Care And Feeding Of A GAP 6.5 SAUM.....

[xword]

How long can you seat a bullet and still be able to feed from a standard mag?

 

[Gun_Crazy]

You will create a donut. Get the K&M neck turning mandrel it has a cutter to cut the donut on the inside. You will have to cut the donut on the outside. Turn necks to 15 thousandths. I use the 21st century neck lathe. It works great

Waveslayer,
Do you have both the K&M and 21st Century. I bought the K&m inside reamer arbor thing but it does not fit in the 21st century neck turner. I called 21st Century and they don't make a inside reamer/arbor John said he just pushes it out with a expander mandrel and then cuts it down. So I guess I am asking is do you have both neck trimmers?

 

[mike e]

Note sure if this is the best place but I m looking for a starting load for the 6.5SAUM using the following componets
Norma Brass (300SAUM necked down), Retmbo (as thats all I currently have) and 140gn Hornady SST projectile,

All my loads to date have been with Retumbo and 127-130gn projectiles and I am not sure how much less powder to try as a starting load for the heavier bullets.

Any help is much appreciated

 

[Hawk Gunner]

Retumbo is a little slower and Norma brass has a little less capacity. I'd start at 60 and work up.

 

[mike e]

Retumbo is a little slower and Norma brass has a little less capacity. I'd start at 60 and work up.

Thank you

 

[mike e]

Net dumb question. To neck down 300 saum (Norma brass) what bushing(s) do I need, I have Redding Titanium Coated bushing in .293 .294 and .295 currently but i need to order any other sizes from Sinclairs and delivery is 3 weeks and $50USD for freight so I need to get it right first time as that makes the bushings rather expensive

7saum brass is non-existent currently here in New Zealand so I need to use 300saum which is readily available

 

[waveslayer]

Net dumb question. To neck down 300 saum (Norma brass) what bushing(s) do I need, I have Redding Titanium Coated bushing in .293 .294 and .295 currently but i need to order any other sizes from Sinclairs and delivery is 3 weeks and $50USD for freight so I need to get it right first time as that makes the bushings rather expensive

7saum brass is non-existent currently here in New Zealand so I need to use 300saum which is readily available

Pm sent

 

[Rootshot]

Some Load Testing

I received my Xtreme Hunter a few days ago and decided to do some load testing with a bunch of 6.5 bullets I had around.

This was meant to be a mild load to break in the barrel and form the brass. Cases were Remington 7mm SAUM prepped by GA. Primers were standard Wolf LR primers I had around. Powder is 60.0 grains of H1000 measured on an RCBS ChargeMaster. OAL was 5-10 thousands off jam length. Barrel length is 24". Velocity was measured with Magnetospeed.

140 AMAX OAL 2.855” 2964 fps
139 Scenar OAL 2.822” 2948 fps
120 TSX OAL 2.745” 3021 fps
140 Match Burner OAL 2.850” 2934 fps
130 TSX OAL 2.740” 3020 fps
120 TTSX OAL 2.799” 3060 fps
123 Scenar OAL 2.825” 2981 fps

Accuracy was disappointing. The 120 TSX load printed a 100 yard 10 shot group at 1 inch. Others opened up to 1.5" - 3.0". Scope is a 3-24x March - I don't think that's the problem. Could be driver error since I'm not used to a rifle this light.

Can anyone else share accuracy they are getting from their factory Xtreme hunters and any loads they have worked up for it?

Thanks,

--Rootshot

p.s. Standard safety disclaimer on trusting other people's load data applies.

 

[jacack]

Mine took a bit of shooting until it started to shoot. I bought 50 rounds of the copper creek ammo and wasn't until I shot them and started loading did I see the accuracy I was expecting

 

[montana3gunner]

I've found mine shoots the 140 HYbrid better than 140 Accubonds. Suprised the 139 Lapua wouldn't shoot and I'm surprised a GAP barrel would shoot anything 3". Try the 140 hybrid load but you might want to call them.

 

[mike e]

I received my Xtreme Hunter a few days ago and decided to do some load testing with a bunch of 6.5 bullets I had around.

This was meant to be a mild load to break in the barrel and form the brass. Cases were Remington 7mm SAUM prepped by GA. Primers were standard Wolf LR primers I had around. Powder is 60.0 grains of H1000 measured on an RCBS ChargeMaster. OAL was 5-10 thousands off jam length. Barrel length is 24". Velocity was measured with Magnetospeed.

