Lee Loader

6.5×50SR aka 6.5 Arisaka

Things I learned today .
Midway has PPU brass for about the same price as 308 and 30-30.
The first photo says "Love of Country" the 2nd means 4th series more accurately 4th year of production , 1927 and Nagoya arsenal in blocks of 100,000 #s 0-99,999 . Placing this about Oct 1927 . The stock is Bubba'd with a badly fit ebony tip and white line recoil pad .


It has a 2 groove .257×.268 barrel of 19-1/2" . The chamber is confirmed to be 6.5×50 . It's not worn much for 97 yr old , but the barrel is pretty dark .
I have a .260-120 that might patch up ..... I have a .270-140 gr NOE also . It was to fat for the 264 WM the nose wouldn't even fit .... That should fix most of the bugs and get some holes in paper . It appears to have an 8.5" twist making 2 turns from crown to throat , 17" plus the chamber on 19.5" .

Not mentioned in any of the reading was the 2 groove barrel , 4 land widths per groove . This one has an inside the bow floor plate release , bent bolt , and OM ladder sight zero to 200 down 400-2000 metres up .
13 yr old Granddaughter likes it ......

Stripper clips ........charger clips ?

It is badly out classed by the modern 6.5s the Wonder CM for example runs almost 200 fps faster with a 140 gr ...... Presuming both could be run wide open with the same bullet . I don't see 2400 fps with a 140 to be a major handicap on a 48,000 psi 6.5 mm cartridge vs 2600 . Of course its a .268 groove like the Carcano and I shoot mostly cast so it's not much of a deal ......

I've puttered around with this a little bit more .
The barrel is Metford rifled , not the 2 groove it appeared to be more of a 4 of 5 hump and valley arrangement . It is still .268 at some point in the barrel .

I mocked up a 280??? in a bad case . It's an old Squibb design in line with Pope's work so it has a really long gas check shank that could pass for a rebated boattail . Sitting on the case mouth the bolt closed on it just touching lands . The barrel is dark but some paper patch may bring it back some . Funny thing . If it will shoot but the brass gets to be a problem in about 30 min for $30 and an expander ball I can make it a 260 Rem and maybe clean up some of the throat . Gaining right next to nothing . As dumb luck would have it I also possess a set of 6.5-257 AI dies which would give it some gains .

At this point I have nothing to lose in the rifle so if I can't get it to clean up there's no harm in a little Evap o rust down the bore and try again .

RB,
I think we have connected before on this
All 6.5 brass for sale is too small! The Jap 6.5 mil spec is larger and longer!
I had 3 piece set of custom swage dies made that will give you the true Jap 6.5 mil spec cartridge!
It is nothing like the modern SAAMI spec cases! The are small and short!

Thanks JW , we have at some length .

I had forgotten about an NOE 270-140 that is too fat for the other 6.5 .

Hopefully you got my care package today 'I has some of the swaged 6.5 jap brass that is Mil spec!

Yep it arrived in good order . They fell in the chamber freely enough to inspire me to try and remember where I saw that Savage brass . Just a couple of pieces of 250 ....I think there's a few 22-250s . Just to check head dia .
We did discuss forming and the fat chambers .

This is good brain exercise for me .