Anyone reloading for the swede? I am building a 700 with a 24" bull 1-10 twist. Plan on running the heavier 140-142 bullets. I would love to here some good starting points. I am using the PP factory loads to break in and will also be using that brass at least for preliminary reloads.
6.5x55
- Thread starter BoogieMan
- Start date
nemesiss45
New member
I have just dipped my toe into reloding 6.5x55. I have a beautiful Swedish mouser, but I love the round so much, I am planning to get a modern 6.5x55 at some point.
I have not yet purchased any factory ammo or brass to work with, but I have reformed about 20 or so .270 win cases. It has worked, but it feel very much like backwoods reloading because I actually have to put a strip of tape around the web to center the cartridge for the first firing
I bought a box of nosler bullets to load, the closest in weight to the mil ammo weight. I have not shot any yet though, so I cant give a range report.
I want to match the mil loads as best I can, because that is what hooked me on the gun in the first place.
I have not yet purchased any factory ammo or brass to work with, but I have reformed about 20 or so .270 win cases. It has worked, but it feel very much like backwoods reloading because I actually have to put a strip of tape around the web to center the cartridge for the first firing
I bought a box of nosler bullets to load, the closest in weight to the mil ammo weight. I have not shot any yet though, so I cant give a range report.
I want to match the mil loads as best I can, because that is what hooked me on the gun in the first place.
If you are planning on shooting the heavier bullets, you may want to consider a faster twist for your barrel. Seems that most factory Swedes are 1 in. 8" or 1 in 9". While most recommend the slowér powders, I have the most consistent results with the 120 gr Sierra Pro Hunter Spitzer with 40.5 gr of IMR-4064 and a standard primer either CCI-200 or RP 9 1/2. Mine ( a Howa 1500) also seems to prefer flat based bullets over boat tails.
I have not shot a Swede in 12 years, but I keep buying them
What I do remember is that the 6.5x55mm SAAMI spec base diameter is 0.477 -.008".
The chamber is 0.4782 +0.0020"
If we compare that with a 30-06 base diameter of 0.4698 -0.0080"
We can see there is overlap, but the Swede is bigger.
When I measure brass from around the world, the American brass for the Swedish Mauser is smaller than the European brass.
This is not a big deal at the SAAMI pressure registration of 51k psi or C.I.P. 55 kpsi.
But it is going to made difference one just keeps working up to see what happens.
What I do remember is that the 6.5x55mm SAAMI spec base diameter is 0.477 -.008".
The chamber is 0.4782 +0.0020"
If we compare that with a 30-06 base diameter of 0.4698 -0.0080"
We can see there is overlap, but the Swede is bigger.
When I measure brass from around the world, the American brass for the Swedish Mauser is smaller than the European brass.
This is not a big deal at the SAAMI pressure registration of 51k psi or C.I.P. 55 kpsi.
But it is going to made difference one just keeps working up to see what happens.
ligonierbill
New member
FWIW, my M70 has a 9.5 twist. The most accurate load for mine is a 120 Nosler BT over 47 gr H4350 at a COL of 3.100. This shot a 1/2" group at 2,937 avg. However, I don't use H4350 for much else and have switched to VV N560 for these bullets. Have not shot a "for record" group yet, but 52.2 gr VV N560 yields 2,998 avg/11 Std.
My go to hunting load is a 140 SGK over Re-22 at COL 3.050. I have tried various charge weights, but the one that works best in my rifle is from an old Speer manual. They have since cut their recommended max, but I'm sure you could find it. This shoots <1" from mine.
Be careful working up - the one and only time in over 20 years I blew a primer was when I got carried away with some Woodleigh 160's.
Re-19 and VV N560 also work well with 130 Nosler AB, but I mostly stay with the two I mentioned.
Recently, I loaded some 142 SMK for my Carl Gustafs in preparation for CMP matches. Don't push this one like my modern Winchester, but with the long barrel, no need. Did not chrono these, but Sierra shows 2,650 from 44.7 gr Re-22. Shot a 1 1/4" group with the original military sights.
My go to hunting load is a 140 SGK over Re-22 at COL 3.050. I have tried various charge weights, but the one that works best in my rifle is from an old Speer manual. They have since cut their recommended max, but I'm sure you could find it. This shoots <1" from mine.
Be careful working up - the one and only time in over 20 years I blew a primer was when I got carried away with some Woodleigh 160's.
Re-19 and VV N560 also work well with 130 Nosler AB, but I mostly stay with the two I mentioned.
Recently, I loaded some 142 SMK for my Carl Gustafs in preparation for CMP matches. Don't push this one like my modern Winchester, but with the long barrel, no need. Did not chrono these, but Sierra shows 2,650 from 44.7 gr Re-22. Shot a 1 1/4" group with the original military sights.
BoogieMan said:
Are those when you sit down and stand back up really fast?
The 8" twist will stabilize long bullets. My 1938 Swede is happy with the 142's and 42.8 grains of H4350, Federal 210M primer. I have these seated at Sierra's recommended 3.100" COL for magazine fit and feed. I'm not going to bother trying to drive tacks with those Swedish battle sights, but use the match bullets and primers because I have them for the 6.5-284 anyway. I don't actually shoot the Swede often enough to justify stocking a different set of components for it.
48 grains of Norma MRP and 140 gr a-Max (3.1325 COL), 130gr Nosler Partition or 140gr Berger VLD's (C.O.L 3.175 ~.010 off lands in my CZ) shoot great in my 6.5x55. I use Lapua brass and Federal primers. Other brass is not sized correctly (tried Winchester, PMC, Remington, and Wolfe gold).
