I recently acquired a 1-7 twist , 24” , 6.5 TCU.

With fully formed 6.5 TCU brass what velocity and bullet weight are rams effectively taken with?

What powders have proven to be good performers for you? Any other notable items experience has taught with this cartridge is appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Never checked the velocity.150 Sierra match king and Varget powder compressed charge.( your cases may vary)CCI450 primers.
Over 100 free standing rams hit ,some offhand some bench ,aiming at low belly and other parts to check knockdown.
Only 1 dinger during a match.

Thank you for the information.
I have 150gr Sierra’s on the way and a number of 130gr nosler RDF’s that should do fine on the other three animals.
Again, much appreciated.

Hermit is correct. And figure on 2350 to 2400 with the load he described.

Are there any other experiences with other powders from folks shooting the 150gr Sierra? Any success or suggestions with IMR4895? Having 8 pounds of it and 1/4 pound of Varget sure makes 4895 look temping. I wouldn’t be asking but I have failed to find printed data for the 150gr in the 6.5TCU. If Anyone knows of a source I would appreciate it. Communication with Sierra and Hogdon / IMR / Accurate didn’t produce any data on the 150.

Hermit5 - With the compressed loads what is your seating depth or over all length when loaded? Maybe age has made me overly cautious, I’m afraid the pressure difference with “compressed” starting with a case full to the top, full to the base of the neck or shoulder would have different outcomes. If you have a chance could you provide how many grains of varget you load? I can back off a little from there to get started.

Thanks again

Is it a savage in a merrier stock?

It is, that could easily be lost in a snow storm.

I had the good fortune a few evenings ago to talk with the prior chief loading executive for this rifle. A pleasure and a real time and component saving opportunity.

Can you fit a 6.5 tcu with a 150 Sierra in a short action rifle? I assume you have to seat them to a fairly long OAL. Retained velocity of that high BC bullet would be impressive.

Mine is on a Savage long action so I can’t answer based on experience but checking it against my Remington Mod.7 action it appears it would work fine. This is assuming single feeding. The OAL length loaded is 2.80’ish” so feeding from a full size short action (not a mini) also seems feasible.

It will have a good Test in AZ at the state championship. From the bench, with Ram loads, the felt recoil is significantly less than my 6GT shooting any weight bullet at 2730fps. It was purchased to be my wife’s rifle. I see one in my future as well, loading just one cartridge for two shooters makes life much simpler, add cheap brass, a low powder appetite and 6.5 bullets that currently seem easy to find and it seems a sound, low recoil choice.

PAndy, I noticed you had a question that was overlooked and never answered. The action is a Remington Mod. 7 and with the 150gr seated a tad short of touching the lands it will not extract while unfired. I seated the bullet so that when it is extracted without being fired it will just clear the ejection port. I did not notice a loss of accuracy at this deeper seating depth and like the idea of being able to remove a loaded round without pulling the bolt.

I took two rifles to Raton a few weeks ago chambered in 6.5 TCU to get some basic zeros and an idea how they performed on the animals. I have all the ammo loaded for Nationals and will wait till they are over to make a more educated judgement But it seemed all but my Ram loads could be throttled back a little for even less recoil.

For a seeing is believing exercise, we set 20 Rams full footed on the pads, there was a fairly serious storm passing creating a stiff wind from behind the rams. We tried to hit them in various locations while shooting off the bench and they all feel with single hits but one. That one had a big wedge of mud tipping him a little forward. It has a good track record in PA and seemed to do well, at least that day in Raton. I think the cartridge will do it’s part like the mighty little engine that could, In my case the shooter controlling the launch is likely to be the culprit keeping it from its job.

Using the 6.5TCU at Nationals no hit Rams refused to fall. The load was 27.5gr of Varget in unformed Federal military cases with a CCI Mag primer pushing the 150gr Sierra out of a 24” and 26” barrel (two people, two rifles). This load showed some periodic signs of pressure and just seemed a little intense for my taste. Future loads will be in formed cases with a slightly reduced powder charge, both should alleviate a little pressure.

I hit on a mild combo after returning for the first three animals. A charge of 18.7gr of A5744, CCI standard primers, under both a 130gr Nosler RDF and a 120gr Sierra produced sub .75” groups at 200y with single digit extreme velocity spreads. The load has a very mild recoil, barrel stays relatively cool and no hint of pressure.

I will soon test some 147, 145 and 140gr bullets over 27.0g of Varget in an attempt to establish what won’t knock rams over.

What was the velocity on the reduced loads using a5744?

130 Nosler RDF averaged 2116fps.
120 Sierra Match averaged 2196fps.

Both from a 26” barrel.

Completed the 6.5TCU Ram load testing today at the Whittington Center HP range. The 150, 147, 140 and 130 over 27g of Varget all took down every hard set ram they hit. A fellow silhouette shooter with far more experience than I have was kind enough to join me and spot. He suggested I try the reduced chicken load on the Rams. A 120g bullet going a hair under 2200fps takes a Lot of elevation for the Rams! To our astonishment it knocked over the first Ram it hit. We tried two more and they went down as well. Once the wind picked up I couldn’t keep that little slow bullet on a Ram but was sure surprised when it knocked over those three. From this little sample I wouldn’t proclaim any of these options as reliable but they performed well today with very mild recoil.

Interesting thread! I just built a 6.5 TCU and am developing loads for it. 700 short, Hart 8 twist at 26". So far have used 120 Sierras with 24.0 H322 and 140 Hornadys with 28.0 CFE 223. The 140's were too hot so used the 120's at rams and every hit went down. Quite certain they would have been ringers with my old 6mm Intl with 107's. Have quite a bit of 5744 and Varget.
Am also considering lopping 2" off the barrel for better balance. Would I be losing to much velocity?