6.5-300 weatherby

Adds a little bump to the Creedmoor. Anyone play with this yet?


How fast, you might ask? Well, the company is introducing three cartridges, each with a muzzle velocity well north of 3,300 fps:

127-grain Barnes LRX — 3,531 fps
130-grain Swift Scirocco — 3,475 fps
140-grain Swift A-Frame — 3,395 fps

To give some perspective, the 127-grain round has a maximum point blank range (MPBR) of 0-305 yards on a 5-inch target with the rifle scoped in at 200 yards. And the bullet has more velocity at this particular MPBR than the .260 Remington produces at the muzzle.

Yes, I wasn't impressed at all. It's like cramming a big block with a large blower out the hood into a Ford Pinto. It's nothing but horse power, and hard to control. Not my cup of tea, but it is for some.

I'd rather get 3000 fps out of a 142gr bullet with barrel life and consistency. That's a little too hot for a 260 though, wish I went with a 6.5-284.

I’ll stick to my 26 Nosler.

Not sure but it seems like that might kill on both ends ?

A barrel burner for sure.
It makes a 7 mm wsm like a 308.

Doesn't appeal to me at all. Chad already explained.

too much recoil for this baby but so does a .243

I think that it's a neat super zapper. Not a target gun, obviously, but a cool hunting option if you like the .257 Wby or the 7mm Ultra.

sounds real cool bruh! how long is the barrel going to last, 300 rounds?

just another example of how most of us have been bitten by the "hardware disease" bug.

6.5 Weatherby is a MUCH better option

^^ Exactly!!!

The 6.5 Wby, based on the 257 Wby case necked up would be an awesome round. The 6.5-300 Wby is a whole different case, and much larger. So, there's 2, 6.5,, Wby rounds.

Weatherby only list the 6.5-300

257 Weatherby: Parent case.375 H&H Magnum -Case capacity 84 gr H2O

6.5-300 Weatherby: Parent case.300 Weatherby Magnum - Case capacity 96 gr H2O

One cartridge. Three loadings.

Roy Weatherby shortened the case for the .257 and one of the other rounds I can't remember which one

Mine is .257WM necked up or .270WM necked down.

Mcworther? When my barrel goes bye bye on my 257. That will be the next upgrade.

Only a little girl would shoot a 6.5 Wby when a 6.5-300 Wby is available!

that's why i'm selling it , so I can step up


not really, I need the $$

What about with Bergers new 155gr 6.5 ?

That could be a sweet match

So what are your thoughts on the 26 Nosler?
Basically the same horsepower with same bullets.

My opinion:

Weatherby and Nosler cater to the average American hunters mind set, which is speed is 80% of importance. It's not 80%, it's 33.33%. The reason the average American hunter thinks this, is the faster that bullet is moving the less it drops. And that's exactly correct, to a limit, as far as distance is concerned. The reason they want this, is so they don't have to make a large correction, on their reticle, for a shot farther than their zero. This has been shown, on this forum hundreds of times. The old habit of the duplex reticle does in fact make distance corrections a bit more difficult. Speeding up the bullet makes that method easier. But speed will only get you so far. The other two 33.33% margins belong to Ballistic Coefficient and bullet weight.

The example I use, when I'm teaching is from my own loadings.

.22-250, 1:14 twist
55 gr Sierra Game Kings
BC .240 (If memory serves)
MV 3780 fps
Sub-sonic at 600 yards. Therefore making a major drop beyond 300 yards.

Shot that barrel out, of course.
New barrel:

.22-250 1:8 twist
75 gr A-Max
BC .435
MV 3200 fps
Sub-sonic at 1100 yards. Therefore passing the 55 gr not very far down range, and maintaining super sonic flight much farther. A 580 fps loss of velocity at the muzzle is huge, but I made up for it with weight and BC.

All of this is a moot point if a guy doesn't plan on shooting more than 300 yards. I think that's a shame, coyotes and hogs need killing.

