STOMP442

The nice thing about 6.5's is you don't have to push those big heavy bullets. Just about any 6.5 is capable of sub MOA accuracy at 600 yards and kills just as well.

Well first off, caliber choices are pretty wide open as anything with the same rim diameter of the .30-06 is a viable option. .25-06 - 35 Whelen or .338-06 can be easily done. I for one would seriously look into the 6.5-06 Ackley Improved or the .280 Ackley Improved for serious long range shooting and hunting performance. Heck, what's wrong with the barrel you have? The .30-06, is a very capable cartridge for what you are wanting to do. Ruger's take a little work but thay can be made to shoot pretty darn well. As far as cost, goes that all depends on the smith.

Wow, what a question where to start. It will be a 6.5 of some sort but which one is still to be determined.

Lat time I spoke with her I told her to transfer me to her manager so I could tell them what a great job she did. Hopefully, she moves on up the latter she deserves it.

Unfortunately, their customer service is very hit or miss. All depends on who you get, I use Savage customer service a lot and over the years I have gotten everything from great to let me speak with your manager because you are a moron bad. There is one lady down there that I have spoken with by the name of Rebbecca that is always happy, friendly and a pleasure to deal with. Ask to speak with her and if she's busy leave her a message and she will get back with you.

Detachable magazine or blind mag? If it's a detachable mag it could be that the magazine is not fully seated into place. Make sure it is seated square and that it snaps into place.

4350 and 4831 are both good powders and you should be able to get up around 2900 before seeing any pressure with those. Retumbo, H1000 and Ramshot Magnum have all worked well for me too.

Go with the feather weight Boyds stock. Very nice and quite a bit lighter than the varmint. As far as bedding goes I always pillar & glass bed. The pillars allow you to get consistent action bolt torque without crushing any wood and the glass locks it all in place good and solid.

Check to make sure your barrel is free floated. Best way i know to mess up a group is having your barrel touch somplace.

On my latest build I went with a Shilen #5 which I think was the perfect balance of weight and accuracy.

I guess I don't get what you are trying to say. I am running 150 fps faster than most standard .260's are capable of. The point I am trying to make is that the Ackley case is more efficient producing higher velocities due to a better powder column and burn in the case rather than the throat of the barrel. More velocity without having to use more powder is a beautiful thing.

I have at a minimum of 10 firings on my Ackley cases and every one of them is still good and tight. All of the loads I'm running are at or below std 260 max loads I don't believe I am over pressure at all. As far the 25s go as long as we have the 115 Berger that's all we need.

It's called case efficiency. I have built a handful of .260AI's and 6.5-284s over the last few years so I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of what each caliber is capable of. This is my data with both calibers with components as near to the same as possible even. .260 Ackley improved Savage model 111 action 26" Mcgowen varmint weight 8 twist barrel Lapua Brass 140gr Berger VLD 42.0gr of H4350 = 2940 fps 44.5gr of H4831 = 2960 fps 6.5-284 Norma Savage model 111 action 26" Mcgowen Varmint weight 8 twist barrel Norma Brass 140gr Berger VLD 57.5gr of Retumbo = 2960 fps 52.0gr of H4831 = 2950 fps Now these are my rifles and my data but I have built a number of rifles in each caliber that have ended up liking loads and velocities very similar to what I have been running in my own rigs. Every .260AI I have built has liked 42-44.5gr of H4350 with a 140gr bullet right around the 2950 mark. Every 6.5-284 I have built has liked 53-58gr of Retumbo or 4831 with a 140gr bullet right around the 2950 mark. Now each cartridge is capable of higher velocities and the 6.5-284 will push the 140's a bit faster but at a cost of barrel life, recoil and powder usage.

.260 Ackley Improved will provide the same performance of your 6.5-284 and fit a short action with 140gr bullets plus use about 8 grains less powder to do it. I would never willingly shoot a 120 grain bullet unless the rifle just won't shoot the 140's. If you are stuck on the calibers you have listed the Creed would probably be the easiest to do but the straight .260 gets my vote.

Targetman.com located in vail with very reasonable shipping. 3/8" will hold up fine as long as impact velocities are below 2800fps and beyond 100 yards.

I am willing to bet there has been some extensive testing done on these to ensure that they do fly and shoot well. That being said these should perform very similarly to the .30 cal 215 hybrid which has been an excellent performer on game especially bigger game like elk. Edit: My bad, these are actually marketed as elite hunters which is the hunting versions of the Hybrids. Still there should be no problems with these bullets and faster twists since most hunters will not be shooting long strings of fire with them.

Proper shot placement is key regardless of caliber choice. That being said the .223 is more than capable to tackle deer. A good hunting bullet like the 65gr Sierra Game King which has good weight for carrying energy and offers good penetration and bullet expansion ensuring that energy is dumped into the animal would be my choice in a .22 cal deer rifle.

9 twist provides marginal stability with a stability factor of 1.3 at sea level at 75 degrees and 2950 fps and causes a 5% decrease in BC. Same conditions except 3000 ft elevation pushes the stability factor up to 1.5 and you can get all the BC out of the bullet. An 8 twist barrel would really be ideal for these bullets though as you wouldn't have to worry about altitude affecting your stability to less than ideal conditions.

Gotta pay for all that new tooling and research and development some how. This bullet is going to appeal to a very small niche of Shooters if you look at the big picture and will require a special twist barrel as well which limits availability to the casual Shooter as well.

The Ruger one is a much better built rifle without any of the problems the Savage ones have and just as accurate from what I have seen. http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/06/varminter-com-reviews-ruger-7717-in-17-wsm-rimfire/

Just keep your C.B.T.O. the same so you are not jamming anything into the lands or keeping the same amount of jump. 10 thou seems pretty excessive but shouldn't change things much if it at all. Load some up and go shoot them is really the only way to know for sure.

Far to busy for me as well. Just use the big cross in the middle dial and squeeze.

5-8 thousand is a lot less than the 20+ a new one will cost. Since money is an issue have you tried talking to the bank and essentially buying the vehicle from yourself using the value of the vehicle? 8 grand is a lot easier to pay off over a couple years than all at once for sure. Just another option to look into.

I wouldn't mess with it. It's good looking gun as is and 9 pounds sans scope is just about perfect for a long range rig. Besides even with a brake you are going to want all the weight you can with that caliber and bullet weight.

I usually take a .22 or some other plinkers to mess with while the barrel of the one I am working on cools. Makes the waiting much more bearable when your still pulling a trigger.