6.5mm Cartridge Comparison (pictorial)

6.5mm Cartridge Comparison (pictorial)

A Quick Comparison of Popular 6.5mm Rifle Cartridges
A visual comparison provided by ammoguide.com

- by Eben Brown (E. Arthur Brown Co. Inc) 2010
The current popularity of 6.5mm cartridges in the USA has been a long time in coming. I won't go into my opinions on why it took so long to catch on... The important thing is that it finally HAS caught on and we're now so fortunate to have a wide selection of 6.5mm cartridges to choose from!

6.5mm Grendel - Developed by Alexander Arms for the AR15 and Military M4 family of rifles. The Grendel fits the dimensional and functional requirements of these rifles while delivering better lethality and downrange performance. There are now similar cartridges from other rifle companies. We chamber for the Les Baer "264 LBC-AR". Designed for velocities of 2400-2500 fps with 123 gr bullets, it shoots the 140 gr at about 2000 fps (for comparison purposes).

6.5mm BRM - Developed by E. Arthur Brown Company, Inc to give "Big Game Performance to Small Framed Rifles"... Namely our Model 97D Rifle, TC Contender, and TC Encore. Velocities of 2400-2500 fps with 140 gr bullets puts it just under the original 6.5x55 Swede performance.

6.5mm x 47 Lapua - Developed by Lapua specifically for long range bench rest shooting competitions. Case capa-city, body taper, shoulder angle, and small rifle primer are all features requested by top international shooters. You can expect velocities of 2500-2600+ with 140 gr bullets.

6.5mm Creedmoor - Developed by Hornady and Creed-moor Sports, the 6.5mm Creedmoor is designed for effic-iency and function. Its shape reaches high velocities while maintaining standard 308 win pressures and its overall length fits well with 308 win length magazines. You can expect velocities of 2600-2700+ fps with 140 gr bullets.		 260 Remington - Developed by Remington to compete with the 6.5mmx55 Swedish Mauser that was (finally) gaining popularity in 1996. By necking down the 7mm-08 Remington to 6.5mm (.264 cal), the 260 Remington was created. It fit the same short action bolt actions that fit 308 win, 243 win, 7-08 rem, etc. You can expect velocities of 2600-2700 fps with 140 gr bullets in the 260 Remington.

6.5mm x 55 Swedish Mauser - The cartridge that started the 6.5mm craze in the USA. Developed by the Mauser corporation back in 1896 (I think), it is famous for having mild recoil, deadly lethality on even the biggest game animals, and superb accuracy potential. Original ballistics were in the 2500 fps range with 140 gr bullets. Nowadays handloaders get 2600-2700+ fps.

6.5-06 is made by necking down 30-06 down to .264 caliber. Velocities run 2700-2900+ fps w/140 gr bullets.

6.5mm-284 Norma comes from necking the .284 Win-chester down to .264 caliber. Norma standardized it for commercial ammo sales. The 6.5mm-284 is used extensively for NRA High Power competition at 1,000 yd ranges. Velocities run 3000-3100+ with 140 gr bullets.

264 Winchester Magnum - Developed by Winchester back in 1959, the 264 Win Mag never really caught on and may have delayed the ultimate acceptance of 6.5mm cartridges by US shooters (in my opinion). Velocities run 3000-3100+ fps with 140 gr bullets.

26 Nosler - Non-belted magnum introduced in 2014. Velocities run 3200-3300+ fps with 140 gr bullets.
Mar 30th 2023

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