Reader's Digest explanation: Americans want speed so they don't have to twist their brains around their poor math skills to figure drops. They want speed and mechanical items to make up for their lack of skills, practice and/or talent.

Or they want increased energy at greater distances so they add more powder to push the Higher BC bullets of the .26, 28 and 30 diameter calibers faster.

This.

It's not about not having to calculate a 4-5" advantage in drop it's what happens when the bullet hits the animal

Long range steel ringers often lose sight that in most hunting situations, shots won't be over 300-400 yards ever due to terrain.

We are looking for cartridges that can shoot 300-400 yards that impart large amounts of hydrostatic shock when they hit

In the end, it's all about what makes you happy. It would be a miserable world in which the only available caliber was the .308 Winchester, even though that's all we really need for mice to moose. For that matter, I've read that Bell thought the .308 was the ideal elephant cartridge, so we can dump all of the big bore cartridges as well, if we really want to.

But who would want to?

The .308 is a dumpy mutt

About as exciting as a v-6 mustang

You still mentioned BC.

Have you not seen me report foot pounds of energy for many loadings. I get energy, believe me.

And have you not understood that steel is to find your true trajectory, so that you're not doing on an animal, and not just trusting a calculator?

edit: And if you want energy, out of the .300 Weatherby brass, leave it as a .30 cal and load it with a 230 gr bullet. But that drops more than the 6.5mm!!!! Oh God!

That, or make it a 7mm, and load it with the new 195 gr. But that drops more than the 6.5mm also!!! Oh God!

FJG, you're a good man for your patience.




Very astute observation and spot on.

Bullets are more important than headstamps and shot placement trumps both.

Good shot placement comes from practice, not the back of the ammo box or the marketing department.

This is what I have always believed. i don't know any hunter that thinks speed is 80% of the equation. They all agree it is only a 1/3 of it. But they do, rightfully believe that the extra energy has a great effect on knocking a bigger animal down and it staying down with a well placed shot.
A bull elk lung or heart shot at 300 yards with a 270 or 30-06 will run after shot a huge percentage of the time even though it is running dead.

I work hard at it, it does not come naturally. It gets tested every day, sometimes hourly.

6.5-300 is on my list. love them fast movers. I'm looking more at 115 to 125 grain round.

Yes because higher BC= Higher retained "SPEED"

.. end of the day still same thing. KE=1/2 x (M x V^2)

I'm Sorry what's squared?

You are right though no reason for a 300 win mag when got a 30-30

BINGO!

Higher retained speed = higher energy delivery.

In order to get the energy up, weight, speed, BC all need to be increased. Not just speed.

I like them because--- they're just kinda neat. To the average shooter--they bring more of a wow factor than a custom gun.

Ummm no. It's simple math. Velocity is squared. Mass is not. So the most efficient way to increase KE is to increase velocity/speed. It has an exponential effect.

Any way I digress the new hot calibers are marked toward Long Range hunters. Same reason we have 28 nosler a is same reason you shoot a 7 mm and not 7-30 Walters or why Chad built a 7-300 instead of a 280....it's also the reason we have 6.5-300wby and 26 nosler and the 6.5-284 and 264 WM..... etc

I was going to build 28nosler and a 6.5-300 but I don't shoot game past 400 yards so let's be honest no point in it. No point really in a 300 norma with 215 Berger for me either,

That's correct, to a distance. That IS NOT true to all distances.

But please, feel free to educate me on rifle ballistics, I don't know much about it. Only had about 400 rounds fired on my rifle range, just today.

Because you're leaving out BC and weight, you're leaving out decay of velocity. Decay of velocity is exactly the anti to you're own argument.

FAIL!

Next?

You are on a irrelevant tangent. you are arguing how to measure/predict velocity. Not KE

Again KE will always be effected most by velocity since it's squared, mass is not squared.

