6.5x55 bolt guns guns - your pick?

H Wally

H Wally

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Thinking that I would like a gun with the light recoil and good ballistics of the 6.5x55. I am currently a milsurp only shooter, and tired of heavy, poor triggers and hard kicking cartridges. I know you can tune a sporter, but I would like something made strait up for hunting. The exception to this is perhaps some of the swede sporters that have been extensively reworked.

I considered 7mm-08 for a chambering, but I already shoot 6.5x55 so it's preferable to stick with it unless there's a particular gun that is head and heels better and only available in 7mm-08.




I'm looking for:
- Light weight - I hunt in dense brush and rough terrain. No vehicle hunting whatsoever.
- Well built
- very accurate
- good trigger
- Mainly hunting deer
- shots vary between 50 meters in the trees out to several hundred across clearings, valleys, clearcuts etc.
- $850 all in total, scoped etc - less $$ is even better... I just absolutely can't afford more.




--- What commercial guns would you recommend, and what do they cost, new or used? Pros? Cons?
 
Why not get a nice Husqvarna Sporter from Trade-EX Canada? They have some available in the 1600 Model as well as the Sporters based on the M96. They also have some nice Sabati Rovers and others in that chambering too.

The only other option (new and even remotely close to your budget) is a T3 Lite, although that with even a Weaver K4 would probably be a bit over your budget - the scope is about $200 new and the rifle will be about $650 to $700. Not to mention mounts.

Good choice in chambering though - the 6.5x55 is great.
 
T.C Venture $500-$550 depending were you shop good triggers accurate and cosmetically pleasing you will not find a 6.5 for less than $750-800 entry level. a 270 win would be a good compromise has a bit better ballistics than the 6.5 and is soft shooting .A Bushnell 3200 3x9 would be a good glass $225 -$275 depending were you shop. Stay away from off shore no name scopes or lesser models in the Bushnell line .
 
Tikka T3 Lite. You can get blued or stainless in your price range, and they chamber it in 6.5x55 from the factory - might have to get your dealer to do a little looking around to find one. I got one in 7-08 last week and 2 of my first 5 'load development' loads went thru 1 ragged hole, 1 with 140's and 1 with 154's.

Edited to add, in what way does a .270 bullet have better ballistics than a .264?? Unless you mean the .270 goes faster at the cost of a much meaner kick, then I get it. But the .264 140gr bullets are just about the slipperiest thing you can find until you hit the huge .338's.

Edited again, ahhh I missed the scoped part, the T3 blued will run you $750ish before tax so that's not gonna work unless you find a used one....oops. Don't think there are any other *commonly available* factory 6.5x55 offerings. So a sportered M96 or used Husky are likely your best bets.
 
I'd get an M38, the barrel is 23.1 inches which is about 6 inches shorter than that of an m96. Stick it in a synthetic stock, maybe a trigger job and get it drilled and tapped for scope mounts, add a Bushnell 3200 or Leupold Rifleman scope and you'd have what you are looking for and probably within your budget too!

That's what I have for a 6.5X55 and it shoots incredibly well.
 
Tikka T3. The overwhelming best option for what you want. Accurate as hell, light, smooth action and with a proper bolt face for that round.
 
270 win Ballistics 300yd 140gr FPS 2385 energy 1768 . 6.5x55 300yd ballistics 1990 fps energy 1239. as I stated it is a little better balletically.
 
struff55 said:
270 win Ballistics 300yd 140gr FPS 2385 energy 1768 . 6.5x55 300yd ballistics 1990 fps energy 1239. as I stated it is a little better balletically.
Click to expand...

Hey struff55, what did you use for a muzzle velocity on the 6.5x55? In a modern action it will put a 140gr bullet out at 2750fps or more and that gets me a 300yd result of 2253fps / 1578ft-lb. Either way, the high sectional density of the .264 bullets seems to make them more effective than the numbers would indicate.

Mark
 
Hmm - I guess for one thing I'm almost certainly not going to be buying new then.

I read sometime back that while sporterised milsurps are nice, they just do not perform on par with a factory sporter, unless equal or even more money is put into them. This seems odd to me in some ways, but in others makes sense. After all, they're made differently, for better or for worse.

