6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum

Last updated
6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum
6.5-Grendel-and-6.5-300-Weatherby-Magnum.jpg
Left: 6.5mm Grendel. Right: 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum.
TypeRifle
Place of originUSA
Production history
DesignerWeatherby
DesignedRoy Weatherby experimented with the design in the 1950s. It wasn’t commercialized until 2016.
ManufacturerWeatherby
Produced2016
Specifications
Parent case .300 Weatherby Magnum
Case typeBelted, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.264 in (6.7 mm)
Shoulder diameter.4949 in (12.57 mm)
Base diameter.512 in (13.0 mm)
Rim diameter.5315 in (13.50 mm)
Case length2.825 in (71.8 mm)
Overall length3.600 in (91.4 mm)
Case capacity98  gr H2O (6.4 cm3)
Rifling twist1-8"
Primer typeLarge rifle magnum
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/typeVelocityEnergy
127 gr (8 g) LRX3,531 ft/s (1,076 m/s)3,516 ft⋅lbf (4,767 J)
130 gr (8 g) Scirocco3,476 ft/s (1,059 m/s)3,487 ft⋅lbf (4,728 J)
140 gr (9 g) A-Frame3,395 ft/s (1,035 m/s)3,583 ft⋅lbf (4,858 J)
Test barrel length: 26
Source(s): Weatherby [1] [2]

The 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum is a 6.5mm cartridge created by Weatherby in 2016 for the growing 6.5mm long-range rifle market. [2]

Contents

Background

As what was then the newest in Weatherby's lineup, this cartridge was designed to directly compete with the 26 Nosler. [3]

Performance

Claimed by Weatherby to be the fastest 6.5mm cartridge available. [4]

Designed in a similar fashion as other Weatherby cartridges, it has a large-for-caliber case capacity, resulting in high velocities. When bullets with high ballistic coefficients are used, trajectories are extremely flat, allowing the projectile to retain a significant amount of energy downrange.

Availability

Weatherby is currently[ when? ] the only manufacturer of rifles chambered in the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum, as well as the only current supplier of ammunition. However, cases could be formed from .300 Weatherby Magnum brass.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weatherby</span> American gun manufacturer

Weatherby, Inc. is an American gun manufacturer founded in 1945 by Roy Weatherby. The company is best known for its high-powered magnum cartridges, such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .340 Weatherby Magnum and the .460 Weatherby Magnum. The company's headquarters is in Sheridan, Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Lapua Magnum</span> Finnish rifle cartridge

The .338 Lapua Magnum is a Finnish rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It was developed during the 1980s as a high-powered, long-range cartridge for military snipers. Due to its use in the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, the cartridge has become widely available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.460 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the .458-inch (11.6 mm) bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby. The .460 Weatherby Magnum was designed as an African dangerous game rifle cartridge for the hunting of heavy, thick skinned dangerous game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.257 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .257 Weatherby Magnum is a .257 caliber (6.53 mm) belted bottlenecked cartridge. It is one of the original standard length magnums developed by shortening the .375 H&H Magnum case to approx. 2.5 in (64 mm). Of the cartridges developed by Roy Weatherby, the .257 Weatherby Magnum was known to have been his favorite, and the cartridge currently ranks third in Weatherby cartridge sales, after the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum and the .300 Weatherby Magnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.375 H&H Magnum</span> British rifle cartridge

The .375 H&H Magnum, also known as .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, is a medium-bore rifle cartridge introduced in 1912 by London based gunmaker Holland & Holland. The .375 H&H cartridge featured a belt to ensure the correct headspace, which otherwise might be unreliable, given the narrow shoulder of the cartridge case. The cartridge was designed to use cordite which was made in long strands – hence the tapered shape of the case, which, as a beneficial side effect also helped in smooth chambering and extraction from a rifle's breech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.300 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .300 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard rifle action. It is based on the .375 H&H Magnum, which has been blown out, shortened, and necked down to accept a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) bullet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.378 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .378 Weatherby Magnum was designed by Roy Weatherby in 1953. Although inspired by the .416 Rigby, it is an original belted magnum design with no parent case. The cartridge features a high powder capacity relative to its bore size, and can hold upwards of 7.13 g of powder. This consideration prompted the Federal Cartridge Company to introduce the 215 Magnum primer specifically for this round. The .378 shares the double radius shoulder design found on the other Weatherby magnum cartridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.30-378 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .30-378 Weatherby Magnum is a .30 caliber, belted, bottle-necked rifle cartridge. The cartridge was developed in response to a US Army military contract in 1959. While still unreleased to the public, the cartridge went on to set world records for accuracy including the first ten 10X in 1,000 yards (910 m) benchrest shooting. It is currently the highest velocity .30 caliber factory ammunition available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable .375 H&H Magnum. The original purpose of the belted magnum concept taken from the .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum, was to provide precise headspace control, since the sloping shoulders, while easing cartridge extraction, were unsuitable for this purpose. Improved cartridge extraction reliability is desirable while hunting dangerous game, in particular when a fast follow-up shot is required. The 7mm Remington Magnum is based on the commercial .264 Winchester Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, and .458 Winchester Magnum, which were based on the same belted .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum cases, trimmed to nearly the same length as the .270 Weatherby Magnum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belted magnum</span> Type of weapons cartridge

