Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Recommend a 6.5x54 MS load?

It really is too bad Sierra is no longer making their 160 SP. I have had great success with it and it is consistent. GD

mark,

He may have to do a little file-modifying of the softpoint to get them to feed well. I have to for my rifle--it isn't much, mostly just a rounding of the tip, but otherwise they can hang up on their way into the chamber.

Thanks again, John - that Sounds like a VERY useful piece of information.

PS Hope you and Eileen have a GREAT New Year!

Did not know the Oryx is a bonded bullet. So is there more drag with the Oryx and hence higher pressure than the hornady? I ask because I am wondering if Hornady data can be used. I have IMR 4350 on hand. Hornady has 39.0 grs for a max load.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...-grain-bonded-protected-point-box-of-100



Edit: found the American rifleman article

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/5/15/handloading-the-65x54-mm-mannlicher-schoenauer/

My 1903 M-S Carbine does well with a 156gr. Oryx and RL-15. I've found that sometimes experimenting with COAL can resolve feeding problems with this rifle/cartridge. On mine, I had to run the bullets out to 3.042" OAL to get them to feed. My max load is 35 grains-- I would reduce that to start.

Might give the 156 PPU RNSP a try too. I have not used this one but other PPU bullets have surprised me with both their accuracy and terminal performance which is similar to a Corelokt. The price is right. The 139 grain 6.5s looked like they needed the noses uniformed but this made no difference on target.

My 1903 MS carbine shoots very well with 36.5 gr of IMR 4064 behind either the Nosler 140 gr AB or the 140 gr Berger VLDH bullets

Thank you for all the replies.

I have a 1903MS that shoots fantastically 140 gr. Horn I-locks in front of IMR 4350 38gr.

I am jealous of all you guys shooting the 03s. I have a super tight chamber and no ammo has fit well yet. It is slightly hard to extract and hard to chamber to begin with. I think I need to get it to the guy in Illinois who specializes in M/S rifles. Norma, PRVI PPU, and reloads are all tight. I believe I have an early gun before they called it "NORMAL". I believe that meant something like SAAMI approval of their day. But I have found some Euro chambers to be like their early bores. Sometimes quite a variation in size. My 9MM rifle takes a 0.354 bullet. Some of them take 358. Rusty

rusty, if you are working with a 1905 9x56 m/s you might want to try some Remington 8x57 brass to make your 9x56 cases. The Remington brass (used to at least) has a little smaller base than some others. The .358 bullets can be swaged down to .354 and still work quite well. If you know a machinest, maybe you could get him to make a long tapered swage to resize the std. .358 bullets.

I know, a pain in the rear but it may be worth it.

Yes, I have a ring die and most of my bullets are resized .358s but Hawk makes the round nose 245 gr bullets in the exact size to order. Look at their website. 353, 354, 355,..... Good people to know. They make lots of specialty stuff and in several jacket thicknesses. And I bought the rifle from a real gentleman who had collected lots of appropriate gear. The reloading dies, bullets, a mold, made up lots of cases, had two, ten round boxes of unfired Kynoch ammo. I'm lucky to get into such a gun. Now I have to figure out this tight chamber 6.5 and set it up in a similar way. I am not sure how to go about acquiring the dies or whether it should have a modern standard reamer run through it. It is not museum quality but any gun that old in useable condition warrants a bit of thought before reaming out the chamber. Even if it is to use the gun for its intended purpose. I'm in that process now. Anyway I forsee pigs dying with the 9MM before the 6.5 is sorted out. My OTHER Steyr, the Scout will be backup in 308. Rusty

For what it's worth, I found out yesterday that the 139 gr Norma factory load works well on a whitetail. At 150 yds +/-, the bullet broke a rib going in, cleaned off the top of the heart, trashed the lungs, and broke a rib going out. The deer went about 25 feet and then went straight down on his chin! This load/bullet averages 2290 fps out of my stutzen. He's no monster rack, but I had decided to take the first legal deer I found while carrying it, doe or buck.

The photos are great. To use the old guns, classics like this, is quite the kick. Most of the time I get a nice, juicy, old doe. But if a ginormous buck walks over and says, "Shoot me." I guess I'll help the poor old fellow out. Rusty