lionhunter Report post Posted July 13, 2018 A friend of mine is heck bent on building a rifle in 6.5. He asked me a question that I didn't really have a good answer for..... any info would be appreciated. Why do so many people build 6.5 saum, when it appears that wsm brass is more available? Is there an advantage with the SAUM, problems with the WSM?? Thanks in advance Whitey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PowellSixO Report post Posted July 16, 2018 The SAUM will have a longer neck for increased accuracy. It will be down 100 fps or so on velocity. Brass should be more available in the near future. It's gaining popularity for sure. Now they call it the 6.5 Gap 4s. I went with the 7 saum instead of the 6.5, so I didn't have to mess with sizing the brass. I'm VERY pleased with the rifle. Low recoil, and it shoots sub .5 moa out to 1000 yards. I'm at a good accuracy node at 2956 fps with the 162 gr ELDX. I could easily push this bullet over 3050+ fps, but like how it shoots at 2956 fps. My next rifle will more than likely be a 6.5 gap 4s. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted July 16, 2018 Really no accuracy advantage to speak of between the two. The biggest advantage of the 6.5WSM over the SAUM is you can find .270WSM brass or .300WSM brass pretty easy to form the cases with and you get a bit more velocity. The other advantage is that Dies are much cheaper for the WSM over the SAUM. The only real disadvantage is that you will have to turn the necks on the brass after resizing for best results so there is one extra step in your reloading process but you only have to do it once. As far as accuracy and performance though they are nearly identical. Here is the last 6.5WSM I finished up a couple months ago. As you can see it shoots just fine. This is a five shot group with 147 Hornadys at 3086fps. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted July 16, 2018 Either can be pushed to run 3100+. I don't see the SAUM giving up 100fps to the WSM. I have a 6.5SS. The black sheep brother to the 6.5 GAP 4S (SAUM). I can run a hot 150 @ 3150fps when I lean on it. That is my long range load. I am working on a 140 @ about the same to save on some case life though. Mine shoots pretty well too. Only 3 shots though w.150 SMKs. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lionhunter Report post Posted July 19, 2018 Thanks for the info guys. will pass it along. Whitey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted July 19, 2018 I have a 6.5 WSM. I use 270WSM brass and turn the necks after resizing. Dies are Redding 6.5mm/300WSM. I would think that one would likely not see much difference between the WSM and SAUM variants. Has you friend looked into a 6.5 PRC ? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
recurveman Report post Posted July 25, 2018 Keep this in mind. There literally is zero difference between 6.5 calibers. There might be a few hundred feet per second but for all practical purposes there is little to no difference. The biggest reason there are so many calibers is so gun manufacturers can sell more guns...........well and there are a bunch of crazy butt guys that like to build wildcat cartridges. yeah my father in law is building a 7mm wildcat cartridge that is based off of the SAUM with some modifications to case length, width, and shoulder angle. All to shoot tighter groups at longer distances. The accuracy of any of the 6.5's is great. Speed varies a little but with range finders it doesn't make any difference for most practical hunting applications. So the short answer is.........Get a caliber that you can deal with the easiest and shoot it. I went with the 6.5 X 284 for two reasons. First it is on the hotter side of the 6.5 cailbers and will do well in a bunch of shooting applications. Second, my father in law has all the bench rest quality reamers, dies, bushings, equipment, ect to reload this caliber. I didn't have to buy any reloading equipment for this caliber. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big or Bust Report post Posted July 25, 2018 Keep this in mind. There literally is zero difference between 6.5 calibers. There might be a few hundred feet per second but for all practical purposes there is little to no difference. The biggest reason there are so many calibers is so gun manufacturers can sell more guns...........well and there are a bunch of crazy butt guys that like to build wildcat cartridges. yeah my father in law is building a 7mm wildcat cartridge that is based off of the SAUM with some modifications to case length, width, and shoulder angle. All to shoot tighter groups at longer distances. The accuracy of any of the 6.5's is great. Speed varies a little but with range finders it doesn't make any difference for most practical hunting applications. So the short answer is.........Get a caliber that you can deal with the easiest and shoot it. I went with the 6.5 X 284 for two reasons. First it is on the hotter side of the 6.5 cailbers and will do well in a bunch of shooting applications. Second, my father in law has all the bench rest quality