6.5×47 Lapua Factory Ammo Field Test
Thanks to Adam Braverman of Nammo Lapua, Zak Smith had a chance to test out the new Lapua 6.5×47 123gr factory ammo recently in his Accuracy Int’l tactical rifle. Zak reports: “Accuracy was excellent–the ammo shot as tight as I could hold in the windy conditions. This ammo is half-MOA or better, easy. When I did my job, all shots were touching at 100 yards. The ammo fed from my AI magazine perfectly–no problems at all. It seems the ammo is loaded pretty mild. From a 25.3″ barrel, velocity was 2820 fps over my chronograph. This compares with 2790 fps claimed by the factory from a 26″ barrel (see chart below). That 30 fps is easily within barrel to barrel variation (or chrono variation for that matter). So, consider the 123gr 6.5×47 ammo a 2800 fps product. With this 123gr factory load, there were no pressure signs–primer edges were round, there was no significant cratering, and case-head growth was minimal.”
Larger Chart (English Data) | Larger Chart (Metric Data)
Zak added: “Overall, I was very impressed with this ammo. Accuracy, on the test day, was actually a bit better than my handloads–but it was pretty windy. This stuff is definitely ‘good to go’ for someone who doesn’t reload and wants quality 6.5mm ammo for a tactical match. You won’t have the velocity of a ‘max’ handload, but even at 2800 fps, given the .547 BC of the 123gr Scenar, this ammo easily beats a .308 shooting 175s in terms of long-range ballistics. The chart below shows comparative drift in a 10 mph wind at 600 and 1000 yards.”
| Cartridge | FPS | BC | 600yd Wind | 1000yd Wind |
| 6.5×47 123gr Scenar | 2800 | 0.547 | 23.53″ | 75.34″ |
| .308 175gr SMK | 2700 | 0.496 | 28.12″ | 90.95″ |
