Next Rifle Build

Josh S.

Active Member
Jul 22, 2016
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There is nothing like spending money on building a custom rifle! I already have a 28 Nos, shoots lights out, so I am leaning towards a 6.5 CM. I'm leaning towards the 6.5 CM for the ammo availability, hopefully 2024 we will get out of this fugging dumpster fire, barrel life and its versatility of target/hunting. I have spoken with the my gunsmith about the build but I would appreciate the feedback from other people who have built a 6.5 CM. Thank you in advance and have a blessed 4th!


Kelbly Atlas Tactical
24" CF Bartlein Barrel 1:8 min
AG Composite Alpine Hunter
Trigger Tech Special





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Whats it for?

That is a great round. I am thinking of doing a light weight Sub 500 yard deer/pig/coyote gun in that caliber. Its hard to justify though because my 270 is just so good at everything. 28 nosler is an absolute hammer though, I dont blame you for wanting something smaller.
 
Do it! It is a great round and you have solid parts. As far as round availability, well because of the 6.5 CM popularity, it has been hard to find rounds for. A custom build is never at it's best or its potential until you reload. So you may want to open that soup can.
 
Whats it for?

That is a great round. I am thinking of doing a light weight Sub 500 yard deer/pig/coyote gun in that caliber. Its hard to justify though because my 270 is just so good at everything. 28 nosler is an absolute hammer though, I dont blame you for wanting something smaller.
I will be doing a large amount of target with this rifle, don't want to burn up the 28 Nos barrel. But I also want the versatility to hunt with it as well.

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I will be doing a large amount of target with this rifle, don't want to burn up the 28 Nos barrel. But I also want the versatility to hunt with it as well.

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It would be perfect for that. The 308 also deserves a hard look.
 
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Do it! It is a great round and you have solid parts. As far as round availability, well because of the 6.5 CM popularity, it has been hard to find rounds for. A custom build is never at it's best or its potential until you reload. So you may want to open that soup can.

John,

Thanks to our talks at FF I will always reload for any rifle I own. As you already know, I truly enjoy the trials it takes to find the load that comes close to what we are chasing. I'm almost done with my 28 Nos load development and hope to get some range time with you and others on the forum so you guys can show me how long range shooting is done.

Josh

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nothing wrong with 6.5manbun or for that matter 6 man bun. If this is a target gun why the cf tube? This is the one spot where you can not have it all in one gun. target guns are pigs and hunting guns are not, damn trade offs!

the big problem with target vs hunting here in calif is real bullets vs the non toxic ones we have to hunt with. to shoot the heavy copper pills you have to spin the crap out of them. Over spun for lead of the same weight! more trade offs. eg, a 140 hybrid burger needs 1-8 that same spin in copper will only get you around a 110gr pill.

want to build a fun rifle! build a ft/r class 308. you can shoot matches out to 1000 yards from a bipod 17lb weight limit bipod included. lapua brass and modern bullets make it a target performer.

You can also build a pretty comfy to shoot with out brake rifle with a palma contour steel barrel at 27" my sling rifle in 6 dasher weights in at 12.2 lbs scope included. lighter stock could get it lower but that's a pretty sweet spot for that cartridge. you can shoot it all day with no recoil and the dasher speeds are close to the 6CM with the same bullets. If you want to target shoot out to 600 the BR, BRA, BRX, Dasher, are pretty much hard to beat. So easy to reload and they just work! i know i know i had my dasher up for sale but i thought i would never shoot prs with it and i wanted to build another fopen gun. now that i am shooting sling prone i am never getting rid of it. The no brake sure makes shooting a lot more fun! pretty much a must have for prs and sports like that but for nra highpower/fclass blah blah no brakes.

for the trigger, get one you can take down to 2oz. i know it sounds dumb but once you start shooting light triggers you will wonder how you ever pulled a 1lb trigger.
 
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7mm-08 could also be a contender since you already have the .284 stuff. Great blend of 6.5cm and 308.
 
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The CF barrels are great for a light weight hunting rig. Not so much for a target gun. Mirage off a CF barrel sucks after you shoot 10 or so rounds.

My suggestion is get a quick change action like the Terminus Zues. Then you can get a CF hunting barrel and a steel target barrel. Spin on what you want when you want. I have 3 QC actions now and absolutely love them.
 
nothing wrong with 6.5manbun or for that matter 6 man bun. If this is a target gun why the cf tube? This is the one spot where you can not have it all in one gun. target guns are pigs and hunting guns are not, damn trade offs!

the big problem with target vs hunting here in calif is real bullets vs the non toxic ones we have to hunt with. to shoot the heavy copper pills you have to spin the crap out of them. Over spun for lead of the same weight! more trade offs. eg, a 140 hybrid burger needs 1-8 that same spin in copper will only get you around a 110gr pill.

want to build a fun rifle! build a ft/r class 308. you can shoot matches out to 1000 yards from a bipod 17lb weight limit bipod included. lapua brass and modern bullets make it a target performer.

