Lone Eagle....One of the best 6.5 rounds I ever shot was the wildcat Parker Ackley put together after World War II. Lots of GI's were bringing back 6.5 Jap rifles and wanted to shoot them. Parker took a .257 Roberts reamer and added a 6.5 pilot and the 6.5/.257 Roberts was born. The case capacity is about perfect for IMR 4064. Reamers are available from J.G.S. @ Coos Bay. Loading date is available in Parker's book. It should be noted that what has made the 6.5 famous in the past is its ability to stabilize long heavy bullets...ex. is the 6.5 Swedish vs the new .260 Rem. On a custom barrel you should ask for a 1 in 9 twist. This will let you shoot the great 160 gr. bullets! The other 6.5 that is interesting, since we have the very slow burn powders, is the 6.5-06. However, a long barrel is needed to burn that slow powder or there is no real gain. Both wildcats use brass that is easy to get.
Best Regards, James
(Edited by James Gates at 8:40 pm on June 10, 2001)