The 6.5-06 A-Square is a centerfire rifle cartridge that originated as a wildcat, based on the popular .30-06 Springfield. A-Square standardized the dimensions of the cartridge and submitted them to SAAMI in 1997.

6.5-06 A-Square
TypeCenterfire rifle
Place of originUnited States
Production history
DesignerA-Square
Designed1997
Specifications
Parent case.30-06 Springfield
Case typeRimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.264 in (6.7 mm)
Neck diameter.296 in (7.5 mm)
Shoulder diameter.4425 in (11.24 mm)
Base diameter.4698 in (11.93 mm)
Rim diameter.473 in (12.0 mm)
Rim thickness.034 in (0.86 mm)
Case length2.494 in (63.3 mm)
Overall length3.44 in (87 mm)
Case capacity65.7 gr H2O
Rifling twist1-9"[1]
Primer typeLarge rifle
Maximum pressure60,200 psi (415 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
100 gr (6 g) Nosler Ballistic Tip 3,400 ft/s (1,000 m/s) 2,566 ft⋅lbf (3,479 J)
140 gr (9 g) Nosler Partition 3,000 ft/s (910 m/s) 2,797 ft⋅lbf (3,792 J)
Source(s): A-Square Co.

Design edit

The 6.5-06 A-Square uses a .264" diameter bullet loaded into a modified .30-06 Springfield cartridge. The neck is reduced to accept the smaller bullet, the shoulder is longer than that of the parent cartridge, and it has a 17.5 degree shoulder angle leading to the neck of the case, where the bullet is seated.[1] The Ackley Improved version of the cartridge uses a sharper shoulder angle and has a case capacity of 72 gr of water.

Uses edit

The 6.5-06 A-Square has power similar to that of the .270 Winchester and .308 Winchester, making it suitable for hunting medium-sized game such as deer and black bear. It is also used in competitions such as F-Class and Benchrest formats.

Availability of ammunition edit

Currently (2011) none of the major commercial ammunition manufacturers offer factory loaded 6.5-06 A-Square ammunition. There are smaller companies that custom load the cartridge[2] however, and hand-loading can be accomplished using the proper set of dies and using .25-06 Remington, .270 Winchester, or .30-06 Springfield brass and making the proper modifications to fit the 6.5-06 A-Square chamber. After firing, the brass from the original cartridge (.25-06 Remington, .270 Winchester, or .30-06 Springfield) will be fire-formed to the exact dimensions of the 6.5-06 A-Square chamber.

Firearms chambered for 6.5-06 A-Square edit

As of 2011, A-Square listed two different rifles factory chambered in 6.5-06 A-Square; the Hamilcar and the Genghis Khan.[3] Several of the major custom barrel manufacturers offer the 6.5-06 A-Square (sometimes listed simply as 6.5-06) chamber as an option for builders of custom rifles. However, On 15 February 2012, the A-Square Company ceased to exist.[citation needed]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "MAXIMUM CARTRIDGE / MINIMUM CHAMBER" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  2. ^ "cpcartridge index". Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
  3. ^ "Rifles". Archived from the original on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2011-04-19.