I am the very happy owner of a rilfe in the above calibre.

From time to time I have read that loads published ( althought living in Australia, I have the most recent Lee reloading book) are conservative given the number of older rifles in this calibre that may still be in use.

Can anyone advise of general load range - loads in Lee book have been noted - with this catridge can be loaded safely. It is a bit of a sleeper round, and as most users are aware, used by Europeans for shooting elk, amongst other larger game.

It is a calibre that fights much heavier than its weight ( using boxing speak).

AMOI, my rifle is an as new Tikka T 3 Varmint, on good days, it has put 4 holes inside .3 inch, most of the time not as good due to operator error. Fantastically accurate out of the box rifle, and have only used relatively cheap 129 grain ammo.

Any views as to liveweight of game - thnk and thick skinned - it is capable to taking.

How far off killing power of .308 do you consider it to be ?

The 6.5x55 is one of my favorites and thrives on 140 grain bullets and Re-22 powder. From a modern rifle and a 24" barrel, you can safely reach 2800 fps with 140s -- but 2650-2700 fps is more than ample, shoots plenty flat and kills game with authority. And, you don't need premium bullets as the long, slender projectiles and their attendant high BCs/SDs penetrate extremely well at the pedestrian velocities of the Swede.

AS to comparing withe the .308WCF , I use the two on the same range of game, and both cartridges see plenty use on some of our populous feral hogs. Neither has a true advantage over the other on game up to 400 pounds or so.

Ditto on what Bobby Tomek said. The one thing I slightly differ with is that with premium bullets this round will really surprise you on the bigger animals.

Geronimo

A 308 won't do anything a 6.5 x 55 won't and I prefer the 6.5....

Since you live in OZ, load data with H 4350 will be what to look for.. also with Varget... both are made in OZ by ADI, but you will have to look up the OZ equivalents...

A properly loaded 6.5 x 55, is more equal to the 270 Winchester, with similar bullet weights...

quote:

Originally posted by HoldenV8:
I am the very happy owner of a rilfe in the above calibre.

From time to time I have read that loads published ( althought living in Australia, I have the most recent Lee reloading book) are conservative given the number of older rifles in this calibre that may still be in use.

Can anyone advise of general load range - loads in Lee book have been noted - with this catridge can be loaded safely. It is a bit of a sleeper round, and as most users are aware, used by Europeans for shooting elk, amongst other larger game.

It is a calibre that fights much heavier than its weight ( using boxing speak).

AMOI, my rifle is an as new Tikka T 3 Varmint, on good days, it has put 4 holes inside .3 inch, most of the time not as good due to operator error. Fantastically accurate out of the box rifle, and have only used relatively cheap 129 grain ammo.

Any views as to liveweight of game - thnk and thick skinned - it is capable to taking.

How far off killing power of .308 do you consider it to be ?

The last time I used this round, I loaded 48 grains of old, original military surplus H4831 with a Sierra 140-grain bullet for around 2800 FPS from a 24" barrel. I don't know how that load compares with what people use today. It was a very effective load for shooting New Mexico mule deer......

hornady 129 grn sp, 45.5 grns imr4350, rem 9 1/2 primer. shoots about 2800fps and under an inch in my cz 550 and kills deer very dead.

H4350 will push 130gr TSX's into the low 2900's out of a 22" barrel in a modern action.

Now we're talkin... Keep those loads coming.!!

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I have a conservative approach to making hot loads.

With the ability that this calibre has to push quite heavy bullets, I would have thought that using Nosler Partition, Woodleigh, Core Lok, etc that these bullets give the calibre , on knockdown power alone, a very good killiing power without attemtping to go too close to the wind with powder loads.

26" PacNor 4 groove and also an Ackley version,..but this is NOT by any stretch a hot load. Back yours down a tad and a 140gr pill will do everything you ever need.

That load, if not mistaken, is the same another AR shooter uses, in the STD 6.5x55 and it did well. So if it is the same charge, it should do as much or more in the std chamber, speed wise as the AI, all things equal. NICE shooting, what rifle action do you have?

I have both calibers and have shot 9-10 mooses with both. I have neved noticed any difference in performance.I use 156gr bullets in 6,5*55 and 180 or 165gr in 308w.

Nordic

6.5br That rifle is built on a model70 PF action (trued and squared) with a jewell trigger, badger rings/base, Nightforce NXS, and is bedded in an HS Precision Stock from the older Stealth models. Works like a dream.

going into some 600yd matches this year,...see how she does

Gidday HoldenV8,

The ADI powders marketed as follows:

AR2208 = Varget

AR2209 = H4350

I think you will find that these are probably the most useful powders for use down this part of the world but AR2213sc also is useful out of my 260 with projectiles of 140gr and above.

Projectile wise I have used Nosler 120gr bts, Rem coreloct 120gr & 140gr, Speer 120 hotcores, and Nosler 140 partitions and have not noticed any real world difference on game up to big Rakaia Red Stags. They are all good penetrators with no bullets recovered yet and good sized exit wounds.

