Why no love for the 6.5 Rem Mag?

[atl5029]

With the popularity of 6.5mm cartridges in long range shooting, particularly short action cartridges, I'm wondering why you don't see many people shooting the 6.5 Rem mag. I know the original rifles the cartridge was offered in were definitely not long range guns, and were in fact quite the opposite (Rem 600 series), and for that reason the brass is hard to come by. But there aren't any short action cartridges out there that I'm aware of that are factory standard and offer magnum ballistics in a short action, other than maybe the 6.5-284. You'd think people would jump on that kind of performance .

 

[Darkker]

And they have, the 6.5*284 has had a rabid following for a very long time. As far as match type shooting, you may not see it as much due to the flowers that compete. Recoil plays a big roll in their cartridge choice.

The 6.5 is a belted animal, and isn't likely to ever be huge due to that fact.

 

[toddc]

No cartridge without factory support will be HOT. Lack of brass alone would make the cartridge essentially worthless as a LR rig. Yeah it might work but nobody is going to commit to a rig that no brass of high quality is floating around.
The 6.5 SAUM is easy to get brass for and most guys who shoot stuff like this never shoot factory ammo anyway and I'm sure the ammo available is hard to find anywhere except online and is junk most likely.
IMHO anyway.

 

[just country]

morning, I have a custom 6.5 mag. rem. 721 action, douglas, barrel 27.5"

#5 contour, very accurate rifle and cartridge. mild recoil. the throat in mine is

short. my bad. I should've had the throat lengthened. Rem. brass, Lapua bullets,

4831sc, 215 fed. kills very well. the 6.5mag. is rivaled by the 270W. I have read

this is one of the problems with the life of the 6.5 mag. the 600 rem. with its short

barrel is a hinderance to the cartridge life. the 6.5 diameter bullet is very

accurate. I really like the win. 264 mag. lightbulbgun)

I wonder if this info will stay on this site? if u r not a sponsor u get idited out.

 

[Jerry M]

I built a 40X in 6.5 Remington magnum a few years back. I did procure 1000 empty cases before beginning the the rifle. With a 26 inch barrel this cartridge shines. I don't understand why it is not more popular either. It shoots flatter than my 6.5x06 did.

Good luck

Jerry

 

[sable tireur]

atl5029,

With the popularity of 6.5mm cartridges in long range shooting, particularly short action cartridges, I'm wondering why you don't see many people shooting the 6.5 Rem mag.

Like the 6.5x284 cartridge or it's brother cartridge the .350 Rem. Mag., the length of the cases is 2.170". When combined with hunting length/weight bullets a reasonable cartridge can be contained by the short action, internal magazines. But try to use the longer for caliber, high BC bullets for target shooting with that same mag length restriction and you loose a substantial amount of powder capacity.

These short action, short barrel rifles were introduced for woods hunting where a lightweight shorter rifle was considered to be handier. The design was for this purpose and as such defeated the desire for something that would perform at longer ranges and higher velocities. Death was imminent. The exception was the .350 Rem. Mag. which went on to be one of the most prized and highly sought after rifles for hunting bigger critters with teeth and claws in the Great White North.

But there aren't any short action cartridges out there that I'm aware of that are factory standard and offer magnum ballistics in a short action, other than maybe the 6.5-284. You'd think people would jump on that kind of performance .

These cartridges are technically 'intermediate' length cartridges when you step outside of their original design parameters. They need to have the ability to be loaded to longer lengths. That's why you usually see the 6.5x284 in a long action. Those 2.825" internal magazines killed off the ability of the cartridges. Nowadays though you actually have the choice of buying an intermediate length action just for cartridges such as this.

Brass for the 6.5 Rem. Mag. has been unobtainable for the last several years. Remington successfully ignored thousands of shooter requests for the brass but instead decided to force us to buy loaded ammunition to improve their profitability. Now though brass is for sale through Bruno's Shooters Supply in Phoenix for $85.25/100. Not awful considering I've paid as much as a $1.00/each for new/old stock from individuals.

