6.5 prc vs 6.5-06

Took advantage of stockys Sale and now have a 6.5 proof barrel on the way. I already have a magnum long action but im debating between the 6.5 Prc or grabbing another action and going 6.5-06 which I have quite the love affair with. What do you guys think?
.256 Newton and 6.5-06

History

Charles Newton has often been described as the father of high velocity. As a cartridge designer, Newton was born well ahead of his time in an era lacking in slow burning powders for his large capacity cases. Nevertheless he designed some very potent cartridges as well as patenting several experimental bullet designs. During the period in which Newton was involved in designing the .22 Savage Hi Power, it appears that Newton had doubts about the Hi Power's suitability for the medium game it was intended for. With it's 70 grain bullet at 2790fps these doubts became well justified.

Newton continued to experiment with case design and in the same year (1912) that the Hi Power was released, Newton developed a hotter wildcat. The .22 Newton was based on the .30-06 case shortened by 1/4 inch and necked down to fire a 90 grain .228 caliber bullet at 3100fps. But the wildcat would not satisfy Newton and he immediately had other ideas for a high velocity small bore deer cartridge. The .22 Newton was put on the back burner and received no further attention until his friend, gunsmith Jerry Gebby started to explore its possibilities (see .22-250). Within a year, Newton had developed a cartridge based on the .30-06 necked down to 6.5 (.264") with a 23 degree shoulder. In 1913 Newton released his new cartridge the .256 Newton.

Initially ammunition was loaded by the Western Cartridge company who offered a 129 grain bullet at 2760fps. This was about as fast as powders of the day could drive bullets in the .256 and it would not be until the 1940's when slow burning powders would come onto the scene. The .256 was well received by the shooting public but in 1914 a new and more pressing situation arose - war. Committed to the First World War, the American army was forced to take over Newton's factory. By December of 1917, Newton had used the last of his stock of shells and projectiles and with no components or access to machinery, there was no market for his rifles. Newton eventually managed to borrow more money for extra machinery and by January 1918 had retooled up. In April of the same year the bank foreclosed on the loan and Newton's company went into receivership. The .256 remained factory loaded by Western until it finally dwindled into obsolescence in 1938.
 
My first two rifles were 1959 Model 70s in .264 Win Mag. What is wrong with the .264 Win Mag is the size of the case and the neck. If you are going to carry around only 26 inches of barrel, you can use a 6.5 WSM and actually get more velocity. If you are going to carry around 28 inches of barrel and shoot 150, 156 or 160 gr bullets, (probably a 7 twist barrel) the .264 Win Mag with Reloader 33 will amaze you. Bartlein, I was one of their first and most frequent customers, says a 26 Nosler is good for a couple of hundred rounds. The 6.5 WSM is good for triple that. If you shoot coated bullets and nitrocarburize the barrel, you can double that again, 1200 rounds.
 
I saw a rifle marked "256" on the barrel last year. I asked and got no help from the sales staff. The consignment was for thousands so I did not purchase the rifle. Later it dawned on me that it was a Newton and if I looked at the interrupted thread lugs I would have recognized it. I have only seen one other Newton bolt action, that was a Canadian Army bare action. Thanks for the 256 Newton story. I will bet it was loaded with IMR 3031. Thanks for the story of a cartridge and designer ahead of his time. Remember he came up with the Savage cartridges, 250 and 300 Savage.
 
I'll keep an eye on the donut,,, so far so good on round 2 of the brass,,, I fit a booti into the empty fired case with no sign of build up """yet""".

The reason I used 30/06 brass is I had it on hand,,, 400 Lapua,,, I used 150 peaces for this rifle...

Reloaded ammo tests are going good.

ELD-M 147gr with 47gr H4350 Clocking 2740 ft-per seconds...

ELD-X 143gr with 46.8gr of IMR 4350 Clocking 2780 ft-per seconds...

Tomorrow it's ELD-M 140gr with 53 or 54gr of H1000 with expectations of 2800 ish ft-per seconds...

The 1:8 twist is slowing things down a bit,,, but the loooooong booltiz like it... Ha...

I like the idea of the H 1000 powder since it fills the case above 87% bracket,,, the powders I've tried so far seem to work,,, purhaps this cartridge is forgiving for some reason...

The next to nill for recoil is awesome since I can spot my shots on the gongs...
Of course I can do this with with other two 30 caliber rifles I have...

The other reason I didn't go to the 264 Win Mag was the rifle I started with was originally a 30/06,,, I'm not sure if it's the same bolt size or not...