Happy Hunting

Hamish

I clocked an honest 3,045 from a 21" barrel using a Northfork 120 grain hollow point ahead of 48 grains IMR-4350.

No signs of excessive pressure.....this in a VZ-24.

Nice M70, ACCURATE, long action? Brand barrel?

Vapodog, your barrel seems to be a fast one! My 96 mausers shot under 2900, and I did not think much more was to be had-chopped to 21", but the twist was 7.5 military gun yours maybe 9, if so less pressure, more speed with 120s.

Eldequello,
nice muley pic what is he, 34" wide???

did you shoot him?

Regards,
Craig Nolan

HoldenV8,

I'm using:

Lapua Brass (trimmed & prepped)
Hornady 140gr SP Interlocks
46.5gr Re-22
Fed 210 primers
Seat to top edge of cannelure and give medium crimp with Lee Factory Crimp die.

Very accurate in my CZ550 FS.

Holden...

A 6.5 x 55, with any 120 , 125, 129 or 140 grain hunting bullet will do you well... one does not need high velocity for the Swedes to work well, due to many bullet manufacturers actually make 6.5 bullets to open up at lower speeds, for a lot of the slower 6.5 bore rounds out there......

A 125, or 140 grain Partition will do quite well.... a corelokt will also penetrate deeply, to the tune that it can pass thru a smaller deer before getting a chance to open up... It will still kill them, but it won't be a bang/flop scenario...

If the animal is not real heavy, or large in size, a 120 grain ballistic tip, will actually work better than a partition if the MV is under 2700 fps or so velocity... the lower the velocity, the better the ballistic tip will be over the parition... on a lighter sized animal...

6.5 Swede's work just fine.. and the 129 grain Hornady is a fine bullet for that round in its own right!

6.5BR,..it is a PacNor 4 groove select match tube finished at 26" (.920") running a neck that just has to be cleaned up for the lapua necks to fit.

She went avg of 4" for 4 targets at the 600yd match in Bridgeville Del last Sunday with a headwind and about 35* colder than when I ran the ladder. It also isn't even in a BR stock,...this one has potential

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_2_49/ai_95680073/pg_4

the above links =see 1st paragraph, 4.4 inches 10 shots, 1000yds, Tikka 6.5x55 factory!

This is ONE accurate round. You will enjoy, Seafire has a wealth of experience. At the SHOT show Ruger had no plans for 6.5's in new rifles, don't know if the current supply will dry up, and be gone for a while or permanent. Really a shame. Ruger makes 7x57's and you would think they would make more 6.5x55's. Perhaps Norway/Sweden and the like has fewer 6.5's than the world has 7x57's, don't know, but me, I choose the 6.5 and wish more rifles were made in that round. There are many though to choose from, thanks for the info.

Pac-Nor by the way built my #1 Ruger, in 6BR, and all my other rifles, except my 338-06 I had.

The 6br shot a .498 3 shot group at 330 yds for me not long ago. Averages under .5moa if I do my part, no neck turn or fancy loads, so I do have faith in their barrels/work also.

quote:

Originally posted by JustC:
That rifle is built on a model70 PF action (trued and squared) Works like a dream.

going into some 600yd matches this year,...see how she does

JustC,

Now I am impressed. I've been planning a 6.5x55 for several years. My project list is long, so it has taken some time for the 6.5x55 to rise close to the top.

I had been planning on using a Mauser action, but I have a good Winchester push feed short action, and would really like to put a 6.5x55 barrel on it, but I didn't think the magazine/action was long enough. I think I like the 6.5x55 better than the 260.

Apparantly yours works great. Did you do anything special with the action, or do you seat the bullets deep enough to fit, or perhaps you just load single.

Your knowledge on this would be appreciated.

KB

Kabluewy, the action is a short action, and was trued/squared along with bolt face and lugs etc. I single feed as the 6.5x55 with a 140gr pill is quite long for a short action mag box. I actually have a derlin follower made like a BR follower by the gunsmith which is stuck under the action and held up by the follower and spring underneath it (can be removed by hand in a few minutes). I single feed with a rifle this heavy as it is almost always being shot off a bench or hood, even while hunting.

The bolt can be removed and a loaded round will then fall out if need be or can be pulled out by some manipulating with your fingers. It will NOT eject on it's own,..it's too long.

My Long Range stuff is single fed, even if the bullets will fit the magazine. I drop the round in each time by hand,..that way no bullets left in the gun or forgotten about and found the hard way. My triggers are light,..so I like to have all fired and unfired rounds in the box until it is time to drop one in the rifle.

The short action will work if you can live with single feeding. The only thing you will gain with a LA is the ability to use the magazine.

Thanks for the info JustC. The 260 is looking good for my Winchester short action, since I want the use of the magazine.

If I do a 6.5x55, I'll use one of my Mauser actions. It's traditional anyway.

KB