AR10 converted to 6.5x47 Lapua

[BAC]

I sorta stumbled across this caliber when looking at precision rigs, and found Zak's AW rifle converted from .308 to 6.5x47. He mentioned only having to swap the barrel, and had some excellent accuracy to show for it, so I took a closer look at the round. One line of thought led to another, and the more I looked at what I wanted from the rifle (long range, using a 18"-20" threaded barrel, detachable magazine capable, pushing a 6mm to 6.5mm bullet) the more I got curious about converting an AR10 to 6.5x47 Lapua and seeing what would happen.

Aside from the barrel swap, Lapua says the caliber shares very close dimensions with the .308 and should be able to keep the same bolt and magazines. I assume I'll need a heavier carbine or rifle length buffer assembly.

Am I missing anything? Sound like a worthy project?


-B

[Merc69]

I have also been looking at the 6.5X 47 or the 6.5 Creedmoore. Things to look at tare the cost of the dies, and brass the rest is the same for reloading. I understand there is factory Lapua ammunition for the 6.5X47 and of course the 6.5 Creedmoore is Hornady. So my decision will be based on brass and reloading dies.

I have a spare 700 action that has been sitting, I only need to decide which gunsmith is going to get some of my money.

[BAC]

Well, a precision rig for me is a long way off, but it can't hurt to start thinking about it. I really like the idea that I can build a precision .308 and 6.5x47 (or the Creedmoore) and only need to swap barrels. Having an AR10 and a bolt gun with this easy-swap ability is really cool to me. I'm just trying to make sure that the barrel is the only thing that would need to be swapped. I don't know if what worked on Zak's bolt gun is gong to carry over to a semi-auto system.


-B

[Dave L.]

Just out of curiosity, how much does 6.5X47 cost per round?
My next precision rifle will be similar; I want to do 7mm08 which still uses 308 brass.

[BAC]

No idea, to be honest. It's brand new, and my cursory Google searches haven't found a lot. The Lapua stuff sells at Midway for $51 per box of 20 (:eek:), so reloading isn't a question, but a necessity. I haven't found dies and stuff yet, but I'm also not knowledgeable enough about reloading to give estimates for what they'll cost per round. Definitely less than $2.5/round, though...


-B

[constructor]

lapua brass can easily cost twice as much as Hornady, seems like I paid $90 for Grendel brass last spring.
I would stick with the 6.5x47 or Creedmoor over the 260 though, the 260s throat is too long and the 6.5x47 and 6.5 Creedmoors throat was developed for accuracy.

[sideshowbob]

You might be better off with a 260. DPMS has this as a regularly cataloged item. Based on Zak's conclusions here:

http://demigodllc.com/articles/6.5-shootout-260-6.5x47-6.5-creedmoor/

It seems like the 260 offers the best bang for your buck.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

To me it seems like polishing the canon ball. People talk about how accurate their AR10s are, and I'm sure GAP makes a nice one, but are you ever going to get a rifle that is consistently accurate enough to exploit the difference between .308 and 6.5? It has been awhile since I read Zac's article, but it made it sounds like the real advantage is that you get about 200 more yards out of it and about a third less wind drift? Now a 1MOA Rem700 is easy and a AR10 is doable. A 0.5MOA Rem700 is doable but a freak of an AR10. From what I've read the Knights SR25 couldn't do it, I assume Tubb had his SR25 shooting pretty well, but for High Power IIRC you only need a 1MOA rifle anyway.

I guess it really depends on what you are trying to hit and how hard. I don't know what you would do with it. MIL or LEO with an odd caliber, probably not. 3-gun- if you want to do HE-MAN you need .308. Long-range tactical comps, it seems like you need the accuracy of a bolt action there, but maybe a 6.5 AR10 would be able to keep up, especially in wind, with a .308 Rem700.

I am by no means an expert, but I went thru this path and thought process 6 months ago. I came to the conclusion that for me trying to get into stuff like 3-gun that a 16in. carbine set-up, a SPR type set-up ala a JP type CTR-02, and Rem700 bolt action would be the way to go.

The carbine is for plinking and short matches, the SPR would be good for out to about 600 with 77gr ammo, and the bolt for long range stuff.

I just never found a real niche for an AR10. The AR15 is faster, the Rem700 is more accurate. Even though the 6.5 is a better round pretty much all around than the .308, I'll probably still go .308 just for cheaper ammo and more common rifles.

Sorry this got to more of an AR15 vs AR10 rant.

It all comes down to what are you going to do with it. Cool guns, with out a purpose, end up sitting in safes.

[javentre]

but are you ever going to get a rifle that is consistently accurate enough to exploit the difference between .308 and 6.5?

If you're going to shoot UKD matches, and at longer ranges, the higher BC bullets are a HUGE advantage. Shooting flatter means your range estimates can be further off and you still get a hit, and the high BC bullets certainly buck the wind better.

The new batch of 155 .30 bullets certainly close the gap between standard 175g .308 and many of the 6.5 offerings, but they don't run neck and neck.

If you look at the scores from many of the matches, with the calibers next to the scores, you will certainly see a correlation. Two equal shooters, one with .308 and one with a decent 6.5 will yield a decent significant to guy shooting the 6.5

[javentre]

Any caliber which relies on Lapua brass would not be on the top of my list for gas gun calibers.

Lapua brass is expensive and AR-10s are hard on brass.

[fasty77]

there you go