My Model 96 swede shoots Hornady Interlock 140 gr very well, as well as the 140 gr Rem Core-lock.


I'd like to develop a light recoil load for my daughter to use, and so am considering either the 120 grain Speer Hot-Core of the 120 Grain Rem core-lock PSP. Velocity will be mild, hopefully around 2600 fps.

Question #1

Will the Model 96 shoot this light of a bullet accurately (with it's twist)


Question #2

Which of these two bullets would you choose, and why??

Thanks

I have good luck with hornady 129gr bullets and H4350. Most groups stayed 1-1.25" at a hundred yards.

In the trade off between pressure and noise, I like the faster powder, take the higher peak pressure, but get the muzzle pressure down.
Why?
Becuase the noise is a big part of felt recoil.

With all due respect Clark, you have confused me. Can you asnwer the questions as posted??
That would simplify things.

1.Yes it will shoot 120 accurately with its twist rate.

2.By some speer bullets. Why? Because I have shot alot of speer 120 bullets and no Remington core locks. Sierra 120s are flat base and very accurate too.

It will shoot 120 grain bullets just fine.

Good old 120 grainers are available from a lot of sources. For cheap, try Midway USA for the Rem Corelokt in 120 grains.

What Clark was referring to is that by using faster powder ( such as RL 7, IMR 4198, 2400, et al) you will end up with less recoil. The more powder volume results in a bigger explosion. A bigger explosion comes across in more recoil and also a bigger BOOOM.

Try 25 to 30 grains of RL 7, 20 to 25 grains of 2400, or 25 to 30 grains of IMR 4198. 20 to 24 grains of Blue Dot shotgun powder will also give you a lot less recoil.

Cheers
thunderbolt

Thanks guys, I think I'll give the 120 Speers a try.

Both the Speer and the Remington Core-loks are excellent hunting bullets. Another bullet that is accurate and will give you decent velocities is the Nosler 100gr. Bal.Tip. Is this a military mauser you have or one of the commercial 6.5s? The twist rates are quite different in the two. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I reload for a M96, and I have never been able to get it to shoot light bullets with an acceptable degree of accuracy, although it will handle 140 gr. Speers to an easy sub-MOA. This may just be my rifle, but I assume this is because the M96 all have notoriously long throats. I seat the bullet about .02 off the lands, which gives me a OAL this is about .01 longer than spec. It still feeds fine, though, so I don't worry about it.

Mauser 96: First, I shoot a Mauser 96 in 6.5x55 and it handles 120 & 129 grain very well. Second, please keep in mind that the 96 is a small ring and pressure is a priority. I have had excellent results with H1000 and RL15. My rifle prefers the RL15 for the 100 grain and shoots cloverleafs with the H1000 and 129 grain. You cannot push the limit on velocity with this rifle, there are several opinion on acceptable levels, just keep your reloading on the side of caution. By the way ENJOY, the 96 swede is an exceptionally accurate rifle.

Link to explain why the 96 is a 65kpsi gun [Win 270]

26.5 gr 2400, Rem 120 gr core lock, 2600 fps, 50.7 kpsi, 6,000 psi muzzle pressure.
That is a load that fills the bill and is quiet.

A converntional load of 46.5 gr of Re22, 120 gr, is 2600 fps, 33kpsi, but 9,000 psi muzzle pressure. This is a loud load, and the extra gas makes extra recoil.

