Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Best factory ammo for 6.5x55

That's bad. I hate dirty ammo. I'll pay a bit more for something that is not filthy to shoot. Thanks for the valuable tip.

Consider the Hornady Superformance load with the 140gr SST or the Nosler Trophy Grade with 140gr Accubond. The Hornady makes 2735 fps from a 24" barrel and the Nosler makes 2650 from a 23.5" Leija barrel. Not too far away from modern pressure handloads that can get you up to ~2800 fps in a standard length barrel. Both can be purchased online from folks like MidwayUSA.

I originally avoided posting a response since I haven't purchased factory 6.5x55 ammo in 6 years. What was avaiable then and what's available now has changed. My experience with factory ammo in 2005 and 2006 may not reflect what is produced today. But here is what I experienced.

Hornady Custom, Federal blue box, and Winchester Super-X were all very respectible in accuracy with perhaps a slight not to the Hornady ammo.

Wolf Gold had average accuracy, but low velocity (2,480 fps). S&B, both the 131g and 140g, showed poor results. Remington green box was the second to worst performer. Hotshot brand (supposedly rebranded Igman) came in last and was garbage.

I don't recall Prvi being widely available. Federal hadn't yet released 6.5x55 in their Fusion line. PMC produced 6.5x55 ammo and it was the most accurate factory ammo in my rifle (both Bronze and Silver w/GameKings). It's no longer available. Federal Premium had 140g Trophy Bonded Bear Claws that were second in accuracy only the PMC's. I've only seen them on the shelf once. They wouldn't be a good choice for range work anyhow.

If it were me? I'd try them in this order:
Hornady Custom 140g
Federal Power-Shok 140g
Winchester Super-X 140g
Federal Fusion 140g

If you want as cheap as you can get, try Prvi and Wolf.

Thanks. 6 years may still apply for most of this ammo.

FWIW, I usually like middling ammo. Cheap is cheap for a reason, generally. And premium -- well my marksmanship usually can't take advantage of it. Got to save somewhere. So I usually do a little homework and settle for the best of the middle priced ammo, if any.

YOU CAN SCRATCH THE NORMA 120 BT AND 140 PARTITION, THEY'RE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

blue box federal, rsw, and all norma ammo are my rifles like.

Thanks! That saves me the trouble looking for them when every place just says "Out of Stock."

Too bad though.

I have only fired a couple of boxes of factory ammo through my Howa 1500 in 6.5x55. The old Federal Premium 140 gr TBBC was the most accurate and fastest over the chronograph, at only 2411 fps. Of course, it is no longer available, but I still have 3 boxes stashed. Both the Federal blue box and the Prvi ammo only chronoed around 2300 fps and accuracy was okay, around 2 inch groups at 100 yards off the bench. My Howa is not a tack driver, but it does perform acceptably well with Hornady 140 gr Spire Points and Accurate Data Powder 86 (a non cannister version of 3100). If I had to buy factory ammo today, I would go for the Federal Fusion for the more reasonably priced ammo, and the Nosler Custom ammo, if it is still available. The Prvi is the cheapest, and would probably work for deer hunting or practice. Just plan on a thorough cleaning of your rifle after shooting. Cabela's has it online for just $16.97 per box. New Lapua brass is almost as much money, without the primers powder or bullet!

Jimbo,

I have two 6.5x55's and shoot only factory ammo these days. Both rifles shoot the following 3 very well.

Nosler Custom Trophy Grade 140gr Accubond - consistent small groups - darn dear one hole in both.

Federal Power Shok (blue box) 140gr softpoint - averages 1/2 to 3/4 groups

Fiocchi 140gr Hornady SST - average 3/4 to 1 inch groups.

BTW - The Nosler and Federal are proven deer killers several times over.

Pick your poison and hope you find a great shooter.

Of course, Lapua brass is uniformly excellent and Prvi brass is uniformly mediocre, so you get what you pay for.

Jeff

I am liking the PRVI less all the time.

Thanks for all the great tips. This is extremely helpful and includes brands I didn't even think to try out, so I deeply appreciate the suggestions.

I know the Norma distributors in USA working on importing ammo. Best is to load your own ammo. Sometimes you come across Swedish military 6,5x55 ammo in USA. Last time I visited Dallas Gunshow a vendor had lots of Swedish military ammo, intended for the M/41 sniper rifle.

Midway got a pretty good selection on 6,5x55 ammo from Lapua, HSM, and Norma to dirty El Cheapo ammo. Today, both Sinclair International and Midway had 6,5x55 match ammo from Lapua in stock - expensive as usual.

Cheers!

Thanks!

You are welcome. Enjoy the shooting! And get started with the reloading, great fun - quite addictive. Personally I prefer Redding dies, presses from like Forster coax or Redding Ultra mag - depends on the cartridge size.

Cheers
J

Your best bet is to reload, but I like the surplus military ammo with 139 grain bullet better than Federal or winchester. I feed 2 swedes and handloading is the only way I get the performance I want.

Answer #1: I will second the thoughts on the RWS. Can't find it now. Picked up a few boxes from Midway on sale last year. Excellent accuracy. Not tried on game yet but some of the European members on this forum say it works just fine.

Answer #2: PRVI. Have you tried it yet in your rifle? Very affordable and it was nearly as accurate as the RWS. Usually available either at gunshows or online.

I will also second the thoughts about Lee reloading presses to "start out". I don't do enormous ammounts of reloading so it has served my purposes for 15 years or so now. I even like and use the hand press, which might work for you based on the amount you plan to shoot on a monthly basis. I have some RCBS dies also and "I" can't tell the difference when I'm loading.

Good luck with it all.

Geno

Green box Remingtons shot good in my Tikka - under an inch at 100. But you owe it to yourself to start getting into reloading. Birthdays, Christmas, Father's Day are all good times to get equipment.

Lapua ammo with the 155gr Mega bullet.

I have heard time and again, from so many guys, that they cannot afford to set up for hand loading.

Jimbo, the Lee Classic Loader is available in 6.5 Swede for ~ $30...
And i'd bet you could find one in the classifieds here for almost nothing.

With some used brass from your collection, you can be set up with the kit, bullets, powder and primers for around a bill...

This would acquaint you with the essentials of loading, and produce ammo as good or better than you can buy.
And your net expenditure per round, for your first 100 rounds would be less than what you can buy 100 factory for. The cost goes down from there.

Norma and RWS - in that order. Both are exceptional.

The 6.5x55 is a reloader's cartridge. I have chronied the Federal and Hornady standard 140 grain loads and that stuff is literally crawling compared to my hand loads. I will also add that if you buy a Lee Classic Loader, that will only lead to many more purchases as you will continue to upgrade your equipment. Been there, done that. Loading your own is an excellent way to increase your enjoyment of the shooting sports. That's my $0.02.