The 6.5 is a belted animal, and isn't likely to ever be huge due to that fact.

For decades starting with the .300 H&H, we shot long range Matches with belted mag. cartridges and no one ever gave it another thought. These were the cartridges to shoot. Even today several of the top shooters are using belted mag. cases for their forms of competitions.

Aside from Matches though, the .300 Win. Mag. and 7mm Rem. Mag. are probably two of the most popular hunting cartridges chambered today.

Regards.

 

[WildRose]

With the popularity of 6.5mm cartridges in long range shooting, particularly short action cartridges, I'm wondering why you don't see many people shooting the 6.5 Rem mag. I know the original rifles the cartridge was offered in were definitely not long range guns, and were in fact quite the opposite (Rem 600 series), and for that reason the brass is hard to come by. But there aren't any short action cartridges out there that I'm aware of that are factory standard and offer magnum ballistics in a short action, other than maybe the 6.5-284. You'd think people would jump on that kind of performance .

The 6.5's lost popularity in the US with the advent of the 7mm RM.

The revival of the 6.5's coincided with the military looking for a better cartridge for battlefield conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan and the 6.5CM, 6.5x47L and .260 were then designed to work in AR platform rifles with short barrels.

The 6.5RM is a neat little cartridge but it doesn't offer a significant increase in performance over the existing 6.5's all of which will work in short actions with standard bolt faces. On top of all that, belted magnum's have lost popularity and with the expense and rarity of the custom brass required to load it, it just isn't going anywhere.

It's performance in comparison with the .264wm is about 150-200fps less with the same bullets, same barrel length. I actually considered getting one for my wife but the .260 suits her just fine and there's no shortage of reasonably priced high quality brass for the .260.

 

[woods]

True the 6.5 rem mag has a few detriments. The best niche IMO is if you have a magnum action like a 300 win mag, 7 mag etc, and want a 6.5 caliber.

My 6.5 rem mag is a rebarrel of a Browning BBR that was a 300 win mag. I used a Douglas #4 finished at 26"

In that longer action you can set the throat long enough to seat those long 6.5 bullets way out there

Presently I am running a 130 gr Scirrocco II at 3175 fps. That is good enough for me. Has been easy to find a load for in any bullet (unlike the 264 win mags I have had). It is a real hammer on hogs and deer. Shooting a load that is consistent with ES & SD in the single digits.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

"Big Green" doesn't have much patience with any of their new products, if it's not instant booming sales they abasndon ship in about two seconds, sad part is these two were among the firsts of great concepts abandoned, 6.5 & 350 rem mags can handle 99% of all the animals on Earth..

 

[Michael Eichele]

If factory brass was more readily available, I'd have one chambered in a heartbeat.

 

[woods]

Easy enough to form from 7 mag or 338 win mag

Redding Case Forming Die 6.5mm Remington Mag from 7mm Remington Mag or

 

[Michael Eichele]

Easy enough to form from 7 mag or 338 win mag

Redding Case Forming Die 6.5mm Remington Mag from 7mm Remington Mag or

Unfortunately I'm making a habit of hunting in Mexico. Ammo stamp has to match the barrel stamp.

 

[toddc]

Unfortunately I'm making a habit of hunting in Mexico. Ammo stamp has to match the barrel stamp.

Also why fool with it when 6.5 SAUM brass is out there. 6.5 Rem Mag is a great round that the factory killed. Brass is everything to rifle loonies. Every rifle decision I makes #1 priority is BRASS availability.

 

[fmajor]

Also why fool with it when 6.5 SAUM brass is out there. 6.5 Rem Mag is a great round that the factory killed. Brass is everything to rifle loonies. Every rifle decision I makes #1 priority is BRASS availability.

^That's wisdom right there.

However, the old adage, "where there's a will there's a way" comes to mind. Most cartridges are modified from something else. Looking to the "parent case" can often provide brass if all else fails.

For me (and extensive interaction with 'Murphy's Law'), i have a hard time adopting a wildcat. I like being able to source ammunition from the shelf if necessary. I know precautions can be taken, but Murphy is strong with me.