6.5 Creedmore Barrel Length?

[MrTrigger]

6.5 Creedmoor Barrel Length?

Hi there,

I have been looking at what barrel length to put onto a 6.5CM for 1000 yards + paper punching, a lot of forums are of the opinion that 26" is fine (these seem to be mainly hunters thought) a few people within there that state they shoot F-Class uses 28". Weight does not bother me as it will be an F-Class rifle and not something I am lugging around the jungles of Africa. I am inclined to go for a 28" or even a 30 but I was wondering if there is actually an overkill to too much barrel on a 6.5CM, does anyone know if there is a cut off point where the extra length would count for nothing? As I understand it the longer the barrel the less you would have to amp the bullets up to maintain velocity and would get a bit more longevity out of the barrel without having to increase powder loads?

Thanks for any input!

 

[tackb]

for your application put whatever length you like on but I guess you'd run out of case capacity to make much use of more than 26" really ?

I run a 20" creedmoor and have taken it to 1000m without issue , 140 amax at 2700fps (factory)

 

[MrTrigger]

Thanks tackb are you running 1:8 twist rate?

 

[jcampbellsmith]

Thanks tackb are you running 1:8 twist rate?

My first 260 Rem was 1:8 twist, since then I've used 1:8.5 twist barrels without any issues. Regards JCS

 

[MrTrigger]

Thanks JCS, I guess the slightly longer twist rate may prolong barrel life a bit?

 

[jb1]

Longer barrels will give you higher MV so giving you an advantage over shorter and less prone to trying to burn more powder for the MV needed to reach to 1000+.
And having it built using a medium action will also be an advantage to seat the bullet out further.

 

[tackb]

I run a 1-8" , so far it's shot 120amax , 129 sst , 140 amax and 143g eld-x , all into tiny little groups and all with factory ammo

you won't go far wrong with the little creedmoor , I had a 260 before this and that was good as well, again with a 1-8 barrel.

 

[MrTrigger]

Thanks jb1 I was going to use a Borden Alpine SA repeater action. Have been told they are really nice actions to use.

 

[MrTrigger]

Thanks again tackb, 1:8 seems to be the norm for a 6.5CM, most of the guys are running that twist rate.

 

[tackb]

the creedmoor will be fine in a short action , with a 260 there is some advantage to a medium action so you don't take up too much powder room with long bullets but the creedmoor was designed to do away with this issue.

 

[MrTrigger]

Awesome, I read somewhere that they were fine in a short action and were actually made for it, think it was a article from Laurie.

tackb are you reloading for the 6.5CM and if so are you seeing shells "doughnut" with higher than factory loads?

 

[tackb]

it was designed to perform in a short action and yes it was probably laurie that you read , basically any of the 6.5's are good calibres creed/rem/47/55 they are all good.

i haven't found any 'doughnuts' with creedmoor brass as yet , it was an issue when resizeing 243 lapua brass to make 260 brass before lapua brought out their dedicated 260 brass but I've not heard of it being an issue in the creed yet?

as i said i run a 20" barrel so not much point in me loading to super high pressure because i won't gain much plus i prefer good average speed and accuracy over all out last 25fps velocity loading.

 

[MrTrigger]

Awesome, thought that may be the case, Lapua I see have released their 6.5CM brass and they have modified it to be a small rifle primer, haven't seen any reviews from other parties but they reckon that the small rifle primer has increased performance:

[FONT=Frutiger LT W01_55 Roma1475738]Made with Lapua’s typical dedication to precision, our new 6.5 Creedmoor case has been refined just a bit, to make it an even better performer. We’ve opted for the small rifle primer, which normally produces an optimized ignition and better accuracy than large primers in mid-sized cartridges like the Creedmoor.[/FONT]
[FONT=Frutiger LT W01_55 Roma1475738]We’ve also incorporated our smaller diameter flash hole (1.5mm, rather than the industry standard 2.0mm), which has proven to provide enhanced accuracy, and is used in a number of our other accuracy oriented cases. In this respect, the new 6.5 Creedmoor joins the ranks of our other dedicated accuracy cartridges such as the .220 Russian (6mm PPC), the 6mm BR Norma, the 6.5x47 Lapua and the .308 Win. Palma cases.[/FONT]
[FONT=Frutiger LT W01_55 Roma1475738]And naturally, the 6.5 Creedmoor is made with our well known Passion for Precision. Lapua ammunition is manufactured with strictest control over the metallurgy, the forming and drawing processes and precise annealing, all performed under the watchful eyes of our production experts. For you, the handloader, that means the durability for which our cases are famous, combined with consistency and long life. Already proven in shooting competitions, we predict that the 6.5 Creedmoor will be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come.[/FONT]

 

[tackb]

it may be possible to load up the sp lapua brass to higher pressure like the kind of pressures the 47 was loaded to so it could keep up with the 260 and later the creedmoor , but personally i don't see the point , the sp brass does lower your sd though so should be good for accuracy ?

 

[MrTrigger]

Yeh I would not want to pressure up the brass more than the standard unless necessary, I would think that the standard load should be adequate for most instances and no need to put extra stress on the barrel, if there was a definite advantage to a specific higher load then it may be worth it...

 

[tackb]

if a 140g amax at 2700-2850 fps isn't enough for you then I'd suggest a bigger case like the 6.5x284 or similar ?

 

[MrTrigger]

Haha! exactly, I think the 6.5CM should fit the purpose for what I need to do, hereafter I am looking into the .338 family but I would like something that I can afford to shoot all the time, take me out to the 1000yds+ mark and also have a functioning shoulder after a days paper punching hehehe...

 

[tackb]

one of the 6.5's it is then !

 

[Muir]

I shoot a Tikka CTR in 6.5 CM with a 20" barrel. My 140 grain loads just walk over the 2600 fps line. Admittedly, I don't push it as hard as I can. That said, 1000 isn't a problem. I was making repeated hits on a 5x5" square of steel at over 700 in a high wind and my misses were shaving close. Don't over think it. Don't get hung up on velocity. Get one and shoot it. Played with the new Tikka T3x Tactical this weekend. Awesome, awesome rifle. Twenty four inch tube and all the bells and whistles. Two grand US with an Atlas Bipod.~Muir

 

[Disco_Richy]

You may well have seen this if you've been researching CM barrel length, but its sort of interesting anyway;

6.5 Creedmoor- Effect of Barrel Length on Velocity: Cutting up a Creedmoor! rifleshooter.com

The 20" 142gr mv of just over 2600 is inline with Muirs CTR, so may be something to it.

FWIW, the 120gr A-max was 2961 with a 27" barrel, and dropped to 2819 by the time it was chopped to 20", 142fps loss.

142gr Smk was 2663 at 27" (actually fastest at 24", 2683) and dropped to 2609 at 20", losing 54fps total.

I'll probably go with 22-24", we differ in that I do intend to be able to carry mine however, so probably worth finding some F-Class input to make your mind up.