6.5 mm Remington Magnum
Encyclopedia
The 6.5mm Remington Magnum is a .264 caliber (6.7 mm) belted bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1966. The cartridge is based on a necked down .350 Remington Magnum
which on turn is based on a shortened, necked down, blown out .375 H&H Magnum
case. The cartridge was one of the first short magnum cartridges.
and Swedish Mauser
began trickling into the United States. Winchester had designed the .264 Winchester Magnum
but it did not gain much of a following and the rifles were plagued by short barrel lives.
In 1966 Remington introduced the 6.5 Remington Magnum, which was based upon the previous years' .350 Remington Magnum, in the 18.5 inch barrel Model 600 carbine. This was poor choice of rifle by Remington as it was unable to exploit the performance potential of the 6.5mm Remington. While Remington did later chamber the cartridge in the 24 inch Model 700 rifle the damage was already done to the cartridge's reputation from which it would not recover and eventually passed into obsolesce. Attempts have been made to revive the cartridge by Ruger and then again by Remington in 2004 in the Model 673 Guide Rifle but these attempts at revival have been unsuccessful.
The 6.5mm Remington Magnum remains a excellent rifle cartridge with a greater performance potential over all the European 6.5mm cartridges save the 6.5x68mm RWS
which is similar to the .264 Winchester Magnum. Furthermore, due to its short stature, it can be chambered in lighter, quicker handling short action rifles. On account of the case capacity of the cartridge a barrel with a minimum length of 24 inches is necessary to realize the potential of the cartridge. With shorter barrels performance level drop dramatically especially when slower burning powders are utilized.
Currently only Remington produces ammunition for the cartridge and in only a single load, the Remington Express 120 gr PSP-CL. Handloaders, however, can take advantage of the bullet weights available which range from 95 gr.
The SAAMI
recommends a 6 grove barrel with a 1:9 twist. The bore diameter is given as 0.256 inch and the grove diameter is 0.264 inch. The recommended grove width is 0.095 inch. SAAMI recommends a maximum pressure of 53,000 C.U.P. while CIP
mandates a maximum pressure of no more than 4350 bars (63,091.4 psi).
The 6.5 mm Remington Magnum compares favorably with other 6.5mm (.264 caliber) cartridges. It terms of energy it is bested by the 6.5x68mm RWS and the .264 Winchester Magnum. However, neither the 6.5x68mm RWS nor the .264 Winchester Magnum can be chambered in a short action rifle. It provides a leap in performance over the non-magnum cartridges such as the .260 Remington and 6.5x55mm Swedish.
.350 Remington Magnum
The .350 Remington Magnum was introduced in 1965 by Remington Arms Company for the Model 600 rifle. It was later offered in the Model 660 and Model 700 rifles but was discontinued as a regular factory chambering in 1974 after a poor sales record...
which on turn is based on a shortened, necked down, blown out .375 H&H Magnum
.375 H&H Magnum
The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum is a powerful rifle round and one of the best-known and most popular medium-bore cartridges in the world. The .375 H&H was only the second cartridge ever to feature a belt, now common among magnum rounds. A popular misconception is that the belt is for headspace,...
case. The cartridge was one of the first short magnum cartridges.
General Information
The 6.5 mm (.264 caliber) has been extremely popular in Europe and especially in the Scandinavian countries and this trend continues today. The 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser, 6.5x58Rmm Krag-Jørgensen and the 6.5x58mm Portuguese are among the more famous of these cartridges of European origin. What the 6.5 mm (.264 caliber) bullets offered was excellent sectional density and ballistic coefficients. The Scandinavian countries dominated the Olympics in the Nordic events shooting 6.5 mm center fire cartridges like the 6.5x55mm until 1972 when the centerfire shooting events were dropped. However, in North America the .264 caliber did not make much of a head way in terms of popularity. Beginning in the 1950s several ex-service Norwegian Krag-JørgensenKrag-Jørgensen
The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
and Swedish Mauser
Swedish Mauser
"Swedish Mausers" are a family of bolt-action rifles based on an improved variant of Mauser's earlier Model 1893, but using the 6.5x55mm cartridge, and incorporating unique design elements as requested by Sweden. These are the m/94 carbine, m/96 long rifle, m/38 short rifle and m/41 sniper...
began trickling into the United States. Winchester had designed the .264 Winchester Magnum
.264 Winchester Magnum
The .264 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Apart from the .257 Weatherby Magnum, it is the smallest caliber factory cartridge which uses the standard length Holland & Holland belted magnum case...
but it did not gain much of a following and the rifles were plagued by short barrel lives.
In 1966 Remington introduced the 6.5 Remington Magnum, which was based upon the previous years' .350 Remington Magnum, in the 18.5 inch barrel Model 600 carbine. This was poor choice of rifle by Remington as it was unable to exploit the performance potential of the 6.5mm Remington. While Remington did later chamber the cartridge in the 24 inch Model 700 rifle the damage was already done to the cartridge's reputation from which it would not recover and eventually passed into obsolesce. Attempts have been made to revive the cartridge by Ruger and then again by Remington in 2004 in the Model 673 Guide Rifle but these attempts at revival have been unsuccessful.
