Hola Alvaro,
here in Sweden any gun that will be used for big game such as boars, mooses, red deer need to send at least a 140 grain 6.5 mm bullet with a minimum of 2800 fps in order to be legal. Roe is not included in this category, for roe the minimun legal cartridge is 222 rem.
Therefor I have decided that I need two different barrels and the larger one will probably be 7x65R. But this gun will be used mainly for roe so I'm interested in your opinion about the "best" roebuck chambering for the K95. Whats your opinion about 5.6x50R vs 6.5x57R for roe?

Another option would be 6.5x65R which would be legal for any game here in Sweden. I understand that you have experience of all of these cartridges, thats why I'm most interested in your opinion. I have used 6.5x55 in several guns to take a lot of roe so I'm well aware about this level of performance but I'm most curious about the other two.

Regards
Henrik

"...I'm interested in your opinion about the "best" roebuck chambering for the K95."

5,6x50R for the skilled and patient stalker who has the time to pick up his shots carefully is not bothered by having to pass on the occasional quartering away shot.

the 6,5x57R, otherwise.

"Whats your opinion about 5.6x50R vs 6.5x57R for roe?"

the 6,5x57R is unnecesarily powerrful for roe. It adds some margin on badly placed shots, though.
mixed bag hunts, or when you may shoot wild boar while hunting roe makes the 6,5 the only advisable choice.

"Another option would be 6.5x65R which would be legal for any game here in Sweden."

I know this cartridge well. Powerwise it is another step ahead of the 6,5x57R which, by the way, should be virtually identical to your well known Swedish 6,5.

You can always download it to x57R specifications but in my experience you'll end up shooting roe with full power loads. It is not as comfortable to shoot as its smaller cousins but necessarily a better choice for large game.

If I were to decide on a second barrel, already having a 7x65R, I would choose the 5,6. Otherwise the two would be too similar and their applications too overlapped.

Best regards,

Montero

Hola,
I would like to be able to take a 200 m shot on roe but as a general rule I will not try a quartering away shot. At what range does the 5.6x50R start to "run out of steam"? As you commented, 6.5x57r in a K95 would be very similar to a 6.5x55. And I've used 6.5x55 on enough roe to know what it is capable off . I normally use 120 grain bullets for roe in my 6.5x55.
But if I want to use a 6.5x57R on a mixed bag hunt I need to use at least 140 grain bullets since that would be the legal minimum. That is the reason that I started to think about 6.5x65R since it will be able to give a 140 grain bullet a decent velocity (around 900 m/s). And if I choose a 6.5x65R barrel that might cover all my needs with a single barrel. On the other hand I'm not really sure that I want to use a 140 gr bullet at 900 m/s as my prefered roe deer gun, it seems a bit much???
As you understand I have a hard time deciding what I should get. There is just to many options

If I get two different barrels one would be used exlusivly for roe and the second barrel will be used for big game. In this scenario I have to main contenders:
1. 5.6x50R and 7x65R or
2. 6.5x57R and 30R Blaser

If a only get one barrel it will probably be a 6.5x65R in which I will mainly use 140grain bullets. This will most certainly be at least 65 cm

Best regards
Henrik

Hola, Henrik.

According to book figures, 200m is a sound limit for the 5,6. I do not like shooting any further than that myself, but when I've had to, the 5,6 has proved, again, to be an efficient killer. The last buck I shot with it was taken at 27o meters with a 63gr RWS T-Mantle bullet which I happened to recover. It entered at the rear of the rib cage and lodged under the skin on the opposite shoulder.

The buck jumped in the air, started on a full run and was dead in 20 meters.

If I were to have one barrel to be used exclusively on roe, then it would be the 5,6x50R. Maybe the 5,6x52R, a very cool, classic and interesting cartridge for the handloader.

If I were to have just one barrel for everything and had to use bullets weighing, at least 140gr, then I would opt for the 7x65R.

But this is all mostly a matter of personal taste and I believe that you won't go wrong with any of the different choices you are considering.

Regards,

Montero

Hola Montero,

I do have some experience with 5.6x52R in a drilling that used on a lot of roe deers. There is nothing wrong with this chambering but I'm not exited about it either.

My choices would be a lot easier if there where a "right" or "wrong" The problem is of course that there is so many "good" choices.



The reason that I want a K95 is that I want a really nice stalking rifle for roe and foxes. But when I started to think about it I realised that the same rifle would be a perfect mountain or stalking rifle for bigger game aswell. I don't think that the same barrel would be "just perfect" for both roe and big game though. But the "roe barrel" be that 5.6x50R or 6.5x57R would be the on that would see the most usage by a large margin.



But I like to stalk my hunting grounds in companion with my faithful lab just to see what mother nature sends my way. This might be roe or foxes but in the later part of our season it might aswell be moose or fallow deer (or boar) and the later three species require 140 gr bullets. And for this kind of game I think that 7x65R would be perfect, this is only speculation on my side as 7mm is on of the few calibers that I don't have any personal hunting experience with even though I have loaded some 7 mm cartridges for my friends. So maybe I shouldn't think to much about how the two barrels will complement each other. I haven't decide on 5.6x50R (with 60grain bullets) or 6.5x57R (with 100-120 grain bullets).



In my view the factors that speaks in favor of the 5.6x50R are nice and quiet report and a lot of different suitable bullets, and it seems to be a "perfect match" for roe.

The advantage for 6.5x57R is that I will be able to take any decent shot and that the 6.5 mm bullets are a bit more forgiven if they hit a twig or high grass. I have used 6.5x55 on a lot of roe deers and I have never had any complaints about it.

What are the differences between these two cartridges in your opinion?



Regards,

Henrik