140 AMAX OAL 2.855” 2964 fps
139 Scenar OAL 2.822” 2948 fps
120 TSX OAL 2.745” 3021 fps
140 Match Burner OAL 2.850” 2934 fps
130 TSX OAL 2.740” 3020 fps
120 TTSX OAL 2.799” 3060 fps
123 Scenar OAL 2.825” 2981 fps

Accuracy was disappointing. The 120 TSX load printed a 100 yard 10 shot group at 1 inch. Others opened up to 1.5" - 3.0". Scope is a 3-24x March - I don't think that's the problem. Could be driver error since I'm not used to a rifle this light.

Can anyone else share accuracy they are getting from their factory Xtreme hunters and any loads they have worked up for it?

Thanks,

--Rootshot

p.s. Standard safety disclaimer on trusting other people's load data applies.

I had similar issues when I first got my saum. complete rifle / scope was less than 7lb and no braked (I took it off)
Was me. Not used to shooting such a light rifle off a Bipod. Bit of practise and all good now.
Mine was build as a lightweight rifle for Alpine Hunting, carried a lot more than fired

 

[Rootshot]

I had similar issues when I first got my saum. complete rifle / scope was less than 7lb and no braked (I took it off)
Was me. Not used to shooting such a light rifle off a Bipod. Bit of practise and all good now.
Mine was build as a lightweight rifle for Alpine Hunting, carried a lot more than fired

Great to hear. That's what I'm hoping. Did anything specifically work for you (e.g. tight hold vs, loose hold)?

I'm going to load up another 100 rounds of virgin Norma brass with the 123 Scenars and work on technique.

Thanks,

--Rootshot

 

[mike e]

Great to hear. That's what I'm hoping. Did anything specifically work for you (e.g. tight hold vs, loose hold)?

I'm going to load up another 100 rounds of virgin Norma brass with the 123 Scenars and work on technique.

Thanks,

--Rootshot

I hold the foreend and wrap the sling around my forearm too. I took the brake off as I felt the noise was distracting even with plugs and muffs.
My rifle does not seem to like lighter bullets, the 120GMXs did not group well.
I have posted it before but here is another pic of my rifle before I removed the brake
Remington action, McMillan Hunters Edge Stock, Shillen No 3 Contour barrel, Terminator T2 Brake

and a better group

All my groups are 3 shots as deer don't wait for more shots

 

[Gun_Crazy]

How many firings are you guys doing until you anneal the cases?

 

[uskgxh11]

After I got my 6.5 Saum I worked up to 61.5 grains of H1000 using the 140 Berger hybrids and 210M federals. Used 7 SAUM Nosler brass with good results on accuracy but will still need a little tweaking. I have another GAP (260 REM) that has phenomenal accuracy at .282" 5 shots so I have high hopes for this one. Haven't gotten the saum under a half inch yet but should with some more load development. I love the feel and weight of this extreme hunter, and had reservations about the SL stock at first but it's a winner.

 

[kombayotch]

Because the Reamer change seems to have a lot of guy’s concerned I thought I would measure different bullets to the lands in both chambers for everyone so everyone can understand the need for the change.
Measurements are COAL to the lands
Case: Rem 6.5 SAUM 4S

Old Reamer Most rifles built had this chamber through July of 2013

140 Berger Hybrid 2.960
140 JLK 2.965
130 JLK 2.965
130 Berger VLD 2.910
140 AMAX 2.880

New Reamer after July or 2013

140 Berger Hybrid 2.920
140 JLK 2.925
130 JLK 2.925
130 Berger VLD 2.860
140 AMAX 2.830

Basically a .040 - .050 depending on type of bullet

Are the pressure rings on the bullets (Bergers in particular) still ahead of the neck-shoulder junction with these lengths?

 

[Rootshot]

I called up Barnes today and asked about their G7 ballistic coefficients They don't publish these, but were willing to share them. I am re-sharing here with permission:

6.5mm Barnes Match Burners 140gr G1 .586 / G7 .298
6.5mm Barnes TSX 120gr G1 .381 / G7 .195
6.5mm Barnes TTSX 120gr G1 .443 / G7 .211
6.5mm Barnes LRX 127gr G1 .468 / G7 .239
6.5mm Barnes TSX FB 130gr G1 .365 / G7 .187

--Rootshot

 

[Bluejazz]

Using 210 or 215M primers with the SAUM?

 

[Hawk Gunner]

I don't think it matters I shot cci br2 and large rifle magnum and no change in avg velocity and just a couple fps difference in ES with the br2 being slightly better.

 

[XTREM HTR16]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'd like to try Retumbo one day, but I was fortunate to find some H1000 off Gunbroker this morning for $30 per lb. I'll steer clear of the other powders.

Oh the memories of $30/lb powder on GB.