Classic 160 gr 6.5x55 load?

MilitaryCollectorMark

MilitaryCollectorMark

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Looking for opinions on the "classic" bullet for the 6.5 swede.

Going to be loading for my LH Zastava.

What bullet would be good to try?

From what I see IMR or H4350 seem to be the goto powder?
 
Death to moose at any angle 42gr of IMR4350 and a 160gr Hornady or 156gr Sako........same charge of N-204. And you can eat right up to the bullet hole.
 
How's this for classic, out of the VihtaVouri 1-99 thin manual: Lapua MEGA 155, COAL 2.874 ,N560, starting load,40.3grs,2167fps, maximum load ,46.3gr 2454fps. That's for a M96

John Barness the author had bad things to say about the Hornady 160RN. His choice in that class was the Norma Onyx , a premium bonded bullet. A much more affordable and available from Budget is the the Privi Partisan .
 
46 grains of RL22 shoots 0.5 moa with Hornady 160 grains at around 2570, and 0.3 moa with Oryx 156 at 2600 fps. Both from a Tikka T3x lite which has a 8 in twist rate. If I were you I would start with the load of mbogo3 as I think he tested it in a Zastava.
 
38 Swedish mauser .............the Win FWT didn't like the 160gr Hornady but 1 holed the Sako 156gr slightly shorter ogive I guess 1-8" as opposed to the Swedes 1-7.25"
 
I think the Lapua 155 Mega, noted by downwindtracker2, is a better heavy bullet for the 6.5x55 than the old 160 Hornady RN. Better BC (.377 vs. .283), and likely sturdier construction (and they're currently available in Canada). Also better are some of those suggested like the bonded Norma Oryx 156, the bonded Sako 156-gr. Deerhead (if you can find some) or the Woodleigh Weldcore bonded 160-grainer.

Powders suggested above are all good choices, but the one that will likely provide the highest velocity will be Alliant Re26. I’ve run the numbers through QuickLoad for my 6.5x55, with the Lapua 155 Mega over Re26, and I get about 2750 fps with safe pressure (about 60,000 psi)—and 50 fps faster than the best of the other powders mentioned. This velocity puts the 6.5 Swede right on the heels of the .270 Win. with a 160-gr. bullet. Note: this is for a modern strong 6.5x55 action and 23.62" bbl. Length. The various 4350s or 4831s are OK and may produce superior accuracy (only testing will reveal this), but fall pretty far short when it comes to maximum velocities.
 
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Update o RN bullets. Have a line on Sierra 160gr SPRN , Hawk 160 gr. RNSP-Bonded and 150gr SPRN Sako bullets. Guy has 163 of the SAKO, 46 hawk and 61 of the sierra, guy wants $150 shipped. Not bad price I think?
 
I dunno - my last deer was with a 139 grainer out of the sporterized swedish mauser - bullet hit a twig or two on the way to the deer, punched through the skin sideways, and took out a grapefruit sized hole on the other side.
 
Yeah, lighter bullets would work well on deer. I'm going to be loading the RN bullets since that's probably my favorite looking bullet caliber combo. Bomething about the long bullet hits the spot :D Would probably load some lighter ones in the future.
 
Got nothing moose / heavy bullet to contribute to you, but for deer...My Tikka T3 Forest settled out on 47.5 grains of RL 19 under the Nosler 120 gr BT ..WLR primers...Lapua brass for all my deer hunting needs. under 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds...4 bang flops from as close as 25 yds to the furthest being 185.
Chronied at 3080 -+ on my V3

Love the 6.5 cals ! Just got a new Tikka in 6.5 PRC....man, this thing can shoot !! Waiting on some H 1000 so I can play with some 129 LRAB's
 
kevin g said:
Got nothing moose / heavy bullet to contribute to you, but for deer...My Tikka T3 Forest settled out on 47.5 grains of RL 19 under the Nosler 120 gr BT ..WLR primers...Lapua brass for all my deer hunting needs. under 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds...4 bang flops from as close as 25 yds to the furthest being 185.
Chronied at 3080 -+ on my V3

Love the 6.5 cals ! Just got a new Tikka in 6.5 PRC....man, this thing can shoot !! Waiting on some H 1000 so I can play with some 129 LRAB's
Click to expand...

Should try some Magpro, it's about $140 cheaper for 8lbs then H1000 and gets better velocities in the 6.5PRC.
 
MilitaryCollectorMark said:
Yeah, lighter bullets would work well on deer. I'm going to be loading the RN bullets since that's probably my favorite looking bullet caliber combo. Bomething about the long bullet hits the spot :D Would probably load some lighter ones in the future.
Click to expand...

Well - Since you are judging bullets and cartridges by their looks, there is no need to do a detailed load investigation. Hornady dis-continued the 160 RN a few years ago, and I dont know if they have resumed production. Buy the bullets you mentioned. Load up 5 of each with the same powder (H4350 or similar), 30 thou off the lands, and compare results. One of the bullet types will show advantage.
 
In a T3 I load 47gr of RE#22 ,Win brass,Fed mag primer and a 140gr Partition. Works on moose,elk,bear and deer.Same charge with a 130gr Scirroco II made one hole 3 shots.Deer don't like that one either.
 
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