.308 vs. 6.5x55.... Limits?

I have both as well ....I like the swede for its light recoil and accuraccy....I like the 308 for the same reasons ......PLUS it fires a heavier bullet if I needed/wanted to
 
6 of one, half dozen of the other... Realistically, no practical difference between the two, but the 6.5x55 has more panache, if that counts for anything. I personally would go for the .308 as I like to be able to buy cheap Federal blue box ammo.
 
OP asked where does one take you that the other doesn't. Hmm. Sweden report showed that 6.5x55 most common on their moose (elg), see Handloader Magazine a few years ago for statistical details. Polar explorers uses 6.5x55 on polar bears, seals. 7.62/308 Win used most commonly where Old World cartridges not heard of / not available. If you are hunting, try any 6.5x55 120 / 140 grain, 7x57 140/150 grain, 308 Win 150/165, and get "at 'er". Any difference is the shooter, not the cartridge.
 
We use both for silhouette shooting, and both work great, but I have noticed that .308 Win is becoming less popular than it was even 5 years ago.... the 7mm-08 seems to be usurping the .308's position to a certain extent.... mind you, the old 6.5x55 isn't exactly turning the world on it's ear either... However, wherever I am in Canada, I see lots of 6.5 Swedes around, so it is unlikely that it will disappear anytime soon....! does the Swede have more downrange energy than the .308 Win...? I have heard that lots in the past, but have never to bothered to look it up in print.... I like the Swede mostly because of all the lore I heard about them when I was a kid..... and I like the.308 because it is slightly shorter, components are perhaps slightly more common, and there is so much published data for the .308..... and so many reloading components variations and recipes that we can always find something to make it all work..... silhouette shooting isn,t so much about the weird and wonderful and unique as it is about "Holy ####, we better get all this loaded up and ready to go, we gotta load the trailer and drive 14 hours to get there, get set up and shoot at 9 AM...." so, the easier and more reliable everything is makes a big difference...
I'm the only one who still fires the .308 on our circuit, though.... most have moved over to 7mm-08, and a few others have started with .260 Rem.... it's a matter of recoil, everyone says, but since we load everything down anyway, I personally don't see the difference.... it's a funny thing with firearms.... we all have our favourites, and we all have very good motivations, rationalizations, etc. as to why these calibres are possibly the best....but I have sure noticed the last 5 years how fads and fashions are so influential in the firearms industry... mind you technological advances in manufacturing and engineering certainly are influential.... especially when these techniques are used to manufacture guns and parts to make them better, stronger, and cheaper.... powder development has made some of the old cartridges much better, more potent and relevant today.....
 
I must admit that firing that Sako 75 in the Dirty Swede made my heart sing the first time I competed with it... My Mentor had fired the rifle a couple days earlier to test the rifle out.... I was working.... he and my wife sent me the video, a 2 12' group, five rounds at 500metres.... when I shot the last day of nationals, I got on the firing point in work clothes and big work boots, with an old Sako chambered in a 100+ year old calibre from Scandanavia.... felt as though the old Viking and Norse Gods were watching as I fired and began to place with that old rifle.... take that!, all you fancy Gore-Tex and skinny, clinging Spandex wearing Creedmore shooters.... lots of times the new stuff is very cool.... but, the tried and true can still shine through.....
 
And finally, looking forward to loading "up" the The Filthy Swede.... we are always loaded way down to compete, but I wanna try the calibre loaded up for modern hunting rifles.... there are a few 6.5x55 Tikka T-3"s around, one in Cold Lake at the Canadian Tyre store, just a hair under $900, saw it two days ago..... that would be a nice hunting gun with a nice 4-16 scope on it with target turrets.... mind you, who would I be kidding, it would end up as another silhouette gun..... I'll bet with a bit of work, homework and preparation, a fairly decent buck at 6-700 yards with the Old Swede would be very possible, and would sure make me happy.... better stop knocking these things off my bucket list, or it will soon be time to go....!!
 
I have taken over 20 deer with the 6.5x55, I started with a old husqvarna and last year got a sako 85 (no ejection issue) I have it topped with a 4-16 vortex viper I can juice a orange at 400 yrds no problem. never heard anyone who got a 6.5x55 say they wish they got something else.
 
