for the love of 6.5x55

Great thread!

ive not personally used a 6.5x55 but i have a storie of one.
it was one of those mauser 96? i rekon from memory?? synthetic stock, fairly heavy, my mates gun when we were starting out, now the fella gets buck fever real good and for a while he had been sayin ' how crap it was, cant hit anything' lol,
i was stalking behind him an witnessed buck fever and that barrel shaking all over the hillside to understand what the heck was wrong with the rifle...
on this particular day he did get a old fallow buck with wonky antlers... a head he still has.
We thought the 6.5x55 was a Canon of sorts ha ha

it got upgraded to the Savage edge 308 an never looked back..
 
I've only the one...an unaltered '05 Carl Gustav. Took a WT with it a couple or 10 years back.
Never really get to see a milsurp shine IMO...the irons hold them back.
Got a tore up No. 1 arriving today...maybe it needs a more useful chambering than 220 Swift...not that useful in AB.
 
The 6.5x55 is my cartridge love affair. I started loading for it in the late 80’s and never looked back. It covers all my shooting needs in Ontario. I wish I’d never sold my first. A M96 Swede from 1902 sn 111220. Anyone got it?
 
6.5x55 in a restored Danish M69 is still the most accurate rifle I have personally owned. Easy to load for.

Find a Tikka T3 in that chambering and never look back.
 
Big fan of the 6.5x55, have a really nice Husqvarna M38 that is an ode to the beautiful craftsmanship that went into these rifles. Will probably pick up a Tikka chambered in it in the near future too.
 
Two hunting seasons with my Ruger African in 6.5x55 and sadly the only thing it has shot is a grouse in the neck. No moose or deer as it was intended for.
 
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Love my M69. Mine's on a matching VZ24, smooth as butter and locks up like a vault.
 
kawicrash said:
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Love my M69. Mine's on a matching VZ24, smooth as butter and locks up like a vault.
Click to expand...

The Danes really knew how to put these together...I have a few of these as well. CRF that feeds and cycles like a pushfeed, and their adjustable 2 stage triggers are pretty amazing, great solid stocks too.
 
My first introduction to the efficiency of 6.5mm rifles was a Mannlicher-Schoenaur in 6.5x54
It was not an easy rifle to mount a scope on, but my eyes were young, and iron sights worked
fine.
The only readily available ammo at the time was the CIL 160 grain RN at, IIRC, 2160 fps. This
rifle shot that ammo very well, and killed muleys like nobody's business.

Later, I became acquainted with the 6.5 Swede, and it was love at first sight. Several swedes
later, I found a NIB Remington 700 Classic, which has proven it's worth on everything from
coyotes right up to Elk and Moose.
I have shot this rifle so much that it is now on it's 3rd barrel, and it takes a fair bit of shooting
to wash a 6.5x55 barrel. [trust me on this :)] My conservative estimate is around 10,000 rounds
so far on this action. Still shooting sub-moa with the Shilen that Guntech installed for me.
Such a mild-mannered round that is field-proven. What more could one wish for? Dave.

Sorry for the repetitive post guys and gals. Just enthused about the 6.5x55. :) :)
 
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A kimber hunter in 6.5x55ai has made its way to main rifle spot. The balance between effectiveness and recoil is very well balanced with factory 6.5 ammo. Loaded up to modern pressure and in my case, improved. It really shines while not having to worry about barrel life.

The 6.5x55 wouldn’t be half as popular if it wasn’t chambered in trim yet sound m96 rifles thou. The m96 sporter in 6.5x55 still beats most modern budget guns in terms of value/performance.
 
I had my CG3000 (Sauer 80 action) at the range on Friday for some more load testing and had a bit of ammo left over to plink with. I worked my way out from my 200m zero to 700, hit each target first shot. The 700m is 4' diameter, so pretty big. Hit this at 685m first shot too, 18" x 30" silhouette hiding in the trees. Definitely liking this rifle, and it's one of 4 6.5x55's I've got.
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Kristian
 
turbo_bird said:
I had my CG3000 (Sauer 80 action) at the range on Friday for some more load testing and had a bit of ammo left over to plink with. I worked my way out from my 200m zero to 700, hit each target first shot. The 700m is 4' diameter, so pretty big. Hit this at 685m first shot too, 18" x 30" silhouette hiding in the trees. Definitely liking this rifle, and it's one of 4 6.5x55's I've got.
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Kristian
Click to expand...

Amazing looking range... where is this?
 
I killed a white tail spike buck a few days ago with my T3X in 6.5 Swede, loaded with Hornady the 160 RN complete double lung pass through no meat loss, the Swede is just plain efficient.
 
Eagleye said:
My first introduction to the efficiency of 6.5mm rifles was a Mannlicher-Schoenaur in 6.5x54
It was not an easy rifle to mount a scope on, but my eyes were young, and iron sights worked
fine.
The only readily available ammo at the time was the CIL 160 grain RN at, IIRC, 2160 fps. This
rifle shot that ammo very well, and killed muleys like nobody's business.

Later, I became acquainted with the 6.5 Swede, and it was love at first sight. Several swedes
later, I found a NIB Remington 700 Classic, which has proven it's worth on everything from
coyotes right up to Elk and Moose.
I have shot this rifle so much that it is now on it's 3rd barrel, and it takes a fair bit of shooting
to wash a 6.5x55 barrel. [trust me on this :)] My conservative estimate is around 10,000 rounds
so far on this action. Still shooting sub-moa with the Shilen that Guntech installed for me.
Such a mild-mannered round that is field-proven. What more could one wish for? Dave.

Sorry for the repetitive post guys and gals. Just enthused about the 6.5x55. :) :)
Click to expand...

Always find your posts interesting Eagleye. Obviously you have quite a bit of interesting experience to share. I've read elsewhere that the Swedish barrels are extremely long lived. The round itself is not loaded to high pressure, and is not overbore. Read recently of a fellow that rebarreled a water cooled machine gun (or guns?) with Swedish barrels, and it would group into 4" at 100 yards which is considered very good for that type of gun fired FA. 15 000 rounds is considered the maximum barrel life of those guns. Yet after 15 000 rounds it still grouped the same.

My old converted M38 is now 120 years old I figure, sporterized along the way, and one of the few guns that will never get sold. It was the first gun I bought myself as a kid, and will probably be around another 120 years. One day if it proves that the barrel is worn out, I'll put another 6.5x55 barrel on it. Moderate report, light recoil, and I can reload light loads for grouse, or use it's superior sectional density bullets on moose. If I had to rely on a gun and cartridge for wilderness survival, I'd consider it probably the best fit as an all around cartridge and gun. Probably not considering spare parts, it is probably more likely the most reliable gun I have.
 
I like the 140 gr. bullets myself for it; they really strike a nice balance for it, and they carry very well.

I somewhat marvel that the 6.5 Creedmore, and the .260 Remington (more the former) made such a splash, when the fine old Swede already existed. At original low pressures it matches the .260, and if one was to load it to higher pressures that all the new guns are capable of, the Swede easily eclipses the new trendy rounds.
 
Years ago I stumble upon a Remington 700 classic in 6.5 Swede. I didn't have the money at the time and I still wish I would have bought it. I just recently picked up a t3x in 6.5CM. The 6.5 caliber it great.
 
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