6.5x55 - 140 Grain Reload Velocity?

[ChrisG]

I haven't shot any 120 Gr Barnes TTSX out of a Swede yet. I did however just load some up to try in the Grandkid's gun. I set my Dillon up to load 43.1 Gr. of Win 760. QuickLoad estimates 2570 FPS. I'm trying to keep the recoil at a minimum and still be able to take a hog at 50 - 60 Yds.

I would shy away from the barnes at that velocity. The impact on the deer above was probably around that speed and while it did expand, as you can see, the expansion was limited. And that was after hitting a bunch of bone. You may get very little expansion at 100 yards with a MV of under 2,600 with that bullet. I would say a 120 grain Nosler Partition would be the ticket in that case. For hogs I would step down to a 100 grain TTSX and shoot for a MV of around 2,900. Recoil will be less than a .243 while retaining a lot of expansion potential out to around 200+ yards.

 

[sgt_zim]

I haven't shot any 120 Gr Barnes TTSX out of a Swede yet. I did however just load some up to try in the Grandkid's gun. I set my Dillon up to load 43.1 Gr. of Win 760. QuickLoad estimates 2570 FPS. I'm trying to keep the recoil at a minimum and still be able to take a hog at 50 - 60 Yds.

If TTSX doesn't work, Partition 125 is a nice, mild load, even at 2750.

 

[Goose Cracker]

I would shy away from the barnes at that velocity. The impact on the deer above was probably around that speed and while it did expand, as you can see, the expansion was limited. And that was after hitting a bunch of bone. You may get very little expansion at 100 yards with a MV of under 2,600 with that bullet. I would say a 120 grain Nosler Partition would be the ticket in that case. For hogs I would step down to a 100 grain TTSX and shoot for a MV of around 2,900. Recoil will be less than a .243 while retaining a lot of expansion potential out to around 200+ yards.

This is good thinking - I shot a 100lb+ hog last year with my 338 Federal with a 185g TSX at about 2600 fps. Hog was head on, and twisted it's body just as I pulled the trigger. Entered through the skull between eye and ear, exited behind the front shoulder, reentered in front of the ham and exited again on the other side of the ham. Just poked a hole all the way through and may be still going. He was DRT, but that bullet is just too tough for these kinds of velocities. Now working on a 200g Accubond or 215g Gameking load for that rifle.

 

[ChrisG]

This is good thinking - I shot a 100lb+ hog last year with my 338 Federal with a 185g TSX at about 2600 fps. Hog was head on, and twisted it's body just as I pulled the trigger. Entered through the skull between eye and ear, exited behind the front shoulder, reentered in front of the ham and exited again on the other side of the ham. Just poked a hole all the way through and may be still going. He was DRT, but that bullet is just too tough for these kinds of velocities. Now working on a 200g Accubond or 215g Gameking load for that rifle.

Man! I needed your input a few months ago when I was debating on buying a .338 federal or a .300 win mag. I ended up going with the .300 for versatility sake but I still have a soft spot for the .338 fed. It just seems like the perfect medium range large game rifle to me....

 

[Goose Cracker]

Man! I needed your input a few months ago when I was debating on buying a .338 federal or a .300 win mag. I ended up going with the .300 for versatility sake but I still have a soft spot for the .338 fed. It just seems like the perfect medium range large game rifle to me....

You made the correct choice. I love my Sako 85 in 338 Fed, but the 300 WM is *much* more versatile. The 338 Fed is a "post-300 WM" purchase. Interestingly, the 6.5x55 is the only major category that I didn't choose the 308 variant. I have 243, 7-08, multiple 308s, and 338 Fed. The 6.5x55 is just such a slick, old-school cartridge that when it was time for a 6.5, I chose it over the 260 Rem.

Regarding bullet choice for 6.5x55 and other calibers for that matter, I generally like heavy for caliber bullets and believe 2800 fps is about the right tipping point. So TSX/TTSX, GMX, TBBC, etc. above 2800 fps and lots of choices below that level. I think A-Frames work for both categories, but for pigs and whitetail/pronghorn/mulie below 2800 fps I think there are *lots* of good bullets that perform well on game.

 

[Goose Cracker]

@Shootist43[/USER] has pointed out elsewhere, 2700-2800 fps seems to be the sweet spot for most 130-140 gr 6.5 bullets. He also pointed out to me that for the less-than-160 gr 6.5 bullets, proper seating depth is a critical component of accuracy for this cartridge. I'm getting pinpoint precision with my bullets seated to where they're 0.1" off the lands. Most 6.5SE have a long jump to the lands from a seating depth that is further than that.

YMMV.

My CZ does have a long throat - think it's for those 160g round nose bullets. My Encore's throat is about 0.05" shorter, at least using 140g AFrames for ogive measurement (Hornady OAL tool). The good news is that the CZ seems to have a generous magazine to accommodate bullet seating.

