6.5 x 06 Just input

[keithcandler]

my neighbor a 26" Pac Nor, shortish freebore.

Win 25/06 brass necked up with long redding tapered expander, primer choice makes a huge difference.

Today, given the new R#23, that would be on the table to try, when the remainder of the keg is shot up.

R#22 with a 140g SST shoots clover leafs with no paper inbeteen the bullets. Kills deer and hogs real dead.

 

[ojr]

Ive just started out with a 6.5 06 as well
using Norma 25 06 brass and 26" bartlein barrel
Fist trial with H4831 was disappointing, Hornady book max at 49.4 gave me a disappointing 25550 Fps 300 at least lower than Hornady say I should be getting
Looking at Quickload they are saying up to 55gn surely this is a huge and concerning difference .

 

[nicholasjohn]

Ive just started out with a 6.5 06 as well
using Norma 25 06 brass and 26" bartlein barrel
Fist trial with H4831 was disappointing, Hornady book max at 49.4 gave me a disappointing 25550 Fps 300 at least lower than Hornady say I should be getting
Looking at Quickload they are saying up to 55gn surely this is a huge and concerning difference .

55 grains of H-4831 sounds pretty reasonable. I would expect velocities in the 2900 to 3000 fps range with that, and I would also think that you would be very near max pressure. Much of the reloading data I've seen in manuals for this cartridge was pretty anemic, and would barely out-run 6.5 X 55 factory loads. I think they keep things pretty cool, since they don't know what kind of throats people are putting in their rifles, or what twist rates their barrels have.

This cartridge does have SAAMI specs, since it was once loaded by A-Square. Since it never became popular as a factory round, there are probably a lot more rifles out there that were set up for some wildcat version of the cartridge, hence the reticence of the bullet & powder manufacturers to list loads for it at .270 Winchester pressure levels. If you're going to load it to those levels, study up on pressure signs first. Measuring case heads has worked well for me, using a blade micrometer to measure just ahead of the extractor groove before & after firing. ( Make sure you use new brass each time.) NICK HARVEY'S PRACTICAL RELOADING MANUAL has a section on this subject that is very good. Also, an old Hodgdon manual says that cartridges that employ the 30-06-sized case head are at maximum pressure when they show .0004-.0005" expansion at this point. ( Factory loads in the 30-06 & 270 usually expand about .0003 in my rifles.)

A lot of people poo-poo this method, but Dave Scovill ( from Rifle & Handloader Magazines ) did a lot of testing with it years ago, and he found that .0005" expansion regularly coincided with 60,000 PSI on some ammunition manufacturer's pressure measuring equipment. I don't know if that's enough for you to go on, but this method definitely is a good measure of relative pressure.

 

[freddiej]

Since I helped my friend work up loads for his gun and went through 4 sets of dies before we found a combo that worked for him I can write this not as an outsider but as one in on the whole thing.. gun build, load development, and bullet selection.
the gun was a custom built Winchester 70 with a Shilen 1:8" target select barrel. the bullets were Berger VLD hunters, the brass was made from Hornady 270 Win and Lapua 270 Win cases. There might be some Nosler cases in there now. I know I am going to be getting some Nosler and Lapua 270 cases for my hunting rounds. I love the 270Win.
we have RCBS, Hornady, Redding, and Lyman die sets. Most after this experiement were sold as they just could not litter the shop. honestly the Redding match/competition seating I think is the best seating die I ever used. the best body die is the Redding 30-06 small base is the best. The best sizing dies I have ever used depend on what you want to do.. neck sizing (Redding S-type), full length is Hornady, and redding standard or gold hunter. What we have now is a Redding Gold hunter sizing die, with a Redding Competition seating die and a Redding 30-06 small base body die (body die is rarely used but it's ready to use any time we need it) We have a full length sizer as the SAAMI min chamber will not allow us to just neck size in some instances.
Berger 135 classic hunter for deer, 156 VLD hunter for Elk.
we found that Winchester ball powders such as Supreme 780 with magnum primers worked to nearly perfection in his gun. powders like Hybrid 100V, H-4831, H4350, IMR 4350 worked exceptionally well. this was with 130 and 135 grain slugs
140 grain slugs were best used with, Hybrid 100V and H4831 SSC.
150 and 156 worked well with, Supreme 780, H4831 SSC, H4350, IMR 4350, Hybrid 100V and maxed out H-1000. keeping the loads at 60,800 to 61,000 PSI was the key for this gun. Magnum primers did much better than standard primers. Trimming the necks to a uniform length made a rather significant difference, and sorting by weight made groupings much better. I like my 270 Winchester too much to rip the barrel off and make it a 6.5-06.
I hope this helps.
Later Suckers..

