I've got a 6.5x55 SE and a box of 129 grain Hornady soft points for which I'd like to develop a load.

What have been your favorite powders in this application?

I currently have Reloder 19, Reloder 22, IMR 4350, IMR 7828 SSC, and Ramshot Magnum. Of those I figure RL-19 and IMR 4350 would be best suited. I was also thinking of picking up either H4350 or XMR-4350 to play with, but that might have to wait until after Christmas.

What powder would be your first pick for this combo?

I like 7828 in my 6.5 because it works well with bullets from 120 to 160 grains in weight. RL 19 is my second choice and it works very well with the 120 - 140 weights. Can't go wrong with either for the 129.

IMR 4350 would be the way I'd go first. The lil experience I have with the Swede I used H4350.

Best of luck to ya

Dober

RL-19, 120gr. RL-22 140 gr. ...... Buckfever

In load testing my 6.5 T3 I found RE22 & H4831sc worked best with nearly all bullets...seems the Swede likes 'em slow....Varget actually surprised me with the Nosler 120 BT...but still ended up using H4831sc w/120s..of your inventory..I'd suggest RE22 & 7828ssc...hard not to get the 6.5x55 to shoot...

R22

My 6.5x55s really like RL19 with a 125 grain NP. I don't see why it wouldn't work well with a 129.

RL19 does work well with the 129 Hornady:



If 'ol Joe is recommending RL22, I'm sure it works well too. H4831sc is another good powder for the 129 Hdy.

There is no lack of good alternatives for the 129 in the 6.5x55. The one I'm using at present is H4350 for 2950 FPS in a modern action.

All, please feel free to mention any powder not in my inventory. I'm nearly out of IMR 4350 and getting low on RL-22. I'd like to try either IMR 4831 or H4831SC and the other 4350's. So don't worry about keeping to recommendations to which powders I have on hand.

Thanks for the feedback.

Ol military swede I shoot loves RL-19 and Norma 156 gr RN as it packs em into lil 1 hole clusters and 1 of the most accurate rifles Ive ever owned...................

I've gotten good accuracy with IMR4064, CCI200 primers and Lapua brass with the Hornady 129. This is in a Kimber 96.

I picked up some H4350 after Christmas. I think I'll start with that, then try RL-19, then RL-22.

It's a bit hard to find any loading data for RL-22 and the Hornady 129g SP. I usually like to check 3 or more sources before working up a load, but the only one I found was Hornady #7 listing 45.4g as max.

Anyone have any RL-22 and 129g Hornady loads?

The 129 Gr. Hornady SP is my favorite 6.5x55 bullet. The best powders with that bullet,in my experience, are IMR-4831, H4831 and RL-19. 4350 is also a very worthwhile thing to try; but in my Kimber sporterized Mod. 96, the 4831's and RL-19 gave me a slight edge in accuracy. Let your rifle make the choice. Getting into the heavy end of the spectrum bullets, like 160 grs., is where I had my best results with stuff like RL-22 and IMR-7828. For bullets about 140 grs., try any of the above mentioned powders.

The Hornady #7 stops at 45.4gr of R22 with their 129 gr. I go a bit higher....

I go a fair bit higher than that with a 140.

I have been messing with some 130 gr Accubonds in my Swede.I have shot the 140 gr Sierra Game King for years,but wanted a lighter bullet, yet longer to try to better match the twist and reduce the jump.
The 4350 did not work out for me this week, I retried the H4831 and it still does the trick. 3/4 " groups. I plan to try 4895 when the weather breaks again, but doubt it wil do as well.
Also,my swedee just doens't seem to like anything that I push past 2800fps

I'm surprised no one mentioned RL 17 with the 129 grain Hornady in this thread.. seems like that would be an ideal combo in this case...

I haven't tried it yet, but that only means I need to get out and do it.

RL 17 has been pretty darn accurate in the other cases I have tried it in.

I only wish Hornady still made the 129 and 140 grain bullets available in the RN configuration still...

that would be my bullet of choice then.

of course if that was the case, my load choice would be 30 grains of RL 7 and the 129 RN... that is all I need at wood's rifle ranges..

[quote=Seafire]I only wish Hornady still made the 129 and 140 grain bullets available in the RN configuration still.../quote]

+1. Scored a couple of boxes of both a few months back. It's been a while since these were around.

Best Regards

I have had excellent luck with H4350 in that bullet weight class, but it's pretty tough to develop a load that won't shoot in the 6.5x55. Another good one if you want to go really obscure is Norma 204.

Thanks Mule Deer. I just picked up a pound of H4350 after the holidays. I plan to give that a go as well.

Have any load references for the 129 SP and RL-22? I'm thinking I'd be okay to start at 43.2g and work up to 48.0g...

I with M.D. on this one. The swede is real easy going and will do well with almost any powder in the 4350-4831 range. My rifle likes R19 and the 129gr Hornady, but does well several others too. By the way, I've come to the 6.5x55 late in life and after using it good bit I'm sorry as hell about that because it one fine round.

45gr Rel 22 works great in my Tikka T3 Hunter. I could probably go higher, but it shoots near dime size groups @ 100yds w/ that load so I stopped there and called it good.