6.5x55 Availability and Pricing?

[Slackbunny]

I am considering buying a Husqvarna Sporter which takes a 6.5x55 calibre, and I am pretty much sold on it; but I am worried about the availability and cost of the cartridges. Will I be able to find this ammo easily, and if so how much will it cost me?

 

[Winnipeg Toymaker]

Remmington makes the ammo but I guess not all popular outlets stock it. I reload as I can get much better accuracy and also cheaper ammo for my 6.5x55 Gustav..Store bought ammo will probably run ya over $1.50 a cart.

 

[Chemist]

We have some PRVI on its way. It should be here in a couple weeks. I'm not sure of the price at the moment.

 

[saskgunowner101]

Have you considered reloading?? Once you do, you'll never have to search for ammo again.

 

[Slackbunny]

$1.50 per cart is a little steep. I had not really considered reloading. I'll need to look into that as well.

 

[greywolf]

Cabela's 6.5x55 = 31.99 a box remington

I reload as well, I buy lapua brass and bullets from hirsch precision , as said , much better accuracy , plus you can't go wrong with the swedish mausers I love mine .

 

[DaveMachine]

I've been able to find 6.5x55 no problem at both Wholesale sports and the local gunshop here in Lethbridge. That said, I haven't seen any at Canadian Tire or Walmart yet.

 

[Jimbobob08]

I can get remington and federal for $25/20 which is the norm pricing around here. Igman for $19, Ive had bad luck with Igman before so am willing to pay the extra $6. Prvi would be my first choice, but can't find it local.

Remington groups 2.5" at 100y iron sights
Federal 1.5" at 100y iron sights (believe it's also 200fps faster if i remeber correctly)
Rifle is a husqvarna 1600

 

[Ohno]

Last year I picked up Hornady 6.5x55 from WSS for $25/box. A pretty fair price considering the Remington was $30+

S&B was $19 locally last year now it is $27. It is good ammo. Igman as mentioned above is not very accurate.

As for availability, I've never seen it sold in a gas station or Cdn Tire, but it is usually found in any hunting/outdoor store. It has been around for over 100yrs and doesn't appear to be going away soon.

 

[MiltonBradly]

Al Simmons in Hamilton has S&B 6.5x55 in stock. FMJ @ $16.99 & SP @ $17.99.

I think they also have PP and had Igman for a similar price (picked up a box of each to try in my swede but I think I got the last box of Igman.

HTH
MB

 

[Slackbunny]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm making some calls to some sporting goods stores today to see what the situation is. I'll let you guys know my final decision.

BTW, I got a great first impression of this forum.

 

[Mojo99]

You're pretty much restricted to 140gr with factory loads you'll find. Norma makes other grain choices, but I can't even find any Norma ammo and if I could, its quite expensive. I have all the reload stuff now. I'll be starting to learn in the winter after bird season is done.

 

[bearhunter]

The 6.5x55 is a truly great cartridge. Other than on this board, it is an under appreciated cartridge. It is also an incredibly versatile round. It can be used for everything from ground squirrels to moose and elk as well as performing admirably on the target shooting scene.
The 6.5x55 surplus rifles are great buys and a lot of fun to shoot and collect. The more modern and stronger offerings are to be preferred for sporting purposes but that being said, the converted sporters do yeoman's service as well. The stronger commercial actions tend to be a little more forgiving and can be loaded to higher velocities. The commercial rifles also, mostly have shorter throats which are more suitable for lighter, shorter bullets.
In our area, we are spoiled by Del Selin's shop. He always has a decent selection of brass, bullets and powder as well as some hard to find commercially loaded ammunition. As was mentioned above, other than Norma, the other manufacturers of 6.5x55 only load 140 grain bullets.

 

[R005t3r]

The 6.5x55 is a truly great cartridge. Other than on this board, it is an under appreciated cartridge. It is also an incredibly versatile round. It can be used for everything from ground squirrels to moose and elk as well as performing admirably on the target shooting scene.

Ah yes, the .308 killer. Ammo is available from Winchester, Remington, Sellier&Bellot, Prvi Partisan, Norma, Lapua. etc.

The round really shines when it is reloaded

 

[bigstickpilot]

In Winnipeg I have only found it at WSS in both Rem and Fusion 140gr loads. Nothing at Cabelas (ptui).

 

[blasted_saber]

The father in law has one and has little trouble findng ammo here in Ontario. He lives in the GTA mind you, but ive found a bunch in different mom and pop shops in rural Ontario as well.

 

[bigstickpilot]

a week later and WSS in Winnipeg has added Federal and Winchester loadings: but all 4 flavours are 140gr SP

 

[Northman999]

I've used Winchester 140gr. Price was about $25.99 if I recall. Decent ammo.

You will be able to reload your 6.5 to be noticeably more powerful than factor ammo, if you ever decide to go that route. It's got two strikes against it in terms of factory ammo - it's an older round (so they download it), and it's European (so they download it). Not quite as bad as 8mm mauser, but still downloaded.

 

[brit84]

looks like theammosource has some in stock now, I just took 5 boxes

 

[SigWig]

http://www.theammosource.com/index....oducts_id=58&zenid=ququsekj3kj655rg0skvnllcf6

Prvi Partizan 6.5x55 Swedish 139gr SP, box of 20 $21.99


How good is prvi partizan? This is the best deal I can find.