If you wanted a 6.5x55 deer rifle that could shoot 1.25" at 100 yards, could handle light magnum loads (like the Hornady), which action and barrel would you choose? I don't reload, but I do have the dies and could consider having the fella who reloads my pistol ammo reload for me. But for now, let's assume factory loads, probably 140s.

I've thought about a Charles Daly commercial action with an ER Shaw barrel (I'm in PA). Or, perhaps a Remington 700 converted. Or a Muaser 98. I want to drop it all in a nice wooden stock and keep the weight at 7 pounds, 8 with the scope. So a medium weight barrel is out. Perhaps a #2?

Any advice on parts, smiths, etc., is greatly appreciated.

Just buy an M-70....it's all ready to go from the factory.

Had one, sold it. Now I have another M70 Featherweight, haven't fired it yet. The first one couldn't hit a barn at 50 yards. 7" groups. BUT, to be fair, I bought it used with a Leupold 8X on it. It could very well have been the scope.

Am I the only person on this earth that isn't taken by the the Win 70? It handles well, but kicks a lot more than a 7mm-08 Remington BDL and the weight difference between isn't that much. Could be that the M70 stock just doesn't suite me. I'm about 5'7" and monte carlo stocks handle well for me.

I purchased a CZ-550 last year for my youngest sons hunting rifle. It does all you asked for. My best groups are right at 1 MOA. I can't really complain for a stock factory rifle, with no tweaking or fiddling done. The CZ actions need a little cleaning and polishing up to get them working good ( or at least mine did ), but that is just some sweat labor on your part and less than $5.00 in materials.

The CZ is slightly cheaper than the Winchester. I can't comment on the differences in the two rifles, as I haven't seen a Winchester in the 6.5x55. I have seen some of the new Winchester rifles and I am not impressed, but they are different models. Most of my complaints that I have seen with the new Winchesters is poor quality control, and sloppy workmanship. If I could find a pile of Winchesters to cherry pick through I am sure I would find one that would make me happy but in 6.5x55 I don't think that would happen.

In this price point there really is no perfect rifle, they all need a little help, this doesn't neccesarily equate to a lot more money in the rifle, just some work to correct minor short commings. Remington also does a 6.5x55 and they are pretty much running with the pack, there are pluses and minuses also, if you get a good Remington they can be very accurate out of the box.

The hardest and probably most expensive route is a Mauser, unless you find one used. I would also comment that a nice mauser put together right would be my prefered choice. I have a gunsmith friend who just put together a couple of Charles Daly's, I am uncertain what he wants for them or if the 6.5x55's are sold. I could ask him if your interested.

Ruger also makes one, my only comment is ask someone else about them, I have little constructive to comment about Rugers except they are very safe.

I just sold a Gustaf 1917 Mauser. The barrel was mediume weight and too heavy. Other than that, it was beautiful. It was used, but I never fired. The buyer just wrote me and said he can't chamber a standard 6.5x55. Not sure why, I never chambered a round in it though.

I agree with you on the Win 70. They just don't interest me.

Another option might be Howa. I could swap out their synthetic with a nice wood.

I would be interested if you know of a Mauser for sale. I'm sure he used a synthetic stock, but I can have that changed out. You can email me direct at joseywale@comcast.net I appreciate the offer.

Josyales,

See your post on gunsmithing........

CZ and if you want it pretty remove and redo the finish***or not. roger

anyone will work... however, the Winchester you speak of that could not hit a Barn... factory ammo is usually not seated for long throats and most 6.5 x 55s are long throated...

Seat those same loads with the bullet long throated and I am sure you will find totally different results....

I had a friend who had a 7 x 57 Mauser that had the same problems, and he did not handload...

However, I disassembled the factory ammo he bought and reseated the bullets to fit the chamber's long throat... He was getting ready to get rid of the rifle, until he shot the same ammo, seated to the proper throat length....

It was a tack driver then....

cheapest way if you don't handload, but know someone who does, if you don't shoot but a box or two a year...

