A friend of mine just left after a morning of shooting my 220 and 260 (he shot pretty darn well, too). His Dad had recently passed away and left him a 6.5 Rem Magnum rifle and a couple of boxes of ammo and brass. He knew that I reloaded but don't reload for others, but he just had questions about where to get ammo. It seems that Nosler makes and sells ammo in that caliber, so I guess ammo is available. I found load info in an old Lyman 46th, and online info. I really didn't know that it was a pretty hot round, and more so than my 260. Nobody much talks about that old cartridge, and now that I know what it'll do, I wonder why. Per Nosler data, it's right up there with the 6.5-284. Why aren't more folks using that 6.5 Rem Mag? The ballistics look to be right with the 270 Winchester. Heck, I wish I had one (except for the availability of brass maybe being a problem). Who among you has one, and do you use it much?

I don't have one, but it is an interesting round. I think its obscurity is due to the general unpopularity of the 6.5s at the time of its introduction coupled with Remington's ability to screw up a one-man rock fight when it comes to marketing.

Was kind of ahead of it's time when it first came out and an early "short mag" like the 350rem mag.

That and it was introduced in a 20in barreled "futuristic" rifle. Aside from the new/different rifle, the 20in barrel was just wrong.

Agree with the above. It is a fine round that deserved lots better than Remington did with it. But Remington has made lots of marketing and marketing people driving design mistakes over the years. Hind sight is 20/20 but some poor decisions can be seen from a mile away

The 6.5 Remington Magnum has 1 grain more case capacity than the 6.5-284, so they are very close but the 6.5 RM has higher SAAMI pressure specs so it gets a little more velocity when loaded to MAX pressure. As far as ammo Nosler is his best bet and for brass as well. If he doesn't reload ChadTRG42 can take care of that for him.

I was thinking about Chad, if my friend couldn't get factory ammo from a manufacturer. I'll email the guy and tell him about the Norma ammo. He doesn't shoot like most of us do, so a couple of boxes of ammo should last him for years. But as much fun as he was having with shooting my 220 and 260, he may start shooting more. I told him to save every piece of brass.

7 Rem Mag necked down to 6.5 mm?

Ought to be some big medicine loaded with a 140 gr bullet. Maybe he could use 7 Rem Mag brass as a supply. Plenty of that stuff floating around, as compared.

2.800 max SAAMI coal, not quite that big medicine. Though given it's based on .532 mag brass, resizing/trimming of 7RM is an alternative.

Chamber it with some freebore, and/ or run a compressed load of ________.

Several places have 350 Remington Brass available, it might be easier to make it from. Expensive but Midway has 6.5 Remington Mag Nosler Custom instock loaded with 125gr partitions.

And use a longer barrel.

Depends on which gun he has, could be one of the Remington 700s. There were some chambered in it.

It does appear to have been based on the 7 mag case, but it's shortened considerably. About the same length as the 6.5x55. Making cases looks like a lot of work if you start with the 7 Mag case. As someone mentioned, starting with a 350 Rem Mag case would be better. Anyway, I emailed him and suggested buying 100 rounds of Norma ammo. That, plus what he has, should be plenty for years of deer hunting. Worst case, if he has the brass, he could reload on my gear. I could get some dies, I'm sure.

That really looks like a great round. I'm not wild about belted magnum cases, but after once fired, we could size to headspace on the shoulder and not the belt.

I wish I had one. Looks like a firebreather compared to my 260.

I wish I hadn't seen or commented on this thread!

It was the availability of a certain rifle in .350 Mag some years back---a 700 Classic, IIRC---that through gas on the fire of my desire for a .35 cal. I missed the 700 Classic but by then it was too late and I had to have something, and a custom 98 in .35 Whelen ended up in my safe. But now the idea of a 6.5 Mag necked down to 6mm is echoing in my mind. I may have to rationalize getting rid of the 6-284 to make room for a 6mm-350 Mag!

7mag necked down to 6.5mm = 264Win Mag. Actually, the 7mag is the 264 necked up to 7mm, since the 264 was introduced 1st.

6.5 RM has about the same capacity as the 6.5/06.

Its a great round. It just never got main stream.

I really thought when they brought it back in the Model 673 it would take off, but once again it fell flat on its face. If it wasn't so hard to find ammo for I would hunt with one quite a bit.

10-4, thanks for the clarification.

Like 26"

You can make brass for it from 7mm Rem Mag brass but it is a lot of work

Is 1 grain more case capacity and a few thousand more PSI worth the effort and cost?

Just trying to save U some $

I dunno, kmon!

You gotta know how it is...something plops down in front of you one day that you've always said you would never want, and all of a sudden the "wants" set in. You're practical advice is on the money, but one day my 6-284 could take a hike and the right rifle for a 6mm-350 Mag might just fall in my lap. Come to think of it, that's how I acquired my current 6-284. Life is full of surprises. I could turn up with a 13-pound rifle with a 26-inch barrel, chambered in 6.5 Creedmoore, with a bigass ugly bolt handle and a FFP/mildot scope on it, and stock that's adjustable 27 ways (but do NOT hold your breath).

Why do I feel a cedar stick poking me in the ribs?






Naaah, can't be. I don't have adjustable stocks, and run 24" or less, barrels on short actions. Carry on!

Yes, that would squeeze the most out of this "short mag".

The cynic in me says the 6.5 RM is a short action .270 that's expensive and inconvenient to feed. Of course, the gun nut in me loves the obscure, the foreign and the esoteric.

As an owner of such popular cartridges as the 8x60S, the 7mm RSAUM, the .300 ICL and the .325 WSM, I can only applaud your taste.