6.5-06 opinions

[encorehunter]

I'm thinking of a rebarrel for one of my .25-06s. It is a Rem 700lh with an old sporter style McMillan stock. I have changed everything but the stock and barrel on this gun and it still won't shoot. I'm thinking the 6.5 offers a little more in bullet choice if I decide to take it hunting as well. My gunsmith has built several of these and has great references. Most are shooting well under .5 moa out to 750 yards. The one that "doesn't" hasn't been put on paper yet, but has slaughtered a lot prairie dogs.

A couple questions. My gunsmith mentioned taking it to a 20" barrel to save weight and stiffen the barrel. I was thinking more of a 24" medium to heavy sporter contour or varmint contour. I'd like to keep the velocity up.
I really need another long range rifle like another hole in the head. I've had my .260 for a few years and never shot it. My .308 and .338 have less than 100 rounds out of them combined in 6 or so years, so there is no rush on this one.

[Zombie Steve]

I necked my '06 up to .338-06 and I'm glad I did. Now I want to neck one down and shoot a .280 (possibly a .280 Ackley). I'm on your side in thinking 24" barrel (or 26") for the sake of velocity.

The 6.5 should give you slightly longer throat life than a .25-06, there are tons of cool-kid 6.5 bullets out there... so why not?

I guess I'll play devil's advocate here and ask if you have long range rifles you don't shoot, why not go for a heavier bullet for a medium range / hunting gun? Something like... oh, I don't know... .280 Ackley?

[MarkCO]

If you have a .260, then I would not spend any money re-working the .25-06 to a 6.5-06.

I too have a .338-06 and it is my favorite rifle. Shoots under .5MOA, weights 5.5 pounds...maybe it is a unicorn.

If I were to have a spare LA Rem700 sitting around, I would build a .280 or a .338-06.

[C Ward]

20" 6.5\06 is going to get you nothing over the 260 . I'd go 26" to take advantage of the cartridge which is pretty much equivalent to a 6.5-284 .

[Zombie Steve]

If you have a .260, then I would not spend any money re-working the .25-06 to a 6.5-06.

I too have a .338-06 and it is my favorite rifle. Shoots under .5MOA, weights 5.5 pounds...maybe it is a unicorn.

If I were to have a spare LA Rem700 sitting around, I would build a .280 or a .338-06.

Yeeesh. Bet that gets your attention.

[MarkCO]

Not really. More than a 7.5 pound Rem700, but I shoot 20 rounds with a T-Shirt on every fall before hunting season.

[encorehunter]

Well, I do have a lot of .338 bullets laying around. I don't know if I will use it for hunting a lot, as I picked up a LH model 70 in .300 wsm last year.

[MarkCO]

Shoot a .338-06 on paper and on game, you will sell the 300WSM.

[Lars]

Going to a 20" barrel cancels out the whole reason of going to a 6.5-06. VELOCITY

[Zombie Steve]

Alright. Now we're totally putting on the full court press for .338-06. Compared to a 7mm, 6.5mm, a quarter bore, or just about anything else, you're going to get longer barrel life. It might actually qualify as underbore, if that was a real word.