The 6.5mm Remington Magnum remains a excellent rifle cartridge with a greater performance potential over all the European 6.5mm cartridges save the 6.5x68mm RWS
6.5x68mm
The 6.5x68mm rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge and its sister cartridge the 8x68mm S were developed in the 1930s by Mr...
which is similar to the .264 Winchester Magnum. Furthermore, due to its short stature, it can be chambered in lighter, quicker handling short action rifles. On account of the case capacity of the cartridge a barrel with a minimum length of 24 inches is necessary to realize the potential of the cartridge. With shorter barrels performance level drop dramatically especially when slower burning powders are utilized.
Currently only Remington produces ammunition for the cartridge and in only a single load, the Remington Express 120 gr PSP-CL. Handloaders, however, can take advantage of the bullet weights available which range from 95 gr.
Cartridge Specifications
The 6.5mm Remington Magnum is based on the .350 Remington Magnum necked down to accept a .264 caliber (6.71mm) bullet. It was one of the original short, fat magnum cartridges to be put into production. The short, fat cartridge design is known to promote efficient powder burning characteristics.The SAAMI
Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute is an association of American firearms and ammunition manufacturers...
recommends a 6 grove barrel with a 1:9 twist. The bore diameter is given as 0.256 inch and the grove diameter is 0.264 inch. The recommended grove width is 0.095 inch. SAAMI recommends a maximum pressure of 53,000 C.U.P. while CIP
Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives
The Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives is an international organisation whose members are 14 states, mainly European....
mandates a maximum pressure of no more than 4350 bars (63,091.4 psi).
Performance
Remington is the only company which provides ammunition for the cartridge. They provide a single load, the 120 gr PSP-CL. This Remington factory ammunition with its light for caliber bullet is only recommended for small deer and predator species. Those wishing to take advantage of the versatility of the 6.5mm Remington Magnum have little choice but to handload their ammunition.| Cartridge | Criteria | Muzzle | 100 yd (91.4 m) | 200 yd (182.9 m) | 300 yd (274.3 m) | 400 yd (365.8 m) | 500 yd (457.2 m) |
| .260 Remington .260 Remington The .260 Remington cartridge was introduced by Remington in 1997. Many wildcat cartridges based on the .308 Winchester case had existed for years before Remington standardized this round... , Remington 140 gr Premier Core-Lokt |
Velocity | 2750 ft/s (838.2 m/s) | 2554 ft/s (778.5 m/s) | 2365 ft/s (720.9 m/s) | 2185 ft/s (666 m/s) | 2013 ft/s (613.6 m/s) | 1849 ft/s (563.6 m/s) |
| Bullet drop | -1.5 in | 1.9 in (4.8 cm) | 0 in (0 cm) | -8.1 in | -23.6 in | -47.6 in | |
| 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser, Federal 140 gr SP | Velocity | 2600 ft/s (792.5 m/s) | 2402 ft/s (732.1 m/s) | 2212 ft/s (674.2 m/s) | 2031 ft/s (619 m/s) | 1859 ft/s (566.6 m/s) | 1698 ft/s (517.6 m/s) |
| Bullet drop | -1.5 in | 2.3 in (5.8 cm) | 0 in (0 cm) | -9.4 in | -27.0 in | -55.2 in | |
| 6.5mm Remington Magnum, Hornady 140 gr SP Handload | Velocity | 2900 ft/s (883.9 m/s) | 2700 ft/s (823 m/s) | 2509 ft/s (764.7 m/s) | 2327 ft/s (709.3 m/s) | 2153 ft/s (656.2 m/s) | 1986 ft/s (605.3 m/s) |
| Bullet drop | -1.5 in | 1.6 in (4.1 cm) | 0 in (0 cm) | -7.2 in | -20.8 in | -41.9 in | |
| .264 Winchester Magnum .264 Winchester Magnum The .264 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Apart from the .257 Weatherby Magnum, it is the smallest caliber factory cartridge which uses the standard length Holland & Holland belted magnum case... , Winchester 140 gr Super-X PP |
Velocity | 3030 ft/s (923.5 m/s) | 2782 ft/s (848 m/s) | 2547 ft/s (776.3 m/s) | 2325 ft/s (708.7 m/s) | 2113 ft/s (644 m/s) | 1913 ft/s (583.1 m/s) |
| Bullet drop | -1.5 in | 1.5 in (3.8 cm) | 0 in (0 cm) | -6.8 in | -20.1 in | -41.2 in | |
| All values retrieved from respective websites. 6.5mm Remington Mag. data from Hornady Reloading Manual #4 | |||||||
The 6.5 mm Remington Magnum compares favorably with other 6.5mm (.264 caliber) cartridges. It terms of energy it is bested by the 6.5x68mm RWS and the .264 Winchester Magnum. However, neither the 6.5x68mm RWS nor the .264 Winchester Magnum can be chambered in a short action rifle. It provides a leap in performance over the non-magnum cartridges such as the .260 Remington and 6.5x55mm Swedish.