I think I want a bolt gun in 6.5 Grendel

[bunnielab]

Now please tell me I why I dont.

My tastes in guns has started to run in the Fuddish direction and idea (which I believe stopped being popular in the 50's) of a varmint/deer rifle is appealing.

Around the same time this obsession took over I also decided that I had to have a CZ 527. This being a Mauser style action but scaled to .223/x39 cartridge length. I bought one in x39 and it is a perhaps the most fun gun I have ever shot. By some great coincidence a x39 is the exact right size for the 6.5G. It is amazing how things work out.

So here it is, as I am thinking now:

Pros:
1) Can shoot 90g varmint bullets and 120-140g big game bullets equally well.
2) Wolf sells semi cheap ammo under their "Gold" line
3) I really enjoy reloading.

Cons:
1)Being able to shoot cheap ass x39 is pretty great
2)No such thing as plinking 6.5 bullets
3)No idea if Wold Gold is any better then the steel cased stuff.
4)I am super left eye dominant and dumping a ton of money into a RH action seems kinda dumb.

So what I am asking I guess is this:
1) Is wolf gold any good?
2) Does anyone actually have a 6.5G reamer and make non AR barrels?
3) If I put my left eye out, I can start shooting RHed again, right?

[Clinotus]

My vote is:


Yes.Yes.Yes.Yes.Yes.

If you reload you can probably bring the costs down and ammo production up.


Shooting eye dominance is for sissies, you've got to plan on losing an eye anyway. God gave us two eyes for this very reason. You survived the childhood 'put your eye out', now its time to move up to the adult 'put your eye out in a flash of glory'.

People tend to poop on wolf ammo, but its still got a significant place in the industry. Not sure about reloading the steel stuff.

Also, one more YES for the record.

[Fang]

You're really asking the wrong guy, as I have craved a CZ 527 for quite some time and also think it's an ideal platform for 6.5 Grendel. Converting would probably require having a gunsmith turn down a barrel blank of the appropriate caliber, thread it, and ream it. There are probably few ready-made replacements, but one benefit of having a barrel made for you is the ability to dictate its countour, and perhaps get something a little thicker if you were so inclined. Of course, another drawback is that the new barrel would probably need irons fitted if you wanted to keep those.

From what I hear, Wolf Gold is fairly good quality brass-cased ammo with a boxer primer. I've heard stuff about them sourcing it from Sellier and Bellot.

As for the eye dominance issues, there are options... (http://ultimak.com/pic36.htm)

[bunnielab]

My problem rigth now is just finding someone with the reamer who I taking work and will actualy awnser the phone/email.

Alex Arms still holds 6.5G as a proprietary round for some fucking reason so there are alot more people with "6.5AR or 6.5Sporter" reamers. I have been told that they are exactly the same but I have never actually seen dimensions for them.

Thus far I have found:

weaverrifles.com
This guy has a "6.5 BPC" which he claims in the same thing. He wants $350 to chamber and fit the barrel, which I would have to provide. That seems reasonable I guess but I cant get ahold of him.

kampfeldcustom.com
This guy halso has a "6.5 BPC", but he isnt taking barrel work right now.


I dont think I need or want a super high end barrel, this is ment to be a field rifle and if I ever become a good enough shot to be held back by thje barrel then I will be more then happy to spring for a better one. I just want something decent.

I am interested in having iron sights. The "money is no object" plan would be to get an AR front sight and have the dovetails milled off and the recever drilled and tapped for weaver bases. That way I could use any number of rear peep sights when I didnt want to use a scope. More realistically I am willing to just reuse the existing sights if I can but I fear even that will cost a ton.

I am willing to buy a reamer myself if I can find a smith to do the work but I would rather not just pick a name off of a google search. There is a hunting forum I read that has suggested a few people but they are on the high side of the high end.

Anyone have someone they could recomend?

[Bob La]

Tell me again about how much fun it is to shoot .223 or 7.62 from a CZ 527.
I have been tempted but have resisted the lure of the 527.
Help me.....

[Fang]

Actually, I want to know what the recoil of 7.62x39mm in a 527 carbine feels like.

[HiPowered]

Actually, I want to know what the recoil of 7.62x39mm in a 527 carbine feels like.

Not bad at all, from what I recall. I can't think of anything to compare it to offhand, though.

[bunnielab]

The gun is so fun to shoot it takes my breath away. All I want to do is just sit in a lawn chair all day and just shoot it. I never gets old.

The recoil is more then I thought it would be. It is not unpleasant in any way, even after 80-100r. It was definitly more then I thought it would be, which is zero. I think that with an AK you have that bolt slamming around right next to your face so you don't even notice any recoil. At any rate I actually like a little recoil and bang. Immature I guess but a lot of the fun of shooting for me is the noise.

[Danube]

Pictures?

[bunnielab]

Pictures?

Sadly no. The only camera I have is on my phone and it really sucks.

[Jager]

Sadly no. The only camera I have is on my phone and it really sucks.

I could not find any photos of you shooting it at one of our meets but I do have two shots of Uncle Caveman and myself shooting it. For such a plain bolt action, that thing is a whole lot of fun to shoot. The handling, weight, and smooth action are pretty much perfect.

[Clinotus]

I could not find any photos of you shooting it at one of our meets but I do have two shots of Uncle Caveman and myself shooting it. For such a plain bolt action, that thing is a whole lot of fun to shoot. The handling, weight, and smooth action are pretty much perfect.

Nice to see this project come to a head, it looks good, great pictures as well.

What camera did you use?

[Jager]

What camera did you use?

Thanks. I used a Canon 50D with 70-200mm f/4 L IS. None of my other lenses are weather sealed which would have been an issue that day.

[bunnielab]

Nice to see this project come to a head, it looks good, great pictures as well.

Nope, the gun is still a x39. I could never find anyone who was willing to do the conversion for a reasonable (like, sub $300 not including the barrel) amount of money and/or in a reasonable amount of time (like I am not going to mail it off and wait 18 months).

There is a guy named James Calhoon who turns CZ 537's into .19 caliber varmint guns who seemed willing to deal with me but only if I provided the barrel and the reamer. Which seems reasonable but I haven't gotten around to it.

Also, the appeal of cheap commie ammo is becoming really hard to ignore. Lately I have been lusting after an AR but .223 leaves me cold so I figured I could scratch the AR and the 6.5G itch at the same time.