So what does the 6.5-06 offer that the .270 doesn't do??

M

MAD DOG

New member
I researching the 6.5 X.284 and the 6.5-06, I was struck by their overt ballistic similarites to the .270.
There is a grand total of .006" worth of diameter difference in the two calibers, and BCs are all but identical.
OK, so why re-invent the wheel with wildcats that offer little if any advantage over a tried and true caliber like the .270?
 
The 6.5's tend to have better BC's with hunting bullets than the 270. Take a look at Nosler's 140 grain partition for the 6.5 vs the 270's and 7mm

A 260 Rem or handloaded 6.5x55 can usually come within a cat's whiskers of matching a 270's external trajectory and does it using less powder...so very for light guns or very recoil sensitive shooters the smaller cases offer an advantage.

Though if you compared the small case 6.5's to a small case wildcat 270...
 
Better selection, too.

The 107gr Sierra MatchKings, the 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tips (my favorite), the 120gr MatchKings, the 140gr MatchKings, the 147gr MatchKings, the 155gr MatchKings, then you have all the Hornady and Lapua bullets. Several more than the typical 130gr bullets for the .270.

Then there's the barrel factor, you won't see too many plain-vanilla 6.5mm barrels being used to build 6.5-06 and 6.5-284 rigs. They're all customs, with extra attention paid to details. As opposed to a factory Winchester, Remington, Browning, Savage, etc. .270 barrel squirted out of the production lines.
 
I once owned a Ruger With the full length stock in .270. Neat little gun but between me and a custom gunsmith we could never get it to shoot worth a dern. I currently have a Model 7 in 6.5-.284 that is a tack driver. But back to the topic. the .270 with hunting weight bullets would shake your teeth out. the little 6.5 with hunting weight bullets does the same job with less powder and a LOT less recoil.;)
 
I guess I am starting to get it...
Sierra alone offers a staggering array of bullet choices for the 6.5, whereas they offer about a fifth as many choices for the .270.

It would appear the the 6.5mm wildcat calibers like 6.5-06 are better than the .270 if you handload.
The .270 outperforms the weaker .260 Remington and 6.5 X55 Swede in factory fodder.


Thanks,
Mad Dog
 
It's a factory load, too.

The Germans have been using it for a while, it's called the 6.5x64 Brenneke, and it's cousin, the 6.5x65 RWS (more of a .270 neck length). Art Alphin got the rights to market it as the 6.5-06, and for a while even sold A-Square headstamped 6.5-06 brass in such places as Midway's catalogue. But for a factory gun, it's a lot easier to pick up a commercial .270, as well as feed it factory ammo.

For my own, I use RWS-manufacture 7x64 Brenneke brass necked down, with a compressed load of H-4831SC, behind a moly-coated 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. 3200fps, documented 1/4" 100 yd 5-round groups, inside 10" at 1000 yds, and inside a golf ball at 500 once. But the effort to do so clearly isn't for investment purposes, heck, it's a sloppy old WW1 Mauser action, with a Krieger barrel screwed into it!

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It's probably got to do with bullet availability and coolness factor.

I have a 6.5 X 06 and have no need for a .270. Other than that, not alot of difference.

Us shooters just like variety maybe?

I like the 125 partition in the 6.5 X 06 as you can see the deer drop with a 2800 fps load. I have 3150 fps loads but not real necessary. Still, fun to see the chrono read that high. Not the best thing for barrel life though.
 
MAD DOG wrote
<snip>
There is a grand total of .006" worth of diameter difference in the two calibers,<snip>
Click to expand...

Just nitpicking here, but the difference between .264" and .277" isn't .006"...
 
.277-.264=.013 or thirteen thousandths. The 6.5 has a higher sectional density for any given weight which translates into a higher ballistic coefficient for similar style bullets. This probably doesn't matter much in practice to 99% of the shooters out there. .270 dies are standard; 6.5/06 dies are specialty. More 6.5 bullet choices are available because it is a hunting and target bore whereas the .270 is a hunting round. I like the short action 6.5s.
 
