anyone here have an opinion on the 6.5 stw?

[grizzlyadams]

or the 6.5 ultracat? i really like the 264 caliber. i shoot a 264 wm right now in my encore. 26 inch heavy. also have an old model 70 westerner that i bought just to look at! i hunt it once in a while. was looking to maybe build a big 6.5.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I like the 6.5 calibers myself, although I don't actually own any (yet). I have been wanting to build a 6.5 Sherman and a .264 Wby Mag (.257 Wby necked up to 6.5) for quite a while.

I would look at the straight 7mm STW...Slightly less overbore than the 6.5, which means barrel life will be slightly better.

Not to mention the 7mm STW can push the big 180's to 3,000+ fps.

.264 WinMag would be the biggest 6.5 I'd go to retain any kind of barrel life, and about the largest I'd imagine before you reach the point of diminishing returns, based on bore size, case capacity, and velocity.

Despite the 6.5 STW not having the best barrel life, I've heard excellent things about it, as a caliber.

But that is just simply my opinion.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Before LTLR left the forum, he shared quite a bit of info with us regarding the 6.5STW. The last I recall being launching the 130grain CEB's at or near 3600fps from the big STW... wow... The 26 Nosler ain't got noting on that....

If you want one, build it. Barrel life is of little concern to this shooter, don't get it hot & clean it often. You may be surprised what you can get out of 'er.

My thoughts are that the STW paired with the 160grn Matrix VLD would open up another realm of 6.5 whoop-***.


t

 

[WildRose]

The 7mm STW is my all time favorite rifle caliber.

Loving the 6.5's too and being in your boat wanting one that was even flatter than the .264wm I already own I was literally within minutes of ordering a 6.5STW when I first read about the 26 Nosler.

The guranteed availability of factory ammo, good supply of brass for reloading etc sent me in the direction of the 26.

Of course if you really want to go with the 6.5STW and later decide to go with the 26 all you'd need to do is re-chamber it to 26 Nosler and perhaps have to do a little work to lengthen the mag box depending on what action you start with.

 

[IdahoCTD]

It's not a simple re-chamber to go from 6.5STW to 26 Nosler. The STW is 2.85" long and the Nosler I believe is 2.56" long so the barrel would have to be set back or the threads would have to be cut off completely in order to have the proper chamber. With that much of a set back I would rather cut the old threads off completely and start over.

 

[dragman]

I just don't like 6.5's.

at least right now I got through that from time to time where I just don't want one caliber or another. I have had a lot of really good shooting 6.5's, but for now I will stick with 7's and 30's.

 

[WildRose]

It's not a simple re-chamber to go from 6.5STW to 26 Nosler. The STW is 2.85" long and the Nosler I believe is 2.56" long so the barrel would have to be set back or the threads would have to be cut off completely in order to have the proper chamber. With that much of a set back I would rather cut the old threads off completely and start over.

Why would you need to cut the threads off completely? Can you not just cut it off 1/2" set it back and rerun the threads using the original up to the point where you've turned it down for the set back?

 

[IdahoCTD]

Why would you need to cut the threads off completely? Can you not just cut it off 1/2" set it back and rerun the threads using the original up to the point where you've turned it down for the set back?

It depends on how the shoulder was cut. If there is a relief cut or a groove at the shoulder then it can compromise the threads if it's set back too far.

 

[J E Custom]

Why would you need to cut the threads off completely? Can you not just cut it off 1/2" set it back and rerun the threads using the original up to the point where you've turned it down for the set back?

It is ok to set the shoulder back 0ne thread and clean up the chamber, But if more needs to be taken off you should start over with a new tenon and threads. It is very hard to pick up threads
and do them correct, so I don't recommend doing it.

As to the original posters question about 6.5s, I like them but like so many calibers they have there limits and IMO the 6.5 STW would exceed those limits with no gain.

I built a long barrel 7mm STW (31") and it would exceed the 140 grain bullets limit of over 3700
ft/sec (I reached 3800 ft/sec but the bullets lost there jackets and accuracy fell way off) and the barrel left me with just under 300 rounds down the tube.

The 6.5s that I have had good luck with are the 6.5x47, 6.5 284, 260 Remington and the 264 win mag(which is about the limit of decent barrel life) I am sure there are more 6.5s that perform well
and have good barrel life, good case life and are very accurate.

If you like the STWs go with the 7mm. If you want a 6.5 there are plenty to chose from that will
make you happy.

Just an opinion

J E CUSTOM

 

[WildRose]

It depends on how the shoulder was cut. If there is a relief cut or a groove at the shoulder then it can compromise the threads if it's set back too far.

I was never aware of that. Thanks.

 

[WildRose]

It is ok to set the shoulder back 0ne thread and clean up the chamber, But if more needs to be taken off you should start over with a new tenon and threads. It is very hard to pick up threads
and do them correct, so I don't recommend doing it.

As to the original posters question about 6.5s, I like them but like so many calibers they have there limits and IMO the 6.5 STW would exceed those limits with no gain.

I built a long barrel 7mm STW (31") and it would exceed the 140 grain bullets limit of over 3700
ft/sec (I reached 3800 ft/sec but the bullets lost there jackets and accuracy fell way off) and the barrel left me with just under 300 rounds down the tube.

The 6.5s that I have had good luck with are the 6.5x47, 6.5 284, 260 Remington and the 264 win mag(which is about the limit of decent barrel life) I am sure there are more 6.5s that perform well
and have good barrel life, good case life and are very accurate.

If you like the STWs go with the 7mm. If you want a 6.5 there are plenty to chose from that will
make you happy.

Just an opinion

J E CUSTOM

Thanks.

 

[Archery1973]

I have a 6.5 WBY and love it.

However, if I had to do it over again, I would go 6.5 STW. Allan Rovig is getting 3400 fps with a 140 grain berger. I've bought 3 guns from him and his speeds are always as claimed.

 

[LeddSlinger]

If barrel life is not a concern, which I expect it is not, then go for it. It will be blazing fast and burn a TON of powder while creating a healthy extra amount of recoil over other 6.5s.

I have had a 260 Rem, 6.5x47 Lapua in the past. Currently own a 6.5 Remington Magnum, and 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. Also have extensive experience with the 6.5-300 WSM that one of my relatives uses for a go-to hunting rifle.

I burned out the barrel on my first 6.5 Rem Mag at about 600-700 rounds pushing the 140gr Berger VLD at 3210 fps from a 26" SS barrel. I slowed the speed up to about 3150 fps after realizing I had to chase the lands to get accuracy back, but by then it was way too late. Anyhow, my point is that I was only burning 50-some grains of powder with either load and the barrel went that fast. And I don't mean that it just had throat erosion, I mean it didn't have rifling for the first 3" and horrible fire-cracking for about 5". Completely toast! Though I will admit, there were more than a few occasions where I got that barrel piping hot from multiple 5 and 10 shot groups during range sessions so I know that didn't help the life at all.
Funny thing is that it was still shooting about 3/4 MOA, but it would give that occasional unexplainable flier that would make me wanna pull my hair out! Plus I'm a little pickier than 3/4 MOA with my accuracy so I changed it out.

I expect that if you go with a 6.5-STW and push it to it's upper speed limits while shooting it regularly, you will see even less barrel life. But if you are just gonna sight it in and throw a few long range practice rounds down range every fall before shooting a few animals to fill the freezer, it should last you for years to come