Thread: Seriously underrated 6.5x47 Lapua

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Most people these days shoot prone/bipod with the non-trigger hand tucked in under the buttstock. And all power to them. I learnt to shoot prone a long time ago with no bipod, supporting the air rifle or .22 with my left hand, then the same with centrefires. And no amount of anything can get me to change that now, irrespective of what kind of rest is up front.

Interestingly my wife who is army trained, also controls the forend with her left hand, for exactly the same reason, most of the training was done without a forend rest, especially with the R4. Now she tells me this evening that when using the 7.62 R1 (FN-FAL) with the bipod, the taught position was still left hand on the rifle forend, which obviously is at odds with the US Military for example.

Just a simple case of old habits die very hard, when the old habit doesn't appear to hinder you in anyway then why change?

Not wrapping through the sling and locking the rifle in, just feels plain weird to me, and you shoot just as well as the guys that have bipods and rear rests. And you can transfer the same hold to kneeling, sitting and standing. Maybe I'm just a control freak.

Hey! Who are you calling a sheep?!

If the wooly hat fits..

wingman.....you would love my buddies rifle...drop block Canadian action with superb walnut stock,chambered in .204 ruger necked up to 6.5mm..... he has two of them,the kimber he can really crank it up to silly levels.... and then he goes n buys a .300 mag to use instead...go figure.
this particular chap is a classic..... uses a little case to reduce recoil then tries to load it up to duplicate a big case preformance thinking he will get less recoil??? Newton anyone...
SAME chap bought single shot .308 then tried to get 3000fps with 150 grn pill and wondered why recoil got steep!!!! wouldnt drop projectile weight to 130grn or go heavier and slower.... a real head scratcher...but the .300 kicks less than the .308 he tells me?????

Gimp only irritates me because he now advocates factory ammo and it seems like going into a fly tying forum and telling them they are wasting their time because you can buy flies at the fishing shop.

As much as he is the most irritating person at times he is frequently right so I had another look at 6.5 Creedmore last night. I considered it because it seems cheap and plentiful. I dismissed it because it lacks two characteristics I like about the 6.5x47L. First, it used a large rifle primer and the x47s small primer pocket (and thus thick solid case base) and the hard federal primers make perfect sense to me. I think a large rifle primer in such a small case plays more than a priming role. There seems to be abundant data that show a small rifle primer and a small flash hole produce a more accurate round. Lapua thinks so anyway.

If I want a chambering, I look through Lapuas catalogue because I don't use other brass. Years ago I had a shitty time with mixed Hornady brass because it was inconsistent and it put me off. If I use Lapua, I know I can forget about the cases.

Secondly, the Creedmore seems to need more barrel for the same velocity and for a dual purpose target/varmint/hunting rifle which I like to build, I want the shortest barrel I can get away with without sacrificing any velocity. I want single shot accuracy, up to 3 rounds. I don't actually care as much about groups as I do how much a single shot from a cold barrel deviates from the point of aim. Nothing has performed like the x47 in this regard.

Can anyone shed some light on this? I see Wingman is getting better velocity from the x47, all things being equal. Does the Creedmore really need more barrel to match the x47 for velocity?

I also note the Creedmore has Lapua brass with a small rifle primer and flash hole. Has anyone tried this? This basically makes it a x47 with factory ammo which is attractive. If most of the deformation is in the case head, and you have a robust case head, a hard primer, a tight firing pin and you are not stretching your brass, you can handle more pressure. If I ever end up with a three lug Sako bolt through my head you will know I was wrong.

I am not certain there is not some engineering magic in the shape of the x47 case that explains the inherent accuracy (which is phenomenal) and the efficiency. It is a rare example of a case engineered from the ground up by people who know about these things. There are not that many engineered rounds out there. Most are modifications of an engineered round.

Originally Posted by Tussock

Gimp only irritates me because he now advocates factory ammo and it seems like going into a fly tying forum and telling them they are wasting their time because you can buy flies at the fishing shop.

As much as he is the most irritating person at times he is frequently right so I had another look at 6.5 Creedmore last night. I considered it because it seems cheap and plentiful. I dismissed it because it lacks two characteristics I like about the 6.5x47L. First, it used a large rifle primer and the x47s small primer pocket (and thus thick solid case base) and the hard federal primers make perfect sense to me. I think a large rifle primer in such a small case plays more than a priming role. There seems to be abundant data that show a small rifle primer and a small flash hole produce a more accurate round. Lapua thinks so anyway.

