In pursuing a local hunting forum I ran up on a Sako Finnlight in 6.5 x 55 at what may be a reaonable price. The thought popped into my head that instead of a .257 Roberts that a Swede with a 110 grain TSX is for all intents and purposes exactly the same thing as a .257 Roberts with a 100 grain TSX. At the high end 150's in the .270 (but Barnes says 1-10 will not work) or 130's in the swede again "the same thing" but the Roberts is not in the heavy bullet picture. On the light end a .223 remington shooting 62 grain TSX bullets will do the same thing as a roberts, and I have one of these and am be getting another. The Swede with 110 grain TSX bullets run at 2700 or so seems very interesting. What am I missing or forgetting...velocity???

It'll run a 140 at 2700, so a 110 should do much more if that is what you want.

If not, PM me the info, I may be interested.

A case can certainly be made for the quicker twist. I have owned two .270 carbines that had 1/9" twist, and both seemed to drop game faster and with more authority than the same load fired in a 1/10" twist. This despite the assertion by the "experts" that rate of twist has no effect on killing power.....

A 110gr 6.5mm TSX, pushed as hard as the swede case will allow (min 3000fps?) would be a pretty potent deer killer.

I doubt you would notice a difference with a conventional 130gr 270win load.

A friend has a Finnlight and he shot a big red deer with it the other day using a lighter side hollow point or soft point. It was a pretty fast load anyway. He says the whole interior of the chest was 'shattered' but he shot just behind the shoulder, angling forward. He says the heart, lungs and liver, were shredded. Wrong bullet for the job but it sure did it well!

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A case can certainly be made for the quicker twist. I have owned two .270 carbines that had 1/9" twist, and both seemed to drop game faster and with more authority than the same load fired in a 1/10" twist. This despite the assertion by the "experts" that rate of twist has no effect on killing power.....

That is interesting!
El Deguello, may I suggest a new thread on that topic? I was given that impression too but began to give it up when no supporting 'evidence' was being presented. What gave the 7mm Mauser, the 6.5x54 and the 303 Brit their reputations as good, big game rifles in Africa and the 6.5 Swede in Europe?

I found out its a model 75 Finnlight second owner for $1000 however a 110 spun with a 1-8 is interesting. I wonder if the magnums get more credit than they are due on short range shots for medium game, simply because the bullets are spinning faster and it has as much to do with spin as it does with velocity. This is why I will not buy a 308 win with a 1-12 twisted barrrel.

Jimmy P Coaltrain wrote:

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The thought popped into my head that instead of a .257 Roberts that a Swede with a 110 grain TSX is for all intents and purposes exactly the same thing as a .257 Roberts with a 100 grain TSX

...except that there is no 110 grain TSX...

The 6.5x55 is one of my all-time favorite cartridges, but it truly comes into its own with 140 grain bullets at 2700 fps.

But a 120 grain Nosler BT at 2950 fps isn't too shabby, either...

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Can a case be made for a 6.5 x 55 with 1-8 twist over a .270 winchester with 1-10?

FWIW my swede runs a 120 grain bullet over 3,000'/sec and this is a .257 Roberts on steroids for sure.....can it keep up with the .270 Winchester?....I'd guess you can make a case for it but it's another good campfire discussion as there won't be a winner....just lots of discussion.

Both can shoot a 160 grain bullet at speeds sufficient to kill deer and elk but the .270 has a semi-pointed bullet to shoot and the swede is saddled with a round nose.....and the .270 can clock it a bit better.....

Shooting the TSX in the swede changes things a mite as we can now drive a lighter bullet at higher velocities and gain the penetration of the heavier bullets.....

The same arguments can be made between a very large number of cartridges.....270 VS .280, .280 VS .30-06.....etc

Let me put it this way.....If I owned a .257 Roberts, a 6.5 X 55 Swede, and a .270 and I'm going deer hunting the Swede gets the trip..... If I'm going elk hunting the .270 gets the trip and the .257 Roberts becomes a varmint specialist......and yes, I know, The Roberts has taken it's share of elk too!

Philosophical answers will abound but in the field you would be very hard pressed to come up with any real proof of true terminal performance between the two ctgs. I would be more interseted in the hunters ability to place a well built bullet in the proper spot on a consistent basis.

I'd take the 6.5 over the 270 any day...10 grs less powder on the average each shot..very good bullet selection & Lapua brass...

6.5x55----use the 160gr round nose. I doubt seriously you will recover one. Heck with the light weight stuff. Save the lightweights for the .223 cals. just my opinion.

Andy

Bobby T............as the 120BT isn't too shabby at 2950, neither is the 100 grain Nosler BT at 3300!!! Just ask Sarah(Miss GHD)! She has yet to see a deer take a step after the trigger falls! But she had a teacher to tell and teach her about shot placement!! And a pretty darn good rifle to do it with! The ol man is looking to do the "smack down" with 140AMax's this year at 500 or so! GHD

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And a pretty darn good rifle to do it with!

Sounds like she had a pretty darn good teacher too!

Good luck with the "smack down".

.. I think the 6.5 advantage is the higher BC and SD numbers , combined with just enough diameter for big game ........... I honestly don,t think the 30 06 can do a thing the 6.5 can,t , but the 6.5 is a nicer round to shoot .....

303, Re; a new thread on RPM = lethality...I have posed that topic several times, much hypothetical talk, little/some science, but even more field experience.

Many tenured shooters say fast twist varmint rifles are more 'fun' in the field...Don Zutz spoke of this phenomenon I believe in the 50z-60s whenever he authored the book, Handloading for Hunters.

