6.5x55 sweed

[Gert Odendaal]

In 1944, the Swedish army switched from 156 gr RN to 139 gr Spitzers. They were getting a skosh over 2500 fps out of their 26" barrels with the Spitzers.

At 762 mps with a 250M zero, you're going to be somewhere around 12 cm high at 100M. If you're hunting the Karoo or the eastern cape mountains, that's probably fine.

Predicted MV for 40.5 gr S365 is 2554 fps, pressure at 42k psi. I expect measured MV will be below 2500.

I said before I wouldn't chase velocity, I still stand by that, but there's also nothing wrong with working up a ladder, start at 40 gr and move up in half grain increments until you get a sticky bolt lift.

My hunting load is 160 gr Woodleigh PPSN, MV 2380 fps (this is what I'm bringing to Limpopo next month, along with my 9.3x62). Both that and my ELD-X 143 loads are exceptionally accurate, so I just didn't bother trying to get any faster than that.

Excellent rifles to bring to Africa , Limpopo province, South Africa, hunting the bushveld is special, mostly walk/stalk hunts, no long distance shots needed ...heavy for caliber bullets is the way to go...
My aim is to shoot good groupings at 300 meters/hitting a 200mm steel gong in the center with small groups.

This will enable me to shoot out to 250-300 meters at a Springbuck in the Kalahari or Karoo regions. When getting these results I will be content.

 

[HeinSavage]

I have a T3x and set it up as a light carry rifle for hunting mountains and for the the kids to handle easily. It grouped great out the box with 140 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips and Reloder 26. Had to adjust the load after about 150 shots through the barrel. It has been out and about on a few hunts and just excelled. The last was for Vaalies and Mountain Reedbuck in the Drakensberg and it was a pleasure to carry and shoot. The calibre handles longer shots and wind quite good. I'm starting to really fall in love with this little rifle!

 

[Gert Odendaal]

I have a T3x and set it up as a light carry rifle for hunting mountains and for the the kids to handle easily. It grouped great out the box with 140 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips and Reloder 26. Had to adjust the load after about 150 shots through the barrel. It has been out and about on a few hunts and just excelled. The last was for Vaalies and Mountain Reedbuck in the Drakensberg and it was a pleasure to carry and shoot. The calibre handles longer shots and wind quite good. I'm starting to really fall in love with this little rifle!

Hein, yes, this is what I want from my 6.5x55 Swede ...a light weight shooting rifle with it`s silencer to use by my wife to shoot targets , it has no recoil at all, I am getting to know my 6.5x55 as time goes by and I make changes along my quest to get a load that will work excellently in my Swede...the more trigger time I get the more I love this caliber ...there are still a lot of loads I need to work out, so a lot more trigger time is coming my way

 

[Gert Odendaal]

I have a T3x and set it up as a light carry rifle for hunting mountains and for the the kids to handle easily. It grouped great out the box with 140 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips and Reloder 26. Had to adjust the load after about 150 shots through the barrel. It has been out and about on a few hunts and just excelled. The last was for Vaalies and Mountain Reedbuck in the Drakensberg and it was a pleasure to carry and shoot. The calibre handles longer shots and wind quite good. I'm starting to really fall in love with this little rifle!

I am currently on the lookout to purchase a TIKKA T3x IN A 6.5X55 Swedish Mauser here in South Africa, unfortunately this is a scarce item..but I will keep on looking for one

 

[Nevada Mike]

Mike, how is the meat damage using the 120gn bullets?? I am on Hornady ELD-X 143 gn I am contemplating going less weight bullets like you have done..

Gert - they worked fine, low on mass however so use a bullet that will hold together.

 

[Hilux01]

I love my CZ 550 Lux in 6.5x55
For bushveld purposes I load 156gr Norma Oryx at 2511vps - they are deadly on anything up to Eland in Africa for max 300yds or less
On the range I do Norma Oryx 130gr Golden Target at 2904vps, they are economical and do Plinking out to 500m without and issues - probably will get more but haven't gone beyond that myself

I have tried others as well like Nosler AB LR 129gr but they were to soft for my liking and had a lot of meat damage on bushveld ranges, however, shot a Blackwildebeest at 417m and the bullet hid the shoulder and did not penetrate both lungs so needed a quick follow up

I have other calibers for those shots now and my Swede will stay a bush gun for less than 300yds

 

[FlyGuy]

Shootist, will it be possible to assist me in loads using the South African SONCHEM propellant like the S365 and S335 propellants?

Bullet weight ELD-X 143 , OAL 79mm , I will chronograph this load shortly. it will give you more data to work with.

@Gert… With your action and barrel length, start at 42.2gr of S365 and work up in 0.4gr increments.
In MY rifle, I got outstanding accuracy (< 9mm groups) at 45.0gr S365 (Lot# 81) and 140gr Accubonds on a cool day.
In warm weather I started hitting serious over pressure signs with that load. Average velocity was 2826fps.

