Advice from 6.5x55 shooters and hand loaders

Fenix.NZ

Fenix.NZ

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Hey guys,

Just kicking off a project with a Tikka T3 6.5x55, which will get restocked and rebarreled etc..

Just got a few questions for those of you out there with a bit more experience than I.

1) what barrel lengths are you guys running? and what do you recommend? ( indended use = Tac/practical rifle, some hunting, some traditional target shooting )

2) recommended starting ( or favourite ) load with the above use in mind.

3) without going too big ( 7mm mag, 300 WM etc etc ) have i chosen a good cal. to roll with and/or is there something else i should really be considering?


Thanks for your time
 
You have an awesome calibre in the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. It can and has taken some of the worlds largest game. Long heavy for calibre bullets like the 160 grain round nose made the reputation for the cartridege as a great slayer of game well over 100 years ago. I have a 24" barrel on mine and my favorite load has long been 44 grains of IMR 4350 under a Hornady 140 grain flat base spitzer for 2600 fps or so. That load has shot so well for me it has become an accuracy standard for all my other rifles to try and live up to.
 
Anybody ever tried the 100 grain boattails in the 6.5x55 Swede? I have a box and was going to try them out, just wondering if they are feasible in this gun. (it is a much customized Model 38 Short Rifle)

Thanks in advance;

Regards,
49Reo
 
I haven't shot any animals with them yet and not that I haven't been trying! I load the 140 grain hunting vld's and they are super accurate. I get around 1/2 minute from the bench or prone. I'm shooting a bit hotter though from a 6.5x284 Norma.
 
You may stay fascinated with 6.5x55 for the rest of your days Fenix. I'm 36 years into 'em, and, "stronger love hath no man".
24 inches of barrel is plenty to bring out this cals's. potential.
In a .264" groove commercial tube, you will likely find best accuracy at around 2700 fps with 140gr. match pills. I've had great results with Amax in half a dozen Swedes. Very consistent, and 1/2 MOA is not at all uncommon.
The milspec barrels are looser, running .265 - .266" typical, and are not quite as fast at peak accuracy. 2600 to 2650fps or so.

My go to powder is R22. With 139-142's, I start at 44 grains and work up, looking for nodes. Have seen max accuracy come in anywhere between 46 to 48 grains ... depending on the individual rifle. This cal. often shoots best for me loaded quite warm(not max., but close).
Seating to a light jam(10-15 thou.), and loading dead straight cartridges(Lee collet and Redding BR seater), has become SOP here, on years worth of merit.
Horn 140gr SP's, and 140gr Amax are all I ever need.
Some rifles really take to the Lapua 139 Scenars, for LR target use.
 
49Reo said:
Anybody ever tried the 100 grain boattails in the 6.5x55 Swede? I have a box and was going to try them out, just wondering if they are feasible in this gun. (it is a much customized Model 38 Short Rifle)

Thanks in advance;

Regards,
49Reo
Click to expand...

None of my rifles liked the 100 grain bullets, mine like 120-140 I find. Depends on your rifle I guess. All of mine are 30 inch barrels.
 
49Reo said:
Anybody ever tried the 100 grain boattails in the 6.5x55 Swede? was going to try them out, just wondering if they are feasible in this gun.
Thanks in advance;

Regards,
49Reo
Click to expand...

Have a look at the 108gr.(gb464 7.0g)Lapua scenar, Reo.
They are very long for weight, at 1.3 inches, as verses 1.367 inches for the 139gr. scenars.
They could be seated close to, or perhaps able to jam the lands in a unworn, shorter throated M38 barrel.
I would guess, 4350 will drive them some fast and accurate.
Have not tryed mine yet, let us know how they fly if you do find a box of èm.
 
I think that the Swede is a fantastic cartridge with good long range value. In my opinion, it's second only to the 284 Win in terms of well balanced cartridges. Stepping up to the 7mm yields more room for error on wind calls, but comes at the added expense of recoil. Incidentally, I have a T3 action with 6.5 SE and 284 barrels for matches, and look forward to seeing if it can hold its own.

