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6.5 Addiction (cartridge)....please educate me

grovermn5

dumpster fire
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 6, 2012
337
68
llinois
im somewhat familiar with this cartridge but wanted some more detailed specifics from people that ACTUALLY shoot this cartridge.

what i do know is, 6.5x55 sweede blown out and runs well on H1000 and you have the option of Lapua brass. seems like its a "SAUM lite"

what i would like to know is:

A)will the standard (308) bolt face work or would it need to opened up a fuzz? ive read conflicting reports.

B)out of curiosity, does anyone have an OAL for this cartridge for 130 or 140gr projectiles.

C) dies, does anyone make them, and/or readily available or would they have to be custom made?

D) magazines, im guessing with the slightly larger case a regular 10 round AI mag would probable just hold 9(ive got ALPHA 10rnd SAUM mags so i would assume those would work as well)

E)looks to be 2 different reamers, one for a short action and a long action?

any other info or tips would be appreciated

thanks



 
Last edited:
im somewhat familiar with this cartridge but wanted some more detailed specifics from people that ACTUALLY shoot this cartridge.

what i do know is, 6.5x55 sweede blown out and runs well on H1000 and you have the option of Lapua brass. seems like its a "SAUM lite"

what i would like to know is:

A)will the standard (308) bolt face work or would it need to opened up a fuzz? ive read conflicting reports.

Depends on the brass manufacturer. Domestically produced brass will fit without issue. European brass (Lapua etc.) Have a larger .480 case head that may or may fit in your particular bolt face.

B)out of curiosity, does anyone have an OAL for this cartridge for 130 or 140gr projectiles.

I opted for the standard 6.5x55 after researching this cartridge so I don't have any first hand data.

C) dies, does anyone make them, and/or readily available or would they have to be custom made?

You have to order directly from whidden. They're not listed on their website, but they make them.

D) magazines, im guessing with the slightly larger case a regular 10 round AI mag would probable just hold 9(ive got ALPHA 10rnd SAUM mags so i would assume those would work as well)

Again, opted not to chamber in this cartridge.

E)looks to be 2 different reamers, one for a short action and a long action?

Correct. They're the same aside from the longer freebore on the long action version. You can seat bullets much longer in a long action (shocker.)

any other info or tips would be appreciated

thanks

In the end, I decided that the juice wasn't really worth the squeeze for my particular application. It's nice that you can chamber it in a short action and use the cheaper Lapua 6.5x55 brass. Granted, you can use factory 6.5x55 ammo if you decide to chamber it in a long action. You also get the benefit of a little more case capacity with bullets seated longer. It's my understanding that it rivals 6.5-284 with cheaper brass and the potential for slightly longer barrel life.