A 120 Ballistic Tip and 49 gr. of RL-19 does it for me.

P17,

Yeah another good one! I love that cartridge, as I think it along with the 7 x57 are two of the most versatile you can find to hunt about anything, except something that might think you are on the menu if you don't put them down first.

I love them because they are the oldest, and have been around the longest. Other Cartridges do this a little better or that a little better, but both the 6.5 and 7 mm Mausers just keep doing what they have been doing for 100 plus years. They are just plain efficient.
And when you make Efficiency part of the discussion few cartridge compete with them on that subject.

And hey P17, if that is as in P17 Enfield, great handle (Eh?)

take care and stay cool

Thanks, Seafire. I've had a number of rifles built on '14 and '17 Enfield actions, and my 6.5x55 is actually a target rifle I had built on one of those actions with a heavy 28-inch stainless Gaillard barrel. It may not be a beauty by the standards of many of the rifles you see posted on here, but is certainly a nice, accurate, fun shooter.

P17,

I get up to Vancouver once in a blue moon. If I do, I would sure like to get together with you and see some of your stuff on the p14 and 17 actions. Sound like some classic stuff, and if it shoots and is different than what some of the other guys are playing with, all the better, eh?

I don't want to chop up my P17 Enfield, as it has been sportized some, but still has the 1918 barrel on it in 30/06. This old gal is one heck of a tack driver, for any rifle, much less a 80+ yr old military rifle.

A lot of the older rifles and their cartridges just plain worked. That and time, has got to mean something and see some appreciation by some of us.

You might enjoy the rifle I call "The Eskimo Rifle" that I purchased from a gun show in Vancouver a few years ago for 40 bucks. It is a Remington-manufactured P-14 that had been owned by an old (and dearly departed) Inuit gent who'd used the old .303 as his only rifle for decades. He'd sporterized the stock, building up the comb nicely and adding a recoil pad. He'd also had the good grace to inlay the stock with Walrus Ivory in the forend and pistol grip... so you can imagine what a steal that was for 40 bucks.

When I shot it, the rifle was a tackdriver, but it did have some headspace problems and it was brutal on brass, even factory loads. I decided to try an experiment: I had my gunsmith ream out the chamber with a .300 Winchester Magnum reamer to create a ".303 Winchester Magnum." I loaded it with .300 Win brass and Hornady 150-grain .303 bullets over 71 grains of N-160. I then went all out and had an old Redfield 3x-9x scope that a friend had given me for free installed.

The load was mild by .300 mag standards -- about the level of a hot .30-06 (150-grain at 2980 fps over the chrony) and I can put 6 shots into about 1.5 inches at 200 metres before it starts to open up. Brass life is fantastic now.

I like to think that old Inuit, wherever he may be now, is probably smiling to see that a young fellow has given new life to his old rifle

Seafire -

Please note that your 6.5X55 loads may be running around 58,600 CUP. This case is one of the strongest made...its only 1 or 2 grs lighter than the much bigger '06...and resists high pressure signs.

Thanks for the Update Sabot!

seafire -

I share you admiration and respect for the 6.5 Swede...it is truely the Little Big Man of the world's rifle rounds. The range of bullet weights and powders that it shoots well is probably matched only by the '06, and it does this with markedly less recoil.

Bingo Sabot;

Any guy carrying a 6.5 always can have a seat around my campfires!

I've gone through a number of 6.5x55s over the years (I still have 5 in various configurations from as-issue military to full custom). But even with long barrels and strong actions, 3250 fps with a 120-125 grain bullet has been out of the question. Top-ends loads for me with a 120 grain Ballistic Tip end around 3020 fps (best accuracy always seems to be around 2900 fps). WIth 140 grain bullets -- my favorite projectile weight for the little Swede -- I can safely get 2800 fps using Re-22 in a modern actions or up to 2700-2740 fps in a military rifle, given at least 24" inches of barrel.

BTW, while every firearm is different, I did go through some old notes and found that 44.5 grains of WW748 under a 120 grain BT gave 2878 fps from a custom M98 with a 26" barrel. 45 grains -- not quite max -- of the same gave 2874 fps, indicating a point of diminishing returns with this load/rifle combo.

AS far as medium game is concerned, a 140 grain soft point -- be it Hornady, Speer Hot Core or Sierra BTSP GK -- at 2700-2800 fps affords game-dropping performance which has to be seen to be appreciated. The high sectional density and medium velocity combine to create a situation in which penetration is excellent. Hence, conventional soft points are all that is needed for deer and even hogs as the 140 grain bullets disrupt plenty of tissue and almost always leave a nice exit in its wake.

Another nice thing about the Swede that I forgot to mention is how well it shoots out of an 18 inch bbl. With its fast twist rates it is far better than the 260 Rem and will still stabilize 160 gr RNs at reduced velocities. Even a military carbine with 18.5 inch bbl will safely produce 2645 fps at 45,000 CUP with 140 gr spitzers. It will do 3280 fps with 85 gr bullets at the same pressure, so what else do you need for hunting Varmints to big game in the US?

Now we have the 100 gr Nosler partition, which the little carbine will launch at 3070 fps...every bit as good on deer as the vaunted '06 with 150 gr bullets and the 270 Win with 130 grainers.

The short bbl performance is partly due to the fact the the small, tapered case does very well with fairly fast powders like 4320 and R15, so a long tube is not necessary and muzzle blast is not a problem. It uses a smaller charge weight to push a 100 gr spitzer past 3000 fps than does the 243 Win, and actually has less recoil.

Not many folks discuss it, but the 6.5X55 case is extremely strong, and massive in the web...it weighs only 1 to 2 grs less than the '06. Even with my hot loads and reloading mistakes, it has never failed to extract in my CZ 550.

It is also the most effective all purpose military round ever developed, but never used extensively for that purpose.

Bobby T:

Good point about the dimishing returns with powders. I actually shoot that load in my long barreled 6.5, because the heavier bullets I shoot in a Standard Factory Ruger with a 22 inch barrel. I use the shorter barrel one in brush conditions where the shots are going to be closer.

I worked up the W 748 loads from an older manual ( started low for all the critics in the crowd)
While I found that the 44 grain load was the max velocity, I also saw diminshed returns once over that figure.

The rifle I speak, like all of my rifles that I think the bullet can set too deep in the case, I load a dummy round and set the bullet out and then take it to the gunsmith and have him throat out the chamber to take the round. Since the rifle was previously a 30/06, I have plenty of magazine space to do so.

I really have not tried the load in the Ruger, since really did not have a need to. However heading over to the range this morning, so I will load up a few and take the Ruger and the Chrony and see what we get.

Good pointer Partner!

seafire-

Hope you had a good range session...

I'd like to hear about the difference in velocity between your long-barreled custom and the 22" Ruger with the WW748 loads-- if you wouldn't mind posting the results when time permits.

Bobbie T.:

Business travel has kept me from having time to chrono those 6.5 loads and the results.

I went out and fired 5 rounds thru a 22 inch Stock factory Ruger and a 26 in winchester Model 70 featherweight.

Powder: W 748. Charge Wt: 44 grains
Bullet 120 grain Sierra HP Match
Primer: CCI Large Rifle
temp: 102 degrees. ( Oregon)
Altitude: 1500 feet above sea level.

The 26 inch barrel, 1 in 8 twist gave me 3230 to 3260 fps.

The 22 inch barrel gave two shots at 3007 fps and 3 shots between 3025 and 3033 fps.

Hope that is some use to you.
Good luck. And sorry it took me a week or so to be able to get time out to chrono those loads.
thanks