I've come to own one of the small ring Swedish Gustafs 96 actions rebarrelled to 308 Win. by Kimber back when. So this string about 180 gr. in the 308 is of interest to me.
Mine is quite accurate with 150 gr. Horns at ~2600 FPS, but I've been warned by somebody who may not know his stuff to avoid higher pressures or heavier pills with this action.
Are there known upper safety limits to this action I should be aware of?
GrouseChaser,
I doubt the low SAAMI pressure standard for the 6.5x55 has anything to do with the 96 Mauser action, which is actually just about as strong as early 98 actions. However, some "experts" have written in the past that the 96 can fail because it lacks the third "safety" locking lug that the 98 has toward the rear of the bolt. But very few people have ever seen a 98's two front lugs fail sufficiently to engage the third lug.
Instead, SAAMI probably established the low 6.5x55 limit because of Norwegian Krags, because they only have a single locking lug, so are indeed a weaker action.
In other words, I wouldn't worry about shooting any kind of factory .308 ammo in your rifle. And no, 180-grain .308 ammo does not generate more pressure than 150-grain ammo.