Speaks of a fellow friend/hunter w/6.5x55 129s that had more radial damage on deer, than similar 270/130s.

Most/all 6.5s used in those days were military fast twisted for heavies, 1:7.5 or 7.87 whovever is quoting...and the RPMS when you do the math is MUCH higher vs. 10" 270.

FPS x (12incher per foot/10 rate twist 270) = factor 1.2

FPS x (12/7.5) = factor 1.6

% wise this is huge.....

270/130gr... 3k x 1.2 = 3600

x 60 sec. = 216,000 RPM

6.5x55 2,800 x 1.6 x 60 = 268,800 RPM

Which bullet do you think will have the most centrifugal force to withstand...or rather enhance bullet upset and energy transfer?

I am no physic's major......but common sense....

Now if we kicked up a hot 22 fast twist....

Suffice to say, my 8 twisted 6BR dropped EVERY animal shot in its tracks but one, that deer double lunged was at 400 yds, maybe went 25 yds, lungs gone. Not sure if a 10 twisted 243 would have equalled it, but the BR did so well, there was not much to improve upon.

All I know is I always go fast on twist rate when able.

Jimmy C. Funny I bought a 700 BDL-DBM SS years back, never shot it but found out they did 10" twist on those, whereas others has 12". Rem must figured it'd be shot potentially with heavier than 168s.

Other point on your thoughts, don't forget bullet construction is not apples to apples and 6.5s MOSTLY were designed for moderate sized rounds, the 62mm 54mm, 55mm, 57's etc. so perhaps slightly thinner jackets on many bullets to expand in those velocity ranges. 30's can go in a Savage or WHIZ BANG Magnum....

I think the magnums at close range are hitting with such an explosive effect due to hydrostatic shock at max effect, just SLAP the water in a swimming pool with your palm flat, the faster you hit it, vs. say a round fist at slower speeds, well you have a bullet with more frontal area due to more expansion, hitting at higher speeds-more energy, so you are not completely off base, but there I think the high forward speed is at work. One would have to shoot a fair comparison study on game, with same mv and bullet, but a fast magnum at close range and hard impact speeds I am confident will kill very dramatically. A substantial increase in spin rate comes more from a quicker twist, than a few hundred fps gain in say 300 Win vs. 308, so I think an IMPACT speed at say 3,000 plus w/decent sized slug vs 2600-2700 is going to give a noticeable increase in soft tissue destruction.

My FIRST deer, a 30 yd shot, LARGE buck, 145 speer BTSP, around 3100 COMPLETELY destroyed the on shoulder and all meat and the destruction was much worse than most at the camp had seen. Frangible bullet, high speed, and yes a 7 mag has a 9-9.5 twist which gets the RPMS up nicely all combined to ruin half my deer, but it dropped a few bounds from site hit so it killed quickly. Never again hit another deer with a rifle giving that much destruction. 270/150 b tip, 2850, 15 yds, shoulder hit, not near the damage, but perhaps that broadside shot did not halt the bullet as abruptly as the 7mag facing point on the knuckle, I don't know, hard to say.

I wish EXTENSIVE ballistic media test would be performed comparing wound channels, penetration/volume, permanent cavity vs temporary damage, as well as bullet frontal area and weight retention.....using same given cal/specific bullet, at identical speeds but different twist rates.

THEN might we get a conceptual grasp to answers to these questions that plaque are diseased minds!

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Originally posted by armed_in_utah:
I'd take the 6.5 over the 270 any day...10 grs less powder on the average each shot..very good bullet selection & Lapua brass...

And much more pleasant to shoot!

#1). As Mr. Barnum put it "one born every minute." [SUCKERS!]
#2). This is the original STUPID bar room debate..."Is the .270 better than the .30/'06?" And the ignorant go on interminably... Now when you make the question: "Is the FACTORY .270 better than the .30/'06" answer is hands down "YES." The '06 was standardized in '06. [Who would guess.] At that time the factory standard pressure for smokeless was 45K CUP. The .270 was standardized in 1925 or so. And at the then new and HOT 55K CUP. Give me two cars with one a 250 motor and the other a 350 motor and which will be hotter??? Pass anything but a gas station... Pretty simple. 6.5 x 55 was standardized in the 1890s... First Swede was a calvalry carbine in 1894 I believe. 45K CUP was warm, warm, warm then... You put this up against the .270 at 55K ??? Oh wellll

And the Swedes wanted a long heavy bullet... 160 round nose... (Original US cartridge was the .30/'03 with a 220 round nose...) Point is that a factory standard chamber gets you a lot of "free bore" with any lighter bullet...

Those long heavy bullets don't go too fast and penetrate and in game do quite well. Yes they drop faster, but at distance where that matters you probably should not be shooting anyway.

The .270 is known for blowing up bullets with some of the HOT lighter bullets loaded hot... Silly people can do silly things with about anything. You can drownd in your toilet...[No I don't want to know what you were doing when that happened...]

Knew a guy traded off a .257 Weatherby 'cause it ruined too much meat. He did not handload. He got a .270. He went to the 150 grain bullets 'cause they did not ruin a quarter of the deer he was taking.

You want hot, with factory it is .270 or the new .260 Remington. You manage the 6.5 Swede well and you won't know the difference... Well it is twisted faster and in varmint shooting, volume shooting, the barrel might wear out a trifle faster... but that is FUN and who cares. LUCK.

6.5 with the 140 A-Max is something else on deer. Never shot a deer with the 270. I have migrated to the 25-06 over the past few years, but might break out the 6.5 this year for deer.