During load work-up, pressure was ultimately limited by pierced primers, likely because the AI bolt is design to reliably ignite 7.62 NATO primers, not small primers in a higher-pressure case.

These mid-sized 6.5 mm cartridges, which launch high-BC bullets at moderate velocities, provide wind deflection and drop values that equal or beat .300 Winchester Magnum's standard 190-grain load with less than half the recoil and just over half as much powder burned. They blow .308 Winchester out of the water. For long-range performance, it's a no-brainer. The 6.5 mm bore size has a history of taking large game in Europe with the 6.5x55 mm Swede. Both the .260 Remington and the 6.5x47 Lapua reproduce the Swede loads in a true short action, and are just as capable general purpose cartridges.

I've been shooting Accuracy International rifles for a few years because of their accuracy, dead-nuts field reliability, and "last bolt gun on earth" durability. My first was a 24-inch AWP in .308 Winchester and my second was an AW rebarreled to .260 Remington by George Gardner (G.A. Precision) in early 2006. Taking advantage of the design's ease of barrel change, I decided to temporarily convert the original AWP from .308 to 6.5x47 Lapua to facilitate a heads-up comparison of the 6.5x47 Lapua against the .260 Remington.

This sub-quarter MOA group was representative of results achieved with the 130-grain Berger VLD and the 123 and 139-grain Lapua Scenar.

G.A. Precision chambered a 6.5 mm barrel from Satern Custom Machining for the 6.5x47 Lapua cartridge and fit it to my AW. The cut-rifled Satern barrel was finished to about 25 inches and then fluted to shave off a little weight. The muzzle has a recessed target crown and AI-standard muzzle threads for the brake and sound suppressor. The AI-AW is a military sniper weapons platform designed for the 7.62 NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridge. With the 6.5x47 barrel screwed on, I was set to figure out how the cartridge would perform in both carefully-controlled bench-rest testing and long-range practical shooting in the field.

For load development, I stole the Schmidt and Bender 5-25x56 mm from my .338 Lapua, but later replaced it with the scope that belongs on this rifle for field use, the compact and lightweight S&B 3-12x50 mm PMII. This is the civilian-labeled version of the new USMC scope. My 3-12x50 mm PMII is configured with the P4-Fine reticle which uses mil hash marks, and a 0.1-mil-per-click double-turn elevation knob which provides enough elevation for any shoulder-fired rifle.