6.5x55

I don't know allot about the caliber other then my dad says it is the only deer gun he would use when he hunted and found that a mid gr projectile with a high pressure load will drop anything you need to in North America. Then again I know of people that hunt polar bears with .22 WMR
 
Great cal. and probably the most under rated IMO.

Currently using 4831SC with both Sierra and Hornady 140 gr. projectiles.

You need to work up your own load but I have found 43 or 44 gr (4831SC) to be good with no signs of excessive pressure, doesn't mean that will be OK in your gun! Currently using 43gr with a average velocity of 2390 fps. out of a Swedish Mauser. We have never done a test using my Tika T3. Start on the low side (get a good book) and slowly work up to where you have no pressure signs and the load is accurate.

Privi factory with 140's averages at 2457fps. out of the same gun.

The load we use is very accurate and easy to hit a clay at 300 yards using the Mauser.
 
6.5 bullets have a very long bearing surface. The minor differences in barrel and throat dimensions between rifles can have a big impact on pressure.

I have used 4350 (the fastest) to RL25 (the slowest) to make excellent ammo. 4831 or RL22 would be a good choice of a powder to start with. It will fill most of the case. Start at the START load and work up. I saw one rifle in which the Start load was dangerously over loaded,so be prepared to stop your test at some point and pull the balance of the bullets.
 
Somewhere on the internet lately I read that the swede was hugely overrated, and should be in the 30-30 class.. Just confirmation that they will let anyone write here..
 
44.2 grs of H380 with a 120 gr is an accurate load in my Winchester M70 Featherweight.

49 grs of H380 and a 100 gr with a 100 gr Hornady Spire Point is a good varmint load.

50.5 grs of H1000 with a 140 gr Nosler Partition makes a great load for anything!

44.5 grs of H4831 with a 160 gr Hornady round nose is the most accurate load in my rifle.
 
Goldenlakepete said:
44.2 grs of H380 with a 120 gr is an accurate load in my Winchester M70 Featherweight.

49 grs of H380 and a 100 gr with a 100 gr Hornady Spire Point is a good varmint load.

50.5 grs of H1000 with a 140 gr Nosler Partition makes a great load for anything!

44.5 grs of H4831 with a 160 gr Hornady round nose is the most accurate load in my rifle.
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Do you know the velocities for any of these loads?
 
22to45 said:
Somewhere on the internet lately I read that the swede was hugely overrated, and should be in the 30-30 class.. Just confirmation that they will let anyone write here..
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Depends what you mean by "30-30 class".
It does indeed have less energy than a .308 which it is often compared. It runs around 2500 ft lbs where as 30-30 is often around 2400 and 308 can hit 2700 so I suppose it's closer to 30-30 in terms of muzzle energy.
It can shoot accurately out to 1000yds and has similar ballistics to a 300WM due to the higher BC of it's bullets. So in this regard it's far beyond what a 30-30 can achieve.
A 140gr 6.5mm bullet has the sectional density of around a 210gr .308 bullet (going from memory here, could be off) so it's beyond any normal 30-30 ammo in that regard.
It is known for being able to easily shoot sub MoA with some factory rifles being able to shoot sub 1/2 MoA. It's very rare for a 30-30 to be a sub MoA rifle.

So if you're talking about using either as a 100yd deer rifle I suppose the 6.5x55 is closer to a 30-30 than a 308. Anything past that and the 30-30 is stretching it's abilities while the 6.5x55 is just starting to get going.
 
CAUTION work up in a modern action so use your reloading discretion YYMV. Out of a Tikka T3 lite Hornady 140 SST, 2750ish FPS using h4831sc worked up in this rifle 48.7gns using RP brass and WLR primers 20thou off the lands and it fits in T3 mag no problem. No pressure signs and 0.75MOA accuracy.
 
See all I know about the caliber is that every person I know that has a rifle in 6.5x55 has nothing bad to say with caliber and unlike a lot of calibers built gr does not seem to effect the accuracy of the bullet to the same levels other calibers have. I personally cannot afford to have 20 different caliber rifles I for the most part shoot .22 LR, .45 Colt, .308, and .303 British...

Granted I Love .338 Lapua, .300 WSM, .243 and 9mm but I don't have the money for that king of rifles right now.
 
Im running a 129 gr sst pushed by 44 grains of H4831, that is just the starting load, but ive found no need to push it more for plinking reasons.
 
I truly enjoy shooting the 6.5x55, and have taken a fair bit of game with this chambering.

The fact that my M700 "Classic" Remington in 6.5x55 is on it's 3rd barrel testifies to how much I shoot it. lol.

With 125-129 grain bullets, I use up to 51 grains of W760 for 3000 fps or so, depending on exact bullet.

With 139-140 grain bullets, RL22,[48.5] Vihtavuori N165,[49.0] H4831SC, [48.0] IMR 7828 [49.0] all work well, and will make 2800, give or take a few FPS in my 24" barrel.

All of these loads are maximum working loads in my rifle, so start 4 grains down, and work up carefully.

Regards, Dave.
 
Back in the 80's when these rifles were $59.00 at century arms, I bought three. Still have one un-touched. Most accurate rifle I owned at the time. There was lots of the military hard ball ammo available cheap too, did a bunch of target shooting with it. I experimented with soft point bullets seated on the factory powder with good results. Just pulled the bullet out and replaced with a soft point of the same weight. Met both my criteria, good and cheap!
 
Suther said:
Do you know the velocities for any of these loads?
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No chronograph but going by various manuals:

Lee #2 says 2784 with 44.3 grs H380 and the 120 gr bullet.

Lee #2 says 3092 fps with 48 grs H380 and the 100 gr bullet (Lyman #47 goes to 51 grs H380).

The Hornady #3 says 2690 fps with 50 grs of H1000 and 2790 with 52 grs.

The Lee #2 says 2327 fps with 44 grs (MAX 48) of H4831. At 44.2 I stopped because of the accuracy (1/2" at 100 yds).
 
Been using R-22-47 gr. with 140 gr bullets in a Schultz & Larsen M62. Load is accurate, but barrel heat is an issue when "string shooting" 15 rounds in F-class competition. Will test H1000 this summer. For 6.5 X 55 Swede and 6.5 X 55 SE load data check VihtaVuori's on-line reloading site. The "SE" data is intended for strong, modern actions.
 
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