Looking for all weather rifle in 6.5x55

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NorwegianInBaffinland

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Hi,

My first post! I am wondering where I can look to find and purchase a Ruger M77 Hawkeye in 6.5x55se?

It is to be used for hunting on Baffin Island on everything from Ptarmigan to Caribou. The rifle does not have to be a Ruger, but I really want it to be in caliber 6.5x55.

I live in Nunavut, but will be going down south this summer. Ottawa/Montreal area.

So if anyone can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it!:)
 
If it absolutely must be stainless steel with a "weather resistant" stock, your best bet would probably be a Tikka. You can get these from Ellwood Epps or Wholesale Sports and have them mail it to you. If they have it in stock that should be quick, if they don't they'd have to get it in which might take a bit longer, probably cost about $900 before tax new. Their phone number is on their website.

But if it were me, I'd probably do what people have been doing for centuries, including the Canadian Rangers in the area you're talking about hunting in, and get a quality milsurp rifle that is blued with a wood stock. Another consideration is that stainless steel has a tendency to get more brittle in the cold than regular chro-moly blued steel, which may or may not matter to you depending what season you're planning to take your rifle outside. If you're taking care of it, you shouldn't see any rust problems with your blued barrel. Your best bet for a 6.5x55 milsurp would be Trade Ex, one of the site sponsors.

Cheers,
Red

P.S. The milsurp 6.5x55's that trade ex sells are some of the best made rifles ever, at about a quarter the price of a new tikka! They also specialize in mail orders.
 
Welcome to CGN.

X2 on what Redlich said. A milsurp 6.5X55 from Tradex is a good quality dependable rifle.

Considering the environment you'll be living in, I would get the metal refinished with a bake on finish like GunKote, that stuff is pretty much bullet proof regardless of brand. I would also opt for a fiberglass stock, but they are expensive. I think a properly cared for quality wood stock is better than a cheap plastic one. If you plan to pic up a rifle this summer, if you purchased one now, that would give you time to have the work done to it.
 
Thanks for the tip. I have been feasting my eyes on the tradeex page:) Found some real potential candidates. Like the Sabatti Rover Classic. I am guessing that is the same rifle as the Sabatti 90?

I also have a quick question regarding ammunition. Can i mail order that as well in Canada? The local gun store has 6.5x55 bullets, but the selection is very limited.
 
If I am to go for a Finnish 6.5x55 I will rather go for a Sako than a Tikka. My brother has a 30.06 T3 Lite, and I find it a little plasticky for my taste and the stock is not as nice as the hogue stock on my howa 1500...

But I have considered a Finnlight, but they are a little pricey...
 
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Sabatti is an Italian rifle where the Swedes built the Huskys. I can't comment on the Sabatti as I've never seen one, but there doesn't seem to be any negative comments when the subject comes up. I've owned several Husqvarnas, both milsurps and commercial sporters, and all have been excellent.

Ammo through the mail is verboten, but if you are in a community that gets regular airfreight, you could get it sent in that way. Or, fill your suitcases this summer.
 
Welcome in, NorInBaffLand.

6.5/55 is fantastic, a handloaders dream ... but, if you are going to be limited to factory loads only, Norma's cartridges are the only ones I know of that are loaded to full pressure.
Most domestic ammo is loaded down. Hornady lite magnum and perhaps some of the premium stuff excepted.

'Course, the softer stuff could be just the ticket for all those tasty ptarmigan.

Looking forward to some posts from your northern perspective.
 
Hi. The Ruger M77 Hawkeye doesn't currently come in 6.5 x 55. Don't discount the used one Whelen B mentions though. Takes a lot of abuse to damage a modern hunting rifle.
"...Can I mail order that as well..." Yep, but shipping charges will hurt. Especially to Nunavut. Reloading would be your best bet. Mind you, shipping components won't be cheap either.
 
Another wild option if you're worried about the weather is something I've been thinking about doing to my rifles for a long time now: getting them treated with a salt bath nitriding process. The main pieces that is, like the barrel/chamber, bolt body, etc, but not the small parts like firing pin spring or trigger group. This is the same process that some handgun manufacturers have been doing for years, namely Glock, Smith and Wesson (for the M&P), and springfield armory for their XD, to name a few. It hasn't really caught on for rifles yet, but a few people are starting to do it. It basically will make any treated parts more rust/salt resistant than stainless steel or even chrome plating, as well as dramatically increasing wear resistance, such as for barrel life. A few companies do this process, such as Thermex in Edmonton (they call it their QPQ Liquid Nitriding process).