The 6.5 x 55 is NOT known for being INaccurate!

cheers and good luck.
seafire

I had a Ruger M77 MkII in 6.5X55 that was scary accurate - I sold it for other reasons than accuracy. I replaced it with an M70, also in 6.5X55, and I got luckier than I deserve, getting one of the hundred or so factory examples of the Featherweight that came with the one-piece Williams bottom metal - it's a transitional model between the M70 with three screws and those with two screws. It's very nice looking and the rifle shoots well, almost as well as the previously-mentioned M77 MkII. It came into its own when I torqued the screws down to 60 inch-pounds and had the trigger worked on. I expect I'll always have a 6.5 Swede.

As for recommendations, I have three possibilities:

1. Buy the Win M70 FWT, and replace the stock with your preference of aftermarket, any of which will be better than the factory's.

2. You could just replace the bottom metal with Williams one-piece - it's hard to describe the difference it makes in the ownership feel. You could do this with the factory stock or the replacement stock mentioned above. Stock, bottom metal, and a trigger job will make it a new rifle, which is fair, since it'll cost about what a second rifle would cost.

3. My favorite choice is to build a new rifle on an M77 with a tang safety, which I'm considering doing, since I happen to have one I can't bear to sell but won't shoot anymore. (SOB is .270 Ultralight, with a rubber buttplate they could use a a jackhammer bit. It hurts to shoot it.) I'm considering having a 6.5 Swede barrel put on it and stocked with a McMillan carbon stock. The trigger's already good, and I can live with the Ruger alloy bottom metal. It would cost a bit more than choice #2 above, but less than a full-blown custom job. It'd be close to my ideal rifle, though (which is probably why I haven't sold the Ruger yet) - tang safety, push feed, claw extractor, smooth action, (reasonably) adjustable trigger, recoil lug, integrated scope mounts that won't get in the way of the open sights I want. Sorry - I got carried away - this is your project we're discussing...

Jaywalker

Jaywalker, carry on by all means. Some of the best ideas I've had came while I was advising someone else! Sometimes when you talk or write it out, it starts to gel and becomes realty.

Well, since you asked, I like open sights on a rifle, not for "quick shooting in brush," but because I have a habit of falling spectacularly in the backcountry. Like peanutbutter, the scope always falls first, and whether or not it's damaged, I don't trust the scope. So it's back to the truck for a spare, or whip off the scope and use the irons...if they're present.

Since the Ruger dispenses with separate scope mounts in favor of the integrated rings, once they're removed, the iron sights are unobstructed. Not ideal, but better than the long walk back to the truck. NECG (New England Custom Gun) has some nice ones, but the Williams or Lyman are serviceable, too.

The McMillan carbon stocks run approximately 21 ounces compared to the typical 32 - 36 for wood or fiberglass, making a seven pound rifle six and a quarter, including the recoil pad.

Cerakote from Fit4Duty is a well-considered finish.

Pac-Nor is a reasonable barrel installer, and I'd have them square it up, while they're in there, but Shaw's probably cheaper, and has improved his quality in recent years.

Though it's likely controversial, I'd use a 6.5 Swede on anything in North America that couldn't eat me, so this one rifle could easily server as "the all-around rifle," though we don't talk about that as much recently.

Jaywalker

Jay;

Pac Nor will also sell barrel blanks, with no contour and also contoured and semi chambered for around $200.00.....

I have it on good authority that the guy who owns PacNor ( Chris is his name) doesn't really feel that the super match barrel is any better than the Match grade barrel...

you can also have a local gunsmith there in Virginia finish it up as far as chambering and threading the barrel... they do have Remington Barrels threaded and short chambered which would save even more....

If you do go with a 6.5 barrel.. get a one in 8 or one in 7 twist.. the all too common one in 9 twists only stabilize bullets reliably up to the 129 grain Hornady.... the 140s do a lot better with the one in 8 than the one in 9 twist....

Most 6.5 x 55 or 6.5 mm users will tell you that, unless they are shooting a 6.5/06, or 6.5 Remington Mag, or a 264 Mag...It makes a big difference on stabilizing that 140 grain bullet.. they are very long in ratio to other bullets...

good luck with the project...
cheers
seafire

I like the CZ idea, but am holding out for an old Husky 640 series.

