The Creedmoor Forum

Lately I've read in a few online and print gun magazines that the 6.5CM is a cartridge that creates a "short barrel life".

Gotta say, that's news to me. So what it the TRUE story?

Erci B.

My Gen 1 RPR will be needing a new barrel soon. I'm thinking of a Bartlein stainless steel barrel. 5R rifling and maybe 7.5:1 twist instead of 8 twist.

Any suggestion on barrel contour? I'd like to keep it from being too heavy. Bartlein offers RPR barrels with "standard" (RUGER OEM) contour in 24"W/ 0.75 muse diameter and HEAVY in 26" with 0.830 muzzle diameter.

Maybe the "heavy" with the extra 2" of length would give me a bit more velocity?

Eric B.

I have an FN PS90 sub gun and a RUGER 57 pistol. Both shoot the elusive 5.7 x 28 ammo.  It now goes for $65. per box of 50!!

When I shoot 'em now it feels like shooting dollar bills - no, make that Euros, which are worth more than dollars. Even BC (Before Covid) the ammo was expensive at $30. a box of 50. Now the stuff is just either unavailable or out of sight in cost. I refuse to pay more than $40./box of 50.

Luckily I had the foresight to plan for a zombie armageddon/"militia" attack and have about 1,000 rounds on hand. But with 50 round PS90 mags and 20 round RUGER 57 pistol mags I can go through that SO fast. My "range toys" are becoming museum pieces. 

Eric B.

Buy a GERMIN In-Touch rescue beacon. It uses IRIDIUM satellites just like sat phones do and you can send short texts as well. When it is turned on yer wife and others can go online to the website, enter your password and up comes a topo map and dots showing your path and present location.

I currently use a similar beacon called SPOT Gen III but its satellites are not as good and there's no texting feature.

Eric B.

At my local long distance (to 1,100 yards) shoot we're seeing fewer competitors even as most are vaccinated. (We're about 50%  geezers).

And here in the Las Vegas Valley ammo is just UNAVAILABLE. Powder, and especially PRIMERS, are not found, even at Ventura Ammunition, the former go-to store for ammo. They have NO powder! Nor does Bass Pro and Sportsman's Warehouse has shotgun powder only today.

I'm now down to using H4895 and that's almost gone. I can get some powder online but I refuse to pay hijack prices. Luckily I have enough primers B/C I bought a bunch on a sale BC (Before Covid).

AAAARRRGGGGHHH!

Eric B.

Last year I bought a new Bushnell Elite LRTS 4.5 - 18 x 44 scope. mil/mil turrets with G3 "small Xmas tree" illuminated reticle and side parallax knob. Not "HD" or ED glass but very good. That Xmas tree reticle is TOTALLY illuminated so you can use the small G3 Xmas tree reticle, not some frikkin' little "Fire Dot" like Leupold gives you.

I mounted it on my also new 6.5 PRC Browning X-Bolt Pro hunting rifle with matching burnt bronze Cerakote rings. This scope is excellent fro long range hunting here in Nevada. BUT... Bushnell must have made another "business decision" and dropped it from they lineup. I'm told there is another similar Elite scope coming out soon.
 I sure as hell hope so because this LRTS and its predecessor LHRS scope are perfect for long range hunting. Mine did a tall target ladder test and was very "on" both vertically and incrementally with 10 clicks between shots.

Oh yeah, next week my gunsmith is Cerakoting that scope olive drab. It's known as "hunting bling". ;o)

I wanna be a "Nightforce snob" with an ATACR scope for my competition rifle.
 
But my Bushnell ERS 3.5 - 21 x 50 with H59 reticle will do for now. Love that reticle. Never touch my knobs.

For my 6.5 PRC Browning X-Bolt Pro hunting rifle I got burnt bronze Talley rings (matches the rifle's factory Cerakote) with the top of the rear ring having a bubble level built in. Hey, it's a long range hunting rifle.

The 4.5 - 18 x 44 Bushnell Elite LRTS scope has a G3 small Xmas tree reticle with turrets/reticle being mil/mil.

Eric B.