It's pretty neat to see that a 46.2 gr load of RL22 under a 140 grain bullet was found to be a 'good load'. The Swedish prickskytte load was a ~143 gr bullet over 46.3 gr of MRP, which is similar (identical) to RL22 within lot to lot standard variation. In my Swedes over the years, this load has always shot for me. In a Tikka T3 varmint as well as a few CG match rifles, i never even bothered with load development. This load just worked without tinkering.

For barrel length, somewhere around 30" would be best for the interest of performance. Take a look at Lapua's load data for the 6.5x55 Skan for reference. They list a 720mm barrel as having the best efficiency. With those few extra inches, you can run a little faster, or run the same speed as a 24" barrel but with lower peak pressures, leading to a little longer barrel life in the latter case.

While lighter bullets may run faster and be accurate, they will be pushed around more for a give wind or gust. Refer to to Newton's second law for details.
 
vviking said:
Have a look at the 108gr.(gb464 7.0g)Lapua scenar, Reo.
They are very long for weight, at 1.3 inches, as verses 1.367 inches for the 139gr. scenars.
They could be seated close to, or perhaps able to jam the lands in a unworn, shorter throated M38 barrel.
I would guess, 4350 will drive them some fast and accurate.
Have not tryed mine yet, let us know how they fly if you do find a box of èm.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
The 6.5x55 is one of my favorite calibers of all time. My youngest daughter ( 14 ) loves to shoot it too. I had three of them at one time, kept the best of them all. It has a shorter throat than the other two had and loves almost ANY ammo!! For handloads, I've got the 129 gr Ballistic tips over IMR 4350. Cloverleafs @ 100 yds.
I tried 4064, but the 4350 really shone thru for me!
I just started playing with the heavier longer Lapuas and I'm gonna try a few of the 100 grainers for yotes later on this summer. Good luck with it...Kevin
 
rimfiremac said:
I think that the Swede is a fantastic cartridge with good long range value. In my opinion, it's second only to the 284 Win in terms of well balanced cartridges. Stepping up to the 7mm yields more room for error on wind calls, but comes at the added expense of recoil. Incidentally, I have a T3 action with 6.5 SE and 284 barrels for matches, and look forward to seeing if it can hold its own.

It's pretty neat to see that a 46.2 gr load of RL22 under a 140 grain bullet was found to be a 'good load'. The Swedish prickskytte load was a ~143 gr bullet over 46.3 gr of MRP, which is similar (identical) to RL22 within lot to lot standard variation. In my Swedes over the years, this load has always shot for me. In a Tikka T3 varmint as well as a few CG match rifles, i never even bothered with load development. This load just worked without tinkering.

For barrel length, somewhere around 30" would be best for the interest of performance. Take a look at Lapua's load data for the 6.5x55 Skan for reference. They list a 720mm barrel as having the best efficiency. With those few extra inches, you can run a little faster, or run the same speed as a 24" barrel but with lower peak pressures, leading to a little longer barrel life in the latter case.

While lighter bullets may run faster and be accurate, they will be pushed around more for a give wind or gust. Refer to to Newton's second law for details.
Click to expand...

- yup, we pushed it out to 950yds on the frozen swamps this winter. The newbs, the women, the kids ... all of èm, most often they were scoring first round hits. This with 140 Amax, half MOA, at 2650fps.

- more speed = less drift. And 30 inches, it will shoot closer to the wind.
We have 24 inch, $100, M38 milsurp barrels from Tradeex ... and very happy so far. Have yet to need more than half a mill wind hold off to lob èm in!.

- Thats the best part of 6.5x55 ... the farther away .... the better it works.
 
interesting thread. considering a swede in a t3 sporter, strictly for paper and steel out to 1000yd. I am finding this info very helpful. I have a 6.5 cm in a savage model ten already.
 
I'm going to follow this thread because I want to start loading for my old m98.

I was actually thinking of picking up a sporter from tradex to play with too, it's an awesome caliber.
 
Cool to see that there is still a lot of interest in the old 6.5 still. I don't have one yet, but just ordered a Shultz and Larsen from Tradex. Sounds like reloader 22 should be the first powder I try in it.
Kristian
 
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