Josy: Great caliber, and you've set your self a wonderful project. All my 6.5s have been Swede militaries, and they have been more like 3/4-inch shooters at 100 yards, but I have always had this nagging concern about loading the round to maximum in the pre-98 actions. Sure wouldn't mind one on a VZ-24 with a PacNor barrel though. I would probably put it in a Bell and Carlson Medalist stock. And yes, I would go with the fast twist to handle those lovely Hornady 160-grain pencils.

I also wanted a 6.5X55. Bought a Howa. Nice piece of work.

Sure don't want to say the howa is the best, but I shopped around and was impressed with the metalwork.( Forget the stock.) It's decent place to start on.....

Forgot, the Howa:

Comes with a #2 profile barrel.

If people recomend the Carl Gustav (which is excellent but old)why not going for the Zoli 1900. Is a refinement of the Carl and the Husky but with a very strong and smooth action.
Cost less than A$2000

Arthur Plottier

quote:

If people recomend the Carl Gustav (which is excellent but old)why not going for the Zoli 1900. Is a refinement of the Carl and the Husky but with a very strong and smooth action.
Cost less than A$2000

Arthur, I'm embarassed to say I've never heard of the Zoli. Do you have links to tests or reviews?

Jaywalker

What is wrong with a Howa 1500 in 6.5x55? I have heard that they are throated really long, but don't know if that is a fact or not.

Jeff

Josywales: I too, vote for the CZ 550. I would go a step further and have you go to the CZ-USA website, click on the rifles section and take a good look at the Full Stock model. You can pick up a complete full stock brand new in the box 6.5x55mm rifle for about $600 from Phil in Atlanta, Ga. If you have to go for the custom route, get the full stock CZ, then go to the Serengeti Stockworks website, go to the prices section and scroll down to the manlicher (I know I screwed the hell out of that spelling) and click on it. There is an absolutely beautiful piece this company did on a full stock rifle. You could spend another $1,500 on a custom stock and have a really beautiful, functional rifle that will more than likely put you well below the one-inch requirement. My brother owns a CZ 550 Full Stock in 7x57mm that shoots handloads of 160 grain Nosler Partitions at about .75 inch groups. He loves that single set trigger which is highly adjustable for anyone who does not have three thumbs and is explained in the manual. You can take all the creep and overtravel out of the pull, then ajust the trigger pull way down to about three pounds. My CZ 550 American in 7x57mm has a trigger like breaking a piece of glass in the regular mode. To make it a set trigger, I just push the trigger forward until it clicks and then I have a set trigger with about 12 ounces of trigger pull. It looks like one trigger. The CZ is one hell of a bargain. The CZ does have a long throat, however, more suited for the heavier 6.5 bulets. Just my two cents worth ... Tom Purdom

When Steyr quit their distributor a few years ago in Alabama, CDNN bought up all their rifles on the cheap. I got a 6.5 x 55 for less than $650. Then purchased a ZF scope from Kahles and made the boys from Austria send me ballistic cam for the 139 grain load. Took about 9 months. That rifle is downright hateful with 140 grain Hornaydy A-Max bullets. It is the best rifle I own.

Call Roy Watson at 417-394-2526. Tell him what you want and he will build it. He has a good stash of nice VZ-24 actions.

I have 3 older M96 Swedish Mausers in 6.5x55 that I refinished, great rifle. I also purchased a Remington Classic the year they made it in 6.5x55. It's a very accurate rifle with only medium recoil. I would however prefer this caliber in a 1 in 8" barrel twist. Mine is a 1 in 9" which leaves something to be desired. If you can get this rifle in a Tikka or a CZ you're probably better off since both are European manufacture. The chamber and brass dimensions are slightly different in the European manufacture, and I think it's better. Lapua makes tremendous brass, and bullets for this caliber. Ditto for VihtaVouri powders. They both are made in Finland. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal