What Bolt Face Is A 6.5x55?

Redhouse

Redhouse

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
45   0   0
Location
Edmonton
Not that the answer will necessarily mean anything to me :owned:

The reason I ask is that I'm wondering if a standard bolt face off a long action Stevens would work...so, 30.06 or 7mmRM/300WM (think those Magnums are the same). And/or how much work/cost would there be in converting it to 6.5x55.

Looking to do a long range paper puncher on the cheap. Had a 260 but couldn't mag feed the long cartridges, figure I want to stay in 6.5, be able to pound a 140 class cartridge close to 3000, and mag feed the damned thing. So a smaller case ala 6.5x47, while I haven't ruled it out, probably isn't where I'd like to be (I know this is same bolt face as 308, that might solve my short mag problem, and too maybe my velocity desire but I have my doubts on both counts). I'd like to get at least a bit better barrel wear than a 6.5x284.
 
6.5x55

The standard 30-06 bolt face MAY work with the 6.5x55 Cartridge. The 30-06 rim diameter is .473 and the 6.5X55 is .476 diameter. With the allowance for feeding a cartridge, the recess for the rim on the 30-06 bolt head may be large enough to accept the 6.5x55 case. However, if it is not, it is only a matter of .003, or a very light cut of 1 1/2 thousands of an inch on a lathe to make it fit. Extractor should work all right.

The Savage / Stevens is fairly easy to fit a new barrel to. The barrel is threaded, and the headspace is adjusted by the locking nut on the barrel.



.
 
My Hornady manual says the 6.5x55 rim is 0.480", not 0.476", but otherwise I agree with buffdog. You have pretty good odds that a standard 0.473" bolt face will work unmodified and it is only a light cut on a lathe from working perfectly.

I have been told that Lapua brass (and maybe Norma, I can't remember) is made right out to the edge of the specs and may be tight, but the typical Winchester and other brands are usually made a bit smaller and are more likely to work. I just measured a random sample of unfired Winchester brass and they measured 0.470" - 0.472", so I would think they would work OK.

Mark
 
mmattockx said:
I have been told that Lapua brass (and maybe Norma, I can't remember) is made right out to the edge of the specs and may be tight, but the typical Winchester and other brands are usually made a bit smaller and are more likely to work. I just measured a random sample of unfired Winchester brass and they measured 0.470" - 0.472", so I would think they would work OK.

Mark
Click to expand...

:agree:
The occasional piece of Lapua (Federal too) brass does get hung up on both my Remington Swedes every now and then during ejection. It's a non-issue if you stick to Remington or Winchester brass.
 
Rim dimensions

mmattockx said:
My Hornady manual says the 6.5x55 rim is 0.480", not 0.476", but otherwise I agree with buffdog. You have pretty good odds that a standard 0.473" bolt face will work unmodified and it is only a light cut on a lathe from working perfectly.

I have been told that Lapua brass (and maybe Norma, I can't remember) is made right out to the edge of the specs and may be tight, but the typical Winchester and other brands are usually made a bit smaller and are more likely to work. I just measured a random sample of unfired Winchester brass and they measured 0.470" - 0.472", so I would think they would work OK.

Mark
Click to expand...

Like anything, there can be a variation. I used "The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions", third edition, page 447 as my reference. I just checked a box of IGMAN 139 grain 6.5x55 ammunition, manufactured in January 2006, and the rims run .476-.477. A older Lyman reloading manual gives .480 as the maximum rim diameter. Not enough difference to cause any problems. Certainly not enough to start a fight over. It just goes to show people that even the books differ, and you should always check a couple of them, especially if you load your own ammunition.

If the head of the bolt (easy in the Savage/Stevens because it is a seperate piece) was put in the lathe, and taken out to .480-.481, just to be safe, the present extractor should still work quite well. You are only going to have to take .004 off each edge of the standard bolt face, not a huge amount. Magnum bolt heads are too large.
.
 
I am converting a .270 Savage 111 to 6.5x55. It has the same bolt as the 30-06. It is a simple matter of removing the .270 barrel and fitting the 6.5x55.

I hope.
 
buffdog said:
If the head of the bolt (easy in the Savage/Stevens because it is a seperate piece) was put in the lathe, and taken out to .480-.481, just to be safe, the present extractor should still work quite well. You are only going to have to take .004 off each edge of the standard bolt face, not a huge amount. Magnum bolt heads are too large.
.
Click to expand...

Buffdog, I wasn't trying to start a fight, just adding the info from my Hornady manual. Interesting that the books don't agree on the rim diameter, I would have thought that was a SAAMI number and not subject to variation.

For OP and tbrwlf, I just went and measured the bolt face on my 12FV in 22-250 (standard 0.473" rim diameter) and it measured around 0.484". For the 6.5x55, I would simply open that up the extra 0.007" difference between the rim sizes and carry on.

Mark
 
No problem

Mmattocks

No problem...nothing intended. I guess I used one of my expressions "It's not worth starting a fight over," that I use when things are of not too much consequence. Something like "don't sweat the small stuff."

I learned a long time ago to have several reference manuals on hand, especially when loading ammo. Different manufacturers use different rifles or test barrels, and older manuals give a lot higher loads than modern ones (Lawyer liability perhaps?) And, I think both of us found out that the manufacturing tolerances of ACTUAL new ammo and cases are also varied.

The whole thing is to give someone the best possible answer you can. If someone asks a question, I believe that they are seeking help, so they need some experienced, safe, sound and reasonable answers.

You did a good follow up by measuring the inside diameter of the bolt head. There has to be some clearance, and in this case, it looks like about 10 thousands. The Savage action is a good one for rebarreling, fairly simple to do, and easy to headspace. He should have a good rifle, and by using a long action, he can seat the bullets out a ways.
 
I converted a 6.5x55 Shultz Larsen to 308 and a Savage 308 to 6.5x55.

The bolt faces were not modified and I could tell that they were not quite right. The savages handled Winchester 6.5 brass just fine. Eupopean brass would stick a few seconds to bolt face, until it cooled and shrunk.
 
I have three 6.5 x55 rifles. All are standard boltface actions. All work just fine. If they didn't, 10 minutes would fix them so they would. Regards, Bill.
 
I read somewhere that the SAMMI and CIP specs are different with the CIP being a few thou larger. According to the source SAMMI did this to keep it with 30-06, sure enough my prvi brass is a bit larger than winremfed.
 
North American brass is drawn to NA base dimensions (same as the 30-06/308 et al). Euro brass is slightly larger. Depending on your particular bolt face, it may or may not work. If using Euro brass is important to you, you may have to open your bolt face up just a tad. Not the most difficult thing in the world to do. Personally, I would just measure everything, then go with the brass that fits. Easiest way to accomplish your goal. Don't worry, Euro brass really isn't magical, you can still hit targets using NA brass, lowly though it is. - dan
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand about the differences in brass. This project is moving forward, and I do intend to use Lapua brass. Will make sure my builder is aware.
 
dan belisle said:
North American brass is drawn to NA base dimensions (same as the 30-06/308 et al). Euro brass is slightly larger. Depending on your particular bolt face, it may or may not work. If using Euro brass is important to you, you may have to open your bolt face up just a tad. Not the most difficult thing in the world to do. Personally, I would just measure everything, then go with the brass that fits. Easiest way to accomplish your goal. Don't worry, Euro brass really isn't magical, you can still hit targets using NA brass, lowly though it is. - dan
Click to expand...

So Dan does this mean that Euro built 6.5x55 rifles will have a larger bolt face than an American built 6.5x55? FS
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom