6.5x55 sweedish?
 

I was just at Joe' s sporting goods in St. Paul MN. Looking at purchasing a new Tikka T3. The gun managager said the whole staff really likes this cartridge for Whitetail. He said this is a very popular cartridge in Scandanavia for Moose hunting so power isn' t an issue. Does anyone have experience with this cartridge? how does it shoot? Thanks

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

You have a winner. The 6.5x55 is one fine rifle. It is very effective on all game up to and including moose. I have had several. Mine is the model 38 swedish military rifle. I changed the bolt handle and drilled and tapped it for scope mounts and installed a Timney trigger. She first group I shot was 5/8 of an inch and I never changed a thing. I shoot 140 grain Hordady bullets. The 6.5x55 kills game much better that its size and velocity might indicate. The recoil is very light. I think youi will love it. I do.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

I have it in a model 70 featherweight classic and a model 38 Swedish mauser . I have had very good performance from the 6.5X55 round on deer and have taken one elk with it .

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

there is some really good info about all the 6.5,264,and260s in one of the new gun mags i bought. i think it was petersons hunting or rifleman.check it out if your not convinced from after reading your reply' s. i feel that this is one of the most versital rounds that is not a magnum.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

While it wouldn' t be my personal choice for moose, it makes a super whitetail rifle. I have several Swedish rifles in 6.5x55 and they are accurate and very mild in the recoil department.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

Okay,

It sounds as though the 6.5x55 swedish is a great whitetail cartridge. Now what about ammo? So far I have found one load from Win. Rem and Federal. the basic soft points from each company. Is there any other choices I should be made aware of? I can stock up so finding them in different places wouldn' t be much of an issue. Is there any of these loads that are better? How is the recoil compared to a .270 Same or less?
Thanks

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

Much less tyan the 270. Less than my 243 as well. However tyhe military rifle is on the heavy side which cuts down on the recoil. Even then recoil is no concern at all. I have only used the Hornady 140 grain and have never fired a factory load in it.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

If you are serious about buying a rifle in 6.5x55, I would seriously consider reloading for it. The remington and winchester junk, though effective, is seriously underloaded, and the Hornady light magnum' s are expensive. There are some european manufacturers of 6.5x55 loaded up to the right spec, but you aren' t going to find it on the shelves of your local stores. I forgot about PMC, not to be confused with UMC, can be found in places, which is loaded up near the cartridge' s potential, but the ammo is of questionable quality.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

One of the greatest cartridges of all time. Handloaded, you are indeed well-equipped to handle all but North America' s dangerous game. Won' t hurt your shoulder, either.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

I' m currently rebarreling a model 70 to .260 remington.

Handloaded, the 6.5 X 55 is a slightly better cartridge and that Tikka will allow you to improve on factory ammo which is designed for the 1896 Mauser.

Personally I' d use a thirty caliber (or bigger) on moose and elk, but there' s no doubt that the 6.5 X 55 will do it too.

Check out Holiday village for the best price however. Maybe it' s now called Gander Mountain.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

Vapodog,

How does the .260 compare to the 6.5x55 sweedish. I am now thinking maybe that would be the way to go? Much better ammo selection. Is the .260 about the same gun in an american version or what? I am between the 7mm-08 and .260 I think. The Sweed though a great Cartridge would just be too hard to find ammo for and at this point I don' t reload yet. Thanks for your Input.

DRH1175

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

The .260 as it is loaded is approximately 200 fps faster than how the 6.5x55 is factory loaded. The 6.5x55 is capable of the same if not slightly higher velocities as the .260, but Remington won' t load the cartridge to its potential because there are alot of 100 year old mausers out there that their lawyers are afraid of.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

I was at a gun auction a couple weeks back and there was a Win. featerweight in 6.5 X 55. New condition with original box. I knew it was going to be there and I had every intention of buying it. I had seen it listed in a couple of catalogs for $779.99 (canadian dollars) so I was prepaired to bid up to $650. and that is what I did. It went for $750.00. I almost cryed. I wanted it to replace a Rem. 788 in .243 I' d bought a few years back for my kids to hunt deer and pronghorn with.

I have a buddy who has a Tikka in 6.5 X 55 and he loves it.

Now I may have to scrape up a few more dollars and buy one new from a store.

Robin

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

Either the 6.5X55 or the .260 Rem are great cartridges for medium size game. If you will be using strictly factory loads then the .260 Rem might be the better choice. Both are lighter recoiling the the .270 Win and take medium game just as surely. Because of their mild recoil they are both extremely conducive to being shot accurately. With their " long for caliber" bullets in any thing from 140 to 160 grains they penetrate and kill all out of proportion to their diminutive size. I have even used the 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips with complete satisfaction on Whitetails, (which are neither big, nor particularly tough when hit correctly). With any tougher bullet starting with the 125 grain Nosler Partition and going up the .260 Rem becomes an acceptable cartridge for both bigger and tougher game. I believe you will find either cartridge a " keeper" .

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

My 6.5x55 Swedish is my favourite rifle. It has a custom stock, a williams fail-proof peep sight and only weighs 6 pounds. I love it for a deer rifle, maybe a little light for moose past a 100yrds. Buy one, you won't regret it!!:):)

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

The 6,5x55 is the mostly used cartridges for all swedish game. I the north os sweden they shoot swedish moose at ranges upto 328yards. If u can buy any bullets from Norma, try the Oryx.

RE: 6.5x55 sweedish?
 

I've got a customized 6.5x55 with 22" barrel / synthetic stock / adjustable trigger set @ about 2Lbs. Love it....shoots great. All I've ever shot in it are factory Remington 140Gr CoreLokts (All I've been able to find around here) and I get about 1 1/2" groups @ 100 yds.

Just got some reloading gear and currently working up loads for my 30-06. Can't wait to start loading for the Swede. Lot more bullets to choose from compared to factory ammo, and I know I'm not getting max accuracy out of this gun with the factory stuff.

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