good for? truck rifle? lightweight desert sheep?

all-around beater for the deer tangle?

VR
Earl

Yup! Not many calibers perform beyond their paper ballistics, but the 6.5X55 does.

I have a few and really like them. My first one I bought cheap off Gunbroker and added a cock on open kit, timney trigger and a 2 position wing safety (Win M 70 "style" not shown in the picture) then I glass bedded it in the Ramline stock it came with and put a Sightron $109 scope on it and I couldn't be happier with it. The other two we recently got (one for my son and one for a buddies son) we will do the cock on open kits and a Bold trigger with the side safety and the Sightron scopes. I've found the 6.5x55 easy to load for and mine shoots 140 grain Rem Core lockts well and 120 grain Ballistic Tips well and also 100 grain Partitions are doing well. With the 140 grain bullets they are a Deer Bear and maybe an occasional Elk rifle and with the 120's they are an Antelope and Deer rifle for sure. Mine had a dark bore and a real long throat so I didn't have high hopes for accuracy but see the picture below. You need one for a truck gun!

I remember when Kimber first came out with them. The ones I saw were kinda rough. I could be wrong, but I think they offered a few different chamberings, in addition to the original 6.5x55.

I have handled Kimber swedes with varying qualities of finish, perhaps due to 'starting condition' I don't know, some have better/worse bores. If dark, may be in lesser condition, but may still shoot well, if shiny, I'd prefer that.....my buddy had one.....surprisingly with 7.5/7.7 twist and the deep throating, it shot 85 HP's very well for a light weight.

Great round....at that time a decent value for the money. They often shoot very well.

Snellstrom got a good one obviously!!!! Congrats!

For what they are selling at these days they are still a real value. Worst case, if the bore is trashed a quick rebarrel and you have a nice rifle on your hands.

The ones I've handled have been great shooters. True, finish does vary and one should be selective in their purchase, but aren't we always?

I picked up one of the Kimber sporterized rifles in 6.5x55 as soon as they became available in my area. I had it for a number of years before selling it to a close friend of the family.

And I don't sell ANYTHING to a friend if it's the least bit iffy. This one wasn't. It shot all bullet weights quite well, and she has now taken a number of nice bucks with it.

47 grains of Re-22 and just about any 140 grainer gives sub-MOA in this rifle, and with the Sierra GameKing and Hornady A-Max, 100 yard, 3-shot groups are often in the 0.5-0.6" range -- sometimes even better.

The only change I made with the gun was adding a Timney trigger. Sometimes I still wish I had that rifle...

I think that the Stevens 200s are a better choice for an inexpensive CF rifle. Remember that the Swedish Mausers that were sporterized by Kimber didn't get a single-stage trigger, a particularly low bolt lift or safety, and few folks think that Ramline synthetic stocks are anything more than bottom-feeders.

With the Stevens 200 you get a rifle that was recently built and designed as a sporting rifle. It won't come in 6.5x55, but there are lots of good options.

Jeff

If you think the stock that came on the Kimbers were bottom feeders then the ones on the Stevens must be something lower than bottom feeders, whatever that might be. Those grey monstrosities are wispy as can be and if you're not carefull you can cut yourself on the casting line.

I like the 200 for the value that it provides. A shame they don't come in .260. But if you want a 6.5x55 no way will the Stevens come close in terms of cash outlay by the time you rebarrel it. Also, some folks do like CRF which the Kimber offers.

The kimber does have a scope safety, though some find it cumbersome, but at least it does block the cocking piece.

Snellstrom got me hooked on one as well, I just recently purchased one off gunbroker. My rails and bolt could use a little polishing to smooth it up, but all in all I'm very satisfied with the overall finish of the rifle. I only hope mine shoots as well as his does, but I have a feeling that it might.

I have always wondered about these. I have mulling over getting one for several months now but haven't pulled the tripper yet. I am not to fond of the original stepped barrel. Maybe get one of the actions sans barrel and stock and do it up how I want it.

I prefer my synthetic stocks to come from McMillan, but it isn't hard to improve a Savage or Stevens synthetic stock with a little Acra-Glass and couple of graphite arrow shafts.

