Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters How does a hot loaded 6.5 Swede compare to a 25-06?

Ramblin Razorback,

Well said.

It also depends, of course, on the "long" action. In my experience the 6.5x55 is perfect in what's generally considered a .30-06 length action, NOT the extra-long actions of many made today, such as the Remington 700. The .30-06 length magazine of about 3.35 inches leaves plenty room for ultra-long 140's auch as the Berger VLD, even more than the 6.5 Creedmoor provides in a short action.

One of my 6.5x55's was a Ruger 77 Mark II, and Ruger is one of the few American companies still making true .30-06 length action. It was super-accurate, with plenty of flexibility for bullet seating, but like a rifle-loony nitwit, after a few years I sold it. Built another with a 1-8 twist Lilja on a commercial FN 98 action a few years later, which does the same things (and has a nicer New Zealand walnut stock) but could have easily just stuck with the Ruger.

The 6.5x55 recoils noticeably less than .30-06 length American cartridges like the .270, yet stands up very well in downrange performance with similar-weight bullets.

Robert,

The 6.5-06 doesn't erode throats very fast, in fact not as fast as the more popular 6.5/.284, because of the longer neck. In theory it would erode faster than the .270, but there would definitely be some overlap in the life of individual barrels.

AI'ing doesn't solve the short magazine problem in the .260. That's exactly why the 6.5 Creedmoor was developed.

If you're not concerned with shooting moose or woolly mammoths, or shooting beyond 500 yards, the .25-06 is a very fine hunting round. It's normally very easy to find accurate loads, and from a 24" barrel 100-grain bullets can easily be started at 3300-3400, or 115-120's at 3100-3200.

The Swede is definitely a looney round. It is a nice round and if are getting one built then your complexities will be solved.

But I am pretty sure I could load a 6.5-06 to the same recoil levels as the swede, or a 270 for that matter. Don't have to run them as hard as physics allow.

I have used quite a few moderate loads in my 270's with 85-110gr bullets. They are a joy to shoot and have worked fine on deer/antelope.

Downside is BC, if you are going to get in LR shooting. Out to 300 is not an issue.

I must be starting to lose my looneyism, selling off odd calibers, keeping a pile of 270's and just loading specific as to what I want to accomplish.

Less brass to keep track of, less dies on the shelf, less bullets.

CRS: too much logic...not as much fun...

Don't worry about the minor difference in rim dimensions of 308/270 and 6.5x55. My US made Swede brass has the same diameter as US cartridges. No problems with it.

My 6.5 Swede brass, WW and Prvi, 'required' a # 2 shell holder.

My brass would not go IN a # 3. Still no big deal or big expense.

Like I said, I think I am losing my looneyism. But with having eight 270's, I may be safe.

I can just imagine what Ingwe might say about loading a .270 down...but eight of "em?

gotta get donors from somewhere, MD. lol

I have to load'em down to get to 7x57 ballistics.

Mule Deer,

What you point out about the remington 700 long actions being a little too long and longer than the ruger 06 actions...
I had never read that before, nor had I ever noticed it. Interesting.

The closer I look at the 6.5x55 I could really like it but after a brief perusal of Buds and Davidsons there are no new factory rifles chambered that are readily available.

If you get a gun smith to convert a Ruger 30-06 to 6.5x55 does the bolt face have to be cut mo bigger? Do they feed nicely after conversion without a lot of fiddling?

Thanks for all the feedback.

Robert White;
Top of the morning to you sir, I trust this finds you well.

To your original question, the largest mulie buck - antlers and body - that I've ever seen shot died in front of a B78 .25-06 with 117gr Hornady BT bullets. I watched that rifle shoot a few more mulies with 100gr Partitions and 120gr Speer Hot Cor too and it worked very, very well.

In fact if memory serves I think I shot at least one mulie with it too, but if it was deficient in any way on deer sized animals I didn't really notice.

We recently had an interesting exchange of thoughts and experiences with the 6.5x55 here in this thread that might interest you.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth.../Tissue_Damage_270_vs_6_5x55#Post9248055

So while it's early days for me looking to find a barrel up here across the medicine line, so far the price of a barrel plus installation will be close to $1000 by the time the smoke clears...

I'll note that up here a Zastava Model 70 can be had in a 1:8 twist 6.5x55 and they're running less than the cost of a barrel installed.

