached 3000 fps with 150 grain bullets. Norma MRP data still shows it'll reach 3000 fps with the 150 Sierra and Nosler PT bullets. VVN560 is another that should get you close if not too 3000 fps. That said I don't think it would be real pleasurable to shoot 150's at that speed for very many rounds.
Pathfinder45
New member
The recoil of a 270 with 150 grain bullets at 3,000fps is definitely greater than typical 130 grain loads. I will leave the math calculations to others and just say it's comparable to shooting a similar rifle in 30-06 or 7mm Remington magnum, certainly no worse.
Gunplummer
New member
Point is: Why invent a new bullet(.270) when there were metric bullets already there to cover it? The .260 was a hard sell before it came out. It was pretty much a flop the first couple years. The .256 newton was around long before the .270 and it died fast. The 7MM-08 is pretty popular now, but I doubt it is a big seller. The .280 Remington was not a big seller and probably is still not. One of the few things that did sell a metric bullet was to hang a magnum name on it. There were a lot of good metric rounds out there years ago, but they would not sell to the general public.
I built a 6.5-06 as a long range rig just before the .260 came out.
At the time it made a lot of sense, as Wildcats go it is not very wild, run a .25-06 case through a neck sizer and you are done. Reloading dies are readily available, and most manuals have loading data.
If I had to do it over today, I would build a .260, because you get ~90% of the performance with a short action and longer barrel life.
Frankly, I think the 6.5-06 is a more versatile round than the .270. A deer isn't going to know the difference between getting hit with a 140gr .264 or a 150 gr .277 bullet (and the 6.5 will have a higher BC, so it will be going faster when it hits), and with the 6.5 you can go lighter for a devastating varmint bullet if you want. It really does everything a .270 and a .25-06 can do, just as well, in one package.
Yes, you can load light varmint bullets in .270, but it is still a bit of a non starter for LR shooting, simply because there is very little available in quality match bullets available in heavier weights, and what is made has a lower BC than the better 6.5mm match bullets.
At the time it made a lot of sense, as Wildcats go it is not very wild, run a .25-06 case through a neck sizer and you are done. Reloading dies are readily available, and most manuals have loading data.
If I had to do it over today, I would build a .260, because you get ~90% of the performance with a short action and longer barrel life.
Frankly, I think the 6.5-06 is a more versatile round than the .270. A deer isn't going to know the difference between getting hit with a 140gr .264 or a 150 gr .277 bullet (and the 6.5 will have a higher BC, so it will be going faster when it hits), and with the 6.5 you can go lighter for a devastating varmint bullet if you want. It really does everything a .270 and a .25-06 can do, just as well, in one package.
Yes, you can load light varmint bullets in .270, but it is still a bit of a non starter for LR shooting, simply because there is very little available in quality match bullets available in heavier weights, and what is made has a lower BC than the better 6.5mm match bullets.
tahunua001
New member
I didn't even have to go that far this year emcon. I was using 6.5 grendel 123gr bullets and at 138 yards and it dropped like a sack of potatoes. to tell the truth I dont think the deer knew the difference between that and a 100gr bullet traveling 1000 FPS faster from a 243 win.
reynolds357
New member
Hooligan, my favorite is the .35 Whelen. My least favorite is the .400 Whelen.
"There was one once. A guy brought in some loaded rounds he got in an auction box and did not know what they were. They were headstamped .256 Newton..."
TWENTY-NINE replies and only 1 person has a clue!
Without looking up FACTS, think the .256 Newton which is a true.264"/6.5mm was introduced abouy 1913. LONG before the .270W. Think ammo was loaded for it until 1935/36.
And as someone else said the 6.5-06 IS a current factory cartridge standardized by "A-Square".
T.
TWENTY-NINE replies and only 1 person has a clue!
Without looking up FACTS, think the .256 Newton which is a true.264"/6.5mm was introduced abouy 1913. LONG before the .270W. Think ammo was loaded for it until 1935/36.