In the case of this thread using a 130 VLD in a 6.5 creedmoor will have less KE across all distances compared to the 6.5-300 soley due to velocity.

You want higher KE down range for a "given particular bullet" up the velocity

I'm not arguing retained velocity or even beginning and ending BC.

You guys are missing the point-it's not about all that Mumbo jumbo--it's a Weatherby; and that makes it the talk of the fire ring campfire. Because no one cares how good you shoot back at the range--everyone at the deer lease can shoot a gnats antenna off at 500 yards. No one cares about anything anyone else can do--they just want to talk Weatherby.

This brought me back to the penny and feather demonstration in physics class. Firemans right but BoBo would be right if we hunted game in a pressure tunnel.

I'm not agruing drag curves or even if increased velocity changes them.

I'm simply agruing that if all variables are the same(environmental and bullet) the most efficient way to increase KE is to increase velocity. Simple reason why .260 130 VLD traveling at 3000 has more KE then one traveling at 2000. Thus why the 6.5-300 why has higher KE then the 6.5 Creedmoor, given same bullet

Velocity would be the ONLY way to increase KE if all else was equal.

Thank you, thus why we have so many new higher powder volume calibers options

But what if, somewhere out there, is a shooter that is accurate at all distances with these new high velocity rounds. Then what?

You go visit Thompson long range in Utah.

We have higher velocity because of marketing. Nosler came out saying they were the biggest and baddest in each caliber. Weatherby was king of speed before Nosler and decided to reclaim it.

I like the 6.5-300 but it's a pull it out admire the large brass with tiny bullet. Shoot it a couple times a year and put it up for a more enjoyable round to shoot. I have a Lazzeroni Firebird that is 200-300 fps faster than the 6.5-300 and this is exactly what I do with it. My go to caliber is a 257 weatherby so I'm a weatherby guy. I also like my 708.

I think your statement should be velocity is the most efficient way to increase hydrostatic shock. That's the true killing power of speed, not kinetic energy.

The question does not make sense, but highlights the most important point.

A shooter who is highly proficient and thus accurate at all distances will do just fine with anything put in their hands.

A shooter who is not proficient is unlikely to improve results by just turning up the velocity.

Dead is dead and a XXX Weatherby is not needed to kill a deer or a pig.

Conversely, a 6.5-300 Wby will not produce a dead deer without good placement.

Several years ago I was asked to shoot deer off of an ag field.

I like close whenever possible, but that is not always an option in that scenario.

I shot a deer at 472 with a 308 and a 175 Sierra Match King.

It dropped dead where it stood with the first shot.

Would you have taken and made that shot with your 257 Wby?

Would it be deader with a 257 Wby or 6.5-300 Wby?

Weatherby makes some nice rifles, but they are masters at marketing as these threads show over and over.

Out of curiosity, what bullet do you use to hunt with in your 257 Wby?

No because i made a powder agrument not bullet and it's design capabilities to transfer energy, but I like the way you think, RPM's definitely changes up bullet performance

I shoot the 110 grain accubond, yes I would have taken they shot with a steady rest and known yardage.

Deader...I don't know.

What I do know is the .257 has more energy at that range than the .308 and 175 grain bullets, albeit only a few ft.lbs

Results would probably be about the same if I had to guess

I have not seen or heard of lazzeroni in a long time. How do you like their rifles ?

I think I bought it around 2000 so I've had it a decent amount of time. I like it but as I'm getting older Im realizing it's a little overkill. It was my first custom rifle so I'm very attached to it.

The one thing about Lazzeroni is they kill them deader. I've never had one take a step after the shot. I was experimenting with different bullets and used soft points. Bad idea. I shot an axis doe at 220 yards and blew a softball size hole out the backside. I now use Barnes and don't have any meat damage issues. I also dropped the speed down.

The new 150g matchking might be a game changer for these overbore 6.5s. With over a .700 bc and good weight, it might help with barrel life a little.