reamers, dies, bushings, equipment, ect to reload this caliber. I didn't have to buy any reloading equipment for this caliber. Say what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted July 25, 2018 Keep this in mind. There literally is zero difference between 6.5 calibers. There might be a few hundred feet per second but for all practical purposes there is little to no difference. The biggest reason there are so many calibers is so gun manufacturers can sell more guns...........well and there are a bunch of crazy butt guys that like to build wildcat cartridges. yeah my father in law is building a 7mm wildcat cartridge that is based off of the SAUM with some modifications to case length, width, and shoulder angle. All to shoot tighter groups at longer distances. The accuracy of any of the 6.5's is great. Speed varies a little but with range finders it doesn't make any difference for most practical hunting applications. So the short answer is.........Get a caliber that you can deal with the easiest and shoot it. I went with the 6.5 X 284 for two reasons. First it is on the hotter side of the 6.5 cailbers and will do well in a bunch of shooting applications. Second, my father in law has all the bench rest quality reamers, dies, bushings, equipment, ect to reload this caliber. I didn't have to buy any reloading equipment for this caliber. Say what? Best I can tell: Theres no difference but the speed. Speed doesnt matter. He shoots one of the fastest of that caliber. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
recurveman Report post Posted July 25, 2018 OK look at it this way. Take a 300 WSSM, 300 win mag, 300 weatherby mag, 300 RUM. All shooting a 180 grain bullet. All calibers are capable of shooting accurately. The RUM is going to be the hottest round and about 300 feet per second faster than others. If the gun shoots MOA and you know the distance........Is there really a practical difference between the calibers? The elk at 300 yards is going to be dead with all calibers if the shooter does his job. At 500, 700, 800 yards.......the elk is still dead. The only difference between calibers is the energy that they put out. If the bullet passes through the animal then all of the energy didn't dissipate into the critter to begin with so why have the extra energy? The trajectory will be a little different but who cares? If you know your dope then make the adjustment and send the bullet. Caliber is something we play with but it is irrelevant. It is a chunk of lead a certain diameter and a certain speed. Who cares if it comes from an 30-06 or a 300 win mag. All lower 48 game animals will die with any 30 caliber hunting rifle. We put way more importance on the caliber than is really needed. Again. I chose the 6.5 X 284 because I have access to all the best reloading equipment a guy could want. If the reloading equipment was 6.5 X 47 or 300 win mag I would have choosen that caliber. It is just a chunk of lead traveling at a known speed with known drag characteristics........unless you are a new nosler bullet. Then you better figure out the actual BC. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big or Bust Report post Posted July 25, 2018 Part of the issue is you are confusing the terms calibers and cartridges and using interchangibly and me no follow but I think I do... Energy doesn't mean a whole lot when killing, bullet construction and whether you get an exit is more determining than energy going out the back side.... I agree with you, bullets matter much more than the cartridge and in today's golden age of rifles, bullets, and rangefinders, most cartridges are more similar than different.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big or Bust Report post Posted July 25, 2018 I'd run a 6.5 SAUM or more specifically a GAP 4 S between the two as I like headstamped brass.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjl2010 Report post Posted July 25, 2018 I'd run a 6.5 SAUM or more specifically a GAP 4 S between the two as I like headstamped brass.... Looks like Prime will have factory ammo out soon if guys are into that kind of thing. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big or Bust Report post Posted July 25, 2018 What's the fun of that? Grin.... That 147 ELDM is the huckleberry... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
recurveman Report post Posted July 25, 2018 Part of the issue is you are confusing the terms calibers and cartridges and using interchangibly and me no follow but I think I do... Energy doesn't mean a whole lot when killing, bullet construction and whether you get an exit is more determining than energy going out the back side.... I agree with you, bullets matter much more than the cartridge and in today's golden age of rifles, bullets, and rangefinders, most cartridges are more similar than different.... Agreed - Bullet construction means more to me than all of it. I've hunted WT in Texas where a 300 win mag would zip through a little deer but a .243 with a 90 nosler ballistic tip would drop them in their tracks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
