My CG63 drive 139 scenars over VV N150. This is working up the load at 500m, a little more spread than I wanted. I bumped it up fractionally and started putting them into a patch of orange when done.
Looking for 6.5x55 Swede pet loads
- Thread starter Dark Alley Dan
- Start date
The surplus 96 actions are very strong IMHO, strong enough that I built a 6mm Remington on one, and it's been rebarreled twice.
Joel, unless you luck into a surplus 96 with very tight throat dimensions, 85-100 grain bullets usually don't shoot well in them.
Way too much "freebore."
You can get away with it in a Tikka T3, or maybe another commercial offering, but that's because their tolerances are very tight and close to minimum spec.
I also found, the very tight twist rate wasn't conducive to consistent accuracy.
Surprisingly, the M94 rifles shot the short, flat base, 85-100 grain bullets very well out of their 18" bbls, with mid range loads.
Joel, unless you luck into a surplus 96 with very tight throat dimensions, 85-100 grain bullets usually don't shoot well in them.
Way too much "freebore."
You can get away with it in a Tikka T3, or maybe another commercial offering, but that's because their tolerances are very tight and close to minimum spec.
I also found, the very tight twist rate wasn't conducive to consistent accuracy.
Surprisingly, the M94 rifles shot the short, flat base, 85-100 grain bullets very well out of their 18" bbls, with mid range loads.
PPCLI-Jim didn't mention his load.
In cases with capacities like those of the 6.5x55, a grain or two of powder, depending on quickness rate, won't make a lot of difference. Not until it gets close to maximum pressures for a particular rifle anyway. Then things can go awry quickly or suddenly just do everything you want.
No he didn't. I'm extrapolating from "bumped it up fractionally" that "Fractionally" means like fractions of a grain.
Nodes can be found in many places in many different rifles it seems. Its hard to imagine that sometimes, a wee bit more or wee bit less can have dramatic effects on accuracy anywhere during the work up
And lots of em can be their own beast. Regardless of capacity. Some make the rules, the odd ones break them.
Quite a thing
Makes it interesting. Expensive and time consuming, but interesting haha.
Last edited:
I haven't noticed much practical difference between the 270 and 6.5 Swede, hunting. If you want bigger, I'd start with the 7mm's and then go to the 30s. - dan
If your model 96 is in good shape, and most are, because Sweden was a neutral country, you should expect similar performance at a bit lower pressures to the Creed (due to cartridge design) with light bullets. While I stick with reloading manual data for also for the Zastava, with it's designation of SE, it should be able to handle pressures similar to the Creed, giving a couple hundred FPS advantage over it with lighter bullets, and maybe 100 more with heavy bullets. I noted that there is not a lot of data for the creed with bullets over 140 gr. Comparing reloading data, it appears that the .260 Remington has an advantage over the Creed with lighter bullets and the 6.5 x 55 has an advantage with heavy bullets. If you load for 6.5 X 55 SE you will have a substantial advantage over both.
So, the military action, being used for everything from the original to the .308, .30-06, 7 X 57, 8 x 57, 9.3 X 57 and 9.3 x 62 can, as others have posted sustain more "modern pressures", and will give you more speed and energy, I get all the performance I need loading to book values.
Below is a picture of my Zastava, it was never a military rifle, built new as a sporter. The stock is factory, it now has a better scope on it, a RITON 4-18 X 45. The length of pull is a bit long, but I just don't have the heart to cut down the beautiful Turkisn Walnut stock. I can shoot just fine with it. Hard to tell with Iron Sights, but I can go from my 85 gr varmint loads to the 160 gr loads, and not have to re-zero my scope at 100 yards.
My two Swedes:
For comparison, my 9.3 x 62 286 gr beside one of my 6.5 x 55 with a 140 gr SPBT loads.
The HVA 9.3
You reamed it to 6.5-06? I thought that the bolt face would be wrong, the 6.5x55 is larger, and the mag length would not be long enough?
Out of a m/96 Mauser:
140 gr Sierra Game King, 43.7 gr RL22, mv 2,610 fps
Out of a Rem 700 Classic:
140 gr Sierra Game King, 43.7 gr RL22, mv 2,530 fps
95 gr Hornady Vmax, 41.3 gr RL15, mv 2,905 fps
120 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, 40.1 gr Varget, mv 2,875 fps
140 gr Barnes XLC, 47.0 gr IMR 4831, mv 2,818 fps
140 gr Hornady Amax, 35.8 gr Varget, mv 2,562 fps
The 140 gr Barnes XLC load has been used for moose, the 120 gr Nosler BT for caribou.
