Quick Comparison of Popular 6.5mm Rifle Cartridges
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by Eben Brown, EABCO.com, (E. Arthur Brown Co. Inc.)
The current popularity of 6.5mm cartridges in the USA has been a long time in coming. I won’t go into my opinions on why it took so long to catch on. The important thing is that it finally HAS caught on and we’re now so fortunate to have a wide selection of 6.5mm cartridges to choose from!
6.5mm Grendel – Developed by Alexander Arms for the AR15 and military M4 family of rifles. The Grendel fits the dimensional and functional requirements of these rifles while delivering better lethality and downrange performance. There are now similar cartridges from other rifle companies. We chamber for the Les Baer “264 LBC-AR”. Designed for velocities of 2400-2500 fps with 123gr bullets, it shoots the 140-grainers at about 2000 fps (for comparison purposes).
6.5mm BRM – Developed by E. Arthur Brown Company to give “Big Game Performance to Small Framed Rifles” — namely our Model 97D Rifle, TC Contender, and TC Encore. Velocities of 2400-2500 fps with 140gr bullets puts it just under the original 6.5×55 Swede performance.
6.5mm x 47 Lapua – Developed by Lapua specifically for international 300m shooting competitions (with some interest in long-range benchrest as well). Case capacity, body taper, shoulder angle, and small rifle primer are all features requested by top international shooters. You can expect velocities of 2500-2600+ with 140 gr bullets.
6.5mm Creedmoor – Developed by Hornady and Creedmoor Sports, the 6.5mm Creedmoor is designed for efficiency and function. Its shape reaches high velocities while maintaining standard .308 Winchester pressures and its overall length fits well with .308 Win length magazines. You can expect velocities of 2600-2700+ fps with 140gr bullets.
.260 Remington – Developed by Remington to compete with the 6.5mmx55 Swedish Mauser that was (finally) gaining popularity in 1996. By necking down the 7mm-08 Remington to 6.5mm (.264 cal), the .260 Remington was created. It fit the same short-action [receivers] that fit .308 Win, .243 Win, 7mm-08 Rem, etc. You can expect velocities of 2600-2700 fps with 140gr bullets in the 260 .Remington.
[Editor’s Note: In the .260 Rem, try the Lapua 120gr Scenar-Ls and/or Berger 130gr VLDs for great accuracy and impressive speeds well over 2900 fps.]
6.5mm x 55 Swedish Mauser – This was the cartridge that started the 6.5mm craze in the USA. It is famous for having mild recoil, deadly lethality on even the biggest game animals, and superb accuracy potential. Original ballistics were in the 2500 fps range with 140gr bullets. Nowadays handloaders get 2600-2700+ fps.
[Editor’s Note: Tor from Scandinavia offers this bit of 6.5x55mm history: “Contrary to common belief, the 6.5×55 was not developed by Mauser, but was constructed by a joint Norwegian and Swedish military commission in 1891 and introduced as the standard military cartridge in both countries in 1894. Sweden chose to use the cartridge in a Mauser-based rifle, while Norway used the cartridge in the Krag rifles. This led to two different cartridges the 6.5×55 Krag and 6.5×55 Mauser — the only real difference being safe operating pressure.”]
6.5-284 Norma — This comes from necking the .284 Winchester down to .264 caliber. Norma standardized it for commercial ammo sales. The 6.5mm-284 was very popular for F-Class competition and High Power at 1,000 yards. However, many F-Class competitors have switched to the straight .284 Win for improved barrel life. 6.5-284 velocities run 3000-3100+ fps with 140gr bullets.
.264 Winchester Magnum – Developed by Winchester back in 1959, the .264 Win Mag never really caught on and may have delayed the ultimate acceptance of 6.5mm cartridges by US shooters (in my opinion). It missed the whole point and original advantage of 6.5 mm cartridges.
The Original 6.5mm Advantage
The special needs of long-range competition have skewed things a little. However the original advantages of 6.5mm cartridges — how deadly the 6.5mms are on game animals, how little recoil they produce, and how easy they are to shoot well — still hold true today.
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- 6.5mm Cartridges — Eight Options to Consider
- 6.5 Creedmoor and Seven Other 6.5mm Cartridge Types
- 6.5 Creedmoor Finds Favor with Tactical Competitors
- New 6mm Creedmoor Cartridge Brass from Lapua
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Tags: .264, 260 Rem, 260 Remington, 6.5x47, 6.5x55 Swede, Eabco.com, Eben Brown
No 6.5 saum, com’on man
Contrary to common belief the 6,5×55 was not developed by Mauser, but was constructed by a joint Norwegian and Swedish military commission in 1891 and introduced as the standard military cartridge in both countries in 1894.
What Mauser has to do with it is simply that Sweden chose to use the cartidge in a Mauser based rifle,while Norway used the cartidge in the Krag rifles.
This led to 2 different cartidges the 6,5×55 Krag and 6,5×55 Mauser.
The only real difference being safe operating pressure, as the Krag rifles
has they’re limitations.
If looking into it one would also know that after the Sauer 200 STR, were introduced and set as the standard for all of Scandinavia, the new label is 6,5×55 SKAN.
What is commonly referred to as 6,5×55 Swede in the US, is the 6,5×55 Mauser configuration.
Also the achieveable velocity with the 140 gr bullets is posted on the low side.
You can safely run it at higher pressures with modern rifles and powders, and the factory ammunition and pressure limits are kept low so it is safe to use in the small ring M96 rifles.
A 140 grain bullet can comfortably and safely be run at 2800-2900 fps, in a modern rifle and a simple look at reloading data from Lapua will give you a nice ballpark figure for velocity.
Don’t forget the new 26 Nosler!
And the forgotten 6.5x 57 still in use in the continental Europe and loaded by RWS and Selliet and Bellot .
Was hoping for a little more in depth review. This could be a very popular search
Not a particular fan, but the 6.5 Remington Magnum deserves mention as well.
The 6.5mm rifle was designed by three persons, Arne Brennan, Bill Alexander, and Janne Pohjoispää. It has high accuracy, specifically when used with AR-15 gun. It is very popular in Europe. That the 6.5mm cartridges are perfect choice for world’s biggest hunting event in Africa.
The .256 Newton is a 6.5mm cartridge and very close to the 6.5-06.