While I can't say whether or not the 6.5x55 will feed in a Ruger 77, the other afternoon I stuffed 5 of our daughter's 6.5x55 handloads into my .270 and of course they fed like they were running on melted butter....

Anyway sir, hopefully that information was somewhat useful to you or someone out there this fine still fall morning. Good luck on your rifle whichever way you decide and good luck on your remaining hunts this fall too.

Dwayne

Yes sir...

That thread you started concerning the killin and the twist rates; I read that with a great deal of interest. I have a friend at work who dotes on the swede and we talked about your observations.

Robert,

My experience is that bolt actions designed for the .30-06 (and similar rounds) will feed the 6.5x55 perfectly. The only difficulty in rebarreling is, occasionally, the bolt face. The 6.5x55 rim is (theoretically) slightly larger than the .30-06's, up to a maximum of .479", but American 6.5x55 brass tends to be made with a .30-06-sized, .473" rim.

Also, I've yet to encounter a controlled-feed bolt face that couldn't handle European 6.5x55 brass, which typically has a slightly larger rim. (The Lapua, Norma and RWS brass I have on hand all measures .476".) Some push-feed bolt faces, however, are little too tight for Euro-brass rims.

Another caution is that 6.5x55 chambered dimension vary considerably, both in throat length and body size, and since brass also varies this can cause problems--unless, of course, the chamber is all-around generous. Despite the larger rim size, European brass is typically slightly smaller in body diameter just in from of the rim. This doesn't matter most of the time, but the Lilja barrel of my custom 6.5x55 was chambered with a minimum-dimension Pacific T&G reamer, and American brass won't fit unless I size the base of the body down with a .45 ACP die. European brass fits fine.

All of this may sound like putting together a 6.5x55 is a PITA, and to a certain extent that's true. But you can have a bolt action rebarreled by E.R. Shaw for $300 or a little more, with a chamber that will handle all types of brass. (Some people don't think Shaw barrels are any good, and that was kinda true before 2000, when they completely retooled. I've use 7-8 Shaw barrels since then, which have all been good to excellent.)

On the other hand, you can just go buy a factory rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor or .25-06. Or look for a used factory rifle in 6.5x55. I could have solved a lot of my personal rifle loony hassle if I'd just held onto that Ruger 77 Mark II 6.5x55 from a few years ago.

I had a Rem 700 BDL in 25-06. It was a very nice rifle and I killed a few whitetails with it. For some reason I sold it, and later bought a CZ550 in 6.5x55. It isn't a light rifle but it is a solid, quality, good shooting rifle. I have used it mostly over the last 10 years or so.

I highly recommend the rifle and the 6.5x55.

The center part here is why I built my last .
260 on a long action I can seat a very long bullet way out and still run ammo through the mag.

I think the 6.5x55 is about the perfect round. I owned a 25-06 and 6.5-06 in the past and both seemed finicky compared to the Swede. A 120gr bullet at 3000 is a great combo for deer etc.

With bullets from 75-100 gr, I cannot find a bad load with my 25-06 featherweight classic.
move up to 115,117, and 120 gr loads and my handloads open up to 1.5" groups, or so...

I had a partial box of federal 117 factory loads given to me that shot real well. Around .75" IIRC.

for any deer that I might shoot, the 100 ballistic tip or the 100 hornady will do nicely, and shoot very well.

FWIW the 100 partition and the 100 tsx also shoot well, even if the tsx doesn't get the velocity I expected...

It has been awhile since I owned a 6.5 and I shoot a .25-06 a fair bit these days. I think either, as a hunting rifle, will do the job expertly and without any problems. My 6.5 was a modified WWII Swede and very accurate with the old Weaver 4x I put on it. I shot 120 gr. bullets but back then I didn't have, and knew no one who had, a chronograph. They both kill Whitetails and Antelope with authority. Out to as far as I can hit anything at least.

There is an intangible romance about the 6.5. that the .25-06 doesn't seem to have. I don't dwell on it much but some cartridges have this "aura" about them for some reason. The 7x57 and the 6.5x55 are two that come to mind. In equal rifles with equal bullet weights I think some folks would be happier with a 6.5 for no other reason than it is a 6.5.

When I first read the title of the thread, I thought: Hot, loaded Swede, as in a good looking blonde lady who had had a bit too much to drink vs. 25-06.