Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger african 6.5x55

Anyone have one of these? What’s your opinion, how well do they shoot? Thinking about getting one.

My friend has one. He really likes it. Trigger will need work, and bedding. Shoots nicely after those items are squared away with 120BTs.

I have one that I'm very happy with so far; I put a Swarovski Z3 3-9X36mm on it and I really like the way the rifle handles.
True, the trigger could use a little work but it's serviceable as is.
So far 120 Gr. NBT & 130 NAB and H4350 has been promising and my standard 6.5x55 load of 46.0 gr. of R22, Speer 140 gr. bullets and Federal 210 primers in new and 1x Norma brass is 3/4 to 1 inch for three shots at 100 yards on a very regular basis.
I really need to spend more time with it, refine the loads and hunt with it this fall.
The overall fit and finish on the rifle is pretty respectable and I am glad I was able to add one to my collection.

StarchedCover

No experience on how well this particular model shoots but based on about 6-7 Ruger Hawkeyes so far their accuracy is probably decent to very good out of the box with the possibility of being very accurate after bedding, free floating and some trigger work. My opinion overall is that they are one of the nicer looking factory rifles in current albeit limited production today.

Keep it coming
Thanks

Mine wasn't great out of the box but did show promise. I think with trigger work and bedding that it would been fine. It was a really nice rifle with a nice, classic appeal. I kind of regret trading it.

Buddy has one and I have the 275 Rigby and 9.3x62 versions of that rifle. Between us, we're happy with all three.

The 6.5x55 the absolute clone of the 9.3 except for weight and balance?

By my standards, mine has been great out of the box. It is pretty light and shoots great for a factory. Best point is it comes with good sights and a good base.

Mine shoots in the 9’s! Pretty good without bedding or anything other than basic load work.

Any specific questions or pic requests?


Shooting 140 gr Accubonds.

Don’t have any specific questions, just didn’t want to buy a rifle that costs this much and it be inaccurate. It’s a very nice looking rifle.

Mine shoots great, I did nothing to it.. I was shooting 140 AB out of it.

I feel like the response to these compared to the 275's was pretty lukewarm. I missed the 275's all together so I jumped on the 6.5 when it came out. I like it enough to want a 9.3x62.

Anyway mine shoots roughly 1" at 100 yards with Winchester and Hornady ammo, and less than that with Remington green/yellow box core lokt.

I put a Swarovski on mine but thought a Leupold 40mm or 6x42 looked right at home, nicely proportioned and good objective and ocular/bolt clearance.

I have all three, 275, 6.5x55, & 9.3x62. They are all accurate enough (about 1" @ 100). This is a hunting rifle, not a benchrest rifle. The trigger is fine by me also. It's the newer LC6 trigger which I think is great. I own a bunch of Dakotas and AHR customs as well. I'd say the trigger is very close to a Dakota, and not far behind an AHR, but Wayne's are better for sure.

But these are $6,000 rifles, and the Ruger African is a $1,000 rifle. For the price, the Ruger is a steal! The LC6 trigger, compared to the older MarkI and Mark IIs, is light years ahead. No creep, no overtravel, etc. And yes, they are good looking rifles, with all of the bells and whistles expected of an African rifle, as the name implies.

I put 2.5-8 VX3i Leupolds on all of them, and on almost all of my rifles.

Buy them now while you can. Some day they'll all be bought up, or you'll pay 50% more on the market for a used one. Perhaps double already for the 275 Rigby.

I hope they make another run of the 275. I won’t miss it again.
GreggH

I don't think they will. I believe their special runs are only limited to 250.

When these rifles come out, I buy two at a time, so I actually have two each of the 275, 6.5, & 9.3.

One day, I'll sell a complete set at about double what I paid for them, and keep one set for myself, thereby getting my complete set for free. This is how these Ruger special runs go. Buy now while you can still get them at 'regular' price!

The next caliber, out already, is the 280AI. I've spoken with Jason at Lipsey's, and he said coming up next will be 30-06 & 35 Whelen. Save your money...

one of the few rounds in that caliber that does a great job in all aspects of use have 2 one with a 30 inch barrel on a 110 action with a 1-8 twist. and one with a 31 inch barrel on a krag action that was put together in 1932 and used in the winter war. the round is very accurate up to 2500 meter's depending on bullet weight/powder charge/rate of twist/barrel length.
Do say get one you will be surprised and like it

Mine shoots great with 140 gr partitions and RL 22. Pigs, Axis, coyotes and whitetail all hit the ground. Shoots under one inch out of the box, no bedding or floating. Trigger runs right at 3.5 lbs. Picked up the 275 a few months ago off Gunbroker at 1450 buy now. Hit the button as soon I saw it without hesitation.

rats you beat me to it and would have done the same too

Congrats on the 275 purchase!

True that. Could call it something else though....