6.5 Swede for long range shooting?

[barreltwister]

OK...I want to try and shoot out to about 500 yards...that's far enough for me...for now.

I have a Sako 75 stainless in 6.5 Swede with a 22-7/16 barrel with an 8" twist and a 4-16 Elite 4200 scope in a McMillan stock. It weighs 9lbs 6 ounces

It shoots 140 AMax's and 130 Accubonds into about 3/4" for three shots at 100 yards with a few groups with each bullet down around the half inch mark.

I haven't run any over the chrony yet and I haven't had the oppourtunity to shoot it past 200 yards yet, where it shot about 1-1/4" to 1-1/2"

Can it be a serious "long range rifle"?...to 500 yards?

[grit]

Absolutely! The 6.5 is a great caliber. While Berger has been modifying thier BC numbers lately, the 140vld was listed around .64. You might have a look.

The 3/4 moa is plenty accurate for shooting to 600 yards. Very realistic shooting for a quality factory rig. May we assume the action has been bedded, trigger tuned, and barrel checked for pressure points?

The caliber, rifle, and scope are all great choices. Welcome, and good luck!

[barreltwister]

I just picked up a stainless Model 70 Classic in 300 Wtby,..hardly been shot...wonder if this would be better for 500 yards...I'd restock it for sure...the factory Tupperware is mostly junk...knew that...

[grit]

There's not much I'd hesitate to use the 6.5 on at 500. The Weatherby will certainly hit with more authority! If you want to push things to 1000 there's no comparrison. I am not an overkill kind of guy. Frankly, the biggest factor is accuracy. Which rifle shoots best, which load shoots best, and perhaps most importantly, which one do you shoot better?

I've put a few boxes of shells through an unbraked 300wby. Not my idea of conducive to precision shooting. First off, I'd have a brake installed.

If you decide to part with that swede, I'll trade you for a tried and true already tweaked and tested long range hammer, that won't break your shoulder.

A good route would be to set up the swede for distance and shoot it until you're skilled. Save the barrel on the wby for later.

[barreltwister]

Shot my 6.5 Swede Sako 75 at 200 and 300 meters today...that's 218 and 327 yards.

The 8" twist Sako shoots the 140 AMax quite well....

[grit]

Not bad!

How about posting a pic in the photo section? I'd like one of those myself.

[barreltwister]

Here's a pic of it, it's nothing special, I bought the rifle last fall with the factory synthetic stock and got the stock from McMillan's Internet Specials.

All I have done is adjust the trigger to 2-1/4 pounds, swapped out the mounts for Burris silver bases and Leupold rings and bolted it into the McMillan after taking a bit more out of the barrel channel. Added the 4-16X Elite 4200 that I had in the cabinet. I have a new Leupold Tactical 30mm tube 4.5-14X with side AO that I was going to mount but my 30mm rings were too high...maybe later.

I'm pretty impressd with it so far.