If I want a chambering, I look through Lapuas catalogue because I don't use other brass. Years ago I had a shitty time with mixed Hornady brass because it was inconsistent and it put me off. If I use Lapua, I know I can forget about the cases.

Secondly, the Creedmore seems to need more barrel for the same velocity and for a dual purpose target/varmint/hunting rifle which I like to build, I want the shortest barrel I can get away with without sacrificing any velocity. I want single shot accuracy, up to 3 rounds. I don't actually care as much about groups as I do how much a single shot from a cold barrel deviates from the point of aim. Nothing has performed like the x47 in this regard.

Can anyone shed some light on this? I see Wingman is getting better velocity from the x47, all things being equal. Does the Creedmore really need more barrel to match the x47 for velocity?

I also note the Creedmore has Lapua brass with a small rifle primer and flash hole. Has anyone tried this? This basically makes it a x47 with factory ammo which is attractive. If most of the deformation is in the case head, and you have a robust case head, a hard primer, a tight firing pin and you are not stretching your brass, you can handle more pressure. If I ever end up with a three lug Sako bolt through my head you will know I was wrong.

I am not certain there is not some engineering magic in the shape of the x47 case that explains the inherent accuracy (which is phenomenal) and the efficiency. It is a rare example of a case engineered from the ground up by people who know about these things. There are not that many engineered rounds out there. Most are modifications of an engineered round.

@Tussock i run a Creedmoor with Lapua SP Brass, I'm only on about my 6th firing for the cases though.
And @Micky Duck I use W760.

Never chrono'ed the load but working backwards with a ballistic app it works out to about 2770 FPS for 139 grain Scenars

@Tussock

I want single shot accuracy, up to 3 rounds. I don't actually care as much about groups as I do how much a single shot from a cold barrel deviates from the point of aim.

Well said, the importance of this is often overlooked.

@Tussock The small rifle primed Lapua brass is all I use in Creedmoor and any comparison I make in this thread is with that brass. Same brass, same bullet, same powder, same primer and same barrel length.. the x47 wins with 3.5gr less powder and 150fps advantage. Creedmoor load shows pressure and x47 does not. I need a finer granule RL16 to get more in there to find where the pressure signs start

so I had a quick look for powder you dreaming about....hard to suss out where eggzachary RL16 sits when its now shown on ADI chart but ASSUMING its between 15-and 19.... as the numbers keep going up as you get further down the chart....it might just be SIMILAR in burn rate to good old winchester 760....... food for thought,something to look into.as you would fit more in case....I KNOW you wont go blindly and will triple check everything just thought the obvious might have been missed (train of thought started with superpreformance for similar reasons,the more in case is why I use lilgun in x39mm) hope that makes sence???

Yeah super performance and 760 were in my sights..
Maybe even a blend of something lol

My 260 has 21 inch tube and 1:9 twist cause im happy with 120-130gn pills yes bc not great but i only comfortable shooting game to 350ish
Ill go for 1:8 or 1:8.5 6.5x47 on next barrel fits my short arse mag length and be able to play 130gn or higher pills this thread making my wallet nervous lol

I don't use a bi-pod. I shoot off a backpack. As the guy who taught me to stop holding it said, "why bother, the projectile is long gone".

Originally Posted by Tussock

I don't use a bi-pod. I shoot off a backpack. As the guy who taught me to stop holding it said, "why bother, the projectile is long gone".

I guess you best tell Tiger Woods he no longer needs to follow through with his golf swing too then...after all the ball is long gone....

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

I guess you best tell Tiger Woods he no longer needs to follow through with his golf swing too then...after all the ball is long gone....

I think if you look, Tiger woods does not hit a gold ball at 3000ft/sec. The key is to not move at all for a tiny fraction of a second, so I'm not sure what a follow through might look like? Muzzle flip happens after the projectile leaves the barrel, it is the feeling of the gas leaving the barrel. So your saying by physically trying to control something that happens after the projectile leaves the barrel, this helps you to move less during that fraction of a second?

What does a follow through on a rifle shot mean? Because a golf swing is a dynamic movement and an accurate shot is the absence of dynamic movement. If I throw a punch, as a boxer do I need to follow through? Only if I want to get punched in the head.

I do not think this is a universal rule.

So tell me straight, same pressures same projectiles, same action, same 21” barrel will the x47 push past the x55?


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