Georgians yesterday and the days leading up to it showed the nation that our demographics are changing and DESPITE a long history of mainly Republican attempts to suppress voting of the poor and racial minorities it can hold fair elections. But Democrats and Independents rose above that with great effort. They registered hundreds of thousands of voters and inspired, encouraged and assisted them to get to the polls.

And as a result Georgia's re-run in a hard-fought election, in a FAIR election, two Democrats won seats in the US senate - a first for Georgia! Congratulations to Georgia's largely Republican election officials for running a fair election AND for last week politely telling President Trump to mind his own business because Georgis HAD certified the presidential vote, not once but THREE times, certifying that Biden and Harris won the election. THREE times! Yet that still was not good enough for Trump who tried to browbeat Georgia's Secretary of State into changing the people's will.

Georgia, divided politically almost in half, STILL has a state run by the Rule of Law, not there fo man, especially by a deeply flawed president like Trump.

I have a Browning X-Bolt Pro in 6.5 PRC and it shoots 1/2 MOA - for about 4 rounds. Then the skinny, fluted barrel heats up and I get 1" to 1/14" groups. Still good enough for minute-of-deer at 300 yards. ;o)

That rifle is  Browning's top of the line version X-Bolt. Carbon fiber stock, stainless action, stainless factory lapped barrel, good trigger (2 lbs. 8 oz. on my digital trigger gauge), fluted barrel, bolt and bolt handle and everything including the stock is burnt bronze Cerakote.

Bushnell Elite LRTS scope, 4.5 - 18 x 44, mil/mil, FFP, G3 illuminated reticle and it sits in Burnt Bronze Cerakote Talley rings W/bubble level in top of the rear ring. ALL SET UP FOR LONG RANGE HUNTING HERE IN NEVADA. Yea!

This is my "mountain rifle" (6 lbs. 3 oz. nekkid) and I love the quality. UNLIKE my previous 6.5 CM Ruger Am. Predator the X-Bolt rifles all have a BOLT LOCK. And it will stay on SAFE when the lock is disengaged to open the bolt and empty the chamber. Just like SAKO.

Eric B.

Some companies are making their reputation and some are living off it. Remington has been in the last category for decades.

Not a fan of their past rifle triggers OR the crap bolt action extractors.

OK gents,
I bought a 6.5 PRC Browning X-Bolt Pro (Browning's "loaded" model) and found that for the1st 4 or 5 shots I can get 1/2" to 3/8"
100 yd. groups with 143 gr. Hornady ELD-X ammo. The rifle has a 1:7 twist! Kinda fast but it means i can easily stabilize 150 gr. bullets if I want to use them. And that barrel is factory lapped. Cleans up easily.

I looked at a SAKO CarbonLite but it was $900. more for fewer features. Miroku's Japanese workers are just as good as SAKO's Finnish workers in terms of producing high quality rifles.

Just get a rifle in 6.5 PRC and be done with it.

Seems I  sorta fell into this situation.
In order of acquisition:
1.) RUGER 96/22 mag lever rifle/RUGER Single Six Convertible W/22 mag cylinder in place
2.).44 magnum Winchester 94 Trapper carbine/Taurus Tracker .44 mag stainless DA revolver
3.) 5.7 x 28 FN PS90 carbine/RUGER 57 pistol

But it's neat to have those combos. All are unique in some way. The PS90 and RUGER 57 are very "tacticool".  The other two combos are much more traditional. That Model 94 Trapper has a nicely short 16 1/2" barrel and a saddle ring. It was a gift for helping a widow sell her husband's gun collection. He was a very good friend of mine who passed at age 90.

Eric B.
BTW, "Long time, no see" Good to be back here.

"Long time, no see."
So not 6.5 CM but still a Hornady 6.5 cartridge, the "6.5 CM Magnum".

From my Browning X-Bolt Pro with its skinny, fluted barrel i got a 4 shot 0.47 group off a bench rest.

The barrel is factory lapped and I have the trigger at 2 lbs. 12 oz. by my Walker digital trigger pull scale.
The scope is a Bushnell ELITE LRTS 4.5 - 18 x 44, FFP, mil/mil, side focus and illuminated G3 small Xmas tree reticle.
Perfect rifle/cartridge/scope for long range hunting in my mountain west home state of Nevada.

Eric B.