Is 6.5x47 Lapua Still Relevant?

Yet again, as with most things in my shooting “career,” I’ve come full circle. A few years back, I wrote about my introduction to precision rifle shooting. I mentioned that my first semi-custom rifle was chambered in 6.5x47 Lapua. This was also the first non-.30 caliber cartridge that I hand loaded. Soon after, I went through a plethora of 6mm cartridges, ranging from 6mm BR Norma through 6mm Creedmoor and everything in between. I’ve also dabbled in the .22 caliber rounds like .223 Rem and .223 Ackley Improved. This year, I decided to venture back into the 6.5mm realm. I’ve been working on a 6.5 Creedmoor project that will be discussed shortly; however, today, we will revisit 6.5x47mm Lapua in the context of competition shooting.

WHY 6.5x47 LAPUA?

It is apparent that the PRS community follows the trends of the top shooters. At the end of last season, I began to hear murmuring of people moving up from the ever-popular 6mm cartridges to .25 calibers. There were guys like Gavin from Ultimate Reloader showcasing .25 Creedmoor, and guys I shot with seemed to like .25x47. This past weekend, I even spoke to people discussing a move to .25GT or .25BR.

The reason seemed straightforward. 6mm’s are great on paper; they shoot tight groups, are easy to load for, and tear through the wind. The downfall is that they run out of the proverbial gas at greater distances. You could be smashing a target out at 800-1000 yards and if you don’t have an impact indicator, the spotters can have difficulty calling impacts with confidence. If a bullet hits a target and nobody can see it, did it really hit? In the eyes of the stage RO, no. And in competition, that matters.

My new 6.5x47 LAPUA rifle. The rifle weighs a stout 30 lbs.

The 25 calibers are the new shiny object for shooters to remedy that issue. That being said, they will be short-lived. Dies, reamers, bullets, and brass aren’t super obtainable at the moment due to the demand and new nature of the cartridges. This will likely change with the growing popularity, but I doubt I’ll go down that rabbit hole.

I had a fresh 6.5mm straight bill barrel blank from International Barrels, a ton of 6.5x47 brass, a case of Lapua 136 grain Scenar-L bullets, and a fresh reamer from Manson Precision. I decided to dodge the potentially short-lived trend and return to my beginnings. The 6.5x47 Lapua was always a hassle-free cartridge to load for that shot tight groups with consistent speeds. It also hits the target with more authority, leaving less to the imagination.

The rifle is the same platform that I’ve been using for the last 18 months. Curtis Valor action, MDT ACC Elite, and Trigger Tech Diamond. I spun up the previously mentioned IBI 6.5 straight bull barrel with a 1:7.5” twist, and chambered it to 6.5x47. Lastly, I topped it off with a Tract Toric ELR.

LOADING 6.5x47 LAPUA AND FIELD TESTING

Usually, I would do a dedicated write-up of the whole load development process, but I had 100 rounds left over from a previous build that I intended to use to break in the barrel. Fortunately for me, this barrel liked it as much, or more than the last. The load consisted of the following - 36.5 grains of Varget under 136-grain Scenar-L in Lapua Brass seated to 2.700” COAL with CCI 450 primers. Remember that this is only in my rifles, and every chamber is unique. When loading for yourself, always start low and work up using data cross-referenced from multiple reputable load data books.

After shooting the first 100 rounds, the average group size was under .6 MOA with velocities clocked around 2735 and a sub-ten fps standard deviation. Grouping at 300 yards, the average group size was roughly 1.2”, .4 MOA!

This past weekend, I shot my first 2-day match of the year and was able to put this new barrel to work. The rifle shot lights out. It balanced incredibly well, with a relatively light recoil. Overall, it was very controllable and easy to spot misses and impacts. The only thing holding the whole system back was the person pressing the trigger. There were no misses that could be blamed on the rifle or round used. That being said, after the first day, 96 rounds were fired, bringing the barrel’s round count up to over 200, and the barrel sped up to 2765 fps. After a quick adjustment in the Kestrel app, everything was good in the world.

FINAL THOUGHTS

When it’s all said and done, did I make the right decision? For me, yes. It was a discussion that I had with several shooters this past weekend; I certainly was not in the minority in my thoughts of returning to 6.5mm cartridges. I want to say that it’s safe to say that I will be sticking with the 6.5x47 for the foreseeable future. That is, until a new, obtainable, shiny object comes out for me to pounce on. If components are available to you, I would recommend 6.5x47 if you want to make a change. If not, 6.5 Creedmoor is comparable and easily accessible, especially to those who don’t want to be bothered with handloading. Whatever you decide to do, get out there and shoot, complete, and build your skillset.

Until next time, folks.

Awesome video from our YouTube Channel!

6.5 CALIBER ARTICLES FROM MDT

• Analysis: 6.5 PRC
• Analysis: 6.5x47 and 6x47 Lapua
• Analysis: 6.5 Creedmoor
• Capable And Versatile: A Close Look at the 6.5X55 Swedish
• Burning out a 6.5 Barrel
• Should You Worry About 6.5 Creedmoor Barrel Life?
• 270 Winchester vs. 6.5 Creedmoor

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In 2018, William Maxwell fell into the rabbit hole of precision rifle shooting. He spends his free time competing, reloading, editing digital content, building rifles, and writing. He can be reached via Instagram @maddmaxxlop.