Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 6.5x55 thoughts..

So I recently picked up a SS RAR compact in .223 for my oldest's first centerfire. The kid loves it and wants to shoot every day. It's a fun gun but a moose gun it ain't. Last year I inherited a sporterized 6.5 swede from a grandfather figure and I think it would make a good first moose/caribou gun for my boy. I'm not a reloader so that kinda limits what I can shoot, but I picked up a few boxes of Nosler 140gr accubonds to try out of it. I'm thinking that with a well placed shot into the boiler room it should be enough bullet to do the job. Any thoughts or other suggestions on what works well with that caliber?

Have two Swedes......you handload ?

get some H4831sc or H4350 or VVN560..........

140 NAB's are fine......140 Partitions & a full case of above

mentioned powder.....you're good to go.......watch for some older

Hornady 160 gr RN in 6.5mm...they no longer produce...or Lapua 155's

woops.......no handloader...sorry...interesting link...

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/6.5x55.html

The 6.5x 55 is a popular rifle for moose in its home country and has been for a long time time. You might want to see what is popular over there. I'm guessing they use a heavier controlled expansion slug at moderate velocities .

Norma sells a load using the 156 Oryx bullet that might work. I have no experience with moose hunting as there are not many found in Kansas.

make sure the action can handle the pressures of modern day handloads before ya get to crazy with it

Love the "Swede"
Sounds like you do not reload, so I would suggest a 140-160 factory load.I feel either will work on game up to and including Moose. Try various loads to see what shoots best in your rifle.
As stated above, please have rifle checked to see if in good condition, and a reliable 'smith can tell you strength age type of action used to make the rifle you have.
The 6.5x55 is a great cartridge, but some of the early actions for which it was chambered are not very strong.
Hope your son shoots it well.

I also have a sporterized Swede (original military barrel) that shoots the 155 Lapua very well. It does appear to be available in factory loads:

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/168?

And the 155 Lapua bullet has shot very well for me in different 6.5 Swede's.

Thanks for the info. The old man was a hobbyist gunsmith for years, and used that gun with handloads for deer hunting right up until he died 2 years ago. I have shot the 140 accubonds at the range with good results, but the range and a moose is a bit different. I might try to find some of that Lapua ammo in either the Mega or Oryx also. I like the sound of a bit heavier bullet. Guessing it might be a bit of a stretch to get my hands on some up here in AK though. Would really love to see my boy shoot a moose with it.

It's been a while but pretty sure I've seen both at Midway's Web site.

The Lapua is in stock at Grafs assuming shipping to AK isn't an issue?

Those 140 gr Accubond factory loads will work fine on a moose, it will penetrate deep enough to do the job. There are other good options when it comes to factory loads like have already been mentioned. I have handloaded some 140 gr Partitions for my wife's 6.5x55 and feel very confident they will do the job nicely, the Accubond will do just as well.

If it is a sporterized military Mauser action you might want to have a competent gunsmith check for head space/bolt set back, you have no record of the loads or quantity of rounds fired by the first owner/s.

It is most likely just fine but always prudent to check first before having junior or any family member cut loose with it.

That's probably not a bad idea. I know the previous owner had it for about 40 yrs and for at least the last 15 he only shot about 4 rounds a year out of it. 3 to sight in, 1 to kill his deer or speedgoat when he would go out west.

Do not overlook the 140gr interlock. Have done great on Kudu for me. Creates good wound channels at normal hunting distance and usually penetrate through the animal.

Pieter

I think that the 140 grain Nosler AB factory load would likely be a good choice, but only if it shoots well in your particular rifle. I would also consider the Norma 156 grain Oryx factory load. A quick search shows that MidwayUSA has both in stock, but they are expensive at $38 and $43 respectively. Swedish military Mauser actions are universally well made in all aspects; materials, workmanship, quality control, etc. Plus, they were never made while Sweden was at war, so corners were never cut. The only downside to the pre-1898 style small ring Mauser actions is that they don't handle escaping gas as well as the 1898 style, primarily due to the smaller gas shield. Since you didn't indicate how much sporterization had been done to this rifle, I will assume that the original bolt shroud hasn't been swapped out for an after-market unit with a larger gas shield.

I currently have seven Swedish Military Mausers in-house, six of which that have been sporterized. I have replaced the bolt shrouds with units from Brownells or MidwayUSA, and the triggers with Bold and Timney units.

These are listed on Hornady's website.

http://www.hornady.com/store/searchammo.php?mode=search&main_cat=249&categoryid%5B%5D=256&categoryid%5B%5D=286&categoryid%5B%5D=&x=38&y=9

160 roundnose would probably work quite well for your needs. Seems they work in the nordic countries.

120 GMX might even work but seems maybe a bit light.

No experience with any of them on game, just at the range.

Good luck,
Geno

Of those two Hornady's the 120 gr GMX would be better, the 160 gr RN performs erratically and I wouldn't consider it.

Based on a jury of one, I would not use the GMX on moose. Besides, the Swede cries for at least a 140 grain bullet. I would not sweat the pressure rating of a modern RAR -- it will shoot anything sane.

Ptarmigan's 6.5x55 is a sporterized Swedish Mauser, so age and condition might make watching the pressure a prudent thing to consider.