help pick a 6.5

[Greyfox]

I'm going to order a barrel for a savage action and am having a hard time picking a chambering. I would like a 6.5 caliber and plan to do a lot of target type shooting and some long range hunting with it on deer and predators. Anyways I'm leaning toward the 6.5x284 because of its popularity. Also thinking about a 6.5 swede, 260 remington, 6.5 credemor or a 6.5x47 bc of its accuracy. They all seem to be good or they wouldn't be so popular and have such a good following. Also, which is normally the least finicky and is easy to load for ? Accuracy is the most important but still need some down range power. Thanks for any input. I'm sure this has been asked several times .

I think the max range you are planning to shoot, particularly for deer sized game defines the best choice. If you are talking 1000 yards, 6.5x284 hands down. Any smaller, your giving up ballistic/energy capability. Larger, you might get 100-200 yards of capability, but the trade off will be more powder, recoil, and practicality. VLD bullet performance at the shorter range, high velocities is questionable The 6.5x284 is perfectly balanced, very easy to load for, and second to none in accuracy potential. As to barrel life, any cartridge that produces the ballistics and energy of the 6.5x284 at long range will have similar barrel life under similiar conditions, sometimes less. If you are talking about shooting and hunting at 700 yards or less, it's a coin toss between 260, Creedmore, and 6.5x47. iMHO

 

[Thomas1226]

6,5x47lapua!!! all loads shoot great. the brass can be reloaded lots an lots 3000-5000 round barrel life. Great bullets 130 berger,127 barnes LRX. Less recoil,less cost to reaload(smaler powder charge.) An I have not found any other load that is this easy to reload for.

 

[LongRangeLapua]

6.5x47L for sure. Uses a short action and smaller primers. Very accurate round. Does run at extremely high pressures. Great ballistics. Long barrel life. I'm building one right now off a Rem 700 7mm-08 with a McMillan that i picked up for $550.