If you like a slower lock time, a 50+ year old barrel, cock-on-closing action, bad trigger, etc., etc., building on a Swedish military action is probably a good idea. My Swedish Mauser is not so fondly known as "the stone-soup money pit", since what started as a $200 loaner/truck gun became a $1,200+ money pit, 1 add-on at a time.

Midway has, in the past, sold A&B barrels ready to install on the Savage 110 family of actions in both 260 and 6.5x55 for less than $150, so that would be a pretty cheap path to a 6.5mm Savage or Stevens. I have a 260 barrel on my Savage 11F switch-barrel project rifle that shoots pretty good groups, but I'm parting out the project and will be selling it soon.

Jeff

quote:

Originally posted by 260remguy:
I prefer my synthetic stocks to come from McMillan, but it isn't hard to improve a Savage or Stevens synthetic stock with a little Acra-Glass and couple of graphite arrow shafts.

If you like a slower lock time, a 50+ year old barrel, cock-on-closing action, bad trigger, etc., etc., building on a Swedish military action is probably a good idea. My Swedish Mauser is not so fondly known as "the stone-soup money pit", since what started as a $200 loaner/truck gun became a $1,200+ money pit, 1 add-on at a time.

Midway has, in the past, sold A&B barrels ready to install on the Savage 110 family of actions in both 260 and 6.5x55 for less than $150, so that would be a pretty cheap path to a 6.5mm Savage or Stevens. I have a 260 barrel on my Savage 11F switch-barrel project rifle that shoots pretty good groups, but I'm parting out the project and will be selling it soon.

Jeff

Any 50 year old barrel that shoots this good will get my vote:

The Stevens trigger is nothing speical they range from good to poor. Any swede can be stoned up to a reasonable pull.

Perhaps you are disgruntled because you just don't know when to stop and or didn't know how to do the work properly. Any $1200 Mauser should be a rifle the owner is proud of.

Not knocking the Stevens because I think it is one of the better bargain guns out there if not THE best. But, it ain't everyone's cup of tea and like the 96 mauser has some things that most wish were different.

But, if you can point out a better 6.5x55 for the money than a Kimber or otherwise similarly customized 96 please do so. Let me clarify that last statement for those of you who like to compare appples to oranges, under $300. As to rebarreling a Stevens, by the time you are into the rifle for it's purchase price, buy a crappy A&B barrel, barrel wrench, or pay a smith, you could have bought a far nicer cz550 in 6.5x55.

So, lets keep the discussion on topic, "is the Kimber 96 Swede good for? truck rifle? lightweight desert sheep? all-around beater for the deer tangle?"

The answer is yes, and then some.

Different people, different experiences.

If you think that the Swedish Mausers that Kimber sporterized are a good deal, that's OK with me and, if I had 1, I'd be happy to sell it. That said, if I had a budget limit of $500+/-, I think that I could end up with a better package starting with a Stevens 200 than with a sporterized Swedish Mauser.

My sporterized Swedish Mauser, SN 6515xx, is actually a great shooting rifle, it just cost more than I ever expected to put into it; Boyd's JRS laminated stock, DT cock-on-open kit, Timney trigger, commercial style bolt shroud, Douglas barrel, Winchester 70 style bolt handle, Wolfe spring, etc. I consider it to be ineffective, from a cost perspective, to build any rifle around a surplus military bolt action receiver, but I've only done it a dozen or so times, so what do I know?

I also like the 6.5x55 cartridge and will always keep the Winchester 70 Fwt in 6.5x55 that I took to Africa as my primary plains game rifle in 1987. The PH wanted me to shoot the Winchester 70 in 375 H&H that I'd brought, but he was convinced after all of the critters that I shot with the 6.5x55, using Norma 156 grain factory ammo, died in short order when shot through the shoulders. Except for the Eland, it didn't know when to fall over, so I shot it x3 through the shoulders/lungs before it died.

Actually, I do have a Swedish Mauser that I'd like to sell. It is the Swedish National Match military target rifle version of the 1896 Infantry rifle with an "Elite" peep sight and globe front sight with several inserts. I've had it for almost 10 years (02/15/98) and have never gotten around to shoot it, so if you know anyone in the U.S. who might be interested, have them shoot me an email.