Someday I would like to get a gunsmith to disassemble all my rifles and send the main metal parts for nitriding then reassemble them :) I don't believe it's too expensive, you'd have to call them to find out as they usually treat bulk orders for things like machinery, drill bits, etc... but I've heard numbers around the $80-$100 mark mentioned for a rifle, which would make it as much or less than many other surface treatment options. As a side note, I would break in a rifle barrel to make sure it's smoothed out any tooling marks in the throat before I treated it with a nitriding process, because the treatment makes the surface so hard it's extremely difficult to machine or work after that. Same goes for any gunsmith work you want to do first, like drilling/tapping, recrowning, etc, make sure to get it done beforehand.

As for ammunition that is already loaded, Trade Ex also sells and will ship 6.5x55, click on their "ammunition" link.

Cheers!
Red
 
Thanks for replies!

@Whelen B: I wont be making a purchase until this summer, so I think ill pass on that offer for now.

@Vviking: Thats what I heard that 6.5 mostly come loaded down in NA due to fear of getting lawsuits. (?) I know they have Sellier & Belliot here, are they loaded down as well? One of the advantages I see with the 6.5 is its flat trajectory so I would like to have some fast bullets for sure:) Particularly for seal hunting on the ice.

@Redlich: Thanks for the info!

I might add that I currently have a Howa M1500 in 308win, but I have to bring it back to Norway in the spring as it is registered there. And I can not be bothered to travel with guns anymore. Especially since I have two little boys. So id rather have a gun in each country.

I still have not finished my canadian FAC, but will have it by summer:)

I love the Howa, very straight shooter, and I have only had it stop working in the cold once. And then all it took was a couple bolt actions and pulls of the trigger and it worked again. Got the caribou too!

I'll keep posting as I search for my new rifle:)
 
Another question I have regarding the rifles at tradeex; is it easy to change the barrel on these older rifles? There is no gunsmith here anymore, so I would have to do that on my own. I have access to all kinds of equipment through friends...

Edit: Barrel not bore.
 
If its a rifle based upon a Swedish military action, it is possible to rebarrel them using surplus barrels (Tradex has/had them) for relatively cheap cost (~100$). However, I wouldnt encourage an amateur to do this - its better to just get one with a good barrel!
For any other commercial rifle, a rebarrel is an expensive proposition - ie more than the cost of the donor rifle. The possible exception is Savage - the rifle uses a barrel nut which can facilitate a "switch barrel" concept.
 
Yeah, Savage would probably be the easiest bolt action to change barrels on, or the easiest affordable one. However, tradeex is apparently very good about being honest with their descriptions of rifles. If it says it has a very good bore, it will be a very good bore, so you shouldn't need to change it.

Red
 
Have limited experience with the 139gr. Sellier & Belliot, just a box each through 2 separate, sub moa capable, scoped M96's. They were fairly stout loads, but not particularly accurate(2+moa) or very consistent, in my brief test.
The Norma factory loads are full pressure, and very accurate in all 5 or so Swedes I've tested. Not cheap.
Lapua cartridges are wonderfull, and pricey as well.

To be honest, and please excuse the blasphemy, the 6.5/55 would not be my first choice for longer range, were I not a gunho handloader. The good old .270 Win. would be a bunch simpler to feed with good factory ammo.

Swede barrels are on TIGHT, there's a pretzeled Husqvarna commercial reciever downstairs to testify to that. Nowadays a relief cut on the barrel shank preceeds any attempt at removal.

Far as I know those Tradeex M38 arsenal barrels are sold out. Pity, .... The four screwed in to date, with no reaming required for headspace, have shot outstandingly. The worst one holds to .7 moa, ... and the best ?, we won't say for fear of losing internet credibility, but well into F Class territory for sure.
 
NorwegianInBaffinland said:
Another question I have regarding the rifles at tradeex; is it easy to change the barrel on these older rifles? There is no gunsmith here anymore, so I would have to do that on my own. I have access to all kinds of equipment through friends...

Edit: Barrel not bore.
Click to expand...

There are lots of gunsmiths across the country who would be happy to install a new barrel to your action and cut the chamber. Summer is a busy time for gunsmiths so you might find that a fast turn around won't happen. You would be better off purchasing your rifle from Tradex now and have it sent directly to a gunsmith for any tweaking you want done to it, so it can be shipped to your Montreal address when you get there.
 
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