What I find odd is that there are Stevens 200's out there in 7mm-08 that seem like they're pure workhorses for $400 or so with scope mounted in the EE, yet if it's chambered in 6.5x55 it's going to start at $600 and go up.
 
just bought a tikka t3 varmint in 6.5x55 and shot it today for the first time. WOW is all i can say LOW recoil and .5moa at a 100 yards useing federal bluebox 140 grain soft points. glass is burris xtr 3-12.
 
mmattockx said:
Hey struff55, what did you use for a muzzle velocity on the 6.5x55? In a modern action it will put a 140gr bullet out at 2750fps or more and that gets me a 300yd result of 2253fps / 1578ft-lb. Either way, the high sectional density of the .264 bullets seems to make them more effective than the numbers would indicate.

Mark
Click to expand...

And anyways, ballistics refers to trajectory, not to muzzle and terminal energy. The study of the flight characteristics of projectiles, according to one definition - might be some semantics here I am missing. Slippery = higher BC = flatter shooting and less wind drift *given the same velocity*, which they are not I recognize. I suppose they should be relatively the same given the speed differences below, given the 6.5 will have a higher BC. This same factor also helps the 6.5 maintain it's speed over longer distance.

Any .270 kicks LOTS harder than any equivalent weight 6.5x55. Meaner. According to 1 calculator I just ran, a 6.5 with a 140gr bullet going 2750 using 48gr powder = 15 ft/lbs of recoil @ 11fps, while a .270 with a 140 bullet travelling 3000fps using 58gr of powder = 21ft/lbs of recoil @ 13fps. That's 40% more recoil coming back at you faster.
 
I would say a T3 in 6.5x55. I had one (wood/blued)and it would put 160gr handload's into a 1/2-3/4" all day long. Great rifle, I would buy one again.
 
Factory bolt rifles in 6.5x55mm.....

I've shot a Win 70 FW in 6.5x55mm... great rifle if I could only find one.

I had a NIB Ruger 77 MkII 6.5x55mm purchased early 90's from Lever Arms in Vancouver when Alan Lever owned it. Great rifle, was a sub 1"'er right outta the box.... should've never sold it. :redface:

I had an as NIB Rem 700 Classic in 6.5x55mm. A great rifle. Sold it because it was a safe queen. Should've never done that....:redface:

Currently have an as NIB, Tikka 695 [model just before the T3 came out] stainless/synthetic in 6.5x55mm. This is a great rifle. A tad on the heavy side but very accurate. This rifle is a keeper for sure!

If I was buying "new" again and couldn't find a Win 70 FW, Ruger 77 MkII or Rem 700 Classic I'd go for a Tikka T3 in 6.5x55mm.

'Course there's nothing wrong with the 7mm-08 either.... ;)

2007-10-27_091302_1aCoffee.gif

NAA.
 
Well if your stuck on the 6.5 you have fairly limited choices.
To go the Tradex route your looking at:
- @ $250.00 to $325.00 + freight + taxes for the rifle
- A bold trigger @ $100.00
- A composite stock @ $125.00
- Recrown the barrel FREE, I did it.
- Bed the action, FREE, I did it
- Scope rings (tall) @ $50.00 (guessing- I had them)
- Scope, I went with a 3200 at approx. $250.00 taxes/freight in.
Tolal = $ 775.00 to $ 850.00 (more if you can't do some of the required work yourself, or if the rifle needs more)
I did this, the rifle has a load that consistantly groups .5" or under (best is 3/8") at 100 yards and most loads are at an inch or better. It is also a very light rifle (never weighted it though) and packs/shoulders/shoots excellently.
But take this into account; The rifle I recieved was not the rifle I expected, it required a fair bit of work (time) to make it safe and acurate and as you are using an old rifle as a starting point your results may vary, plus resale is squat however you might learn a few things as I did.
Or you can shop the EE but 6.5's are few and far between and they seem to sell fast as well so this may or may not work for you (you could always try a WTB posting).
Or you could buy a new rifle but the rifle alone will blow your budget. A T3 is going to be your cheapest (nice gun in stainless) or you could look at a cheaper Savage model and get a prechambered barrel for it (not to sure how a 30/06 boltface will be...).
Good luck, let us know what you chose.
 
Here is a pic of my 6.5

IT weighs 7lbs 9oz with a 4200 2.5x10x40 scope and sling.

tikka027.jpg


Trigger is excellent, my first couple of loads worked out well. I used H4831 and reloder 22 10 5 shot groups averaged about .8 inches.

the best group
tikka025.jpg

a reloder 22 group
tikka023.jpg
 
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