Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Heavy Loads for the 6.5x55mm Swede...

Heck, I have a "strong" modern 6.5x55 - a Ruger #1. I stick with the old load that worked beautifully in a dear departed M70 Featherweight and a string of M94, 96, 38 Swedish Mausers in the past, and a 41 Swede Sniper - 47 gr. IMR4831+129 Hornady Interlock, of which I'm sitting on maybe 1000 pieces. The same powder charge behind the 130 Berger VLD Hunting yields a skinch more accuracy, but not enough to justify the added hassle of finding those bullets, a moot point as I have a few hundred of them. 139 Scenars are superb too, and I use 46 gr. IMR4831 for them. Got a few hundred of them too. All three of those bullets allow the little Ruger to deliver well under MOA accuracy, boringly on demand...

...Also used Magnum rather than Hunter due to finding it more temperature-stable, especially when used in a somewhat compressed load, such as 50 grains with 140s in the 6.5x55.

Garandimal;
Good morning to you sir, I hope that this blustery Friday finds you well.

In answering your query about reloads for the Swede, I had to dig into my reloading notes which I thought would give me some more precise data.

It appears that I started loading for the 6.5 SE in early June '87, but since I had no chronograph back then can only say that in the 96 military rifle I'd modified for my father with a 20" barrel the first load was 41gr H380 and 140gr Partitions.

Back then I was going through a bit of a "need for speed" phase and we then tried 120gr Nolser Solid Base and 120gr Sierra Pro Hunter bullets on local bucks before settling back into 129gr Hornady Spires, though I see some loads for 140gr Hornady Spires too.

When Dad's health declined, he stopped hunting and the rifle was passed onto our eldest daughter. In 2007 when she started hunting with it I loaded 48gr H4831, 130gr TSX, CCI 200 for 2658fps and that's still what she hunts with today.

With that load she's taken about 8? local mulie and whitetail bucks. We don't have a range finder but some of the shots seemed like an awfully long walk to get to the downed buck. One particular mulie stands out in my mind as I asked her at least twice if she wanted to get closer, but she said her rest was solid and as it turned out is was, as the buck made two shaky steps and collapsed.

I'll note we've never "caught" a 130gr TSX yet from her Swede and usually we'll aim to break one or both scapula. That long shot across a wide draw broke a rib going in and then hit the knuckle connecting the scapula and ulna I believe it is before sailing out onto the BC mountainside behind it.

I was impressed...

Actually more than a little impressed as a year later I unscrewed the .270 barrel on my walking around rifle built on a 98 action and had a near new Swede military barrel installed. I'll note I was looking for the deep grooves and 1:7.8" twist they had, but it wasn't the cheap way to make a Swede on a 98 for sure.

With the 98 action rifle I've got a 21" barrel and have been able to hit 2750fps with the 127gr LRX, but with just okay accuracy.

For a couple years I inexplicably quit chronographing some load development and was shooting 120gr TTSX, 49gr IMR 4831, CCI200 and Lapua cases which shot well but ended up wrecking the cases so that load is too hot in my rifle.

Then life happened and IMR4831 became unobtainium up here as did most Barnes bullets, so my current load is 120gr GMX, 44gr VV-N550, CCI 200 and Lapua cases for 2950fps. I've only killed one local mulie with that load and was pleased that the bullet opened up despite being one of those freak instances where it entered and exited without touching ribs. This buck was just shifting gears from trotting to their mulie bounce when I connected. He was visibly rocked when it hit him, taking about 4-5 more steps forward, then backing down the mountain for about that many steps before collapsing.

As to how either of our Swedes would do for really long range hunting I'd be guessing, but as mentioned at least a couple which our daughter hit had to be pushing or exceeding 300yds and they worked well.

Hopefully that was useful for you despite it being a small sampling of rifles, loads and field results.

All the best with your Swede whichever way you proceed.

Dwayne

... Before I invested a lot of time and money in monometels, for a 2700 - 2800 fps cartridge I’d try that SGK....

I've loaded and hunted with the 6.5X55 for awhile with 140 grain bullets. I run my swede around 2750 fps. My son in law runs his creedmoor at 2830 fps with 140s but has the advantage of small primer brass. He's out running my swede by 80 fps and his brass consistently lasts longer than my brass. We both use Lapua. I would give the 100 fps advantage to the creedmoor

Trystan

I’m loading up sone 160 gr Hornady RN bullets over IMR -4350 to try out tomorrow.

No idea if this is a good powder choice for a 160 gr bullet in the Swede, but it’s what I’ve got on hand and listed as a load by Hodgdon.

160 gr. Hornady RN

On the other hand, the most erratic 6.5mm bullet I've used is the 160-grain Hornady roundnose. When started at 2150 fps or so in my Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine, it did everything from break both shoulders on deer and exit, to come apart before reaching the far side on behind-the-shoulder rib shots. Phil Shoemaker had the same basic experience with that bullet.

Curious, how is the Swede M-96/38 for heavier loads?

The temp stability issue really dogs me.

The IMR powder has been a stellar performer in the .270 for decades, and Hodgdon gives it some very favorable numbers for the 6.5x55mm as well.

But, at the same time, given the popularity of the Extreme Powders, can't believe that 2.5 gr. more of H4831 in the .270 Win., and a coupla grains in the 6.5x55mm, couldn't be worked to produce at least a better than adequate precision and velocity load.

IMR 4831 - is listed as 1.10 fps/°F.
H4831SC - is listed as 0.08 fps/°F.

That's almost the Song of the Sirens.




GR

H1000 works good with 140s. 2800 fps and not compressed or any pressure issues.

Been disassembling PPU ball ammo, to harvest the brass, ahead of a reloading project.

Rifle is a 6.5x55mm Ruger Hawkeye African 24"/1:8 Bbl., currently aperture sighted.


Tentative powder/primer selection is IMR 4831/CCI 200 respectively. (recommended, and is also used for the .270 Win/150 gr. load)

Bullets are .264/140 gr. Speer Grand Slam (current production), w/ an eye out for some of the new .264/130 gr. Barnes TSX-BT.


So, two basic loads.


Would like these loads to be at or near .30-06/M2 pressure - 50K CUP/60K PSI, a/o 2800 fps at the muzzle.

Hodgdon Reloading Data Center says 46.3 gr. of this powder will yield 2700 fps, remaining w/in the anemic SAAMI spec of 46K CUP/51K PSI for this cartridge.

Figure (extrapolate) ~ 48 gr. should yield ~ 2800 fps, and still be under the 50K CUP/60K PSI limit.


Would start the ladder at ~ 46 gr., chrono'ing above maybe 47.5 gr. and paying a little attn. to group size.

Figure the 130 gr. TSX would used the same final charge, albeit w/ a different velocity.


Questions/Comments/Concerns appreciated.




GR

I drew a Montana deer tag, Billings area, and hopefully an antelope tag for this fall.

Shots for both will potentially be long. I plan on taking two rifles.

The 96 Swede in stock configuration and CA Mesa Titanium in 6.5 PRC.

The first two days of the hunt I plan on packing the M-96 to see what I can do with it.

I have already killed everything 5 or 10 times over and am looking to test
my open sight skills, again. I like the challenge.