I just bought a 6,5x55.

You are an expert when it comes to 6,5 calibers. Please any tips you can share with me about this caliber are welcome...

I have a bunch of 140 and 160 grainers.

Also some S&Bellot (sp?) ammo.

Thanks

L

Lorenzo-

I am far from an expert on 6.5s, but I do use them quite a bit.

The Swede is one of my all-time favorites, and I've had them in various configurations, from full-military to sporterized to full custom -- not to mention a couple Encore barrels as well.

For 140 grain bullets, nothing for me has topped Re-22 in terms of velocity and accuracy -- and the beauty of the round is that you don't need top-end velocity to enjoy its vaunted performance.

A 140 grain spitzer at 2600-2750 fps will shoot reasonably flat and take down medium-sized game with authority. Start at 45 grains of Re-22 with a 140 grainer, and you'll find the sweet spot around 46.5 to 47 grains. With 47 grains of Re-22 and a 140 grainer, you can expect 2700-2725 fps from a 23-24" barrel.

I've long lost count of the hogs I've taken with a 6.5x55, but I can tell you that a good many of them were taken with plain Jane, cup-and-core 140 grain bullets. And the majority of the time, you'll get an exit, not always an easy task for a bullet when matched against larger hogs.

Lately, I've migrated down the .264 ladder a bit and have been shooting a 6.5x30-30 Improved in a 1:8, 26" Contender barrel from Match Grade Machine. It falls shy of the Swede in the velocity department by 250 fps on average, but those same projectiles still do a fantastic job on deer and hogs.

Enjoy the Swede. It's been around more than 100 years, and without burning significant amounts of extra powder and enduring proportionately more recoil, we haven't really improved upon what the 6.5x55 has offered since its inception.

Below is the largest hog I've taken, and it went down with a single shot from a 24" Encore in 6.5x55 loaded with a 140 grain Hornady and Re-22 @ app. 2740 fps. THe range was longer than I prefer -- just over 250 yards -- but it was my first decent opportunity to take this hog, which I'd hunted for quite some time and had always been duped.



I rarely recover a bullet fired from a Swede, but here's a 120 grain BT that met some hard impact on a nice boar, which appeared out of nowhere while I was meat-hunting for some smaller piggies.

And as you know, the Swede has minimal recoil and can even be mastered by youngsters. Our oldest son took his first piggie with a down-loaded 129 grain Hornady SP -- and he still has that rifle and wouldn't part with it for any price.


One thing I forgot to address is that USA commercial brass has an undersized case head (-.007, if I remember correctly). It may or may not cause any issues for you, but if it does, Lapua brass is "anatomically correct" in this area.

I've used lots of WW and Rem 6.5x55 brass, but I do find myself culling 18-20 pieces per 100. Factor in that I have never culled a single Lapua case, and you'll soon see that the price difference really becomes minimal between them. Also, the Lapua is basically ready to load right out of the box and doesn't require the time-consuming prep I find myself doing (like sizing to correct dented case mouths, sorting by weight and trimming to get a consistent length) with both R-P and W-W.

Lorenzo-

I forgot to add: in terms of performance on hogs, my favorite bullets for the 6.5x55 are these:
1. Sierra 140 grain GameKing (I really like this one...and here is a photo as to why. THis one had an impact velocity of around 2440 fps.)


2. Hornady 140 grain SP
3. Nosler Partition 140 grain
4. Speer 140 grain Hot Core
5. Nosler 130 grain Accubond
6. Hornady 129 grain SP
7. Nosler 125 grain Partition
8. Speer 140 grain Grand Slam
9. Nosler 120 grain BT
10. Remington 140 grain Core-Lock

I don't really care for 160 grain bullets. They've never proven themselves to me, though if much of my hunting would be inside 100 yards, I may have a different opinion on them.

And I don't like the Hornady SSTs, either, as they are quite fragile and come apart too easily on larger hogs.

The S&B ammo you have is fairly mild and should do quite well on hogs.

Bobby,

That hog is a monster...

Very informative, thank you Bobby.

Thanks Bobby !!!!!!

I will try to post a pic of the rifle with a hog soon...

L

Dang, Bobby! You've got all those great hogs and Shiner Beer to boot? Some guys have all the luck!

Rusty-

Yep, we have quite a few hogs, but -- unfortunately -- I haven't been able to partake of the brewery benefit for 20+ years.

Alcohol is one of the many things that triggers migraines for me.

I noticed Jeffe mentioned onions sometimes set them off for him. I'm going to have to check in to that as I still get them fairly often despite not eating anything on my "forbidden" list.

I've hunted while on crutches with a sprained ankle, with pneumonia, with a tear in my miniscus and even with a broken bone. Migraines are the only thing that have ever stopped me from hunting, so I try and avoid them as much as possible.