6.5x57

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Gunplummer

New member
A while back someone posted they were going to re-cut an Arisaka chamber to 6.5x57. I don't remember who it was. How did that work out for accuracy with that twist rate?
 
I know a couple of fellas who have done the 6.5x257 Roberts conversion, from a different gun board. The 6.5x257 Roberts conversion is pretty standard for Arisakas. Not the same cartridge as the 6.5x57 by slight dimensional differences, but ballistic twins.

Accuracy depends a lot more on the handload and the condition of the bore than the actual twist rate, as a handloader can match bullet length and velocity to the twist.

Sorry this doesn't actually answer the question you asked, but I hope it is helpful.

Jimro
 
True. More or less. I have done all kinds of barrel re-cuts and usually you can get something to work, but you are then stuck at one spot. A .244 REM comes to mind. I used heavy Hornady RN bullets in it for deer, and it was good enough @ 100 yards, but that was pretty much it for bullet selection and range. Twist rate/velocity has a lot more to do with accuracy than it is given credit for. Bore condition with cut rifling is nothing to worry about. I found it laughable when I would see people at gun shows with mini borescopes checking average hunting rifle bores. So what if it has a dark bore? If the guy was worried about super accuracy he would be having a rifle built.
 
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Milsurp bores are always a fun project to handload for. I knew one guy with a 30-40 Krag bore that was a "sewer pipe" from improperly cleaned corrosive primers who still got very good accuracy using 220gr round nose bullets.

As far as the twist rate goes, Arisaka barrels have been measured between 1:8.3 and 1:9, so right in there with the Swede M96 and M38's. You should be just fine with bullets 140 to 160 gr, unless you get one closer to the 1:9 twist you might have great results with 123gr BTHPs.

Jimro
 
I was most likely the one re-chambering a T-38 to 6.5X57 Mauser. I put a Midway Adams & Bennett (Green Mountain) .264 barrel on it and chambered it to 6.5X57. I don't recall the twist rate, but for a cheap barrel it shoots Hornady 129 grain interlock bullets into 1" or less groups. I loaned it to a friend this last deer season who dropped an 11 point buck in its tracks. I'm happy with it, it was only going to be a shooter.

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I've since checkered the stock and had it professional blued.

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looks like a 600.00 saddle(scope) on a 200.00 horse(rifle), just kidding. 50 years ago i did alot of that type of remodling. eastbank.
 
looks like a 600.00 saddle(scope) on a 200.00 horse(rifle), just kidding. 50 years ago i did alot of that type of remodling. eastbank.
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Actually, I bought this Arisaka just for a shooter, several years ago for $150.00 off GunBroker.com. Then it had the original barrel chambered for 6.5X.257. Between my initial cost and re-barreling, trigger and bluing I have less than $500.00 into it.
 
Maybe I do not remember the post correctly. I thought it was someone that re-cut an Arisaka to 6.5x57.
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Gunplummer, Actually you have a good memory. When I first bought this gun it was chambered for 6.5X.257 Roberts, which required custom dies. Already having a 6.5X57 rifle and dies, I purchased a 6.5X57 reamer and re-chambered the original barrel - half the cost of custom dies. I didn't like the groups I was getting with the original barrel, it only like 100 grain bullets. At that point I had less than $300.00 into the gun, so I bought a $90.00 Midway barrel and chambered it for the 6.5X57 Mauser.
 
Twist rate was wrong, probably. That is what I wanted to know. I still have a carbine laying around and was curious how your recut worked out.
 
I had never heard of 6.5-57, but I really like the sound of it!

I had a friend years ago, 1975, who found an old Arisaka MDL 99 in the attic, that his father had brought home after WW2. He had the bolt handle turned, put a cheap Tasco 4x scope on it. He bought 40 pieces of Norma brass and some weird 173gr bullets and proceeded to shoot rings around my sexy new MDL 700, 7mag.

This rifle looked like the barrel was a yard long, but would shoot 5 shots well under 1" almost every time, regardless of barrel heating. He had well under $100 in this rifle, and was out shooting everyone we knew. It was an heirloom and he still has that rifle and it out shoots everything I own except for my Cooper VLM.
 
I had never heard of 6.5-57, but I really like the sound of it!
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The 6.5X57 Mauser is an German sporting cartridge which has been around for decades, but never adopted by any military. Very common in Europe, but because it was never a military cartridge it was virtually unknown in north America. Copied for north America as the .257 Roberts, same case only necked down to .257 caliber. Prior to WWII metric calibers were not popular in NA, but the .257 caliber was. Hence the ,257 Roberts. Most of our popular cartridges started as military cartridges and spawned many variants of the original military round, in NA and Europe. One would think the 6.5 X57mm is simply a 7X57 necked down. It is close, but the 6.5X57mm has a shoulder that is further forward of the case head, while still being the same length as the 7X57 case.
 
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