I always think that the .308 was originally designed and built for machine guns... and to provide American forces with a modern, shorter cartridge for their post- WW II battle rifle... which was basically nothing but a slightly up-graded M-1 Garand... all good stuff, of course, and who cares, and anyway look what the .308 has done and been through...! There is an amazing amount of data and componentry for the ..308... and it doesn't get more American than apple pie and the .308! But all that said, it doesn't mean that the .308 was the best cartridge for the job, just that that is the one they chose for the job... Americans always stubbornly held onto their .30 calibres.... and as time went by, powders and components changed, bullets got better, barrels better steel etc.... eventually, the Swede was chambered in modern rifles, and it could be pressured up to more useful levels.... as well, the competition shooters were more willing to start looking around for something that would work better for their chosen disciplines, and they discovered what many had known 100+ years ago.... that the 7mm, and the 6.5mm calibres had much to offer.... efficient, easy to manufacture, cost effective, etc.... HAHA!! Can you imagine what the big,slow-moving bullet crowds thought of the 6.5mm, or even the .308...?
 
Oh! But the .308 is a "short action" cartridge, so is much more inherently accurate, and weight saving, etc.... However, if I am getting 1/2 MOA outta my Ol' Swede, and I don't mind the little bit of extra weight (helps me handle the shakes!) then can I keep it.....? If I could only have one cartridge for the rest of my life, I think I could get by with either one, but if I have a choice, gimme the Dirty Swede.....
 
I always think that the .308 was originally designed and built for machine guns... and to provide American forces with a modern, shorter cartridge for their post- WW II battle rifle... which was basically nothing but a slightly up-graded M-1 Garand... all good stuff, of course, and who cares, and anyway look what the .308 has done and been through...! There is an amazing amount of data and componentry for the ..308... and it doesn't get more American than apple pie and the .308! But all that said, it doesn't mean that the .308 was the best cartridge for the job, just that that is the one they chose for the job... Americans always stubbornly held onto their .30 calibres.... and as time went by, powders and components changed, bullets got better, barrels better steel etc.... eventually, the Swede was chambered in modern rifles, and it could be pressured up to more useful levels.... as well, the competition shooters were more willing to start looking around for something that would work better for their chosen disciplines, and they discovered what many had known 100+ years ago.... that the 7mm, and the 6.5mm calibres had much to offer.... efficient, easy to manufacture, cost effective, etc.... HAHA!! Can you imagine what the big,slow-moving bullet crowds thought of the 6.5mm, or even the .308...?
 
All the factory ammo I've seen for 6.5x55 is pretty watered down, while you can easily get full powered .308 ammo from manufacturers like Hornady. When your 6.5x55 ammo is loaded a good 200 fps slower than it has to be, that does't help the case for the 6.5, if someone uses factory ammo.

If reloading, the gap between the two cartridges is much smaller.

Depending on the game you're hunting though, being able to readily handle a 200 grain Accubond (for example) over a maximum charge of powder, the .308 really is "more" than the 6.5 x 55. And I say this as someone who owns both, and likes them both very much.
 
In the early days the 6.5 MS and others developed a fine reputation in the game fields in no small part due to the effectiveness of long heavy for caliber and relatively slow 160 gr bullets. Ditto the early .30/06 loads with 180 and 220 gr bullets, even though the military loading was built around a 150 at 2700. Many years would pass before the benefits of a modernized high velocity 6mm Lee Navy through the efforts of wildcatters like Warren Page would be brought to the game fields in the guise of the .243.
 
The Kurgan said:
If I had the choice, this would be my order of preference, knowing that all 5 would get the job done, well:

1. 7x57 (substitute 7mm-08 if not reloading)
2. 6.5x55
3. 30-06 (a bit more recoil than I would like, otherwise, it would be number 1)


4. 308
5. 270

Just as an aside, a short action is not a game changer for me in a hunting rifle.
Click to expand...

a total of 44 thousands of an inch in diameter from one extreme to the other and less than a 1/10 of an ounce from 140 to 180 gr bullets. or if you like 160gr bullets would be (approx.?) 1/20 of an oz in bullet weight. Take the one you have or you shoot best .. or flip a coin
 
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