Reloading 6.5x55 for the M98 Mauser action

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Vern Kowalski

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Hi All, I've recently purchased a Zastava with the M98 action chambered in 6.5x55. I've had an interest in the popular European caliber for a long time, and since im a lefty and the 6.5x55 chambered in a lefthanded North American made rifle is as rare as hens teeth, I thought I'd grab this rifle when it came up and give it a try. I was wondering if anyone else is reloading for these modern made Serbian rifles, and if they are, can they give me some tips? One of my biggest questions is weather I can use North American made brass in this rifle, as I understand the North American made brass has a slightly smaller case head than European made brass (.473 vs .480) This is apparently because of the North American made rifles being made with the same .473 bolt face used in manufacturing of the 30-06, .270 and other popular North American rounds. Another thing I'm curious about is bullet recommendations. This particular rifle has a 9 twist barrel, I have read that the 140 gr and up projectiles won't stabilize with this twist rate. As I said, I appreciate any helpful tips and info.

Thanks in advance.
 
Shucks! You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble by buying a Swedish Mauser already in 6.5x55. (Ridicule aside) Any left-handed Mauser is a rarity!

The question about brass might be irrelevant. The head holds the primer, but the extractor groove is a more important dimension. Is there unsupported space on the bolt face for the case to wiggle off the hook at any point in its motion. If too small is your worry, start with Swedish brass. As for bullets, don't overthink this one. Most rifles have a favourite bullet weight and powder charge. What looks bad on paper might be just right for your rifle. As a suggestion, look what Lapua and Norma are offering for loaded cartridges. A lot of moose die every year in Scandinavia, and the hunters must be buying what works.
 
brass head size is a non issue .

the 9.3x62 has a similar size issue between 9.3 brass and resized 30-06 brass , all without issue .

in a modern action you can run 308 win pressure levels . if your experienced at reading signs of pressure and have a system that works for you , great .

I've had great success with hornady interlocks , nosler accubonds and partitions and Barnes's x bullets . from 120 grains to 140 grains .
 
Lapua brass and H4831SC. Start low and build up but my guess will be that you end up over book. My M700 built on a 30'06 is 48grs with a 140gr projectile.

The books are often conservative as thre are older weaker actions they have to keep safe.
 
I purchased 200 Norma once fired brass from Tradex a while back. They may still have some. Very good condition but quite dusty. I washed it all in a Simple Green solution before I started to process it. I am using it in my "43 Husky Swedish Mauser. I also bought PRVI bullets from them that work quite well considering the Husky is no virgin. She likes 36 gr of IMR 4064; a mild load suitable for the 96s.
 
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OP, one thing about your Zastava action is that it is one hell of a lot stronger than Military Krags/M38, M94, M96 actions. You are not limited by the loads shown in most manuals which are catering to those early and in comparison weaker actions. Don't take this wrong, they are plenty strong enough for the pressures they were designed to contain.

I don't know about the Zastava other than one I load for chambered in 270 Winchester. I am quite impressed with this rifle. It's strong, accurate and functions perfectly. Great value for the dollar.

I load for the 6.5x55 in a Tikka T3. I went online to check out some other loaders experiences with higher pressure and therefore higher velocity loads. The hottest load listed in the Hornady manual with H4831 will give you 2600fps out of a 29 inch barrel and considerably less out of a 22-24 in bbl.

Personally, for the shooting I do where I hunt that low velocity just doesn't cut it.

This has been discussed here already in another thread but searching is a pain in the butt on CGN.

What you will find when you look on some of the Google sites pertaining to "hot" 6.5x55 loads is you will find several recipes. I finally settled on IMR7828SC over CCI 250 magnum primers under 139 Hndy Interlocks and SSTs. My magnetospeed tells me it produces 2900 fps out of my 22 in barrel. Both bullets shoot sub moa at 100yds from the bench out of that T3.

You don't mention the weight of bullets you intend to shoot.

I started with mid range 260Rem loads and worked up from there. The x55 case will hold more powder so even higher velocities are attainable with powders slightly slower than H4831. H4831SC is ok but doesn't produce the same results as IMR7828SC.

If your Zastava is like the 270 I am familiar with it will have a long throat. I would suggest you seat your bullets out as far as you can.

This isn't rocket science. It is however a learning curve.

You have chosen an excellent cartridge and rifle system to start with. There isn't a lot you can do wrong with this system. Err on the side of caution.

