6.5x55 sweed dies....just arrived! :)

C

ciphery

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Ottawa origanally Muskoka
So I had a real bad day today....but all was better when I got home and called on the mail.
MY 6.5x55 SWEED DIES HAD COME!!!!
I bought them fromm the EE for $10!!!!
They were suposed to be LEE dies....but the sizer is actually a HERTERS SPECIAL PROFESIONAL die.
In my opinion a far supirior die.
The other 2 would be standard LEE dies....except for the custom grub screw lock rings and additional ULD bullet seater insert.

All in all I'm very pleased.
I would like to offer a posative trader rating feedback for the gentalman who sold them to me....except I've cleared out my email contact history and don't know his CGN handle.
Hoping he comes forward.
 
Well, with any luck, he'll leave you a trader rating as that is what a seller is suppose
to do when they receive their payment.
It doesn't lookylike that has happened yet.
If he sends one to you, then you will be able to reciprocate.
 
Hey...there you are!
I figured this would work.
My friend "mwjones" tells me that HERTERS was a real gooddie company back in the day....and was absorbed into RCBS.
At any rate when I examined the FLS die it has a dark ring on the bottom and a glass smooth interior...I'm wondering if it could be carbide?
At any rate, I can't wait to use them,steel of a deal "dero338"
 
And since this is the reloading forum;
I have a M70 featherweight compact.
I need to work up some loads for a 20" barrel.
Where do I start? I'm obviously going to need to use the faster powders.

I'm thinking 95gr Vmax for coyotes
140gr SST's for deer...perhaps 129gr SST for deer
 
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ciphery said:
And since this is the reloading forum;
I have a M70 featherweight compact.
I need to work up some loads for a 20" barrel.
Where do I start? I'm obviously going to need to use the faster powders.

I'm thinking 95gr Vmax for coyotes
140gr SST's for deer...perhaps 129gr SST for deer
Click to expand...

As has been stated here before, barrel length has little influence on powder selection. The load that gives you the best velocity with a 26" barrel will also give best velocity with your 20" tube.

That said, the Swede likes slower powders with the 140gr bullets. I use RL-22 and have also seen others have good results with RL-19, both 4831's and some with the 4350's as well.

I used a 140gr SST last year on a small whitetail and it was devastating, total lung soup. They open fast and I wouldn't want to bounce one off a moose shoulder, but for thin skinned game like deer they work well.

This year my oldest is 12 and looking forward to his first deer hunt. I am loading 129gr SST's over a light load of IMR-4064 to keep recoil down for him. I figure that bullet at ~2500fps will still work just fine for putting a deer on the ground.


Mark
 
Powder selection is irrelevant to barrel length???
I was under the impression that slower powders did better in longer barrels and/or heavier bullets.....what ever increases the length of time between case and muzzle.
And faster powders for short barrels and/or lighter bullets.....whatever decreases the time from case to muzzle.
That would be why pistol powders are way faster than rifle powders, and the slower pistil powders and faster rifle powders can be used in small cal. rifles.

Where do I find the information dis proving this notion of mine?

Seems a bit of a waste to shoot slow burning powder from a short barrel, and get a huge muzzle blast, excess noise, etc.....Especially when a faster powder will result in a more complete burn, with none of the a fore mentioned side effects.
But I'd like to see your findings to better understand whatever explanation they give powder selection not mattering.
 
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Ya I HAD some 6.5 140gr bearclaws....didn't know what I was doing when I shot them. :( they have a solid base and an expandable nose....would have been good on elk/ moose/ bear.....try to find them now!!!!
Oh well hind sight is 20/20
 
6.5x55 usualy works well with slow powders
mine is an old swede with a m38 barrel trimed to 22 inch and it works good with 140 gr ballistic tip or berger, VLD with H4895 and fed GM215M primers average 1 inch at 150 yards

I had a lot of slow fire with cci br2 primers
 
Slow powders are fully consumed within a very few inches further down bore than faster burning numbers.
The pressure curve is also more progressive, less spiked.
Muzzle pressure(hence noise)is often higher, but that muzzle flash you see is not unburned powder ... it's superheated gas reburning on contact with oxygen.

Quickload is a good source of understanding for internal ballistics.

My Swedes thrive on R22. Like dero338, I too prefer GM215M primers to head off the odd hangfire in very cold weather. R22 is a bit temp sensetive, mine need a half grain less powder and a switch to BR2's in hot weather.
Common Hornady 140 grain SP's shoot very well indeed, and suitable for most hunting, in my opinion.

The cartridge does like nice straight low runout ammo though, to produce that gilt-edged accuracy it is known for.
Also, many shoot the best with bullets seated out close to the lands.

You're gonna love loading for your Swede! :D
 
ciphery said:
That would be why pistol powders are way faster than rifle powders, and the slower pistil powders and faster rifle powders can be used in small cal. rifles.
Click to expand...

It is more a matter of bore area to case volume ratio (or how "overbore" a cartridge is). Pistol cartridges have very low overbore ratios compared to bottleneck rifle cartridges.

The best powders for full house .44 Magnum loads are the same, whether for handgun or rifle use. According to your expectations, the much longer rifle barrel should require a completely different powder to achieve optimal performance.

Compare the powders used in straight walled rifle cases to large bore pistol cases. The rifle powders are only slightly slower burning for the most part, which reflects their very similar overbore numbers.


Mark
 
ciphery said:
Powder selection is irrelevant to barrel length???
I was under the impression that slower powders did better in longer barrels and/or heavier bullets.....what ever increases the length of time between case and muzzle.
And faster powders for short barrels and/or lighter bullets.....whatever decreases the time from case to muzzle.
That would be why pistol powders are way faster than rifle powders, and the slower pistil powders and faster rifle powders can be used in small cal. rifles.

Where do I find the information dis proving this notion of mine?

Seems a bit of a waste to shoot slow burning powder from a short barrel, and get a huge muzzle blast, excess noise, etc.....Especially when a faster powder will result in a more complete burn, with none of the a fore mentioned side effects.
But I'd like to see your findings to better understand whatever explanation they give powder selection not mattering.
Click to expand...

The myth of slower powders requiring longer barrels (and vice-versa) has been addressed. A reason why so many people think that fast powders are for short barrels is (aside from reading it on the interwebs, and believing it), IMO that handguns have short barrels and use fast powder. Faulty logic follows.

The reason why handgun powders are faster than rifle powders is not becasue they have short barrels, but because the handgun cartridges have much smaller capacities than rifle cartridges (except a few like the 500 S&W, which works well with fast rifle powders). You couldn't put enough rifle powder in say a 9X19, for it to produce enough pressure to burn the powder, so you need a faster powder.
 
You are going to love that Swede! Its become my favourite rifle cartridge and like most other 6.5x55 owners a 140gr bullet ontop of RE-22 is an outstanding combo in my Tikka.

I have also had very good accuracy and velocity with Hornady 129gr SP's and vihtavuori N560 (its a bit expensive, next powder I'll try will be H4831).

As others have said avoid faster powders unless shooting light bullets like the 95 Vmax. They achieve max pressure without giving the same velocity as the slower types.
 
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