is the 6.5x55 adequite for bear?-I've taken over 30 blacktails and a couple of black bear,nothing went far,maybe 20 yards.Both black bears were hit broadside on the point of the shoulder and were immobalized right there[I have this thing about tracking wounded black bears in the salal so thick you can't see your feet,so only take a broadside,point of shoulder shot]Years ago I picked up a bunch of surplus 6.5x55 139 gr Century ammunition for $10 a box,and thats all I've ever used[just got some 140gr. privipartizan bullets now so will be trying that out]But for the price of ONE rifle-you can get TWO husky's-one in 6.5x55 and the other in 9,3x57[286 gr privipartizans @2000fps]-and both are well proven in the field-if you hold them straight,which is a bit easier as neither has heavy recoil.For comparisons sake-the ballistics of a 6.5xx55 and a 270 are virtually identical after 100 yards and a 9,3x57 fits somewhere between a winchester 358 and a 35 Wellen.Ammunition for the 9,3x62 is more readily available-but brass for the 9,3x57 is easily made by running 8x57 through a sizing die,and I'm finding reloading isn't as dificult or intimidating as I thought it was going to be.
Lots of information on ''swedish gunboards''