Do any of you have any real, first hand, hands on experience with this rifle/caliber? I bid on one and am scared to death I'm going to win it! I can't even afford the ammunition for it, but, luckily, it appears to be quite scarce.

If I were tasked with loading for it, I would expect it to be an over-bore like the 26 Nosler is. Finicky to get it to shoot tight. Yes it will make speed, but very consistent points of impact I would not expect.

"Fast is fine, but accuracy is final."

I got my son a 6.5-300 in the Accumark a few years ago. It’s strictly used as a hunting rifle, and has just over 100 rounds through it. I have not tried loading for it, but it will shoot a 1.3” group at 200 yards with him behind the trigger and the Weatherby Select ammo. It is terribly overbored, very loud, and has a pretty good snappy recoil although manageable. We have it zeroed at 300 yds, and that makes it pretty easy to use out to 500 on deer and hogs with just a little holdover. I like it, it has performed well on deer, hogs, gemsbok, barasingha, scimitar, and an occasional smaller animal, but is not a round I would want to have two of.

Thanks, Lonestar! I may not even wind up with one of them! The auction for it ends tonight, and thus far I'm still the high bidder. If I win it I'll sure give it a try, but I don't have any place to shoot that's much over 200 yards, so I may not ever be able to test its long range ability. Everything I've read about it indicates that it is one very hot, very accurate round, even with the factory ammo. I'll let you know if I win it and my results when I shoot it.

The 6.5-.300 is a weatherby flex to have the fastest 6.5 around.

I love weatherby but unless I traveled the world hunting rare and expensive sheep and goats I can’t see any advantage to it.

6.5-284 or a 6.5prc is a better choice, lots of loading selections and powders that will fill the case, maybe giving up 150-200 fps on the top end but is far more accurate.

I won one at an RMEF Dinner last year and sold it based on input from a lot of people with more know how than me. Yes it's very fast but working up a load and getting it to shoot consistent can be expensive and time consuming. Has the potential to shoot out barels faster than others.

Well, I just found out that I won the darned thing! Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with it! I feel like the dog that's always chasing cars; and then he catches one!!

That’s cool! Since the price is right, I’d just buy some weatherby ammo like 5-10 boxes and use it as a hunting gun.
Don’t worry about working up a load..

TAB, the ammo, if you can find it, is anywhere north of $130 for a box of 20! And, by the way, it was not a freebie; I was bidding against other folks and had topped out my bid at about what I thought "street price" would be based on MSRP. Bad move on my part.

I found brass in stock.

The one I just won is the second one down on this website page; the one with the synthetic, snakeskin coating on it.
https://weatherby.com/rifles/vanguard/

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Weatherby VAP653WR60BR: Weatherby's Vanguard rifles are guaranteed to shoot a 3-shot group of .99" or less at 100 yards (SUB-MOA) from a cold barrel when used with Weatherby factory or premium ammunition. Vanguard rifles are equipped with a match quality, two-stage trigger (adjustable down to 2.5 lbs.) and a 3-position safety, with the middle position allowing the shooter to work the action while safety is still engaged.The Vanguard action incorporates a one-piece machined bolt body, fluted for reduction in weight and bearing surface area, while eliminating binding for smooth action. Three gas ports allow high-pressure gases to escape laterally in the event of an accidental case rupture, and the massive M-16-style extractor ensures reliable and positive extraction. Vanguard rifles have a one-piece machined receiver featuring an integral recoil lug for the utmost in strength and structural integrity, along with a one-piece trigger guard with a hinged floorplate for easy access to unfired cartridges in the magazine. The Badlands model has a synthetic Monte Carlo stock with textured forearm and grip areas, right side palm swell, and features a Badlands Approach camoflage finish. It also has a fluted, cold hammer-forged barrel with a #2 barrel contour. Badland models have a Burnt Bronze Cerakote metal finish. This model is chambered for 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum.

Weatherby seems pretty confident that, even with factory loads, it will shoot a 3 shot group at about MOA. I've ordered a box of 140 grain Weatherby ammo for it. I tested the trigger and it breaks cleanly at 2 3/4 pounds. I need to buy some bases and rings and set up a piece of glass on it, and I could be ready to go. I just can't make up my mind whether or not I will keep it. I'll never be able to use its true 800+ yard capability. The published ballistics are quite impressive, and it looks like this caliber is knocking the 26 Nosler out of the top spot as king of speed. But, like Fireman says, fast is fine, but accuracy is final!

