His and Her's 6.5's

This little project didn't start the way it ended.

I have fought and fought the urge to build a 6.5 Creedmoor, but couldn't resist...it was something that had to be!

In my attempt to avoid the little 6.5 I ran the gambit of 6.5's. This all started with the building a Mauser chambered in 6.5x55. Then came the 6.5-06, also in a Mauser for the wife. Got lucky and ran into a Colombian Mauser for my Colombian wife. They were originally chambered in 30-06, so I knew there would be no pressure or feeding issues. It was during the research of that caliber my interest really went wild with the 6.5's.

I of course had to have one of my own. With deer season coming pretty quick I had to make a few moves pretty quick. I found a LA Savage at a pawn shop for cheap so I grabbed it. I had waited 6 months for a 300wm barrel and wanted to utilize the LA with a 6.5 chambering.

After a little searching I found EA Brown had a "barrel kit" that came with a head space gauge and wrench...for under $200.00...what a steal! Now the problem, I wanted to do a 6.5-06, but they don't have kits in that caliber. But they do have 264wm which had been a favorite of mine for a long time even though I never had one. So 264wm it was.

By now the 6.5 fever was really running wild, but I just could bring my self to do the Creedmoor. As fate would have it I ran into a deal on a slightly used barrel with a mix of new and once fired brass, plus the die set to go with it. After a couple pawn shop stops I was the proud owner of a Savage Axis...**** was I in shock to find out they are a odd little beast, but it was usable. So I secured a Axis Boyds stock and poof...my 6.5x284 was born!

Now the 6.5x284 was another one I didn't care too much for because the start up costs were high. Brass and dies were a bit more than I wanted to invest at this time, but the "deal" I ran into made it a no brainier.

So I wanted a long range steel gun for the wife. She has not made her first re-birth day as a shooter yet. She only started going with me to the range last May, but she has really kicked it into high gear. She hunted for her first time last fall and had a banner season. Four shots four animals down! With her very first shot at a living creature being a 300+ yard bang flop shot on a great Buck.

So with her limited time at the trigger (I started her with AR-15's and AK-47's). I wanted something that had light recoil, cheap brass, small case capacity to save on powder...260 Remington was in the hunt with...you guessed it. The 6.5 Creedmoor!

I have been giving away, throwing away 6.5 Creedmoor brass for months that I was finding at the range. So brass cost was right in my wheel house. I always work a tight budget when playing with my guns so the quest was on to find a barrel. Just like every time before I ran into a deal I couldn't pass up. Nearly brand new 26" heavy 6.5 Creedmoor Savage pull off! Within days I came across a short Savage action...pawn shops were a little proud of their SA Savages so they still have them!

I told the wife I was building her another gun and to my surprise she was excited about the whole idea. As the parts were coming in she kept asking when was I going to put it together. I even got on Boyds web site and ask her to pick out a stock and the color she wanted. She ask to feel some of the guns I have and found one she felt comfortable with and she picked her color.

Her 6.5 Creedmoor is in the fore ground. My 6.5x284 has the thumb hole stock.

They have matching Millet scopes and Vortex rings on top of EGW bases.

Her rifle has yet to see its first trip to the range. I hope tomorrow!

She actually picked the color on both. I wanted her involved in the 6.5x284 but the recoil was more than I expected so I started her project before she had a chance to shoot the 6.5x284. I Don t want her to have any issues with recoil. I even have a break on her 6.5-06.

Very nice capn'? It's great to have a wife that is interested. I have a 7 ss on a Savage 16 with that same thumbholr stock, same color and everything
It is a great shooter, and was inexpensive to build......rich

How do you like the thumb hole Boyds stock? I have been saving money to go Bighorn Arms action so I could use the Savage barrels I have with a custom action and a Remington stock. My dreams just died as I decided to go back to school again lol. So I need to find a stock for my 280 Ackley and 28 nosler both are Savage builds. Boyds seem like a good budget stock. Is the thumb hole you have there the featherweight?

