This year is my 25th Anniversary with the chambering.

Never seen it not work and exceptionally...............

If forced to build a 6.5 for an application like your's, I'd go with a 260AI with the reamer specd. for the Lapua 243W case. -Al

That's not a bad idea, but why not just go 6.5x47 Lapua?

Yeah, so you got me beat. I've only been runnin' one 15-16yrs, but it seems like fucking forever. LOTS o' venison......

The 6.5X47 Lapua case is a dandy, no doubt about it. For a huntin' rig, the small primers work well even in cold weather. The flash holes do need to be opened up for best results.

The 260 case (improved) offers enough extra capacity over the 6.5X47 case to make this a better choice with a 6.5 bullet, IMO. The large primers/flash holes are a no muss deal. And necking up the Lapua 243W case up to 6.5 is a better approach than necking a Lapua 308W down to 6.5. Using a reamer spec'd off the Rem. 260 case is a slam dunk deal, but I prefer Lapua brass when it's available for a project.

The 'smith you use can advise you which dies work best with his reamer...that may make the whole decision a bit easier and cheaper.

When you take some time and look at all the pros and cons of the 6.5's, it's easy to see why the 7's work so well. A plain vanilla 7-08 or 7-08AI is a dandy.

Have fun with your project and good shootin'. -Al

Appreciate your input, Al. My general take was that the 6.5x47 Lapua case, with it's stronger brass and smaller primer would negate the little bit of case capacity the 260 AI affords due to being able to run the 6.5x47 a bit hotter. Of course, if you go with Lapua brass in the 260, the ssmaller primer would be the only advantage, pressure-wise. It may well just be a wash, not sure......

162's at 2700fps solve alotta Life's mysteries..............

Don't think it hasn't been in the back of my mind this whole time......

I'm really digging the 260AI that Karl built for me. I've been tinkering with 123gr Sierra MatchKings, 123gr Lapua Scenars, and just picked up some 120gr Hornady AMaxes. So far, it's showing a preference for the Amax.

I'm using Ramshot Hunter with CCI 200LR Primers with the 120gr A-Max. Went all the way up to 50grs and got my best group/ES/SD. 3-shot group went 3169fps and measured 0.589". I shot 5 groups with 46gr on up to 50gr of Hunter and the worst group measured 0.963". Average for all groups was 0.714". I haven't stretched its legs yet, but fully plan on doing that soon.

Know a few that went 6.5x284 and will be going back to the good old 260 rem.