My bad, I was thinking it was a raffle or something.
I used to have a 300 wby mag mark 5 anyway I got stuck on shooting the 180gr x bullet and back then that stuff was like $80 a box of 20.. I bought 5 boxes, and later like a year later I bought 5 more. When I sold the gun I still had 5 1/2 full boxes so I sold it with the rifle.

Everything is expensive, I’d get 4-5 boxes and be sparingly shooting it preferably all the same lot

Or have JG load ya 100 rounds..

I'd love to see what the 6.5-300 does with the 90 and 100 grain bullets.

Don't you just know it would blister them? If it will punch out 140's above 3 grand, no telling what it would do with a much lighter bullet. Stablization of the smaller bullets might be an issue.

The dies, if ordered now, expect to arrive mid August.

Well above 3 grand! If I had one I'd never shoot anything that heavy through it, something in the 120 range would probably be tops with something from 100 to 110 being preferable. I already know what a bunch of them will say and they can save their breath or fingers. I'm not looking for super long range performance, I want speed and bullet performance inside 500 yards. I shoot 150's in my 300 Weatherby and they fly around 3500 fps and deliver everything I ask of them. In my 257 Weatherby I'm running 87 grain rounds running 3800 fps, 58's through my 243 running 3900 fps. Something in 100 to 110 grains should get me in the 3700 fps range with the 6.5.

For years the average weight range in calibers ran along the lines of.
150 for the 30's
140 for the 284's
130 for the 270's
So it only makes sense to me to be running around 120's in the 6.5, it would deliver the best all around performance for my needs.

I'm running a 1-10 in both the 300 and the 257 Weatherby's and they seem to handle the lighter bullets just fine, if need be I'd go with a 1-12. My Styer Pro Hunter in 243 runs a 1-12 and it pin holes the 58's. Like I said before I'm not a long range shooter, I'm an inside 500 yard hunter. I don't care about a cartridge being overbore, I don't care about BC's, I don't care about barrel life and don't care about ammo price. I grew up in an era before range finders, mil dots and high power adjustable scopes, you wanted a caliber that was fast and as flat shooting as possible to eliminate many of the variable one would run into. That's the way I still roll today!

Weatherby had a chance to do it right with a 6.5 based off the 257, 270, or 7mm wby case. I have one and it is a fantastic round. I shortened up the freebore a tad so it didn’t have that Weatherby “jump”. Yes I gave up a tad bit of speed but it wasn’t much. Shoots the 140’s great and need to try the 156 EOL when I have time. I can’t imagine the throat erosion on that thing. What I’ve learned with Weatherby is getting the jump dialed. In hence I only have that one 6.5x257 and the ones I’ve inherited. I’m guessing 7828 or slower for burn rate

Fireman, I'm still trying to figure out if I want to keep The Beast or take it to the San Antonio Gun Show and sell it to someone who's looking for the kind of ballistic performance it is capable of. If I decide to keep it, where would I find the dies you mention?

Redding Full Length sizer die, special order.
Redding Seater, special order.

Both through Midway USA. If you search for the dies, it will lead you to multiple suppliers. One other one would allow special order as well, but I can't remember which one.

Thank you very much! I need all the help I can get!!

Brownells and midsouth have then as pre-order looks like as well

Thank you, kmon!

I personally think they did do it right. In my opinion the 270 and the 7mm were the ones they did wrong and their sales kind of proves the point. They should have been built off the full length 300 case. By necking either down you don't really improve that much over the 264 Win Mag.

That’s a fair point and one that I can see depending on certain factors has merit. The 264 win mag and 6.5 Rem Mag were way ahead of their time. My 6.5x257 wby produces a few FPS shy of 3300 with 140gr projectiles. I only have chrono data on a Sendero 264 win mag and it’s right at 3000 FPS. Is 300 fps substantial some would say yes some would say for practical hunting distances no. Also, I’m not a fan of very overbored cartridges.