And as someone else said the 6.5-06 IS a current factory cartridge standardized by "A-Square".
T.
FrankenMauser
New member
The easiest answer to this question is quite simple:
1. "Good" 6.5mm bullets require a cartridge overall length (COAL) that will cause problems in standard '06-length magazines and actions.
2. No manufacturer is going to chamber their rifles for it, as long as there's the tiniest chance that some nimrod will force a .270 Win cartridge into the chamber (with sloppy tolerances, it might not even require a lot of effort). As such, the shoulder has to be bumped forward on the 6.5mm version, to prevent that chance. And that forces an even longer COAL.
A few years back, A-Square went out of business, and what was left of the company was sold to the 'Broadsword Group' in Wyoming.
When the original A-Square died, so did their support of 6.5-06.
Gunplummer
New member
Good catch, Tim. What the original post comes down to is: A 6.5-06 exists (Twice) as a factory round, but it just will not sell. About 8-10 years back SAAMI sent me a whole pile of chamber specs that were up for testing by SAAMI, and I do remember A Square's 6.5 being in there. Whether or not it was ever approved by SAAMI, I don't know. What you have to keep in mind is the people on this forum are kind of like a niche group when it comes to guns. Somebody on this forum will have or did have an oddball that comes up from time to time. I would not say that the people on this forum represent the overall general (Buying) public when it comes to guns.
Reynolds that .35 whelen is on the list for me too, cant wait to get one.
Frankenmauser, since my donor action was an 8mm in its first life, I have to seat my bullets deep sovthey work in my magazine. Which for the type of bullets I've been testing so far it's been fine and dandy...
And yes A-Square got it standardized with SAAMI, but I didnt know they went out of business.
Actually I just read the article written by Brian Pierce in November's edition of Rifle magazinecalled "New and used 6.5s", prety interesting.
Frankenmauser, since my donor action was an 8mm in its first life, I have to seat my bullets deep sovthey work in my magazine. Which for the type of bullets I've been testing so far it's been fine and dandy...
And yes A-Square got it standardized with SAAMI, but I didnt know they went out of business.
Actually I just read the article written by Brian Pierce in November's edition of Rifle magazinecalled "New and used 6.5s", prety interesting.
Last edited:
I can load 140s seated pretty damn long in my 6.5-06 Remington 700. And I have needed too, as the throat eroded away, I have had to make the OAL longer and longer to keep the jump to the rifling short. The action is a off the shelf 700 ADL purchased at WalMart.
If this was true, nobody would make more than one chambering from a .308 parent case. Nobody would make a 7mm-08 because some numbnut could try to force a .308 into it. Can't make .308 either, because someone might try to chamber a .338 Federal.
Not all 140's are created equal.
Depending on what bullet you shoot you could actually run into COAL problems in the 06 magazine especially with older military actions. This is why the 6.5-284 would be a better choice in any long action magazine, but especially if you used an intermediate Mauser 98 to build on.
Code:
Berger
Caliber Weight Description Length Plastic Tip Length
0.264 140.0 Match Hunting VLD 1.421
0.277 140.0 Match Hunting VLD 1.245
Hornady
Caliber Weight Description Length Plastic Tip Length
0.264 140.0 InterLock® 1.253
0.264 140.0 SST® 1.410
0.277 140.0 BTSP InterLock® (Litz) 1.215
0.277 140.0 Boat Tail Spire Point 1.220
0.277 140.0 SST® 1.290Depending on what bullet you shoot you could actually run into COAL problems in the 06 magazine especially with older military actions. This is why the 6.5-284 would be a better choice in any long action magazine, but especially if you used an intermediate Mauser 98 to build on.
Thats right taylorce1, the short magazine is the only problem so far that I encountered for my turk, but even when I push those bullets back it still puts them right on top of each other, and for hunting purposes, it shoots those "jumpers" well enough, Im not griping.
So far 140grn accubonds and sst's, I cant say enough about the accuracy of those two bullets.
So far 140grn accubonds and sst's, I cant say enough about the accuracy of those two bullets.