A_S_S_2015_04

like rimless brass, the problem
disappeared. But I still have
that custom die gathering dust.
My rifle's Mauser action did
away with the limitations
placed on seating depth by the
Remington Model 600 carbine.
This allowed me to seat long,
heavy bullets level with the
base of the neck and to utilise
the full amount of powder
space available.
My goal was to develop a
couple of good loads - one for
ferals with 100gn bullets and
one for deer with the 120gn
Core-Lokt PSP. I started out
loading H4831, achieving high
velocities with bullet weights
up to 120 grains, but pondered
whether medium burning rate
powders would be better with
the lighter bullets. Loads were
worked up with the 100gn
Hornady using IMR 4320 and
W- 760, but the ball propellant
proved superior and the Du
Pont powder was dropped. It
soon became evident that my
custom Mauser with 600mm
barrel churned up at least 25
percent more velocity than was
possible with the 457mm barrel
of the Model 600.
Lofted out at 3416 fps ahead of
56gn of W-760 the 100gn
Hornady proved devastatingly
effective on goats and pigs at

ranges out to 300 yards. The best

choices for deer turned out to be

the 120gn Core-Lokt PSP and the

125gn Nosler Partition. On one

of my first deer hunts I shot the

129gn Hornady at a red stag and

hit it in the neck. It went straight

down, but as Heimo Petzl and I

were walking over to get it, the

deer got up started to run off.

A second bullet, this time

in the chest put him down for

good. A field autopsy revealed

that the 129gn Hornady had

blown to pieces on hitting the

spine, failed to smash it and

merely stunned the stag.

Right then and there I

realised the need of a more

toughly constructed bullet for

larger deer.

Properly loaded the 6.5 Rem.

Mag. is an excellent big game

cartridge. While I wouldn't rate

it as being adequate for wapiti,

my experience with the

cartridge has convinced me

either the Nosler 120gn E-Tip,

125gn Partition or 130gn Barnes

loaded to about 3100fps would

be adequate for deer, caribou

and game of that size.

Although I briefly played with

the 160gn Hornady round nose

bullet and got a velocity of

2830fps with slow burning

H4831, ( a good scrub load)

I don't recommend anything

lighter than 100 grains, nor

anything heavier than 130

grains. Sierra makes an 85gn H.P

and Speer lists Hornady offers a

95gn V-Max, but I think bullets

this light are better suited for

smaller 6.5's like the 6.5

Creedmore and .260 Remington.

Back when I was working

with the 6.5 Rem. Mag, I'd have

considered 140gn bullets as the

heaviest practicable weight but

even these are stretching

things a bit due to the necessity

for excessively deep seating.

Based on my use of modern

controlled expansion bullets in

the 6.5-284 Norma and 6.5x65

RWS, however, I see no valid

reason for using bullets heavier

than 130 grains in any 6.5

cartridge with the possible

exception of the .264 Win. Mag.

and .26 Nosler.

Standard rifling specs for the

6.5 Rem. Mag. call for a six-

groove barrel with 1:9 R/H

twist; bore diameter .2565". and

grooves .2645" across. Thus,

bullets of a full .264" diameter

are indicated. But they should

also be chosen on the score of

toughness with jackets heavy

enough to withstand the high

rotational torque imparted by

the fast twist rifling at high

velocity, and not break up on

contact with large bones and

heavy muscle.

My tips to the few guys still

handloading the 6.5 Magnum

are: check case length

frequently and do not allow

them to stretch beyond

55.25mm. Factory cases

measure 55mm , and 55.12mm

is rated maximum. When they

get longer than this they should

be trimmed back to 55.86mm.

This is another belted

cartridge for which I

recommend taking extra care

when full-length sizing not to

set case shoulders back to avoid

the possibility of partial head

separations. Make sure to get

the correct head-to-shoulder

distance; back off your full

length die a full turn and come

back down until the sized

cases will enter the chamber

with the shoulder having the

bare minimum of clearance, so

that they headspace on the

shoulder and not the belt.

I found the 6.5 Rem. Mag. to

be a pretty potent rifle in a

standard length action with

600mm barrel, one ideally

suited to shooting ferals, deer

and antelope or game of similar

size at all ranges. But it is one of

those complex rounds that

requires a custom-made rifle

and one which taxes the

handloader. For this reason, it

has little to recommend it,

especially since we now have a

better short-action big game

cartridge in the 6.5-284 Norma

and a better long action round

in the 6.5x65 RWS. Today the

6.5 Rem. Mag. is virtually

redundant and cases and ammo

are difficult to source in

Australia. In other words the

minuses far outweigh the

pluses and for this reason it is

inevitable that it will

eventually fade away.

88 | SPORTING SHOOTER _ APRIL 2015

PRACTICAL

RELOADING

Shooting the 100gn Hornady at over 3 4 00fps, the 6.5 Rem.

Mag. is deadly medicine for hogs.

ORIGINAL WORKING LOADS FOR

THE 6.5 REMINGTON MAGNUM

Bullet (brand) Powder

(type)

Charge

(gns)

Velocity

(fps)

Energy

(ft/lbs)

100gn Hornady W-76 0 56 3416 2591

100gn Hornady H4831 63 3426 2673

120gn Core-Lokt H4831 59 3280 2867

120gn Core-Lokt W-76 0 51 3130 2 611

125gn Nos. Part. IMR4831 57 3220 2878

125gn Nos.Part. H4831 60 3110 2685

129gn Hornady H4831 58 3125 2797

129gn Hornady W-78 5 59.5 3150 2842

14 0gn Speer IMR4831 54 2978 2757

14 0gn Hornady H4831 56 3000 2798

160gn Hornady RN H4831 55 2830 2846

These loads proved safe in Nick's custom Mauser, but many of the old powders are no

longer available. Up-to-date data can be developed using W-760, AR2209 instead of

IMR4831 and AR2213sc in place of H4831, should one be so inclined.