Boogieman,
I can't speak for anyone else, but my experience with budget friendly 6.5x55 Swede brass is that it works just fine in a Swede m96 and m38. That's the long and short of it.
The Swede chambers are "generous" in the body, at least mine are, despite being good on headspace. So if you full length resize, you can overwork the body quite easily, which will lead to premature case head separation. So neck size only for brass longevity.
Wonderful rifles, wonderful caliber, no need to go crazy with the velocity.
If you have a match chamber and a 30-06 bolt face, by all means use whatever brass you like (I do like Winchester brass myself, I've only gotten about one inconsistent lot). But if you are going for accuracy, no one has ever regretted spending the money on Lapua.
Jimro
I can't speak for anyone else, but my experience with budget friendly 6.5x55 Swede brass is that it works just fine in a Swede m96 and m38. That's the long and short of it.
The Swede chambers are "generous" in the body, at least mine are, despite being good on headspace. So if you full length resize, you can overwork the body quite easily, which will lead to premature case head separation. So neck size only for brass longevity.
Wonderful rifles, wonderful caliber, no need to go crazy with the velocity.
If you have a match chamber and a 30-06 bolt face, by all means use whatever brass you like (I do like Winchester brass myself, I've only gotten about one inconsistent lot). But if you are going for accuracy, no one has ever regretted spending the money on Lapua.
Jimro
Boogieman,
The rim was undersized on the PMC, Winchester and Remington cases. The case lengths were all over the place from the once fired brass in my rifle. I had cleaned and FL resized all the cases. I thought something was up when the shell holder would not work on some of the cases but put them aside and resized them with a different shell holder. After I resized them, I noticed the case length was different for all of them. Surprisingly the Wolf brass seemed to be the best but I tossed them all out of frustration and started with Lapua. I would not resize the Lapua until they are fire formed in your rifle. The neck tension on them is pretty tight and I had some issues when I full length resized some cases with tightness on the press. I called Redding and they explained that the neck tension is pretty tight on the Lapua and to fire form them first.
The rim was undersized on the PMC, Winchester and Remington cases. The case lengths were all over the place from the once fired brass in my rifle. I had cleaned and FL resized all the cases. I thought something was up when the shell holder would not work on some of the cases but put them aside and resized them with a different shell holder. After I resized them, I noticed the case length was different for all of them. Surprisingly the Wolf brass seemed to be the best but I tossed them all out of frustration and started with Lapua. I would not resize the Lapua until they are fire formed in your rifle. The neck tension on them is pretty tight and I had some issues when I full length resized some cases with tightness on the press. I called Redding and they explained that the neck tension is pretty tight on the Lapua and to fire form them first.
Gunplummer
New member
Been using 160 grain in mine for years. The only case with a base diameter that is close that I have come across is the 7.5 French.
Prvi brass works pretty well and is the slightly larger rim size. I have a ton of new Win brass but it is slightly smaller. I have not done any reloads with this brass yet.
I use Noslers specs of 43.5 IMR4350 with 120 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. Winchester primers. This is a good accuracy load in Tikka T3 Hunter.
I use Noslers specs of 43.5 IMR4350 with 120 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. Winchester primers. This is a good accuracy load in Tikka T3 Hunter.
I did some shooting with a sporterized Japanese service rifle rechambered 6.5 X 55. That rifle proved to be very strong in PO Ackley's high-pressure experiments. Best powders for me were H4350 and VvN160. I used 135 and 140 gr bullets, decided to stop just short of 2800 but didn't really have to. Same with 160 gr bullets, could have taken out 2500 but decided not to. The 127 gr RWS Cone Point went almost 2900 with VvN150. Premium bullets like Hawk and RWS were very accurate, Nosler Partition OK for hunting, various surplus FMJs frankly pretty poor. I used Lapua brass with great results, also bought some surplus-looking ammo imported by Century, I think, probably Privi. It was fine, visibly annealed, but memory and notes have Lapua most accurate.
I definately need to do some more research and a little testing. I wI'll probably look toward the longer heavier bullets that the 6.5x284 and Creedmoor guys are using. I can eliminate the hunting needs from this caliber right off the bat. Rifle isn't complete yet. But, I expect to be well over 10#. Way more than I'm willing to carry.
The 6.5x55 Swede is (book specs) .006" larger at the case head and .003" larger rim than the .30-06.
I use RP brass in a 1917 Swede Mauser, have had no problems. 140gr Speer flat base bullet and a moderate charge of IMR 4320 rings the 400 yard gong on my range all day long, if you get the windage right.
Swede military rifles were made for the Swede ammo, which is a 160gr rn slug, I wouldn't worry much about the twist rate.
With the original sights, military Swede rifles will shoot high at 100yds, the Swede "battlesight zero" was much further out. And, I understand they followed the common European practice of the era, which was to train troops to "aim at the enemy's belt buckle".
I use RP brass in a 1917 Swede Mauser, have had no problems. 140gr Speer flat base bullet and a moderate charge of IMR 4320 rings the 400 yard gong on my range all day long, if you get the windage right.
Swede military rifles were made for the Swede ammo, which is a 160gr rn slug, I wouldn't worry much about the twist rate.
With the original sights, military Swede rifles will shoot high at 100yds, the Swede "battlesight zero" was much further out. And, I understand they followed the common European practice of the era, which was to train troops to "aim at the enemy's belt buckle".