I have a 260 and a 270, and I hunt with both of them. The 260 has been getting more action for the last couple of years. Neither rifle has ever seen a factory loaded round of ammo. Both are very accurate. If you are a hunter, and do your shooting inside of 400 yards, you don't care about bullet BC, so your bullet choices in 260/6.5-06 have no advantage over bullets in 270, other than there are more choices. If you want to rate the calibers by power, that favors the 270, if only slightly. If you don't like recoil, you will favor the 260. If you want to rate them by deer killing ability, if you use the 120 gr Nosler BT in the 260 it seems to me (extensive field tests :-)) to be as effective as the 270 on smallish central Texas deer.

I guess I carry the 260 more because it'll do about what the 270 does, and I have the 260 in a lighter shorter and handier rifle - a Tikka T3 stainless with a 20 inch Brux barrel. If I had that rifle in 270 it would kick like a mule and I'd shoot it less. I'd expect that the same rifle in 6.5-06 would also have a stout kick, though I'd like to have one.

If I was a long range paper or steel killer, I would use the 260, since BC would then matter.
 
My 6.5-06 likes everything I have tried so far. The 120 grn Btips, the 140 grn SST's,140 grn Accubonds and now the 140 grn Berger VLD hunting bullet.
My rifle is a 1943 Turkish Mauser with the action and bolt squared and lugs lapped, Douglas Premium XX airguaged barrel with muzzlebrake, Timney trigger, and Timney Beuhler style safety,(which I should have never bought), Im looking to swich that safety out.
Powders have been an easy pick H4831sc, and H4350 so far have been winners, oh and by the way no recoil to speak of. The scope is a Vortex Viper, HS with the BDC reticle.
Itll put three of those .631 bc Berger's under a dime at 100 yds, haven't shot it any farther yet but it should easily shine to 600-800 on targets or steel plates...had only 75 rnd through as of yet....FUN!!
 
There is no lack of variety in 270 bullets. There is no real advantage to the 6.5-06 over the 270 Winchester. There are definitely advantages in custom built rifles over run-of-the-mill factory rifles that are made to be as affordable to the average guy as possible. They will also kick the same.
 
Take three three rifles, one a 6.5-06, another a 270, and the third a 280. All three rifles are identical except for caliber. 140 grains is a fairly common bullet weight for all three. So, with all three rifles shooting 140 grain bullets, carefully handloaded to say, 3,000 fps, they will all recoil the same. Perhaps the slight variations in powder charges might make a difference that a very sensitive instrument might detect; but you and I would not know which rifle we shot first, second, and last in a blind test. For sure, maximum loads with heavy bullets will kick harder than light bullets
 
Back in 1962, Jack O'Connor, his wife, and Mr. Huntington of RCBS fame went on safari to Africa. Huntington used a 7mm Remington Magnum, Jack used a .280 Remington, and his wife used a 7x57mm Mauser. All are 7mm (.284) caliber firearms. The lowest powered load in the group was Mrs. O'Connor's 7mm Mauser, which used a 160 grain spitzer loaded to 2,650 FPS. O'Connor reported that there wasn't one whit of difference in killing power between the three different calibers. Mrs. O'Connor took 19 heads of big game with 20 shots only because one buffalo was dead and didn't know it. Otherwise she would have had 19 for 19. She used this load to take dozens of Elk during her lifetime.

So once in a while those of us prone to a great love of in-depth ballistic examination need to step back and look at the big picture. How much practical difference do all of the decimal points really make?
 
IMO,the flaw in the OP's question is the assumption that a shooter's choice needs to be "justified"
Why?

If someone decides he wants a 6.5 -06......Fine!! Great choice!!

If someone wants a .270,fine,great choice!!

IMO,the shooting sports ought to be one place where pure preference is enough.

Actually,might as well throw in the 25-06 and the 6.5.There is your .007 difference,or 277 to 284 Hmm,.007 again.

Each a slightly different shade of grey.I like having choices.Isn't it great?

I do not like "Justify the existence of...."
 
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