Jeff

You keep talking about building a rifle. The post only asked about buying one as a truck gun, the implication being that it would be used as-is. In that context, I think the Kimber is perfect.

Now, had he asked about best 6.5 for under $600 that would be a different story. I'd ceratinly not recommend building a Stevens because it will cost you far more than $600. As you said, the stock needs replacing, etc, etc , etc. A cz550 or even a used Win Model 70 would be a far better deal.

All custom rifles are ineffective from a cost standpoint. But if you are building from the perspective of trying to save money, well, you're building for the wrong reason. The whole purpose of customization is to end up with a rifle that incorporates features you want that aren't on the base rifle. Very few people are satisfied with off the shelf rifles. Those that want something better will customize them. Everyone knows that a custom rifle will almost never recoup the costs when sold.

We appear to be stuck in a "for-next" loop.

My point was, and remains, that the Kimber sporterized Swedish Mausers are, IMO, inferior to a Stevens 200 or Remington 700 ADL matte synthetic as a viable truck gun, STRICTLY FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE. I have no idea what a Kimber Swed is going for these days, but whatever it is, it would be hard to buy/build/upgrade any sporterized military rifle and have it equal to the Savage 11 and 110 packages that Wal-Mart sells for $375+/-. Even if you upgrade the cheap Bushnell/Simmons package 3-9x scope to a Nikon ProStaff or Leupold VX1 and a better set of rings/bases, I believe that you could do so for under $600+/- retail.

I very seldom use rifles in the configuration they leave the factory in, unless they are collectable rifles or loaner/truck guns, so my gun room is always a work in process. I just bought 7 Remington 700 ADL matte synthetic rifles on close-out from Wal-Mart for $300 to $325 each, so that I'd have a cheap pool of Remington 700 actions to build on. I've already put together a new 243 to shoot coyotes with; 700 ADL matte finished action, 700 SPS matte finished stainless 24" barrel, 700 BDL matte finished bottom metal, McM swirley green/white/black Remington 7 style stock, matte finished Warne mounts, and matte finished Nikon 4.5-14x40 Buckmaster. If I can make it to the range today, I'm going to zero it 80 grain Federal factory ammo and take it out to shoot some whitetail does tomorrow AM.

Regarding A&B barrels. I have owned 6 of them, 2 24" stainless barrels that were short chambered in 260 for Mauser 98s and 4 24" blued CM sporter contour barrels that were drop-ins for the Savage 110 series. The A&B Mauser barrels were OK, but nothing special. The A&B Savage barrels have been very good, with the quick twist 22-250 barrels being capable of sub-MOA groups. I bought 3 of the 4 A&B Savage barrels for my Savage 11F switch-barrel project and all 3 shoot good groups. The 257 Roberts and 260 might do better than 1 to 1.5 MOA, but I never got around to doing any in-depth load developement. Although this is no longer a hot project for me, I'm going to buy a $130+/- A&B barrel in 338 Federal from Midway to play with.

My usual truck guns are Savage 24Vs in 223/20 or 222/20 and Rossi 515 22 Magnum revolvers, which works well for me on anything from snakes to whitetails.

Jeff

What is inadequate about a Kimber 96 as a "truck gun"?

Most truck guns I've seen are simple, rugged, dependable weapons. In the truest sense most don't utilize scopes because Iron sights are more reliable. However, since neither the Savage or Kimber come with open sights I'll conceed that in this comparison we'll discuss scoped rifles. The Kimber is already setup for scope use. All one must do is mount the scope. Same for the Stevens although for more money as you point out you can get a savage already scoped. Kimber 96's are fairly easy to find for under $300. A relative just got one off of gunbroker for $225. He fired 4 different handloads and all averaged under .750". That seems adequate to me.

There are those that would argue that you'd have to spend a lot to make a savage or remington the equal of a swede. I'd be interested in your notions as to what makes it inferior? That fact that it isn't a pushfeed?

Anyway, again you mention customizing which wasn't the intent of the original poster's post. Or at least I'm not reading it that way.

Let's just agree to disagree on this issue and chalk it up to your wants/needs/expectations being different from my wants/needs/expectations.

Jeff

Great rifle for your choice of applications

6.5x5 project gun for anyone, not anyone I know selling but:

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