3
Model 98 magazine and a long
throat permits bullets to be
seated out to increase useable
powder space.4
The 6.5 Rem. Mag. with a variet y
of bullets. L To R: Hornady 100gn
SP, Remington 120gn Core-Lokt,
Barnes 120gn TSX, Barnes 130gn
FB, Norma 156gn Oryx, Woodleigh
14 0gn WC PP, /Lapua 155gn Mega
and Woodleigh 160gn RNSN.convinced that it would never
be able to attain its full
potential in a carbine with such
a short action and barrel.
Subtracting the case length of
55mm from the allowable
overall cartridge length of
71.12mm it became obvious that
no more than 16mm of a
bullet's length could protrude
from the neck of the 6.5 Rem.
Mag. case. Most of the bullet
was down inside the case using
way too much powder space.
It is much better to have the
shank of the bullet seated
within the neck of the case,
but the 6.5 Magnum's neck
length is only 6.35mm. Adding
this measurement to the 16mm
of bullet outside the case gives
a total of 22.35mm. Thus, any
bullet longer than 22.235mm
must have its base located well
below the juncture of case
shoulder and neck. This poses
no problems with light 85 and
100 grain varmint bullets, but
if the 6.5 Rem. Mag., to fulfill
its intended role as a big game
cartridge requires long, heavy,
ballistically efficient bullets
which give top performance.
Alas, these longsters extend
too far down into the body of
the case. When I hronographed
a Model 600 carbine I found
the MV was 2932fps instead of
the listed 3030fps. In 1977, I
asked gunsmith Heimo Petzl
to build me a rifle for the 6.5
Rem. Mag. using a Mauser 98
action with 600mm barrel and
long throat allowing me to use
the long magazine to gain its
full performance.
From 1969 to 1973 Remington
chambered the Model 700 BDL
in 6.5 Rem. Mag. But alas,
Remington didn't have the
handloader in mind when they
designed the 6.5 Magnum, they
crippled it like they did the .257
Roberts by using a short action
designed to handle the .308
cartridge length. This makes it
impossible to alter the factory
OAL so that bullets may be
seated out farther. The gun had
a 600mm barrel which was
supposed to lift the velocity of
the 120gn load from 3030fps to
3220fps. In addition they
brought out a new load driving
a 100gn Core-Lokt bullet at a
sizzling 3450fps. However,
those high speeds were listed as
being from a 650mm barrel,
which would reduce those
figures by 50-60 foot-seconds.
The 100gn load was dropped in
1977 and in 1978 the data was
changed and the 120gn bullet
listed at 3210fps, but this time
from a 600mm barrel.
From 1977 to 1993, I worked
up loads for the 6.5 Rem. Mag.
with different powders and
loads, using it successfully on
game from pigs and goats to red
stag. Eventually, however, I lost
interest in the rifle and sold it
to a friend. In 1992 I had a
Model 70 rifle rebarreled forFred Huntington's .265 RCBS, a
wildcat based on the improved
.30-06 case with 28-degree
shoulder angle. The two
cartridges turned out to be
ballistic twins, and the .265
RCBS proved capable of
equalling Remington's factory
velocities for the 6.5 Magnum.
This isn't surprising when you
realize that when filled with
water to the base of the neck,
case capacity for both rounds
was about 65 grains, which is
about 3 grains more than the
standard 6.5-06. Actual usable
capacity of the 6.5 Rem. Mag.
in the Model 600 varied by up
to 4 grains less than indicated,
depending on bullet seating
depth, no problem in my
long-throated Mauser. It also
proved to me that there's no
real need for the 6.5 Magnum's
short belted case, since I own
rifles for two rimless 6.5s - the
6.5-284 Norma and 6.5-x 65
RWS - the former in short
action Model 70 Winchester
and the latter in a Mauser 98
action. Nevertheless, I still
reserve a soft spot in my heart
for the dumpy 6.5 Rem. Mag.
This is not to say that I didn't
experience any problems when
reloading the 6.5 Magnum; I
surely did, and so did some
American gun writers. Using a
longer action eliminated the
problem of deep seated bullets
but now excessive brass
movement occurred. After threefirings cases were hard to
chamber and full- length sizing
(and trimming) which normally
solves the problem, didn't. To
cut a long story short, my
micrometer revealed that cases
were lengthening in their bodies
rather than simply stretching
their necks. When simply
neck-sizing or full-length sizing
and/trimming didn't help, I
contacted Bill Marden, sent him
some fired cases and he made
up a sizing die with slightly
shorter dimensions. Fired cases
full-length sized in this die
chambered easily and I was
back in business.
What made this necessary?
I've read several theories which
blamed too-soft brass causing
case bodies to lengthen in a
chamber that had been cut too
long and some really airy-fairy
ones which I won't bother to
repeat. Later when I learned to
forget the belt and headspace
belted cases on the shoulder86 | SPORTING SHOOTER _ APRIL 2015
ON THIS PAGE
In 1977 I asked
gunsmith Heimo Petzl
to build me a rifle for
the 6.5 Rem. Mag.”
PRACTICAL
RELOADING3
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