DIY: ream out a Model 11 chamber from .260 rem to 6.5X47 Lapua?

[JohnEP]

I was looking a the dimensions of the .260 Rem and 6.5X47 Lapua. Seems like I could ream away the neck of the .260 chamber with a 6.5X47 Lapua chamber reamer, then just cut off a short section of the threaded breach of the barrel. Maybe I'd have to extend the barrel breach threads a bit further down the barrel for the barrel nut (easy). Hardest part for the home smith would seem to be cutting off the extra length of barrel. Does this idea seem practical?
.260 Rem; 6.5x47 Lapua
Bullet diameter .264 in (6.7 mm); SAME
Neck diameter .2969 in (7.54 mm); 7.41 mm (0.292 in) (SMALLER)
Shoulder diameter .4539 in (11.53 mm); SAME
Base diameter .4705 in (11.95 mm); SAME
Rim diameter .4728 in (12.01 mm) ; SAME
Rim thickness .0539 in (1.37 mm); SAME
Case length 51.7mm; 47 mm (SHORTER)
Specs above taken from Wiki.

Because the .260 neck is 7.54mm in length, this is the length that needs to be reamed out of the chamber. Also because the .260 case is 4.7mm LONGER than the 6.5 Lapua, we'd need to cut off 7.54mm plus 4.7mm = 12.24mm from the barrel's breach. That only about 1/2 an inch. Now, you have a dirt-cheap Savage 6.5 Lapua!

Alternatively, is it possible with the screw-in Savage head-space adjustement, to just screw the barrel in an extra 1/2 inch without needing to cut the barrel at all???

Thanks,
JohnEP.

[mnhntr]

Just wondering why you would want to do this since the .260 get a slight edge in performance over the lapua? Also is cheaper to get brass.

[JohnEP]

True, true. But, this is off-topic to my question at hand, so I don't want to engage on that point in this thread.

[ellobo]

Sorry John EP. The question about the .260 is a legitimate question relative to the post. It is exactly the question I was going to ask. No one on this forum will say don't do it unless thier are real reasons for not doing it. For instance you say you would have to take a half inch off the breach end of the barrel but that may mean you will not have enough dia left to thread for the barrel nut. Depends on the taper of the barrel. More informed people may come on here with other valid reasons why you can or cannot do what you want. If it is doable you will be told so and to go do it if that is what you truly want. And I say, go for it if doable.

El Lobo

[stangfish]

Do it. Remove 3/16 from the breech and go with it.

[squirrel_slayer]

agreed. why? could always go with .308 palma lapua brass and neck/turn it to 260rem and have a amped up 6.5x47L then zing 123's even faster.

[JohnEP]

agreed. why? could always go with .308 palma lapua brass and neck/turn it to 260rem and have a amped up 6.5x47L then zing 123's even faster.

OK, OK, you've convinced me to hijack my own thread: how do I turn the .308 palma lapua brass down to .260? Cant find a good article or you-tube video. Are we talking $100 equipment? Are we talking 5 min of work per unit brass? Will this newly formed brass hold up to multiple reloadings?

Thanks,
JohnEP

[Jack Rustle]

you only need to run the brass thru your 260 Rem sizer and waalaa there you go. Your only consequence might be too thick of neck but a neck reamer or outside neck turner fixes that and you are good to go...

[squirrel_slayer]

yup. just run through a .260 remington die, check for donuts at the base of the neck. if there just clean up with a neck turner and your set. lapua makes straight .260 brass now also unless your dead set on the small primer.

[JohnEP]

Indeed; I was interested in the small primer, and also the superior 6.5x47L case design, specifically designed for that small primer (faster burning powder is a better match for that case capacity). Also, folks have had trouble with the .260 Lapua brass: seems it is made to fit "match" .260 chambers, and not the standard SAMMI .260 chamber. As I understand it, primers get loose quick when reloading the .260 Lapua brass fired through a SAMMI chamber. The extra case capacity of the .260 and 6.5 Creedmore generally requires a slower-burning powder, which is not the best match for a small primer. That is why they have the larger primers.

Of course, I could just get a Trophy Hunter 11 in .308 (or 7mm-08, or .206), and then just get a barrel blank from green mountain to try to machine a 6.5x47L chamber for the Savage. That way, if I failed, I'd still have my good Savage OEM barrel. If I succeeded, then maybe I could sell my virgin OEM barrel. In other words, a barrel blank is cheaper to experiment on than an OEM Savage barrel. OR, IS ITS POSSIBLE to find OEM Savage barrels for $99 or less?

[earl39]

why not just get lapua 260 brass

[mnhntr]

I think your confused unless I read your statement wrong. The 6.5x47 is NOT superior to the .260 in any way. ALso there is great brass for the 260 from Nosler.

[jhelmuth]

I'm sure you're willing to conceed that the 6.5x47L does have a flatter trajectory...

The .260 has come into it's own now that top quality brass is available. .260 +1 :thumb:

[BoilerUP]

I'm sure you're willing to conceed that the 6.5x47L does have a flatter trajectory...

Flatter than what, a 260 shooting the same bullets from the same length barrel?

Nope.

Lapua 260 brass works great...as does Nosler and even RP, Rem brass just doesn't tolerate hot loads like Lapua can.

[stangfish]

6.5x47 flatter than a 6.5x51?

[JohnEP]

I think your confused unless I read your statement wrong. The 6.5x47 is NOT superior to the .260 in any way.
I'm sure the folks over at Lapua would beg to differ: after all, they invested their reputation into this case design, even though the .260 rem has existed for decades earlier. The 6.5x47L is designed around the advantages of the small primer. It's smaller case capacity is appropriate for the faster burning powders that the small primers do best with. It also has a higher max pressure than the .260 rem. Of course, I do not mean to imply that the 6.5x47L case design is superior in EVERY way... factory .260 rem certainly shoots faster than current factory 6.5x47L.


I'm sure you're willing to conceed that the 6.5x47L does have a flatter trajectory...:
Not sure what you mean: factory .260 rem is generally faster than factory 6.5x47L for the same bullet weight. However, I think that the factory 6.5x47L might have a lower variance in speed between shots. Has anyone tested this?

But, once again, back to the topic of my Original Post: Assuming I was crazy enough to want a 6.5x47L Savage "on the cheap," let me expand on my OP question:

Assuming I already have an "extra" custom barrel in 6.5x47L for a Savage 11, then what can I expect to sell my new 22" OEM Savage barrel for? Does ANY commercial site sell brand-new OEM Savage barrels? Which caliber of OEM Savage barrel has the greatest street value (.243, .260, 7mm-08, or .308)?

Thanks,
JohnEP

[bootsmcguire]

John,
Look at Northland Shooters Supply in the "Vendor Classified" section here in the Forum. NSS sells new factory Savage barrels when they become available to them, check their pricing to get an idea for what you could get out of your barrel.

[JohnEP]

John,
Look at Northland Shooters Supply in the "Vendor Classified" section here in the Forum. NSS sells new factory Savage barrels when they become available to them, check their pricing to get an idea for what you could get out of your barrel.

Thanks. Looks like a new 22" Savage barrel goes for about $85. This will help me to decide whether to experiment on a raw barrel blank, or to experiment on a Savage OEM barrel. In all honesty, this project will be tabled for now.

Thanks again guys,
JohnEP