Can anyone recommend a double cavity mold for 6.5x55 Swede?

[wellfedirishman]

Can anyone recommend a double cavity mold for 6.5 x 55 (6.5 Swede)?

Unfortunately Lee doesn't make one, and the cheapest I see is a Lyman for $60 or so.

Grafs:
LYMAN 6.5cal 150g #266673 MOULD DOUBLE CAVITY
Item Number: LY2660673 · Availability: Less than 5 in stock
Add to Cart Price: $59.99

LYMAN 6.5cal 140g #266469 MOULD DOUBLE CAVITY
Item Number: LY2660469 · Availability: Only one in stock
Add to Cart Price: $59.99

RCBS MOULD 6.5MM-140-SIL 2-CAVITY (.265)
Item Number: RCBS82149 · Availability: Less than 5 in stock
Add to Cart Price: $67.59

Plus I'd need to purchase a set of handles for $15.

Are there any stand-alone sizers (like the Lee Size Kit) for 6.5 Swede? I searched and could not find any.

Thanks all!

[Bullshop]

Sign up on the list at Midsouth. They keep rerunning the cruis missle and the caribiner when enough folks sighn up.
BIC/BS

[wellfedirishman]

Thanks, I just saw that now. I want both an 8mm and 6.5 so that works great!

[grouch]

My 96 Mauser prefers CBE's 265132 - a very nicely mad tapered gas check design, brass mold. Not real cheap, fits Lee 6 cavity handles. I think it's a good deal for what you get.
Grouch.

[Leftoverdj]

Well, what you need depends on what 6.5x55 you have. The Swedish milsurps need a larger diameter than modern commercial barrels. It also depends on you are going to do with it. The Oldfeller 170 grain design goes all snakey when pushed faster than about 1600 fps. If that's enough velocity for you, it's an excellent design.

You need to slug your 8mm, too. Groove diameter can run anywhere from .318 to .328. I've seen both extremes.

[zomby woof]

I use this one with good results out of my M96.

LYMAN 6.5cal 140g #266469 MOULD DOUBLE CAVITY
Item Number: LY2660469 · Availability: Only one in stock
Add to Cart Price: $59.99

[knappy]

[QUOTE=wellfedirishman;669392]Can anyone recommend a double cavity mold for 6.5 x 55 (6.5 Swede)?

Unfortunately Lee doesn't make one, and the cheapest I see is a Lyman for $60 or so.

Grafs:
LYMAN 6.5cal 150g #266673 MOULD DOUBLE CAVITY
Item Number: LY2660673 · Availability: Less than 5 in stock
Add to Cart Price: $59.99

LYMAN 6.5cal 140g #266469 MOULD DOUBLE CAVITY
Item Number: LY2660469 · Availability: Only one in stock
Add to Cart Price: $59.99

RCBS MOULD 6.5MM-140-SIL 2-CAVITY (.265)
Item Number: RCBS82149 · Availability: Less than 5 in stock
Add to Cart Price: $67.59

Plus I'd need to purchase a set of handles for $15.

Are there any stand-alone sizers (like the Lee Size Kit) for 6.5 Swede? I searched and could not find any.

Thanks all![/QUOTE I have a 2 cav Lyman mould 266469 I use all the time, throws great lead Bullets g.c. and shoots well out of my 6.5x55

[curator]

I have several Swedes and they all have bore/throat diameters too large to work well with Lyman/RCBS .264-265 diameter moulds. CBE and LBT make moulds that are the correct diameter to shoot well in the average Swede barrel. LBT moulds are a bit pricy but Veral Smith will cut a mould to fit your barrel's throat if you sena a troat-slug. LBT moulds are a joy to use and Veral's designs are usually very accurate too. Over the years I have come to know that a proper mould that cost more in the beginning is money saved.

[Nrut]

I believe BRP Custom Molds makes a mold or two designed for the Swedes..
Check his website or down in the vendor forum..
http://www.brp.castpics.net

[geargnasher]

I believe BRP Custom Molds makes a mold or two designed for the Swedes..
Check his website or down in the vendor forum..
http://www.brp.castpics.net

I believe that BRP is the ONLY place one can get a mould designed to fit the military Swedes, and if buying new for one would be my very first choice.

Check out the "268469", a fatter version of Lyman's 266469 with a bit fatter nose profile. Also I think he still offers the 6.5mm Kurtz design, and will cut multiple designs in one set of blocks for a small extra charge. This is a custom mould maker offering multi-cavity blocks, be prepared to pay around 100 bucks, but you get what you pay for.

Gear

[45 2.1]

The Oldfeller 170 grain design goes all snakey when pushed faster than about 1600 fps.

Actually it doesn't. It's been pushed to some really obscene velocities (+2400 fps) by some people with bottom of coke can size groups at 100 yds. Thats plenty good enough to hunt with to a couple hundred yards. Getting that performance requires you know quite a bit about loading the Swede..... and thats not common knowledge here it seems.

[BABore]

I have both the 268469 and the Kurtz that are designed for the Swede's throat and groove. I also have the 327-180 GC and 326-200 Silhoutte that are set up for most all of the Mil-Surps.

In both calibers, I recommend you size to the fired case neck ID and throat. Accuracy will be greatly improved over simply sizing to 0.001 or 0.002 over groove. Because of the generous military chambers, it is also beneficial to use reformed brass so you gain case neck wall thickness. Most times the throats will easily accept a boolit 3-5+ thousandths over groove. A stock fired case will show it can fit a boolit several thousandths over what the throat can accept. Reformed brass will generate a thicker neck wall which will bring the fired neck ID more in line with the throat diameter. Finally, just neck size the once fired, reformed brass so you can center the body of the case in the chamber.

