hi hipower shooters,
have a chance to buy a 6.5x55 in a rem classic, i know it has a 1x9 twist,
my question is, does the 6.5x55 give up much to the 260 or 7m-08? it looks like the 7m-08 and 6.5x55 are very close, other than one is a short action, the other long. thanks.....dan

The 6.5x55 and 260 are very close ballistically. The only bummer on the old swede is it is a little too long for a short action, meaning your going to have to deal with the extra couple of ounces in the receiver.

The 7-08 (IMO) is more dependable for taking down rams with it's heavier bullets, but only has a little less recoil than the 308.

The 6.5x55 and .260 are essentially the same in performance. Contrary to popular opinion, they have almost exactly the same powder capacity. The Swede will prefer slower powders for the ram loads. They are both excellent silhouette cartridges.
Between the 6.5 and 7mm bullet lines, it's really "flip a coin." It's fun to argue about but doesn't matter in the real world. (The 7-08 can be made SLIGHTLY more reliable on rams with heavy, hard-kicking bullets. The 107-108 6.5's that we shoot at 30 of the 40 targets are a SLIGHTLY better balance of recoil and BC than anything available in 7mm, IMHO, and so on and so forth.)
Any of the three will make a great silhouete rifle.

The 2006 Nationals were on the Outdoor Channel a couple months ago. They said the most popular cartridge in the match was the 260. Followed (in order) by the 7-08, 7-BR, and 308.

It looked to me like Sanchez (the winner) was shooting the 7-BR. He had 2 ringers on rams on the last day but still scored 37.

The top woman (who's name I forgot) was shooting a 260.

I have several 7-08 , 6.5x55 and one 260, I have been shooting a 6.5x55 in a long action for the last 3 years it is very accurate, very pleasant to shoot with the 107 gr. bullets, recoil not bad with the 142 gr. at rams, the advantage over the 260 is that you can use a positive knock down rams load without blowing primers like the 260. If you really want a guaranty knock rams down everytime the 7-08 with 175 gr. bullets will do it all the time if you don't mind the recoil. I personally could not handle it anymore, so I switched to the 6.5.
I am presently building three 6.5x47 lapua, it has the same powder capacity than the 6.5x55, but it will fit on the 700 short action, with the bullets still touching the lands. There are a few out there allready, and they are doing really good.
Evelio.

to the steel shooters,
thanks for all the good info given, yes recoil is the bad evil, so the 6.5 will give us a little softer shooting gun. i know some of the score shooters,
benchrest, are shooting a 30x47, with 125's, and they say recoil is very soft, so the 6.5x47 might just be the way to go. again thanks for your input, and still looking for more comments. thanks......dan in delaware

The 6.5x47 sounds intriguing. What advantages does it have (if any) over the 260?

IMO, Good quality brass that does not have to be formed assuming you are necking up Lapua .243 brass and about 5 grains less capacity than a .260.

Based data from Quickload in form 6.5x47/260/6.5x55:

h20 capacity
48.0/53.5/57.0

OAL
2.8/2.8/3.15

capacity w/108 or 123 scenar @ OAL
43.7/46.7/53.2

capacity w/139 scenar @ OAL
42.9/45.9/52.4

max press (psi)
63091/60191/55114

The 6.5x47 is a more efficient cartridge than the 260 and the 260 is more efficient than the 6.5x55. In other words for the same amount of powder you'll get more velocity with the 6.5x47 than the 260 and more with the 260 than the 6.5x55. That said, you will be hard pressed to get 2800+ fps out of the 6.5x47 using 139/142 within the maximum pressure. This doen't matter to me since I shoot 139s at 2625 anyway, but it will matter to a lot of you.

The 6.5x47 allows the 139/142 to be seated so that the bullets base is close to the neck/shoulder junction and still be seated below the OAL. Can't do that with a 260 and be in a standard OAL/magazine. This should help accuracy wise and allows more case capacity for powder; see above. This is the other big advantage of the 6.5x47 over the 260. I agree with Troy that the Lapua brass is another advantage.

I'm interested in hearing from shooters who have had a chance to shoot one of Evelio's gun this year. If the results are good then my next chambering after I shoot out my current barrel may be a 6.5x47. I'm kind of tired of prepping less then perfect Rem brass or fire forming Lapua.

Silo65

Now that's the kind of info I was looking for...thanks Silo. Last question...the 139/142 @ 2600ish will be a dependable Ram killer?

Most will tell you no and recommend something in the 2800 range. However, I shoot this load for a few reasons. It hits an accuracy node for my set-up, recoil is low, and it was recommended to me by a shooter I respect. I've only hit about 50 rams with it but every one I've hit went down. Of course now that it's in writing I'll probably ring a few this year.

Silo65

A lot of time passed since the last post. Does anyone have any updates/comments on the 6.5x47 and how they like it or would prefer something different?

I'm not fond of the brass prices I'm seeing, compared to the 260 though, but if the lapua brass is so much better it would be worth it. How about dies, what are you using for the 6.5x47 2 or three die sets.

If some things go right (spelled sale of other items ) I maybe in the market for a HP rifle and am looking at all options.

Never loaded for HP rifle, although I've loaded pistol cartridiges for many years, so please bare with me.

Bob, I have never shot the 6.5x47, but I have a barrel leaning against the wall that is going to be chambered in that cal. as soon as the barrel that I have now goes. The brass is not cheap, I got mine at Brunos for 66.00, if I remember right, the dies go from anywhere from 50.00 (RCBS) to anything you want to pay. Rose Jr. shoots a 6.5x47 and he might ring a ram now and then, but no more than I do with my .260.

Seems to be a lot of info here....
http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek072.html

Evelio built my 6.5X47 and I shot it at the nationals for the first time in competition. The gun is a delight to shoot and handles several bullet weights well. Loves Varget and Reloader 15. I broke with convention and shot 123's across the course and never lost an animal. Only reloading problem is the small flash hole. I use Wilson neck sizing dies from Sinclair International and the Wilson seating die. I also use the Wilson Decapping tool that fits the small flash hole. Brass is expensive, but nothing in this hobby/addiction is cheap.

Kitty

I've been shooting the 6.5x47 for about 2 months now. Like Kitty, I'm using the Wilson dies. I've been using RL-15 for the 108's, but it's a little too hot in my rifle for the 139's that I shoot at the rams. I switched to N150 for the 139. Mine are running about 2650 fps and have convincingly taken down every ram I've hit.