Small youth 6.5 x 55 size

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petew

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I decided to shorten from both ends one of my 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser for my grandson. He is quite small for his age so this is going to be a maximum size reduction in order to make it as light and easy for him to handle.

I am waiting for a reply from the Firearms Center telling me the barrel length, minimum size I can cut it back to, and the minimum over all length it can be. I don't anticipate a problem with min over all length as a 20" barrel and 12" Length of pull still ends up at nearly 36" .
I am curious to find out how short some of you have made a 6.5 x 55 barrel and still maintained a hunting rifle for a small shooter.
Weight will be a concern, so instead of a scope , a good simple hunting peep sight should help out here and be adequate for close to mid range shooting until a scopes weight isn't an added burden for him. Every ounce I can shave off is going to count.
Recoil will also be an issue , so a moderate load in a 100 - 125 gr partition bullet should, I hope work out well in the recoil dept. and killing department on deer.
Your thoughts and sugestions are most welcome.
Pete
 
petew said:
If you used it that long it must have worked. Thanks
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Note that he didn't say that he ever killed anything with it. ;)

I would look at something like the Husqvarna 1600 that TradeEx has for around $575 right now. Then I'd buy another stock and shorten it. Perfect solution. If you're not married to the 6.5x55 you could also look at a 7x57. Both great choices.
 
BigUglyMan said:
Note that he didn't say that he ever killed anything with it. ;)

I would look at something like the Husqvarna 1600 that TradeEx has for around $575 right now. Then I'd buy another stock and shorten it. Perfect solution. If you're not married to the 6.5x55 you could also look at a 7x57. Both great choices.
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I have the 6.5 x 55 now, and I have 2 stocks for it to work with. It wouldn't make sense to spend $575 + what a stock costs ,
 
I like the idea. Let us know how this turns out. Make sure to include some pictures!

Very curious about changes in perceived recoil once you are done...

And yes you'll be fine size wise. Minimum barrel length will be 457mm with an overall length of 660mm. Which is approximately 18 and 26 inches respectively.
 
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I completely misread. Now that I'm fed it makes much more sense.

Err on the side of more barrel and a little less stock. The barrel has to stay over 18" to remain legal. No reason to go shorter than 19" in my opinion. Bob the uglier stock to fit the lad and save the better one for when he fills out. With neutered handloads you should have no difficulty in going to a buttplate rather than a recoil pad and then you can add a grind to fit pad later on if he needs another inch of LOP. Once upon a time I was 6'4" and 180 lbs. Now I'm 6'5" and 253 lbs (down 27 in the last month, thanks to my wife and her Arbonne business). I've got a couple of rifles and shotguns with abbreviated stocks from the old days. Best investment you can make to a learner rifle is a second stock.
 
BigUglyMan said:
I completely misread. Now that I'm fed it makes much more sense.

Err on the side of more barrel and a little less stock. The barrel has to stay over 18" to remain legal. No reason to go shorter than 19" in my opinion. Bob the uglier stock to fit the lad and save the better one for when he fills out. With neutered handloads you should have no difficulty in going to a buttplate rather than a recoil pad and then you can add a grind to fit pad later on if he needs another inch of LOP. Once upon a time I was 6'4" and 180 lbs. Now I'm 6'5" and 253 lbs (down 27 in the last month, thanks to my wife and her Arbonne business). I've got a couple of rifles and shotguns with abbreviated stocks from the old days. Best investment you can make to a learner rifle is a second stock.
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Now we are on the same page. The first go at it will be with the Military stock so I can get the length right and make sure he is going to keep at it, then possibly bob the sporter stock ,and as you suggested add a pad later on if the length needs to be increased. I think finding a sight set will be more of a problem than anything else.
 
As to the comment about me not saying if I had killed anything with my BSA CF2 in 6.5x55.
The answer is somewhere around 20 deer a year plus about 10-12 foxes a year
 
For a front sight you should consider a banded front site from NECG. I put one on my 9.3 and it's great. They're a little spends but not too bad and well worth it. Just measure your barrel and you'll find the right sized one on the Brownell's website.
 
Just to throw another idea out there...
Tradex has barreled 38's d&t for weaver bases for $125, you could save your '96 from the axe which would probably cost close to that for the barrel chop and crown and d&t for bases. The 24" barrel vs 20" weight difference would be minimal. A small fixed 4x scope would not really add much weight. Or you could add a peep to the rear holes in the receiver.
 
I picked up a 96 action 6.5x55 that was set and bedded in a stock that once belonged to a BRNO 21. This stock was slightly canted to the right, shortened to about 12.5 inch and the overall thickness of the stock was reduced; especially in the grip area and the forestock. The work on the stock was done very, very nicely.

The bbl had been cut to about 22 inches but I trimmed it to just below 20 inches and recrowned it (by a hacksaw and using a bushed Lee case trimmer in a drill to crown).

It had Weaver bases on it already so I put an old 4x M8 on it. The bore was on the worn side so I did not mind messing with it. With the longer bullets (160 RN or 130 TSX) some RL 22, it shoots nice moa or better groups.

That reduced stock size, not just shorter but reduced all over for smaller hands and the nice balance, along with that cant made that rifle a joy to pull up and shoot.

A friend's young daughter was using a full length Weatherby Mk V in 300 weatherby, which caused me to shake my head. She did not mind, she said, and she had taken deer with it. I lent her that 6.5 and eventually I had to steal it back. I built one like it for her and she uses it to this day.

Some may argue the Axis Youth or Weatherby Youth is a good rifle and I dont argue, but that little rifle for the money was likely better overall for fit and function. That slight stock was a huge factor in making that rifle a great rifle for the smaller person.
 
farshot said:
I picked up a 96 action 6.5x55 that was set and bedded in a stock that once belonged to a BRNO 21. This stock was slightly canted to the right, shortened to about 12.5 inch and the overall thickness of the stock was reduced; especially in the grip area and the forestock. The work on the stock was done very, very nicely.

The bbl had been cut to about 22 inches but I trimmed it to just below 20 inches and recrowned it (by a hacksaw and using a bushed Lee case trimmer in a drill to crown).

It had Weaver bases on it already so I put an old 4x M8 on it. The bore was on the worn side so I did not mind messing with it. With the longer bullets (160 RN or 130 TSX) some RL 22, it shoots nice moa or better groups.

That reduced stock size, not just shorter but reduced all over for smaller hands and the nice balance, along with that cant made that rifle a joy to pull up and shoot.

A friend's young daughter was using a full length Weatherby Mk V in 300 weatherby, which caused me to shake my head. She did not mind, she said, and she had taken deer with it. I lent her that 6.5 and eventually I had to steal it back. I built one like it for her and she uses it to this day.

Some may argue the Axis Youth or Weatherby Youth is a good rifle and I dont argue, but that little rifle for the money was likely better overall for fit and function. That slight stock was a huge factor in making that rifle a great rifle for the smaller person.
Click to expand...

Pretty much the project I am going to do. Thanks
 
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