140 gr Sierra Game King, 43.7 gr RL22, mv 2,610 fps
Out of a Rem 700 Classic:
140 gr Sierra Game King, 43.7 gr RL22, mv 2,530 fps
95 gr Hornady Vmax, 41.3 gr RL15, mv 2,905 fps
120 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, 40.1 gr Varget, mv 2,875 fps
140 gr Barnes XLC, 47.0 gr IMR 4831, mv 2,818 fps
140 gr Hornady Amax, 35.8 gr Varget, mv 2,562 fps
The 140 gr Barnes XLC load has been used for moose, the 120 gr Nosler BT for caribou.
I bought it that way. Was going to use it for parts, but decided to see how well it shot before I tore it down. It shot quite well, so I left it alone. Bolt face wasn't enough of a difference to matter much. I kept the brass segregated (as I do with all my rifles) and never had a problem. - dan
Correct , I'm sending them at 2600 ish FPS, 35 grains, It's just under max by VV but I dont know the condition of their action, or barrel . The CG63 that I'm using is from Paul Rebin's(sp) collection, BUT the load works well with the standard Swede
Meroh, one thing became evident in the mid seventies when M96 and Agb42 rifles were flooding the market in quantity, the cartridge wasn't fussy about powders or priming, other than in the semi auto Agb42.
The 6.5x55 cartridge was very well designed for its intended purposes, and it is extremely adaptable.
This cartridge will work well with powders as fast as imr4198, all the way up to H870.
I've used most of the available powders in between those burn rates, to see which worked best in several different rifles, with bullet weights from 90-160 grains.
I doubt it would surprise you, but I found a load with 100 grain bullets, using h870, that gave incredible accuracy out of 6 rifles, without changing anything.
The only problem was, velocities were not really useful for the intended purpose past 100yds. To say the bullet was slow, would be an exaggeration.
The Swedes, Finns, Norwegians and even the Danes, settled on #44 Bofors powder (5% slower) than imr3031, because it worked well in their bolt rifles with both 140-160 grain bullets, as well as provided enough gas and pressure to reliably operate the semi auto rifles they were all going to and the machine guns some of them were operating, while still giving acceptable accuracy in the field.
These nations are well known for having stringent accuracy requirements, under severe conditions, so they were very careful to get it right.
I don't know what powders you have on your shelves, but anything with burn rates between imr4198 to Imr 4350 would work best with lighter bullets.
I had one load, with RL7, that worked very well with 90 grain bullets, but it needed a Dacron fiber filler, because it didn't fill the case well.
I expect 4895 or 4064 sould work well with 90gr bullets. I have an old Lyman 45th that says start 43gr and max 48gr for 85gr bullets using both IMR4895 & IMR4064.
Almost all of my reloading for the Swede was in Rem 700 Classics and 140 gr bullets.
Max loads of IMR4350 as indicated in their older manuals current in 1994 worked best for overall accuracy and performance with the 140 gr Partitions and X Bullets. The Barnes would outshoot the Partition in my first Classic by a hair, putting 5 rounds into less than an inch at 200 yards.
I did take one young bull moose with that bullet, after finding that load. The rest of the game was taken with the Partition (stone's sheep, whitetail and elk).
In my Sako 85 I never got around to handloading for, and tried the Berger hybrid hunting bullet in HSM ammo on a caribou. WHile accuracy was stellar, I found that the on-game performance was not up to the standard of the Partitions.
I plan on loading 140 gr AccuBonds in my current rifles in 6.5 Swede; a LH Steyr Mannlicher Model M FS SE rifle with a 20" barrel, and a Winchester Model 1885 Low Wall with a 24" barrel. Hunter and IMR4350 will be some of the first tried, as I have good supplies and they are still available. I do have Re-26, 17 and 16 on hand to try as well that should provide more velocity.
Max loads of IMR4350 as indicated in their older manuals current in 1994 worked best for overall accuracy and performance with the 140 gr Partitions and X Bullets. The Barnes would outshoot the Partition in my first Classic by a hair, putting 5 rounds into less than an inch at 200 yards.
I did take one young bull moose with that bullet, after finding that load. The rest of the game was taken with the Partition (stone's sheep, whitetail and elk).
In my Sako 85 I never got around to handloading for, and tried the Berger hybrid hunting bullet in HSM ammo on a caribou. WHile accuracy was stellar, I found that the on-game performance was not up to the standard of the Partitions.
I plan on loading 140 gr AccuBonds in my current rifles in 6.5 Swede; a LH Steyr Mannlicher Model M FS SE rifle with a 20" barrel, and a Winchester Model 1885 Low Wall with a 24" barrel. Hunter and IMR4350 will be some of the first tried, as I have good supplies and they are still available. I do have Re-26, 17 and 16 on hand to try as well that should provide more velocity.