 

[Ross1147]

Shooting the AI here but I'm seeing 3080fps with 122grn Controlled Chaos and 54 grn 4831sc. 57grn got me 3130fps from a 135grn Berger. Took the Bergerac up to 3210fps with 60grn 4831sc but that was a little hot in my gun. **ackley loads not standard**

 

[wtice2506]

I rebarrelled a 25-06 to 6.5-06 after the 25s barrel shot out, so naturally used 25-06 brass. Easy and no chance of a donut from sizing down 30-06 brass. Using nosler brass, and love it. Ordered redding bushing dies and never looked back, just order correct bushings for case neck thickness.
As far as a load, loaded a ladder with H1000 and 140 eld's, set them .030 thou off the lands and got a 1 hole group at 56 grains, velocity was 2890 and all 3 shots read the same velocity on the chrono. Ended up bumping the load up to 58.5 gr H1000 at 3050 fps for the speed, shoots ragged 1 hole groups all day long. Bartlein barrel trued rem 700 action. Bedded in a Bell and Carlson m40 stock

 

[jwing]

54 rl 23 147 eld m 3000 FPS, 1/4 moa
Vit n 165 140berger hyb 3027 less than 1/4 moa

 

[Hespco]

I use 25-06 once fired brass necked up. 24" E.R. Shaw stainless barrel, 1/8 twist. 53grs IMR 4350 with the Barnes 120gr TSX= 3277 fps. RCBS FL dies. I use my 264 mag FL sizer for neck sizing, works great. Has been a totally dependable elk cartridge. Performs well on my 522yd range.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

WOW THIS is a great thread!!. I need to follow you guys because I'm a .270 fan. I have just built a custom .270 Win, with a heavy 29 inch Hart Barrell, with an 8 twist. Just tested it using Nosler 150grn Accubond Long Range bullets. G-1BC of .625 and G-7 Bc of .317. I started off with 55.0 grns. of 4350. I wanted custom throat , to be able to seat these long slim bullets in to just the neck, and not take up an room in the case. So my Target Loads for this .270 are very long. First testing at 300 yards was incredible. One 3 shot group was in .5XX range at 300 yds. I also have 175 Grain Berger .270 Bullets and will start off with H 4831. Both our calibers are 30-06 based calibers , same case capacity ,both will use LR Primers , and both will use "Heavy for Caliber' bullets. I look forward to your load development thread reply's. BTW I like RCBS dies in a Big RCBS Press, but seating is done with Forester Micrometer Seating Dies in a a RCBS SUMMIT in line press. Measure from the OGIVE . Good Luck Buddy

 

[Jerry M]

I also used .25-06 Winchester brand brass when I was running a 6.5-06. Run new brass through a RCBS 6.5-06 die and load.

 

[epoletna]

Lanny Foffa:

No, no, no, no. The .270 stopped being any good when Jack O'Connor died. If you're not shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor nowadays, you're just outta date.

(Just kidding -- the .270 was, and always will be, a mighyt fine cartridge. Some day our grandkids will look back and ask "hey, why did anyone give up shooting the 6.5 Swede, the.257 Roberts, and the .270?. No one will have a good answer.)

 

[ojr]

Has anyone tried reloader 26?
What is it like for temperature sensitivity?
Thanks.

 

[nicholasjohn]

Lanny Foffa:

No, no, no, no. The .270 stopped being any good when Jack O'Connor died. If you're not shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor nowadays, you're just outta date.

(Just kidding -- the .270 was, and always will be, a mighyt fine cartridge. Some day our grandkids will look back and ask "hey, why did anyone give up shooting the 6.5 Swede, the.257 Roberts, and the .270?. No one will have a good answer.)

Yes, yes, yes, yes …… the best cartridge out there is the one you are the most proficient with. When you've got the trajectory ( and wind-drift ) pretty well figured out, and you've shot a bunch of animals from a dozen different angles, at ranges long & short …... and, you've eaten several hundred pounds of bambi-burgers, you don't need some magazine writer to tell you what the perfect cartridge is.

If you've got your 270 all squared away, and you can hit them well with it, then the 270 is your perfect cartridge. If it's the 30-06 or 280, or 7mm magnum, fine & dandy - that's your perfect cartridge. Maybe you like the 300 magnums, and you can handle the recoil. GREAT !!! Then that is the perfect cartridge. Just pick one that shoots a bullet that flies well and kills well, and you've got it roped & tied. Whatever the cartridge happens to be, don't let anybody tell you that it isn't as good as his perfect cartridge - because his perfect cartridge is only perfect for him.

 

[Silent Hammer]

Hey, I'm smashing head against the wall on deciding what to do with a Rem 721 270 that won't group well.
Great info here, really want to do 6.5-06 as I reload and have 30-06 Rem 700.
Don't think I'm hijacking here, let me know if I am.
What about twist rate, to be as versatile as possible and be able to use 120's and up to the 140's? I get 8 twist is best on the heavy end but how light can you go?