The term belted magnum or belted case refers to any cartridge, but generally a rifle cartridge, with a shell casing that has a pronounced "belt" around its base that continues 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) past the extractor groove.

The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, also known as the .300 Ultra Mag, 7.62×72mm or .300 RUM, is a 7.62 mm rifle cartridge introduced by Remington Arms in 1999. The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is one of the largest commercially available .30 caliber magnums currently being produced. It is a beltless, rebated rim cartridge, capable of handling all large North American game, as well as long-range shooting. Among commercially produced .30-caliber rifle chamberings, the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is second only to the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum in cartridge-case capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8×68mm S</span> 1930s German rifle cartridge

The 8×68mm S rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire rifle cartridge was developed in the 1930s by August Schüler of the August Schüler Waffenfabrik, Suhl, Germany as a magnum hunting cartridge that would just fit and function in standard-sized Mauser 98 bolt-action rifles. The bore has the same lands and grooves diameters as the German 7.92×57mm Mauser service cartridge. This is one of the early examples where a completely new rifle cartridge was developed by a gunsmith to fit a specific popular and widespread type of rifle.

The .264 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Except for the .244 H&H Magnum and .257 Weatherby Magnum, it is the smallest caliber factory cartridge derived from the 2.85 in (72 mm) Holland & Holland belted magnum case. It was introduced in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Winchester Magnum as one of a family of short-cased 2.5 in (64 mm) belted magnum cartridges developed by Winchester based on the .375 Holland & Holland parent case. It was officially introduced to the public by Winchester in 1959. After many years of dwindling use it began enjoying a mild resurgence in popularity in the mid-2000s among long range rifle enthusiasts and reloaders due to the high ballistic coefficient of the heavier 6.5mm bullets and increasing popularity of cartridges such as 6.5mm Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 6.5 Grendel, benchrest and wildcat cartridges in 6.5mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.416 Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .416 Remington Magnum is a .416 caliber (10.57 mm) cartridge of belted bottlenecked design. The cartridge was intended as a dangerous game hunting cartridge and released to the public in 1989. The cartridge uses the case of the 8 mm Remington Magnum as a parent cartridge. When the cartridge was released in 1988, author Frank C. Barnes considered the .416 Remington Magnum to be the "most outstanding factory cartridge introduced in decades".

The .375 Ruger (9.5×65.5mm) is a rimless, standard-length rifle cartridge designed for hunting large, dangerous game. It is designed to provide an increase in performance over the .375 H&H cartridge within the context of a standard-length rifle action. The cartridge was designed in partnership by Hornady and Ruger. In 2007, it was released commercially and chambered in the Ruger Hawkeye African and the Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan rifles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.257 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .257 Weatherby Magnum is a .257 caliber (6.53 mm) belted bottlenecked cartridge. It is one of the original standard length magnums developed by shortening the .375 H&H Magnum case to approx. 2.5 in (64 mm). Of the cartridges developed by Roy Weatherby, the .257 Weatherby Magnum was known to have been his favorite, and the cartridge currently ranks third in Weatherby cartridge sales, after the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum and the .300 Weatherby Magnum.

The Weatherby Mark V is a centerfire, bolt-action rifle manufactured by Weatherby of Sheridan, Wyoming. The rifle was introduced in 1957 by Weatherby and was designed to safely contain the high pressures associated with the Weatherby line of high performance cartridges. It is the flagship rifle of the Weatherby line of firearms.

Nosler produces six different rebated rim hunting cartridges. The first to be introduced was .26 Nosler, followed by .28 Nosler, .30 Nosler, .33 Nosler, .22 Nosler, and .27 Nosler.

References

  1. "Weatherby | 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum". Archived from the original on 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  2. 1 2 "An Official Journal of the NRA | the New 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum and Mark V Rifle".
  3. Snow, John B. (September 29, 2016). "First Look: New 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum Cartridge". Outdoor Life . Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  4. "Weatherby | 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum". Archived from the original on 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2016-11-07.