Dosen't really matter now anyways since this 65 shoots awesome... It might not be the fastest 65 in the play ground,,, it ain't the slowest either... LOL
 
I wouldn't be surprised if you are in the 2900s with the H1000 loads 2900s with my 6.5 Addiction using 147s. I recommend you try retumbo? Some recommend it for the 6.5x284 which is almost identical water capacity to the 6.5-06. it has worked well for me with 7mms and I tried it with my Addiction. It topped out capacity wise short of 2900. The velocity node was at 2850 and I wanted 2900 or more. With RL26 you should be able to get upper 2900s.
 
Use .25-06 brass in your 6.5-06.
Run them through a 6.5-06 die and load.
No donut to worry about; 5 shots in a standard 700 BDL; Feeds beautifully; Fast enough with 140 grain bullets to shoot out the barrel in 2,000ish rounds.

Good luck

Jerry
I've actually just seated a boat tail bullet into a 25-06 case and it works too
 
You bet-yha,,, I'll try the H-1000 first since its Farley easy to get up here in the North... Retumbo is now added to my future shooting list along with RL26...

The best water line today from a 10 shot spread was 1 3/4" @ 400 yards...

ELD-X 143 with a hot IMR 4350 charge of 47.2gr,,, ruffly 2800 ish ft-per seconds,,, these would be more of a kold temperature charge...

The 147gr H1000 at 53.3 grains rocks,,, the same tight water-line as above at 2840 ish ft-per seconds,,, the primes aren't flat flat... The 54gr charge is pretty crisp,,, probilibly due to a new tight bore...

One thing I noticed is that the heavy gongs don't offer much Wack sound feed back like my 308 or 30/06 shooting the 180gr boolitz at 600 yards...

More frontal impacts with the larger booltiz less the lazer zip-line 6.5's,,, what they lack in sound feed back they will make up in the pin-hole department fore sure...

This week is stage 3 of final brass prep,,, all the easy stuff from here on in...

North of 49 Don
 
The exclusive rifle idea is now at play !!!

A good family friend is Intrested in taking over my 30/06 Remmy LR,,, that will thin me down to 2 rifles... I have a few bucks tied up in my Custom Remmy FTR/ Now PRS rig... 308 with a bull barrel...

Its kind of a tank at 16 ish lbs,,, but what a thrill to shoot,,, it stays well planted for what it is,,, deffinatly a short distance critter getter,,, that's where this 65 comes in,,, Old school Remmy that will bear down on critters like the others that are still out there,,, it ain't the Tikka, Weatherby, Sako or diamond Jewel rifle that are on the market in todays standards,,, but it ain't the bottom basement rig either,,, I call it the middle ground rifle... Ha

The thing that sold me on it was the awesome BDL wood grain stock and the semi drop down pistol grip,,, other than that,,, only the receiver stayed stock...

I was surrounded by lots of eye candy rifles this weekend,,, most of them could out shoot my unit in accuracy and speed,,, mind you I have a bit of fine tuning to do yet... I was surprised how many folks have gone to muzzle breaks,,, 80 to 90% of the folks up in our parts are using them,,, it seems like a trend that was taking off,,, yet it seems to be tappering off...

40 to 50 % of those shooters have had enough of them,,, even they feel the concussion blast and the loud bark of their cannons,,, I know one thing,,, I'm not shooting any where close to where their set-up... LOL

All good as each shooter gets to pick and choose what works for them,,, good times for all is what its about...
 
I'm a bit of a 6.5 whore...I have a pile of rifles in that caliber.
6.5x55
6.5x284
6.5-06
6.5 CM
6.5 Grendel (have 4 of these, all gasers)
264wm

I don't know why but feel like I need one more. I have a Savage Axis Action sitting in the safe that will be my last bolt action build...maybe, might add a 338 something to the herd but the four .308 caliber (two are magmuns) should have me covered for now.

I've been thinking another 280, but the 6.5-06 just keeps creeping into my thoughts...I don't have a 260, but it would mean more dies...wow I already have stacks of those, so the my thoughts go back to to the 280 or 6.5-06...

What do I need?

A psychiatrists is what I really need! When you have to pull your boots off to count all the bolt action rifles you have...somethings got be to be wrong with you!

Still thinking 6.5-06...;)
 
moring, 264AI Mag. just like a 257 wbee
necked up to 264. or a 7mmwbee necked down
to 264. barnes bullets and cowboy up. justme gbot tum
 
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