I then started playing with more temp stable propellants, and VV N555 has been the standout. My current load is 46.5gr, for 2740fps in all weather conditions, with an SD of 4 out of my Mauser M03 600mm barrel.

I’ve just returned from the Kalahari, and as always the little 6.5 did a great job on medium and small game like Red hartebeest and springbok out to 340m.

My next 6.5 Swedemoor experiments will be with the 143gr Norma Bondstrike.

When they were still available, the 130gr Swift Scirroco at 2860 was a spectacular hunting load.

 

[nomspc]

My hunting partner and I used a borrowed Tikka T3X in 6.5X55 loaded with S&B 131 gr JSP to take 2 caribou bulls and 2 musk ox bulls from 150-250 yards in Greenland in 2022. Four animals cleanly taken; surprisingly effective round on some pretty game.

 

[nomspc]

That should read, “…pretty large game.”. LOL.

 

[Inline6]

My 11 year old son took alot of animals with a 6.5CM this trip. He was using a 129SST @2850fps. Was very happy with the performance of the round and bullet.

The 129SST was getting about 24" of penetration. The only one that was recovered had a weight of 72.12grs, measured at.58".

 

[Gert Odendaal]

@Gert… With your action and barrel length, start at 42.2gr of S365 and work up in 0.4gr increments.
In MY rifle, I got outstanding accuracy (< 9mm groups) at 45.0gr S365 (Lot# 81) and 140gr Accubonds on a cool day.
In warm weather I started hitting serious over pressure signs with that load. Average velocity was 2826fps.

I then started playing with more temp stable propellants, and VV N555 has been the standout. My current load is 46.5gr, for 2740fps in all weather conditions, with an SD of 4 out of my Mauser M03 600mm barrel.

I’ve just returned from the Kalahari, and as always the little 6.5 did a great job on medium and small game like Red hartebeest and springbok out to 340m.

My next 6.5 Swedemoor experiments will be with the 143gr Norma Bondstrike.

When they were still available, the 130gr Swift Scirroco at 2860 was a spectacular hunting load.

Flyguy, I did start with 42gn S365, OAL 87.75mm , ELD-X 143gn bullet, it is my base line: the single bullet hole to the left was the 42gn S365, OAL 87.75 ...THE small group is the 42.1 gn load..
Loads: 42.1 :
2632f/s
2667f/s
2653f/s
2627f/s
2657f/s

I went up to 42.2gn today got the following chrono numbers : While looking how well the rifle scope can track ....( above) I end up with the last bullet hitting in the centre of the target...I will now move to the 42.3gn) load..
42.2gn lading
2653f/f
2672f/s
2673f/s
2645f/s
2662f/s
No pressure at 42.2gn loads...I believe the 42.3gn loads will get me to my velocity target of 2750f/s ....maybe the 42.4gn will get all five rounds above the 2750f/s ....with a very small grouping at 100 meters.

I made use of my self build rifle rest:

When I am getting the tight groups and perfect loads I will fit the barreled action into a Boyds wood stock , blue the rifle steel and consider this rifle my 300 meter rifle combination. This rest is kept weighted down by the huge 15gk piece of steel lying in it`s belly...there is really no movement at all when shooting from this rest at all..it is highly adjustable left to right, up/down as well.

 

[sgt_zim]

At 2650-ish, if it were me, I wouldn't try to push a lot harder. You're not going to gain an appreciable amount of performance improvement by adding another 100 fps to the MV. Might stretch you out another 30 or 40 yards on whatever you consider an appropriate lethality thresh hold.

With those 143 gr ELD-X, there's really not a huge difference between even 2500 and 2700.

With a 200 yard zero and target distance at 300 yards
@2650 - you're a little more than 8" low
@2750 - you're about 7.5" low

and less than 100 fps difference in velocity at 300 yards.

at 500 yards, you're about 46" low vs about 43" low

If you're culling blesbok/impala/springbok, they'll never know the difference.

 

[CBH Australia]

Define "a few."

I'm at 8 different rifle calibers, no dupes.

Other than a 7x57, I have everything I want. Wouldn't mind a couple rifle upgrades in the same calibers as what I have.

8???? Rookie!

These are the ones that made the cut:

22WMR
.223/5.56
25-06
7x57
7x64
308
30-06
300H&H
9.3x62
9.3x74R
375H&H
404J

I count 7 calibres in that list.

Mine total 8 calibres and I’m trying to be a minimalist because I don’t use them enough.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

At 2650-ish, if it were me, I wouldn't try to push a lot harder. You're not going to gain an appreciable amount of performance improvement by adding another 100 fps to the MV. Might stretch you out another 30 or 40 yards on whatever you consider an appropriate lethality thresh hold.

With those 143 gr ELD-X, there's really not a huge difference between even 2500 and 2700.