Now, the best thing about hand loading is that you load for both accuracy and velocity. If my T3 had shown better or at least acceptable accuracy and trajectories at a lighter load than I settled on I would have went with the lighter load. Find a sweet spot that is acceptable to you.

For records, get a note pad. Preferably a hard cover ring type.

Start out by recording the cartridge at the top of the page. Then list your components by brand.

Such as

Lapua brass

CCI 250 mag primers

H4831 powder and the final weight you settle on with notes as to why.


I usually list all of the loads I try out as well as the results.

Check the face of your cases for bright shiny marks as from the rotation of the bolt. If you are getting shiny streaks you are loading to hot. Back off a grain and quit testing anything hotter.

Once you get into mid size cartridges you will usually find that they like to be loaded closer to maximum than minimum. Not always though and it definitely depends on the individual rifle.

There is a lot more to this but you're at a good place to start.
 
Yep, my 700 Classic, my BSA and my CZ.......all with 1-9 twist I believe, love 140 gn Parts and I'm using 139 gn Norma HP match in my BSA, which are a very long bullet and the BSA loves them. I do believe I'm using IMR 7828 as well for right around 2900 fps from a 24" barrel. Seems to be a sweet combination for this cartridge..........

This is my load for the 700 Classic.........it's sold now.

 
I've owned a zastava m98 chambered in 7mm rem mag so that action is plenty stong for any 6.5x55 load.

My 6.5x55s love 140 grain Hornaday bullets with 4831 powder behind then.

For 120 grain bullets I've had great success with 3031 and 4320 powders.

Also I will add follow bear hunters above post, he knows his stuff for sure!!
 
Thanks for all the tips and info, much appreciated. Feel free to keep the info coming. I would like to shoot 140's out of this rifle, so I will try them. Btw, I believe the rifle is a 23.5 inch......with the 1 in 9 twist.
Thanks again for all the great info!
 
Here is my suggestion, bullet is 140Gr Hornady SST. PPU pills are undersized and do not produce max accuracy in my rifle.

DSC07643.JPG


Then same bullets and loads at 300m distance.

DSC07644.JPG
 
I used to load a lot for my 6.5 swedes but as soon as I found a supply of privy 140 grain I gave up. I used IMR 4895 but I cant recall the load weight. I still load a few a year for friends and use either speer or Interlokt bullets when available.
 
Just back from the range working on a load for 120 gr Barnes tipped tsx, and like others I am above book with no signs of pressure. Mine is in a modern action, (Husqvarna 1900) and at the moment I am doing well with Alliant Reloader 22, Winchester brass and CCI primers. Sighted at 3" high at 100 I am still about 1 1/2 high at 200. About 1 1/2 group at 200. Didn't fire a lot of rounds yet, still working at narrowing the load further, but it will probably stay there for now for hunting season and I will continue to work on it further as I get time. North American brass all works well in this rifle from various manufacturers. You will love the 6.6x55.
 
Hello Vern. I have a Tikka T3 deer rifle and a Tikka 595 SuperSporter in 6,5x55. I'll give you a heads up, to the problem I encountered using Hornady dies. I'm a Hornady die fan and they are my first choice for standard full length resizing dies. I bought Hornady 6,5x55 Scan dies and I found that they did not size down the case head enough. The cases gave me sticky chambering. It turns out that the 6,5x55 Swede and the 6,5x55 Scan are not the same thing. The Scan (sometimes spelled Skan) is a very slightly dimensional enlarged version of the Swede. I surmise this was to get around the pressure limitations of the old 6,5x55 Swede rifles. Depending on the chamber of you rifle, the hornady die might work fine, or might not. If you want to spend the money, Redding Competition shellholders and RCBS Precision Mics are a good investment. My load for the deer rifle is Reloader 25 (healthy dose), CCI 250 primers and 130 gr Scirocco IIs at a velocity in the low 2800's. I use RWS brass for this rifle and Lapua for the Supersporter. The 130 Scirocco's have shot into a quarter inch for 3 shots at 100 yds. This was my first test run of components, so when I stumbled on this exceptional load, I gave up trying any more loads. My load for the SuperSporter uses Ramshot Big Game powder, Lapua brass, CCI 250 Primers, and Lapua 139 gr Scenars. I have two loads, one at 2600 fps for 300yds and closer and a load at 2800 for 300 yds and further. I went with a ball powder for this rifle, as I load in big lots and didn't want to single trickle out loads using a stick powder. I would suggest the larger European brass if you can find it. Hirsch Precision sells Lapua 6,5x55 brass.
 
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