6.5 wssm?!?

JaseinMT

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I have a Browning in 223 WSSM that I can't decide what to do with. Have already shot the throat out on it, though it is still shooting pretty well. Have never liked working with the heavy brass and the super-thick necks. It was one of the calibers that I started to learn reloading with, and it taught me a lot.....most of it in the Oh S*** department.

I have been enamored with 264 cal for a long while now, and though I had initially decided not to pursue it, I have recently changed my mind, and want to swap out the 22 cal barrel to a 6.5. I want to shoot the long bullets, which would void using the mag, but I have never used it anyway...feeding is a pita! Figured if I really felt like I needed cartridges in the gun, I could work up a load with the 125 partitions that would fit into the 2.37" box.

I love the gun, as it was a gift from my dad, but am not a fan of the original chambering. The A-bolts are slick and sturdy, and I love the short bolt lift and throw. Still have a couple hundred new brass that I figured I could resize to .264.

So...what do you think? Who has an opinion on my plan!?? What I have read is that the 6.5 wissum is doing well in F-class at 1000 for a few folks, and that I could get plenty of velocity out of the shorty to throw deadly passes to farther than I know how to shoot. YET.
 
I built a 6.5wssm and can probably answer your questions.
To begin, I would not bother with necking up 22cal to 26cal. That's too much work with necks ~20thou thick! I recommend the 25cal Win reloading brass.
If it's a wssm action then you're at a good starting point right there. I like A-Bolts myself, but my 6.5wssm was built using a single shot BAT action.
You may need to have the ejection port extended if you ever plan to eject loaded rounds without pulling the bolt(they are not short cartridges w/140gr bullets).
What kind of bolt does your action have? is it controlled round push feed? Button ejection, or standing blade?

The 6.5wssm has plenty of anything needed in 26cal, and IMO represents an ideal capacity for 140gr bullets.
 
I built a 6.5wssm and can probably answer your questions.
To begin, I would not bother with necking up 22cal to 26cal. That's too much work with necks ~20thou thick! I recommend the 25cal Win reloading brass.
If it's a wssm action then you're at a good starting point right there. I like A-Bolts myself, but my 6.5wssm was built using a single shot BAT action.
You may need to have the ejection port extended if you ever plan to eject loaded rounds without pulling the bolt(they are not short cartridges w/140gr bullets).
What kind of bolt does your action have? is it controlled round push feed? Button ejection, or standing blade?

The 6.5wssm has plenty of anything needed in 26cal, and IMO represents an ideal capacity for 140gr bullets.

Thank you for your reply! Now to your questions...it is a push feed, button ejector, Browning's version of the super short action. And it is short! The ejection port is just over 2.35", so extending it may come into play...something I hadn't considered.

I know there are a few versions of the 6.5wssm out there, but I haven't looked at the numbers for each to compare them. Is yours machined as a 25 necked up to 26? Did you have the throat cut long so you could seat the 140's almost completely in the neck? Are you shooting VLD? What is your coal with the 140's? What barrel length did you go with? I was thinking 24 inches, given the case capacity, but maybe a few more fps with 25". I was thinking around 2800-2850 with 140's.

Thanks in advance for your information, Mikecr...
 
Attached is a pic of my baseline dummy round w/139Lapua. MaxCOAL = 2.640"
2.700" w/140VLD
If you want I could email my reamer print.

A 6.5x47L(mighty mouse) is showing 49gr H20.
This will produce ~2850 w/140s, using faster powder, and practical use of a shorter barrel is more of an option. Excellent 600yd competition cartridge.

The 6.5wssm in unimproved form matches the 260Rem in capacity.
260 is listed as 55gr H20, My 6.5wssm measures 56.6gr H20.
I go well over 3000fps with mild loads from a 28" barrel, and settled at a mid-node of ~3030fps(where no FL sizing is required). My MAX load(where FL sizing is req'd) was near 3200fps, and I reached 3250 before running into bad extraction.

Your performance goal isn't really in alignment with 6.5wssm potential. And if a short barrel is priority, you should consider a smaller cartridge. Or, you could go with a 26" barrel and faster loads for 130gr Bergers. This would be a pretty **** good combination with a shorter barrel scenario.
You'd gain more than predicted on a 6.5x47L based on capacity alone, as the fat powder column for capacity & bore truly is more efficient. And given enough barrel steel around the chamber, which your wssm action should provide, you could run at any viable 6.5x47L pressure just the same.
While this may not seem possible with a case presenting larger area, the Win WSSM cases have way thicker brass than normal.
 

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