With a 200 yard zero and target distance at 300 yards
@2650 - you're a little more than 8" low
@2750 - you're about 7.5" low

and less than 100 fps difference in velocity at 300 yards.

at 500 yards, you're about 46" low vs about 43" low

If you're culling blesbok/impala/springbok, they'll never know the difference.

sgt Zim, thank you kindly, really a very informative explanation for sure..good let me complete shooting these loads , get al the data /groupings together and work from there...If I can get small groupings at 2650f/s it will be just great..with no pressure it will work for me...

I did see a discussion where 6,5x55 Swedish Shooters mentioned that the Swede really does not like velocities higher than 2750f/s at all..

 

[Gert Odendaal]

I am contemplating shooting 156gn Norma Oryx bullets for hunting as well as shooting out to 300 meters , maybe a good option...

 

[FlyGuy]

I am contemplating shooting 156gn Norma Oryx bullets for hunting as well as shooting out to 300 meters , maybe a good option...

@Gert,
The 156gr Norma Oryx is an excellent bullet for Bushveld hunting, but it’s got the BC of a brick.
I recently did some load work up for a friend’s 6.5X55.

Load 1
Lapua brass
56.05gr H2O capacity
CCI 200 LR
100gr Nosler BT
COAL: 76.83mm
49.5gr Somchem S365
Average velocity: 3151
ES: 12
SD: 4.7

This load is completely safe in his rifle and can easily be pushed to around 3200fps, but average 3 shot group size is less than 15mm, so no need to push it.
Excellent little Kalahari load for Black wildebeest and smaller.

Load 2
Lapua brass
56.05gr H2O capacity
CCI 200 LR
129gr Nosler ABLR
COAL: 76.85mm
46.0gr Somchem S365
Average velocity: 2853
ES: 36
SD: 16.6

This load comfortably shoots groups under 20mm, but for some reason, it always shoots a slightly vertical group.
Another decent Kalahari load for the Swede.

Load 3
Lapua brass
56.05gr H2O capacity
CCI 200 LR
140gr Nosler AB
COAL: 76.80mm
46.4gr VIhtavuori N555
Average velocity: 2748fps
ES: 9
SD: 4.6

Another load that shoots clover leaves at 100m.

I have found that I get the best performance with heavier bullets weights (>130gr) by using the VV N555 or N160 powders.

My personal load is currently the 143gr Norma Bondstrike over 46.3gr of VV N555. Have shot groups down to 8mm with it, but average is around 10-12mm

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Great to hear about these different loads. I am fortunate to have the original M96 Swedish Mauser 6.5x55 as well as the build M96 barreled action Shilen barrel 26"inch barrel..I want to see if these two different rifles , same caliber will shoot the same loads accurate ...

Some great experimenting lays ahead for me..thank you again for your sharing of knowledge in regards tot he 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser , it is much appreciated FlyGuy

 

[sgt_zim]

@Gert,
The 156gr Norma Oryx is an excellent bullet for Bushveld hunting, but it’s got the BC of a brick.
I recently did some load work up for a friend’s 6.5X55.

This

With a BC of .348, they decelerate in a hurry. If you can get to 2500 fps MV, 300 yards/275 M is absolutely as far as I'd go.

As I may have mentioned previously (I know I've mentioned it, just don't know about on this particular thread or not) - a lot of those older rifles were designed for long, heavy, RN bullets. They have lots of freebore/leade, meaning that the official SAAMI C.O.A.L. doesn't really apply for Spitzers with long, tapered ogives.

Get a .25" wood dowel, stick it down the bore on a closed bolt, inscribe a circle on the dowel at the crown. Then pull out the bolt, drop in your bullet of choice so it's seated on the lands, then stick the dowel back in until it just kisses the meplat, inscribe another circle, measure the diff between those 2 circles. Your OAL can be 2 or 3 hundredths shorter than that and you should be good to go. With the extra length, you can add a bit more powder and still not be near any pressure thresh holds.

The exception to my rule of not pushing bullets particularly hard is for Norma Oryx because of the low BC.

 

[yumastepside]

Just thought I'd add my two cents worth.......my " use for everything " rifle for a lot of years, Husqvarna M96 military with modified stock with chamber improved using 243 reamer for the shoulder, 129gr Hornady interlocks zeroed at 200m.
Used on 'roos, pigs, feral dogs and cats, foxes, all the general stuff we shoot here in Oz....my one shot stop....

.....6.5x284, 6.5x55 Imp and my 9.3x55 wildcat....

Roger

 

[FlyGuy]

Just thought I'd add my two cents worth.......my " use for everything " rifle for a lot of years, Husqvarna M96 military with modified stock with chamber improved using 243 reamer for the shoulder, 129gr Hornady interlocks zeroed at 200m.
Used on 'roos, pigs, feral dogs and cats, foxes, all the general stuff we shoot here in Oz....my one shot stop....

View attachment 648727

.....6.5x284, 6.5x55 Imp and my 9.3x55 wildcat....

View attachment 648728

Roger

I like!!! That 9.3x55 looks interesting...