I have a Sako 75 stainless 6.5 Swede enroute to me as well as a MacMillan stock in the factory Hunter pattern and I'll be picking up my Leupold 4.5-14 LR/T next week.

Plan is to set it up as a deer rig, probably with 140's. A friend is having great success with 140 AMax's in his 260.

Rel-19 seems to be a great powder for this case.

Anyone have experience with this cartridge in a semi-long range application?

I love the 6.5x55 Swede and use it for everything from short to long range. Using Re-22 and 140s makes it shine.

As to the A-Max, take it from someone who has put thousands of 6.5 rounds downrange: that is a fairly soft bullet and probably not the best choice for general deer hunting. Yes, it will work, but projectiles such as the 140 grain GameKing are stouter and will serve you better.

And as much as I like the 140s, the 130 grain Accubond has quickly become a favorite of mine and would be another prime candidate for your applications.

thanks for the repy...what a coincidence,..I have a pound of Re22 and a part box of 130 Accubonds...had a 700 Classic in the Swede a while back....I shoot 140 Accubonds in my 7-08 Ti and they shoot very well..

Let us know how the load development goes. It sounds as if you are going to have a sweet rig to work with...

I believe the 6.5X55AI won the F-class down here in NZ last year. best of luck with it, bet its a shooter.

Congratulations! The 6.5 Swede is a magical cartridge - lots of performance and little recoil. To have one in a Sako with McMillan stock is the perfect combo. The only thing I would do different would be to put a smaller scope on it, but that's just me. I have two Sako AVs in 6.5 Swede and wouldn't part with either; they go nicely with my AVs in 7X64 and 9.3x62.

I like RL 19 for 120 NBTs and RL22 for anything heavier. I will be trying the 120 TSX and 130 Accubond soon. Lou

Congrats, I concur w/above. Loads and scope rec...I might work loads, but truly my Sako 260 is doing 5/8-3/4" using 2-7x and I'd suggest perhaps a straight 6x or variable topping 7-10x, perhaps you might like LR dots or similar for fast aiming w/o turning turrets.

The balance will be improved IMHO and keep it 40mm or less on bell for lower mounting, better cheek weld and balance overall IMHO.

Amax's are soft as Bobby said, having used 105's in a 6BR, on deer I might add. A conventional Hornady or Sierra 140 would be fine but Bobby's rec on the AB makes sense as it will do as well or better on penetrating even bad angles and bone.

That is what I plan to hunt with this year in the 260 and my "Swede" Ruger #1. They shoot nice to boot!

I run RL-19 and 140 A-Max bullets exclusively through my Steyr in 6.5. White tails around here are kind of wimpy. The A-Max is probably the best lung shot bullet I know of. I have fixed 6x Kahles scope with a BDC calibrated for 6.5 Swede. It is a deer killing machine.

I have loaded some 140 Nosler partitions, and they shot well, but I have not taken any game with the bullets. Sako rifles are great. Good luck.

Rah Rah Rah Bobby!Them 140 Gamekings DO work! He might also try the 129 Hornadys too. I just picked up in a garage sale 15 boxes of Sierra 140s for 3.00 a box. The guy didn`t have change for a 50.00 so I told him to keep the change! Mighty White HUH? Never have to buy more!
Aloha, Mark

Well I recieved the rifle in the mail today but it will be a while before I can shoot it. Darn Post Office gorillas broke the trigger. It was taken apart when shipped. The top piece of the finger lever that engages the sear is broken off....hope I can get parts without buying a complete trigger.....

Bohica wrote:

quote:

I just picked up in a garage sale 15 boxes of Sierra 140s for 3.00 a box

What a deal!!!

I have been using 129 gr Hornady Interlocks in my CZ 550 Swede, 45 grains of H4350. They drop Sika stags no trouble at all and very accurate. I have just loaded some Hornady 140 grainers but have yet to try them, but I am confident in they will perform well.

John

Rembo, I'd put in a call/email to Beretta asap, they might can get you fixed up, free or cheap.

http://www.berettausa.com/

Good luck.

My 6.5x55 is a Tikka SS/laminate..8 twist...loves 140 Nosler PTs & 140 SGKs along with Nosler 130 ABs...powders are RE22..VV-N560..RE19 & H4831sc..Lapua brass and plain Jane Rem 9.5s...a bad group from any of these loads would be 3/4" @ 100...target dot is one inch @ 100..

armed_in_utah-

I am detecting the potential for some severe accuracy problems later on. You should send me the rifle with all your brass, bullets, etc. for a year or so, and I'll get the "problems" worked out...

All kidding aside, that's a very nice group.

armed_in_utah, that is very impressive! Have you tried a ten shot group? Just for posterity? It would make a great conversation piece!

I have found that a ten shot group (with my rifle) will often have one or two extremes to spoil the group but shows the pattern the rifle typically shoots in. From that I realized that a three shot group, provided the hits were evenly spread, indicated the POI just fine. In your case, I would say, you would get just one jagged hole!

The very first deer I ever shot was a large mulie buck (field-dressed 254 pounds!!) in New Mexico. Used a 140-grain Sierra in the 6.5X55mm. But the rifle was a Norwegian Krag, not a Mauser.

I tend to like the Norwegian Krags a lot. These are very strong actions (compared to U.S. Krags), because they are made from better materials and the root of the guide rib is also a locking surface, unlike ours were......

interesting info guys....looks like some of you really like this old cartridge..


I have a complete trigger assembly ordered from the importer...they won't sell parts...:-(
Got my McMillan stock today...looks very good. I'm looking at another 75 in 30-06 with the laminate stock....I hear they are pretty heavy...McMillan may get another call, although the McMillan is 3 ounces heavier than the factory Tupperware stock it has to be lighter than the laminate........a matching set of Sakos in 6.5 Swede and 30-06 can't be bad...:-)

armed in utah:..have you chronyed your 140gr Rel22 load?

The Tikka Swede 8 twist seems to produce a slow bullet...but goes where you point it..
2570 w/46.5 RE22 140 SGK
2703 w/44 Hybrid 100 140 SGK (didn't group well)
2642 w/48 H4831sc 130 Nosler AB
Here's the Swede Tikka on a recent coyote expedition....glass is 3-12 Nikon w/target towers..calibrated out to 600 yds with the 130 Nosler AB..experimenting with the camo tape on barrel...

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

Someone shot a 10 shot group w/6.5x55, pitiful 4.4" group.......

Oh, it was a Tikka as well.

BTW, did I mention how far? Try 1,000 yds

Hold on! I'm commin'!

Nothin' like a 6.5mm Swede topic to start a circle jerk!

BTW, Utah, re: mv, what is amazing is the 21" 7mmBR custom rifle I had, it shot 130 Speers at 2660's, 139s at 2530, and 120s at 2878....

amazing for 30-34 gr powder, but perhaps the slower 9 twist, and shorter bullets =less friction, and larger bore for expansion ration to improve helped.

None the less a 6.5 is a sleek velocity retaining bullet as BC is often high, so it keeps on keeping on.....and no animal will know w/in normal ranges.

I have a 1962 Husqvarna 1600 that does not like 140's and up, if you load to max overall length. They engage the rifling.
120's do real well at 2800fps. I use IMR 4831 or 4064. I put a 4x32mm ballistic plex scope on her, what a great hunter. The plex reticle works perfectly at 100,150,200,250,300 yards. It is a $100.00 on sale Pentax game seeker. Wind drift w/ 120's is just over 2" in a stiff 7..8mph cross wind. jp

So, how about posting some of these IMR4064 loads?
Peter.