96 Strength link

Belaw the long throat isn't why your M96 likes heavier bullets. The original military M96 barrels were given a twist rate for the 160gr ball round. They started using the 140gr bullet in their sniper rifles and then used that weight for all the issued rifles after changing the sights or placing a bullet drop compensating mark on the stock disc.
I believe the aftermarket barrels and modern rifles in 6.5x55 have a rate for the lighter bullets.
However, some of the guys I know who load for their military M96 Swedes shoot 129gr bullets very accurately, and some will shoot any weight bullet well.
The long throat doesn't seem to affect accuracy at all. Go figure, since this flys against everything we have been taught.
The receivers on the M96 rifles are rated to a lower pressure than modern rifles, so believe the load data cautions. Modern rifles and sporter rifles, like the "Twedes" can be loaded to higher pressure, and higher velocities. On our C&R forum most load their Twedes to around 3000fps where the 6.5 really performs.
If you want more references on loads let me know. I'll dig out some links I have bookmarked on Swede loads.
Jim

<<Belaw the long throat isn't why your M96 likes heavier bullets. . . I believe the aftermarket barrels and modern rifles in 6.5x55 have a rate for the lighter bullets.>>

What you say makes a lot of sense. I know that finding the optimum seating depth can make the difference between an accurate and a mediocre load, but the accuracy problems I was experiencing with "light" bullets in my 96 were well beyond just being mediocre- they were horrible. I had a tough time believing that seating depth could make that much of a difference!

With the long throat seating depth is more for fitting in the magazine. I don't think you can seat a bullet out far enough to touch the lands.
If I get the chance I will look up a site I think I remember that explains the bullet weight/twist rate better than I can.
Jim

I read the post about pressure. It seems the writer was bragging that he managed to load overpressure rounds into his TurkM38 without blowing the bolt out. The fact that he blew primers doesn't seem to concern him.
It would concern me greatly.
The main reason loads that on peper should be overpressure, but don't seem to cause problems, may be due to the long throat. I believe some of the gasses blow by the bullet before it engages the rifling.
Be aware that the Turk M38 and the Swedish M38 are 2 very different rifles. Don't confuse load or pressure data on them.

Swede load data Look under .264 to find the Swede loads.

ChuckHawk's site lists this
" The SAAMI mean maximum pressure limit for the 6.5x55 is 46,000 cup."

I would be cautious about depending on posts on a message board. Do a search and look over several known, published sites, like Chuck Hawk's and Steve's load pages.
Modern barrels can bo loaded to about .308 Winchester pressures, but keep the original Swede barrels and actions to 46,000 cup for safety. Besides, the Swede Mausers are considered to be the finest made. They were desigen to shoot very accurately with a velocity of 2625fps. The sectional density and ballistic coefficient of the 6.5mm bullets make it perform better than it shows on paper.
HTH,
Jim

Jim Pepperbelly,
I think the idea is that the Swedes sold the 96 in .270, which is a 65kpsi cartridge.
That means that we could load the 6.5mm Swede to 65kpsi if we feel like it.

So that is why I say, to reduce recoil, reduce the gas, and reduce the noise, by going to 50kpsi with 2400 powder.

Of course you can do anything you want, get bothered by anything you want, and believe any web site you want, but the original poster wants to reduce the recoil for a specific bullet and veloicty.

The 6.5x55 is already mild in recoil, Going to a 129gr bullet would reduce it further.
I did a search on M96 Mausers in .270 Winchester as I could not remember a Swede being made in that caliber.
What I found is the reason for the misunderstanding, and cause for concern.
The Swedish M96 Mauser was not made or sold in .270, but the German M96 hunting rifle was sold in .270Win and 30 Springfield (30-06). The reference I found described it as a straight pull bolt action. The Swede action isn't safe loaded to .270Win pressure.
I will do dome more research about this rifle. I hadn't heard of it before, and the 2 models are very different rifles. It is similar to the Swede M38 and Russian Mosin nagant M38 and Turkish Mauser M38- 3 very different rifles with the same model designation.

Jim

It says, "Husqvarna M96 Sporter Win. 270"
In the link I gave.
Here is the link again:
http://www.sarcoinc.com/guns3-special2c.html

It is not a straight pull.
It is a 96 Mauser.

For some insight, check out the book, "How the mind works". That book gives two logic puzzles, one easy, and one very hard. They turn out to the same logic puzzle, but one is where someone might be cheating you. If you are having trouble with logic, this may be a key to the problem.
To find out, try imagining that someone is trying to cheat you out of your M96 rilfe's capability, with some snake oil SAAMI lying mumbo jumbo. You are mad about it. Once you get in that frame of mind, you may be able to see.

