Which 6.5 is the best?

Long live the 6.5 Remington Magnum.

I love my 6.5x55 but if I could only have one it would be a 6.5 WSM or 6.5 SAUM.

Luckily, I'm not constrained to one rifle and one caliber. I have two 6.5 Creeds, a .260 Rem, and two Ruger 6.5x55 SEs. The three calibers are ballistic triplets (since the Rugers will take modern higher pressure loads) and the 6.5x47 Lapua can be worked up as a 4th sibling.

Now the 6.5 Creed can seat a bullet farther out than the .260 Rem and still fit the short action magazine so it gives more flexibility for getting out to the lands. I'll be starting to work up loads for the Creeds in the next week or so. All three will be wonderful for precision work and CPX2 hunting work. No animal or target will know the difference.

With all of the recent hoopla about the "new" 6.5's one of the monarchs of the genera - the 6.5x54 Manlicher-Schoenaur- seems to have been overlooked or completely forgotten. It's been around for well over a century, in both military and sporting dress, and the classy 1903 Mannlicher carbine is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest hunting rifles of all time.

Were I starting over, I'd probably go with a 6.5 Creedmoor. As it is, I'll stick with my .260 Ackleys.

Edit: This one is a 700Ti in a McMillan Hunter's Edge.

256 Newton from 1914

The Creedmoor strikes a nice balance for my uses, I don't need a bigger 6.5, and don't want a smaller 6.5, UNLESS...... It does something interesting like feed through a lightweight, compact AR-15. With that in mind, I've amassed all the parts for my 6.5 Grendel build and I'll be putting it together in the next few weeks, hopefully it lives up to my expectations.

“If I was starting out, the Creedmoor would make the most sense, but the x55s I have didn't go bad because a new cartridge showed up.“

This.
Greg

I've always liked the .257 Roberts.

cougar1717 said:

If I'm only limited to one, I prefer a flavor of brass that has between 50-70gr of powder capacity. Something that will get you between 2800 - 3000 fps with 140's. The additional powder capacity gives a little more velocity to make sure tough hunting bullets open up. While it's true that "you can always download", I personally don't like downloading magnums either.

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My old 6.5-.300WSM would have fit your bill perfectly. Funny thing about it though, it wouldn't do anything my .270 Win. wouldn't do. Except burn more powder!

The only 6.5mm that I will probably ever own in my life.

6.5x55 Swede.

GR

Gtscotty said:

The Creedmoor strikes a nice balance for my uses, I don't need a bigger 6.5, and don't want a smaller 6.5, UNLESS...... It does something interesting like feed through a lightweight, compact AR-15. With that in mind, I've amassed all the parts for my 6.5 Grendel build and I'll be putting it together in the next few weeks, hopefully it lives up to my expectations.

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I have a 6.5-.243WSSM. It would fit nicely into a AR-15 platform. Have only been able to get 6.5x55 velocities in the 2450 -2600 range, though. Might have to try some different powders...

H&Hhunter said:

How many millimeters is that?

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Don't know, don't care. I am an American.

So, just a heads up to those who are looking at it, I'm seeing ejector marks on my 6.5PRC brass at less than book velocity.
I need to do another round of pressure work ups, but I'm fairly sure it's a soft brass issue, no other signs of high pressure. I still have yet to check the primer pockets.

H&Hhunter said:

What brand of brass is it? The reason I ask is that I’ve had some spec issues with Hornady brass in the past. As in not in spec.

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Hornady, sorry should have said that before hand. I've heard complaints about Hornady brass being inconsistent before, this is the first I've experienced.
unfortunately when i was.ordering it was the only option in stock, looks like I'll have to get on the back order list for some of the others.

Soft Hornady brass is certainly not unheard of.... Maybe Starline will come out with PRC brass, I've been quite happy with my Starline Creedmoor brass, just picked up some Grendel brass hoping for similar quality.

H&Hhunter said:

.257 inches equals 6.5287 millimeters ala the .256 Newton. I guess you are an unwitting 6.5 MM fan after all.

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Not unwitting. .257 is pretty close to .260.

Gtscotty said:

Soft Hornady brass is certainly not unheard of.... Maybe Starline will come out with PRC brass, I've been quite happy with my Starline Creedmoor brass, just picked up some Grendel brass hoping for similar quality.

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I contacted starline in regards to PRC brass, and they have no plans to produce at this time.

Agd, and Gunwerks are supposed to both be quite good, but expensive at 140-150 for 100 cases.....still tho I think I'll order some if the other box of brass is also really soft.

My CZ 550 Mannlicher in 6.5x55 Swede