You can also build a pretty comfy to shoot with out brake rifle with a palma contour steel barrel at 27" my sling rifle in 6 dasher weights in at 12.2 lbs scope included. lighter stock could get it lower but that's a pretty sweet spot for that cartridge. you can shoot it all day with no recoil and the dasher speeds are close to the 6CM with the same bullets. If you want to target shoot out to 600 the BR, BRA, BRX, Dasher, are pretty much hard to beat. So easy to reload and they just work! i know i know i had my dasher up for sale but i thought i would never shoot prs with it and i wanted to build another fopen gun. now that i am shooting sling prone i am never getting rid of it. The no brake sure makes shooting a lot more fun! pretty much a must have for prs and sports like that but for nra highpower/fclass blah blah no brakes.

for the trigger, get one you can take down to 2oz. i know it sounds dumb but once you start shooting light triggers you will wonder how you ever pulled a 1lb trigger.

nothing wrong with 6.5manbun or for that matter 6 man bun. If this is a target gun why the cf tube? This is the one spot where you can not have it all in one gun. target guns are pigs and hunting guns are not, damn trade offs!

the big problem with target vs hunting here in calif is real bullets vs the non toxic ones we have to hunt with. to shoot the heavy copper pills you have to spin the crap out of them. Over spun for lead of the same weight! more trade offs. eg, a 140 hybrid burger needs 1-8 that same spin in copper will only get you around a 110gr pill.

want to build a fun rifle! build a ft/r class 308. you can shoot matches out to 1000 yards from a bipod 17lb weight limit bipod included. lapua brass and modern bullets make it a target performer.

You can also build a pretty comfy to shoot with out brake rifle with a palma contour steel barrel at 27" my sling rifle in 6 dasher weights in at 12.2 lbs scope included. lighter stock could get it lower but that's a pretty sweet spot for that cartridge. you can shoot it all day with no recoil and the dasher speeds are close to the 6CM with the same bullets. If you want to target shoot out to 600 the BR, BRA, BRX, Dasher, are pretty much hard to beat. So easy to reload and they just work! i know i know i had my dasher up for sale but i thought i would never shoot prs with it and i wanted to build another fopen gun. now that i am shooting sling prone i am never getting rid of it. The no brake sure makes shooting a lot more fun! pretty much a must have for prs and sports like that but for nra highpower/fclass blah blah no brakes.

for the trigger, get one you can take down to 2oz. i know it sounds dumb but once you start shooting light triggers you will wonder how you ever pulled a 1lb trigger.

I agree with your assessment about the barrel choice. I would like to build a dedicated rifle for target shooting but I cannot get myself to do that yet. I'm hoping in a couple years I can build a strictly target and experience the competitive shooting atmosphere. Until then I will shoot the 6.5 manbun , I call it a saddle horn, for target and hunting. I'm blessed that my grandfather has 1k acre ranch in MN where I can shoot lead. If I hunt here I will use the 28. Appreciate the opinion

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The CF barrels are great for a light weight hunting rig. Not so much for a target gun. Mirage off a CF barrel sucks after you shoot 10 or so rounds.

My suggestion is get a quick change action like the Terminus Zues. Then you can get a CF hunting barrel and a steel target barrel. Spin on what you want when you want. I have 3 QC actions now and absolutely love them.

I haven't dealt with the barrel mirage yet The 28 has CF but I'm just getting done with load development so I haven't placed 3 shots consecutive without letting the barrel cool yet. You make a solid point on that action. I appreciate the insight; you have me thinking.

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I want to build a carbon fiber chassis folding stock for my next hunting rig. I want a 20” barrel so likely go with 6.5 PRC or 7 Saum since I will lose the velocity with barrel length. A lot of guys are starting to build them. Check this out.

 
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20" barrell makes no sense to me as you lose the major part of performance of the cartridge which provides the ability to shoot at distance, 22' minimum and 24' to me is the standard and when you go to overbore careidges like the 257 Weatherby 26' minimum. folding stock yes with medium optics if you decide to go small but don't deny yourself performance. I'm full of opinions and this is just one....
 
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20" barrell makes no sense to me as you lose the major part of performance of the cartridge which provides the ability to shoot at distance, 22' minimum and 24' to me is the standard and when you go to overbore careidges like the 257 Weatherby 26' minimum. folding stock yes with medium optics if you decide to go small but don't deny yourself performance. I'm full of opinions and this is just one....
Light weight and packability are becoming a major factor in hunting. Also guys are now running silencers we don’t have that luxury yet but hopefully someday. A 20” PRC still pushes a 140G bullet over 2900FPS. That’s a deer killing machine way past any of our capability. The thinking behind it is compact gun that is still over 100+ fps faster than a creedmore or 260Rem.
 
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140ELDX at 2900FPS you are still under one turn of the dial out to 700 yards with velocity just under 2k and energy over 1200 ft lbs. Meaning you could run a CDS out to 700 have a super simple mountain rifle that is perfect for arca swiss mounting onto your tripod. This is the future. Imagine carrying a rifle that packs shorter than your pack.608AE3ED-3C8A-4895-A4C7-661D9A50B401.jpeg
 
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