I am not having a problem with logic, am not getting mad or swaering by SAAMI specs.
I have been collecting C&R rifles for a while, have researched several especially the Swedes. I haven't heard of anyone converting the Swede into .270 Win.
I did find a link to the Mauser 96 hunting rifle that was produced in .270Win http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/FRLB.HTM

I found a Mauser model99 made by Oberndorf in .270Win, and I have seen Husqvarna Mauser sporters, but not a Husqvarna M96 military rifle. Husqvarna did make a civikian model M96 called the FSR for civilian shooters. Husqvarna did make the M38 military rifle, but like all Swedes they were in 6.5x55.
I am not doubting you or trying to say you are lying or mistaken. The rifle you describe is unfamiliar to me.
Can you provide a link to a site describing it? It sounds interesting and I would like to read more.
On the other hand if it is a sporter made by one individual I would be very cautious. The difference between the '96 and '98 Mauser design isn't so much strength as in handling gas in case of a problem.
I also haven't looked into the differences between the psi and c.u.p ratings we posted here. The pressure may be closer than I realize. I would stay within the pressure limits for each receiver unless I had access to a strain guage and really knew what I was doing. It is easy to cause an overpressure situation, and that is very dangerous no matter how many people have gotten away with it before.
Jim

https://lockbox.dwave.net/northcapepubs/swmauser.htm

That link has the models of Swedes listed. I would really like to read about the other models someone can find.
Jim

I have been talking about this on another forum I moderate on http://pub176.ezboard.com/bcurioandrelicfirearmsforum
Look under the Swedish section.
A couple of us were wondering if your rifle might be one of the Swedes Kimber sporterized back in the '60s. As far as we know the Swedes themselves never made an M96 in .270Win.
I had overlooked the link to Sarco in an earlier post.
We still think the .270Win is too hot for a Swede action, but YMMV,
Jim

Are we arguing about a particular action (military or civilian) or the design? M96 Mausers have a greater shear area on the primary locking lugs than the M98 and are therefore stronger than the 98 assuming the metalurgy and heat treating are the same. This is fact. Period. If you got one of both, pull the bolts and measure the locking lugs. What appears to have happened is that the left lug (looking at the bolt from the safety end) on a 96 had a portion milled off (for better gas handling?) and it was replaced down by the bolt as the "third lug" of the 98. Since that lug does not bear during normal use, the fact stands that the shear area is greater on a 93/96 than on a 98 for normal use. Husqvarna heat treated their sporters for modern cases like 30-06, 270 and 220 Swift on the "modified" 96 action and all that have survived are in use today. Other companies like Stiga bought military components and re-heat treated them to commercial specs to make guns in a plethora of moden calibers. Hope this helps clear up the confusion between poorly converted military Swedes and Swedes built or re-built from the ground up for modern full pressure rounds.

The safety issue isn't strength, it's how escaping gas is handled. The 98 design handles the escaping gas better.
The questions I was trying to clear up is who made the rifle. The owner said the Swedes made it. As far as I know the Swedes never chambered the M96 in .270Win, but if his is I was trying to learn about it. I don't pretend to know everything, but I am nosy as all get out and love learning about these weapons.
Kimber did sporterize many Swedish Mausers back in the '60s, but I think theyt would have had to stamp M96 when it was sporterized. Sarco selling them makes it interesting.
Jim

Hornady's current manual (sixth edition) lists a maximum velocity of 2700 fps with a 129 gr bullet and they used a Mauser Model 96 with a 29" barrel to develope thier data.

Win 760, IMR 4350, VV N-160, RL-19, RL-22, H450, H4831, AA3100 are all listed.

I would not advocate treading outside the stated pressure limits of a rifle no matter what other caliber may be chambered in it.