The Swift ballistician I spoke to on the phone about AFrame seating depth suggested that Swift bullets like a bit of jump - he suggested 0.0625" which surprised me somewhat - I started way closer to the lands than that!

 

[Nicholas Barcomb]

I would not waste a 140 gr bullet on a Duiker or Klipspringer. I would look at using the 120 gr A-Frame or 130 gr. Scirocco II for that. If you are stuck on Swift bullets. Otherwise, any decent cup-n-core bullet for small deer (roe buck size) should work. I would keep the 140's for something a little bigger like the Tommies!

 

[sestoppelman]

There is no "other" cartridge called the 6.5x55SE, its one and the same, the Swede. How we load it depends on our sense of adventure. Plus P, whatever you want to call it, same round. There is only one 6.5x55 Swede. R22 is a great powder and worked best in my loads as well with Win 760 a close second. I dumped my Ruger African and a subsequent Rem Classic 700 as both were reluctant to shoot consistently. For now I have no 6.5's.

 

[Shootist43]

I would strongly suggest that most if not all of you gents would benefit from reading what Nathan Foster has to say about the 6.5 x 55 Swede. Both the caliber and the rifle. To begin with the Swede was designed with a significant bullet jump. All of my 6.5 x 55(s) are Swedish Mausers.

 

[sestoppelman]

Cant really count on that with modern sporting rifles though. They vary widely.

 

[bruce moulds]

what about the 6.5x55 scan?
basically a 6.5 swede, but slightly different specs?
bruce.

 

[Shootist43]

Alchemist, do you know what is the bullet jump in Sean's Tikka 6.5 x 55? My reason for asking is that after I mentioned that the Swedish Mauser was designed to have bullet jump in it rather than bullets being seated close to the lands. An AH member then submitted a post stating that "modern" 6.5 x 55 rifles do not have provisions for bullet jump and therefore bullets can be seated just short of the lands. Nathan Foster cites a 0.118" bullet jump for a particular 140 Gr. bullet is necessary to achieve its' optimal accuracy. Since all of my 6.5(s) are Swedish Mausers I don't know if what was said is in fact the case.

 

[sestoppelman]

what about the 6.5x55 scan?
basically a 6.5 swede, but slightly different specs?
bruce.

Never heard of a scan? 6.5 Swede is a 6.5 Swede.

 

[Nevada Mike]

The cartridge is the same 6.5mm X 55, but the Norwegians used it in the Krag-Jorgenson rifle... not a Mauser.

 

[bruce moulds]

i thought it is a more modern iteration of the swede.
possibly to tighter specs than suits military.
bruce.

 

[ZG47]

It is my understanding that the C.I.P., being regulated by the Belgian Parliament (in coordination with other nations) does not play those games with safety ammunition specifications.

I had a funny feeling of déjà vu on this subject so I used Google Chrome: ‘6.5x55 Scan’ is the designation that Hornady uses for its C.I.P. Spec reloading dies. The Hornady SAAMI spec ‘6.5x55 Swedish’ dies are made to suit the Yank cartridge/chamber specs which are reputed to be slightly shorter in headspace than the genuine (C.I.P.) article. Their is also a reported issue with short case lengths, as per Yank 8x57 ammo.

When Fuller Firearms imported a whole pile of surplus Swedish Mauser rifles to Australia, about 30 years ago, they purchased cheap Yank ammo to sell with them and discovered a headspace issue. In order to minimise the number of rifles that would need the barrel set back, they swapped bolts around. This is why so many of the surplus rifles in Australia ended up with non-matching bolts.

 

[bruce moulds]

USA 7x57 and 8x57 brass is different dimension than european as well.
the europens stuff is a little smaller in the base than the US stuff.
european is probably true original dimension, while the americans find it more practical to just use 30/06 base size as it fits their manufacturing process more economically.
bruce.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Since I have a 6.5 X 55 this thread provoked a quick look through my reloading manuals. Surprise! In the Hodgdon Data Manual No. 24 I found the following load...

Casing: Unspecified
Primer" LR (unspecified)
Barrel length: 28"

Powder/grns.: H4831/52.0
Bullet: 140 grn. make unspecified
Muzzle Velocity: 3010 fps

I have also noted that the test gun barrel lengths in the various manuals varied from 18" to 28". This will make a big difference in powder selection, I would think.

 

[Shootist43]

Nevada Mike, you really have to watch the test barrel lengths. According to QuickLoad the charge wt. you mentioned is way over max. My load is over max as well just to get 2775 out of a 24" barrel while pushing a 140 Gr. Partition.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Nevada Mike, you really have to watch the test barrel lengths. According to QuickLoad the charge wt. you mentioned is way over max. My load is over max as well just to get 2775 out of a 24" barrel while pushing a 140 Gr. Partition.

I was surprised to see this as well. The manuals are usually pretty conservative. No way would I expect to produce this kind of velocity with any 140 grn. 65 X 55 load - regardless of barrel length.