6.5 Addiction

[Deleted member 25294]

Anyone know anything about this round? Sounds like it'll get the 140's over 3050 from a 6.5x55 case. I really can't find much info out there, I'm wondering how this compares to a 6.5x55 Ackley.
I've been looking at putting a 6.5 SAUM together but I'm reading about pretty poor brass life with Norma cases.
Brass is really making the 6.5x55 variants look like a good option, so long as velocities over 3000 fps with 140's are obtainable.
Any thoughts?

 

[Engineering101]

I don't know about the Addiction. However I will point out that my 6.5 WSM will push 143 ELD-Xs at 3,150 fps and I could have gone up from there but I decided to run them at 3,000 fps just to be nice to the brass. Plus the ELD-X is not a super tough bullet and doesn't need the speed to expand properly. Also you can get off the shelf dies from Lee for this chambering and lots of good 270 WSM brass is available and it is a one step process to neck it down. And several WSMs have set national 1,000 yard accuracy records.

 

[elkaholic]

Have not heard of the addiction but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the 7 SAUM Norma brass that I use for my 6.5 SS! I can reach 3300' with 140's and shoot them at 3200 all the time. I have the same case in a 7 SS and have shot 180's at 3000' with 12 or more firings........Rich

 

[sable tireur]

This is an awful big picture but at least you can see the cartridges SxS for comparison. The 6.5x55 Swede is on the left and the Addiction is on the right. Apparently the 'designers' have had PTG make the reamers which are available to the public. It looks like a version of an 'improved' 6.5 Swede. It certainly will not compete with either the 6.5 SAUM let alone the 6.5 WSM when the proper barrel lengths and powders are used.

The top picture is a comparison from left to right:

.260 Rem., .260 Rem. AI, 6.5 Swede, 6.5 Addiction

 

[Deleted member 25294]

I don't know about the Addiction. However I will point out that my 6.5 WSM will push 143 ELD-Xs at 3,150 fps and I could have gone up from there but I decided to run them at 3,000 fps just to be nice to the brass. Plus the ELD-X is not a super tough bullet and doesn't need the speed to expand properly. Also you can get off the shelf dies from Lee for this chambering and lots of good 270 WSM brass is available and it is a one step process to neck it down. And several WSMs have set national 1,000 yard accuracy records.

How much powder are you running to get the high end velocity, and the 3000 fps?
I've heard that the wsm will smoke a barrel in about 600 rds.

 

[Engineering101]

blackaj

I tried 63 to 65 grains of RL-26 and velocities ran from a low of 3,050 fps to 3,185 fps on the high end. Groups were all sub moa but not as good as I thought it could do so I got to thinking about how overbore this baby is and tried some RL-50. 69.5 grains of that did the trick. It is running around 3,030 fps and seems to be loafing at that. I like that velocity for that bullet plus it is dead nuts on every time I try a cold bore shot. When I say dead nuts I mean inside a one inch square from 200 yards on 4 different days spread over several months. Don't know how many rounds I'll get out of the barrel but the RL-50 may help that too.

 

[Mikecr]

From what I've seen there is a 26cal accuracy node most commonly used from 2950 to 3050 for ~140gr bullets. My best accuracy is at 3025fps with 47gr of IMR4350, from a 28" barrel & 26wssm Imp. This is the same capacity as the 260AI, so I don't picture a 26cal gain in LR accuracy from capacities larger than this. Only less barrel life.

But the 6.5x55 AI (in any silly name) is very close to the 260AI, and of course with great Lapua brass like the 260AI. Should be really good.

 

[Predator 22]

When I opened this thread I thought it was going to be like a support group for those of us who have a 6.5 "addiction"

 

[Greyfox]

I am clearly a person with a serious 6.5 addiction. Been hunting them almost exclusively for about 10 years with the 6.5x284 being my favorite. I agree that velocitiy in the 3000FPS area with a 140gr VLD is the sweet spot for benchrest accuracy while having effective killing power on medium game to 1000+ yards. The Lapua brass is superb with over 1000 shots out of a 100pc box.

 

[Deleted member 25294]

When I opened this thread I thought it was going to be like a support group for those of us who have a 6.5 "addiction" [/QUOTE
Nice!

 

[Jerry M]

I am not sure it's the same cartridge, but at least 3 people at Bridgeville R&P Club have F-class rifles built on a improved 6.5x55, with excellent results.

Good luck

Jerry

 

[Deleted member 25294]

I am not sure it's the same cartridge, but at least 3 people at Bridgeville R&P Club have F-class rifles built on a improved 6.5x55, with excellent results.

Good luck

Jerry

Any idea what sort of velocity they are getting with the 6.5x55ai?

 

[Mikecr]

The most powerful velocity is always the most accurate velocity.
Either 260AI or 6.5x55AI will give that to you, with a good load density of relatively fast powder, in amounts maximizing barrel life for cal, and with the best available in brass and bullets.
These are the things that matter when choosing a cartridge.

Any larger or smaller in capacity, and/or any worse in design, equals worse in balance.
The same holds for every cal. There is one best capacity, for best in bullets, given today's powders.

 

[TRG65]

To bring this thread up by adding some information.

After shooting the Addiction for about 9 months, I'm on my 2nd 6.5 Addiction barrel. Both are hawk hill barrels chambered by PVA. The first was 6.5x47 that I had re-chambered to try something different. I shot 800 rounds of 6.5x47 and then 1000 rounds of 6.5 Addiction. The sd's and es's opened up and the velocity dropped from 2900 to 2840 with a 147 using H4831. That was a 24" barrel. Even when the velocity was dropping the group sizes stayed pretty tight. I could have pushed that barrel more, but I figured I'd just keep it for fire forming.

The 2d barrel is a 26". With the old jug of 4831, the 147 was shooting 2880, sd 7, es 22 for a 10 round string. When I opened a new jug, the velocity jumped to 2920, sd 6, es 21 for 10 round string. Both shot 1/2 moa 5 shot group averages. I'm only 250 rounds into this barrel.

My 143 hunting load using RL 26 is about 3040, again 1/2 moa average but 3 shot groups.

I've gotten some stellar groups with RL16, but the velocity was only in the 2830s. I've tried H1000, but the accuracy just wasn't what 4831 gave. I tried retumbo, but the velocity was about 2840, and the accuracy wasn't great.

I've gained a real liking for the round. But I'll also admit, it doesn't do anything that other rounds won't. It is in the same neighborhood as a 260AI, 6.5x284, or 6.5 PRC.

Because of the length of the round, you have to have your action modified to be sure you can use the full mag length without the bullet tips catching on the underside of the action. On my TRG (modified to use AI mags), a friend took .020" the front of the mag well to get the needed clearance. With a 700 style, you'd have to have something like LRC's ARC mag cut done. If you use a Tikka or Sako, or other European rifle, you should be good for using a 308 bolt face rifle. But the US rifle could need the bolt face opened slightly for the 6.5x55 case head.

For magazines, I use ARC mags with a 419 extension and that gets 12 rounds. I can get 10 in a standard ARC mag. This doesn't hold true for all mags. My alpha 10 round mags, only hold 7. The Alpha's hold 10 Creedmoor, or 6.5x47, or 308, but not Addiction.

Whidden will custom make a die set from the chambering prints. When I had my rifle chambered, I got the reamer print and sent it to them. Expensive, but I really like the dies, and they have become my preferred die.