6.5x55 Swedish

Great gun, used one this past year to hunt deer, and loved it. It's got just the right amount of kick, and stopping power. Myne is second only to my semi auto .308
 
I have a CZ 550 Lux in 6.5x55.. absolutely love it, very moderate recoil, capable of hunting anything in Canada.

cz550Lux.jpg
 
I don't think there has been one bad reply so far. I think that tells me all that I need to know. Thanks everyone, I may just have to put a 6.5 beside my 308's and 300's. Cheers,

Patrick
 
I'll confirm the comment on regular ammunition-all I've used is Century ammunition I bought years ago.Put one behind the shoulder of any deer and its going down,nothing I've ever shot went 30 yards-and most a lot less than that
 
bought one from the exchange here for 300 bucks, put on a 400 dollar leupold, never shot one before. Got a 1.5" group! I know i can loose close to an inch with more practice at 100 yards.
 
I shoot a T-3 6.5x55 and there is something special about that 6.5 mm round.

Enough steam to do what ever you need but on eof teh modest recoiling round there are.

Plus the 6.5 round produces great results in the field, always quick kills for me.
 
I've got a sportered mauser 96 from trade-ex...lovin it! If i can shoot accurate with it using irons(I'm really not an open-sight kinda guy....)then anyone can.
 
I've owned several Swedes and cannot find one that was inaccurate. I have one old sportered 96 at home with the 29" barrel off and it still shoots 1" groups despite the barrel being totally shot out. I mean the rifling is literally worn out!
Going to shorten it down to 23" and recrown it.

I keep this one as an example that even a butchered, bubba'd Swede can still outshoot some new fancy guns today. They really are the gems.

Finally got the CZ version because of the craftsmanship. Loved the Tikka 6.5x55 also. You cannot go wrong with that.
 
6.5x55 is a great choice shoot & to hunt with. Most of the rifles I have had in that caliber were light weight and very accurate.

You’ll have to post some picts.

Pete
 
Mount Sweetness said:
I posted this in another thread but I'm looking for more info:

Why does everyone rave about the 6.5x55 but not about the 7x57?
What are the major differences in performance?
Click to expand...

I prefer the 275 Rigby myself but you can't go wrong with either.
 
Mount Sweetness said:
Why does everyone rave about the 6.5x55 but not about the 7x57?
What are the major differences in performance?
Click to expand...
I think it's because of the flood of Swede rifles that came into the country years ago that turned everyone on to them including me. My first bolt action was a 1943 Swede Husky full military for $65. Just can't get past it! Shot well with irons and had low recoil and can hunt anything in Canada. What more could I ask.

I also found out that it does superbly well in target shooting out to 1,000yds. The cartridge just seems to work well on planet earth.

I don't think there's any real world performance between the two except maybe heavier bullets for the 7x57 and lighter ones for the 6.5x55. Depends where you want to end up. I also love that fact that Lapua brass for the 6.5x55 is the best out there.

Another fact is the amount I've spent in time, dies, brass and bullets. Doesn't make much sense to me to go to 7x57 and find out I've almost come to the same place.
 
That's just great:eek: Now everyone will want one and drive up the price of guns and ammo in this killer caliber:kickInTheNuts:

As soon as the bigger is better boyz get over themselves, were hooped! I just nod and say the .308 is a way better round;)

So, for the sake of the rest of us that like a mild, highly accurate and affordable round; please try and keep it to yourself:D
 
I think it is okay for both moose and deer. Use a 130 TSX bullet and keep your shots reasonable for moose. Also, some of the 6.5x55 reload data accounts for old military surplus rifles but with a modern action, you can probably load hotter but check the reloading manuals, talk to the manufacturers and maybe talk to a gunsmith about load capacity. A 260 Rem is very similar and will give you the very same performance. I shoot a 260 Rem with a 130 grain TSX at 2800 fps. (I used to have a 130 tsx load that shot 2850 but it stopped shooting well - change in component lots I think...) Good luck.
 
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The 7x57 is a great cartridge. It's every bit as good as the 6.5x55. The real limitation on both the 6.5x55 and the 7x57 are the pre 98 actions they were mostly built on, if you're using a surplus rifle.
The modern commercial rifles built for those cartridges are a whole different ball game. They will both equal the 308Win and maybe even surpass it under some circumstances when loaded to their higher pressure potentials.

Even with the older loadings, found in most manuals, the cartridges are more than adequate. I've taken, moose, bear, deer, elk and coyotes with all three cartridges and none of the game knew the difference.
The earlier cartridges were limited by the powders available at the time of their conception and of course their so called weaker actions. In newer, tougher actions and with modern propellants, they have really come into their stride.
 
R005t3r said:
I just nod and say the .308 is a way better round;)

So, for the sake of the rest of us that like a mild, highly accurate and affordable round; please try and keep it to yourself:D
Click to expand...
No argument there. The .308 ranks right there for me with the 6.5x55. My second favourite.
Accuracy wise any standard rack grade rifle will shoot the .308. I have a 1916 Spanish Mauser converted to 7.62x51 in the 1960's that shoots better than it should or looks.
I also own a Rem 40X 7.62x51 built in 1969 that still shoots 3/8" groups with 154gr Lapua. I plan on using it at the DCRA with original barrel next year as is in the F/TR class.

Another one of those hard to kill calibers. ;)
 
I've had a Tikka T3 lite in 6.5 for a few weeks now and I shot 30 rounds at the range yesterday morning. Mostly some 140gr speers and some 160gr rn. I do love this light little rifle.
When I got the rifle I bought 2 boxes of 140gr reminton core lokts because that's what they had. I reload but didn't have the ordered components yet. I sighted in and learned the rifle with one box and kept the second for hunting this year. After last night I have 19 of those rounds left and a 2 point muley that dressed 108 lbs. I shot it quartering away at 40-50 yards still moving, with the bottom half of the deer covered by antelope brush. I shot it high and back, just clipping the front shoulder on one side, the bullet destroyed half a lung and a verterbrae and came out the neck.
The jacket of the bullet looked just like a mushroomed bullet should but minus the lead part. The lead part made a 1/4" hole out of the hide.

Pros: deer went straight down and was not going anywhere, the bullet broke some bone and a lung.

Cons: 18" of deer and the core came out.

I have hunted with a .270 win with 150gr Win. powerpoints for about 10 years and they seem tougher, but I can't complain too much. Deer dropped like I hit it with an RPG.

I just got all my reloading components for the rifle and I'll really be ready for the week long whitetail hunt in Nov.

Overall, still really pleased with my ###y little rifle in a classic cartridge.
 
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