... A little late, but here's my favorite load for my Swede... it's not the hottest, but it drops whitetails like the hammer of Thor..(was HE Swedish?)... my rifle is a sporterized 38, and my load was developed using PMC brass, regular Hornady 140gr bullets, CCI large rifle primers, and IMR 4350, at 44.5 gr. This combination gave me 2625fps, and easily attained 1" to 1 1/8" groups. I have since switched to WW brass, and am fine tuning the load for it... I'm currently at 44.0gr of 4350 at about 2600fps... I'm sure I can go considerably higher, but I'm not sure how much better the trajectory will be.. I'm pretty sure it won't kill deer any better... two deer at about 160yds, two shots, both dropped at the shot, both bullets exited... one deer was approx 185lbs 11pt, the other a smaller fork at about 140lbs.
also works on pigs....

Hello MLC,

I'd advise you to forget about the Swedish M94 and M96. You're getting a commercial action, like my
Remington 700 Classic in 6.5x55. They are a world apart, much stronger than the military rifles. I
experimented for a while with the Reloder 19 powder, and the Sierra 140 and 142gr. bullets. Finally a
friend told me that since it's a Scandanavian caliber use Scandanavian components since they are likely
to know best what makes the caliber perform. So, I did. I laid in some VihtaVouri 550 and 560 powder and
Lapua Scenar bullets in 108, 123 and 139grs., whipped out the VihtaVouri reloading manual and voila! - an
instant success. Now, be warned my Remington has a 1 in 9" twist which in not great for the heavy 140
and 142gr. Sierras. I can print groups of .45" to .60" (5 at 100yds) with the Lapuas. The accuracy is
terrific. Your rifle will probably do even better with the larger bullets since it's a 1 in 8" twist I believe.
I think you'll really like your new 6.5x55. It's a winner. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

So far with the reloader 19 I've gotten mediocre results.
BUt, I found that the barrel channel was rubbing along the right side of the barrel and the bolt handle was in heavy contact with the stock preventing the bolt handle from closing completely. I'll try Viht but I'm loading mostly for deer so I may pass on the Scenars.

As far as brass goes, remember that Remington and Winchester brass have different dimensions than do the European brass. The US made brass has the same head size as the 308 and 30-06 and not what is spec'd for the 6.5x55. The US rifles are are the same way. I found this out the hard way when my Win Featherweight would not feed or eject the European ammo. A check with USRAC, Remington, and Ruger confirmed it for me.

Larrys,
I read your post in shock, so I made some measurements:

Brass
Win 6.5x55 case head: .471"
S&B 6.5x55 case head: .473"
NNY 6.5x55 case head: .477"
Win 308 brass .464"
Win Super brass 30-06 .465"
Lake City 7.62x51 brass .469"

Dies
Lee 6.5x55 size die: .473"
Krupp 6.5x55 size die: .480"

Reamers at the Clymer reamer web site:
6.5x55 Swedish .4794"
6.5x55 Scan .4815"
.308 Win .470"
308 Palma match .469"
7.62 Nato .4725"

I guess you are right.

I decided to go with the Lapua brass.

I quite agree with Larry about the dimensional differences with U.S. and Scandanavian brass for the 6.5x55.
That being said, I purchased Lapua brass for my Remington Classic in 6.5x55, and the rifle turned into a
real tackdriver. I neck size only with Redding bushing NS dies, and use the VihtaVouri Reloading Manual.
I'm slightly irked though that Remington in its glorious wisdom decided to use a 1 in 9" twist instead of the
1 in 8" twist found in the CZ's. I do feel fortunate though that the Remington shoots so well with the
Finnish cases. Maybe I'm just lucky. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I just got home from my first successful outing with the 6.5.
40 grains of IMR 4064 got me a .78" 5 shot CTC group.
I'm going to bed the action and chamber area because the I know it has more accuracy in it.