Nice looking set up!

Tidus,

I think EA Brown has a feather weight thumbhole stock, but you are limited to the colors.

The thumbhole above weighs quite a bit less than her CM.

It is surprising how much interest she has because she was never exposed to it. Colombia is very anti-hunting even though they have killed and eaten just about all the wildlife that was in the country.

Thanks everyone!

Sweet! You gotta love them DIY friendly Savage. WTG, esp. involving your wife in the process.

Happy safe shooting/hunting.

Pulling up a "Previously Owned" thread" .... This beat up old 8mm Turk has been following me like a puppy for over 25 years. Several times it nearly found itself gutted and turned into a 30-06. (down to 1 my dad gave me, he bought before I was born) a few others have come in an out of my life, Lust not Love.... [Buckets of brass and loading gear, sure I even have a ream] ....
6.5-06 is taunting me the last few years. Fun to reach, little expense over the build. Is there a compelling stand to go with a different bore? (17hrm-45-70) modern , in my metal box of the non mag's in between.
6.5-284 may make sense if I didn't have 5-800 good brass.
**N/E Mitten, a half mile shot is down the neighbors runway... [when no one has planes up] Trees an swamp, less large fields. Local range goes to 600 yards. ...... Yes, I run on late night. Thank you, Tom

Very nice pair of rifles. I am in the process of building my wife a rifle. Like yours my wife has very little exposure to guns, so trying to start her out with something with very light recoil. I went with the 243ai. Boyds at-one stock, Savage Axis receiver, Shilen 26" SS bull barrel.

That will make a great setup to get her more involved in shooting.

She shoot this 4 shot group at 200yds a couple weeks ago.



After that she shot her qualifing target at 300 yard's. I had put two targets up for her to try to qualify so she was to shoot 5 shots at each target. Even with a 45x spotting scope we could not see the holes because the mirage was so bad. When we checked the target she had 7 holes in the 6" bull because she got confused while shooting.

That was my fault. Because we couldn't see the hits I had her shoot a 6" steel we had hung beside the targets. We could see the center punch hit on the steel, so I would have her go back to the target.

It worked out, the RO said the only limit was a minimum number of shots (5) with no mention of maximum number. They just all had to be inside a 6" bull.

Sorry no pics of the target or group on the steel. She was so excited that she had her "card" to shoot out to 600yds nothing else really mattered!

hogheadv2 said:

Pulling up a "Previously Owned" thread" .... This beat up old 8mm Turk has been following me like a puppy for over 25 years. Several times it nearly found itself gutted and turned into a 30-06. (down to 1 my dad gave me, he bought before I was born) a few others have come in an out of my life, Lust not Love.... [Buckets of brass and loading gear, sure I even have a ream] ....
6.5-06 is taunting me the last few years. Fun to reach, little expense over the build. Is there a compelling stand to go with a different bore? (17hrm-45-70) modern , in my metal box of the non mag's in between.
6.5-284 may make sense if I didn't have 5-800 good brass.
**N/E Mitten, a half mile shot is down the neighbors runway... [when no one has planes up] Trees an swamp, less large fields. Local range goes to 600 yards. ...... Yes, I run on late night. Thank you, Tom

Click to expand...

Because your donor action is an old Mauser, I would stay with a case that closest matches the 8mm mauser case. Which would kick the 6.5x284 out.

The 6.5-06 IMO is ideal for a vintage mauser. The one I built on the Colombian Mauser action is sweet! I did have a break put on it because I didn't want it beating her up

Very nice rigs, hope you both enjoy them and have fun shooting together

Thank you, Over the years I have improved how I've mounted scopes, found tiny shifts in action to stock mounting. Countless other tips and trick. ***Classified Forum is 5x better than ebay or amazon. Sellers and buyers know if it is good part,,, or a "it looked like that before it cracked in half and fell out!" If not shared, it will be forgotten, no one is teaching the craft of fixing everything as we used to.