I am fairly new to reloading the 6.5 x 55 (I have loaded and tested about 150 rds.), but I have loaded many hundreds of rounds for my 300 and 460 Wea's. What I have noticed is that the 6.5 will require substantially more case length trimming than the other two cartridges. My loads are well within safe limits with velocities matching posted values (Hornady Reloading Manual #4) and no excessive pressure signs- I usually load to the middle velocity load since these have shown themselves to be the most accurate in this rifle. The cartridges are trimmed with Lee Case Length trimmers (for the 460 Wea, a gage for 45/70 is used in conjunction with a dial caliper). For the 6.5 trimming, I have to use a power drill- if I didn't my hands would be sore after about 5 rds. I literally have to trim a couple hundredths off of each cartridge. By comparison, I can trim the 300 within a couple of turns of the trimmer. I trim the 460 to 2.905-2.907" and they must be trimmed again about every other firing with full loads.
The 6.5 x 55 rifle is an M96 from 1917. The brass used is Winchester and Federal. The bullets used have been the Hornady 95gr V-Max and 140 gr A-Max. My question, "Is this problem common to 6.5 x 55 or is something else going wrong?" Has anyone else noticed this problem or is it just me?
Thanks,
Shawn

Shawn,

Brass flow is due to several factors. In your case I would imagine the reason for this might be your chamber being slightly over size.

Of course, I could be totally wrong in this assumption. But, while loading for all the rifles we have here, I have found that for the tight chambered match rifles, we do not have to trim as often as for some of teh factory rifles, which have more generous chambers.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

Shawn,

Have you tried just neck sizing the cases? If the chamber is much larger than minimum diameter a true neck-sizing die can really reduce the amount of working the brass gets.

You can try neck sizing with a full length die. Usually you can get a workable neck size from a FL die by just spacing the die up about two turns. Just check to see how much it reduces the diameter of a fired case at the shoulder, and buy a neck sizer die if it's more than .001. Also check to see that the sized case chambers easily in the rifle.

Don

With certain dies (read: Lee RGB and RCBS), it is very easy to oversize the cases since the dies are too deep. The Lee dies also have a very tight neck in the die, so the brass is worked more than needed. On some dies the sizer button drags heavily on the neck too (not only in this chambering). The American brass in this chambering is hopelessly undersized to boot. These factors per se or combined leads to more case stretch than desired.

That the 6.5x55 is a rather slopy design and that chamber dimensions in the old military rifles normally are on the generous side does not help either, but most of the stretch can be avoided with good dies, properly adjusted for the specific chamber. Using Forster FL dies and an initial trimming to 54.9 mm following fireforming, I don't have to trim my cases ever again, they never get too long until they're ready for the scrap pile. My chamber is 56.2 mm long measured with a 7.55 mm plug, but I have a self-imposed limit of 55.2 mm "just in case".

-- Mats

Don,
No, I have never tried to just neck resize the brass. Since I currently have only one gun that fires the 6.5 x 55, this is definitely an option. I will have to try that. At the rate I am going, the shells will be falling apart after only 5 firings due to the brass getting too thin.

Mats,
The dies are Lee (unfortunately, money was tight when I bought the dies). It is actually easier to FL resize the 460 Wby shells than the little 6.5 x 55. However, even with a "sloppy" chamber my Swede is one the most accurate rifles that I own- but then again, I have never heard of a Swedish Mauser that was inaccurate!

Thanks for your replies,
Shawn