Hello guys!

I have recently bougt a wonderful Tikka T3 Varmint in 6,5x55. Now I have received the reloading dies. I got an invitation for roe deer hunting (only cows and young bulls) in a few days. The shooting distances will be up to 220 meters, but mostly under 200 meters. I know, the 6,5x55 is not the fastest caliber on earth, that's why I think it should be a hot load.

I have 125 grains Nosler Partition bullets and 140 grains Speer Grand Slam bullets.

As for the powders, I have all the Vihtavuori powders, 140, 540, 150, 550, 160, 560...

I have never reloaded this cartridge, so please guys.....help me out!

greetings,

Gerry

You can get a free copy of their loadbook at VV's web site. They say they load to the lower of SAAMI and CIP, which for the 6.5x55 is SAAMI's. You might try searching the web for a reloading guide developed for the European market; it will be to the slightly hotter CIP standards, and you might get an extra 100 fps that way. You might also consider the loads at Norma's site.

VV550, VV160 or VV560 will be your best bet for highest vel. especially w/ the 125grNP.

I would believe you would get the 125's to 2850-3000 depending on bbl length, and the 140's to 2700-2800 safely and given the BC, 'on target' impact should be great, and the SD they have will get the bullet through vitals.

I would expect no gain in field performance by loading 'over' max safe bolt gun pressures, simply not needed, should come close to drop and performance of a 270 and 7/08, to reasonable ranges.

Nice gun, thought of one myself, is it stainless? Available in US?

The 6.5x55 kills way out of proportion to it's size. It is a fantastic caliber and I would not worry about making loads as hot as possible. It also shoots very flat. I would do no more then look for the most accurate loads.

thank you guys for the good info until now.....

hopefully there will be some more, that have some experience with the components I have available.....

@6.5BR:

my barrel length is 24'' (60 cm) and the Sako is a blued one. I am sure they are available in the US. Me, I come from Austria, and here the T3's become more and more popular and the have a very good reputation for accuracy and value for the money.

Guys...... any other one's who could provide approved loading data for the components I have available?

Thanks to all of you,

Gerry

Amen.

It's a .270 Winchester in disguise.

The 125gr Nosler Partition is a stellar
performer. 49 grains of 3100 heats it
up nicely.

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
The 6.5x55 kills way out of proportion to it's size. It is a fantastic caliber and I would not worry about making loads as hot as possible. It also shoots very flat. I would do no more then look for the most accurate loads.

thank's everybody for posting so valuable information for me...

I have now measured the max. cartridge length with the 125 grs. Nosler Partition, with 79 mm the bullet is 1 mm off the lands (0,04 off the lands/3,11 OAL)

Do you think that 51grs. of VV160 will be within a reasonable pressure limit ?

Thank you all for helping me to find a good labo

Vihta's info show's a 123 grain bullet pushed by a max charge of a little more than 44 1/2grains of N160. You'll have to seriously compress that 51grain load! You might want to work up the load starting at a lower point. Say 39 or maybe 40 grains. Invest in a chronometer. best-o-luck

For goodness sake, take a look at Vihtavuori's website for loading data. Vihtavuori loading data download
The only Vihtavuori powder I have tried in my 6.5x55 was N-165 and it worked great with the Speer 140 gr hot core spitzer. I would bet that N-550, N-160 and N-560 all would work just fine but stay with the published maximums, and you should start below them and work up. Each rifle is an individual and you may find yours achieves its' best accuracy at less than maximum charge levels. Good Luck.

The Swiss drop moose with std 140-160 gr commercial loads in thier 6.5x55s. What does a roe deer have that makes it so much tougher?

Don`t worry about "hot" just look for a accurate load and go shoot deer..........

I presume Euro commercial loads are hotter than US loads - they don't have as many lawyers there. We can't really answer the question for someone else's rifle, but maybe Euro handload data is available.

Ramshot's powder is not Vihtavuori's, but Ramshot Magnum shows 2821 fps with a 125g Nosler Partition bullet. N165 is a little faster and N170 is a little slower than Ramshot Magnum.

Jaywalker

Not really a "hot load" fan, I'm an "accurate" load fan. I like the 140gr and 129gr Hornadys in my 6.5x55. Have a hard time choosing between the two. Both shoot well. H450 and H4831 powders work for me. The only powders I use are Hodgon, Dupont and Reliant.