What is your favorite 6.5mm round?

[X3MHunter]

6.5X47 Lapua

I just had two delivered 2 weeks ago, they shoot great. One is my F-Class rifle with a 28" 1:8" Krieger on a Lawton 7500 action with a Jewell trigger set a 1.5oz. and is throated for the 139 Lapua Scenars, the other is a hunting rifle with a 25" 1:8.75" - 1:8" Bartlein gain twist barrel on a Borden action, and a Jewell trigger set at 1.5 lbs., sweeeet!

They are both very accurate and can get Lapua brass for them all day long. On my hunting rifle I worked up a load with Hornady 129 gr. SST at about 2950 fps., I'm planning on hunting everything from javalinas to hogs and whitetails at extended ranges, I topped it off with a Leupold 6.5-20X50mm LR scope!

-X3M

[Mikecr]

I have always believed it starts with the bullet.
That said, I would not go less in capacity than the 260.
If you were going less, then you'd lose the entire advantage of 26cal(available bullets).

I like my 6.5WSSM.
But the 260 is an easier route to get you within 100fps of mine. Good barrel life, great accuracy.

Step up to the 6.5/284, 6.5WSM if you need more power.
There is always a price, but if used for hunting(and not group shooting), these are winners for long range hunting too.

[fj40mojo]

6.5x55 Swede, a little more case capacity than the .260 w/o the barrel burning reputation of the 6.5-284. Factory loads are pretty weak, but if you reload for a modern strong bolt action rifle you can reach the full potential of the cartridge.

[ak1251]

6.5x284 all the way. uses a standard bolt face and is the most accurate round I've ever fired.

[Boss Hoss]

I have to say the 6.5x284 followed by the 6.5 WSM.

[ol mike]

Just an opinion but i wouldn't consider a 6.5-284 a barrel burner when used as a hunting round or a target round.
I try to get my share of practice in but that practice doesn't involve firing 10 or more rounds back to back.
People talk about certain cartridges being barrel burners -but more often than not they are refering to competition shooting.
A 6.5 grendel would be a barrel burner if there was a competition where you pounded out 30 shots in a row.

6.5stw as an absolute top end
6.5 wsm would rate very high for me as a longrange hunting cartridge
6.5 -06 or 6.5-06 ackley very high on the list
6.5-284 sure can't go wrong there and load developement would probably take you ten minutes

[bwaites]

Originally Posted by ol mike

Just an opinion but i wouldn't consider a 6.5-284 a barrel burner when used as a hunting round or a target round.
I try to get my share of practice in but that practice doesn't involve firing 10 or more rounds back to back.
People talk about certain cartridges being barrel burners -but more often than not they are refering to competition shooting.
A 6.5 grendel would be a barrel burner if there was a competition where you pounded out 30 shots in a row.

6.5stw as an absolute top end
6.5 wsm would rate very high for me as a longrange hunting cartridge
6.5 -06 or 6.5-06 ackley very high on the list
6.5-284 sure can't go wrong there and load developement would probably take you ten minutes

hmmmmm....

I have 4000+ rounds down the tube on my Grendel gas gun, MOST of them in strings of 30+. (Whats the fun in a semiauto AR if you aren't going to shoot lots of rounds?).

It still shoots under sub 1/2 MOA with at least 2 different loads.

I know guys who shoot theirs on full auto and haven't replaced barrels yet after thousands of rounds.

I don't think it matters how you shoot the Grendel, there just isn't enough powder capacity to be a barrel burner by any reasonable definition.

Several of the others may be, if used as target rounds where long strings are being shot.

Bill