[mooman76]

I just noticed the other day they added a couple moulds to the list a Midsouth to include a 6c 22 bator.

[Dutchman]

I know, just the wuss range of 50 yards but 5 shots in one hole.

Lyman 266673 drops from the mold @ .266" body, .255" nose. Shot in a Carl Gustaf m/38 with 4-16x Tasco. This rifle has had 3,000 rds through it from me and at least 1,000 of those were 100 gr Hornady @ 3,000 fps. That this rifle can put 5 cast bullets into one hole at 50 yards surprised the heck out of me. This was the first time loading/shooting this bullet. 13.2 grs 2400 in a Swedish military primed case from 1963. Lee factory crimp. I put them through the Lyman 4500 .266" die to seat the gas check and lube with BAC beeswax-allox-carnuba. I love this lube.

http://images54.fotki.com/v202/photos/4/28344/8945429/020x-vi.jpg

http://images54.fotki.com/v1616/photos/4/28344/8945429/DSCF1959p-vi.jpg

http://images53.fotki.com/v52/photos/2/28344/1676633/DSCF2107cb-vi.jpg

I couldn't seat that bullet out far enough to touch the lands because the .255" nose diameter is slightly smaller than the land diameter and yet.... 5 shots into 1 hole @ 50 yds. I like 266469 but I don't cast it yet. These are purchased .266". I get very good accuracy with them @ 1,500 fps with 10.5 grs Unique. But I don't get one hole 5 shot groups @ 50 yds.

http://images28.fotki.com/v988/photos/2/28344/1676633/DSCF2109cb-vi.jpg

This 1908 Carl Gustaf m/96 has a like-new barrel. At the muzzle the bore gauges .255". The nose of Lyman 266673 just fits perfectly. But that's the muzzle. I gauged it with a pin gauge so it's accurate. We don't normally trust the bore disc numbers because we don't know how much the rifle's been shot since it was last inspected in Sweden. In many cases 1977-1989 were the last years they were inspected in storage. But this rifle came from the importer and the disc is marked 6.49mm which is .2555". Given groove depth of .005" which is typical you'd have .2655" or thereabouts. That's actually .0015" oversize from a nominal .264" groove barrel.

What diameter are Swedish military jacketed bullets? (hold on...)

m/94 156 gr round nose: .2634" body, 261" nose in front of the case line.
m/41 sniper 139 gr spitzer boattail: .2645" body, same whole bearing surface
120 gr copper commercial sp: 2639"
measured with Mitutoyo 1/10,000th micrometer

http://images56.fotki.com/v1600/photos/2/28344/6806565/DSCF1780k-vi.jpg

This is what 266469 .266" does in the same m/38 @ 50 yds. 10.5 grs Unique 1,500 fps. Not bad and I was real happy with it. But it's not 5 shots in one hole is it?

http://images41.fotki.com/v1580/photos/2/28344/157842/65x55140105Unique1b-vi.jpg

Right after that group I shot this one with the cruise missile .268" (purchased Gardner's Cache) 13.2 grs 2400. Darn near identical group except that it impacted 4 o'clock to the 10-11 o'clock for 266469. This was with a real nice old Tasco 3-12x32 clear & sharp scope. You can see a gnat walking across the bullseye at 50 yds. Front rest, rear sand bag.

http://images41.fotki.com/v1580/photos/2/28344/157842/65x551701382400ab-vi.jpg

So this thing about "oversize" Swede bores and they need fat boolits. Bah! Both these rifles above are MOA with at least one cast bullet and several j-types.

Not all m/96 are capable. Some are more accurate than others. I have one m/96 with a very visibly worn breech that will put five rounds of 266469 into 1 inch at 50 yds. Not touching and I don't think that's all that good, all things considered. But if I change out that barrel I'll section it, split it in two on the milling machine to show the breech end for 8 to 10 inches. I have another m/96 that throws cast bullets sideways at 25 yards. The throat is non existent. It's the most severely eroded Swedish rifle I've ever seen. But it didn't come from military storage. It came from a shooting club that shot the beejeebers out of it. The rest of the rifle is real nice but the barrel is toast.

Don't take to heart all the "gotta be a fat bullet" talk. Buy a sampling of cast bullets from various sources and load test samples. If you hit paydirt then stick with that bullet and load. That's pretty much what I'm doing. I load to the traditional mid-teens, 1,400-1,500 fps with pretty much all my rifles. I'm happy with that especially when I can get one hole 5 shot groups even if only at 50 yds.

I'd like to get 268469 in a 4 cav mold but is it going to shoot better than 266673? How in the world could it? And it's .266". And it's a regular ol' off the shelf Lyman mold. I got it from Mid-South 1 1/2 yrs ago and just cast with it last spring for the first time.

Dutch

[45 2.1]

So this thing about "oversize" Swede bores and they need fat boolits. Bah! Both these rifles above are MOA with at least one cast bullet and several j-types.

Don't take to heart all the "gotta be a fat bullet" talk. Buy a sampling of cast bullets from various sources and load test samples. If you hit paydirt then stick with that bullet and load. That's pretty much what I'm doing. I load to the traditional mid-teens, 1,400-1,500 fps with pretty much all my rifles. I'm happy with that especially when I can get one hole 5 shot groups even if only at 50 yds.

I'd like to get 268469 in a 4 cav mold but is it going to shoot better than 266673? How in the world could it? And it's .266". And it's a regular ol' off the shelf Lyman mold. I got it from Mid-South 1 1/2 yrs ago and just cast with it last spring for the first time.

Dutch

What your doing works fine at the velocity range your trying it in. Most everyone can do it there. Even an undersize 0.264" boolit can shoot very well there. Up the velocity 800 fps and your methodology will probably fail. Most everyone can't do it up there.

[Linstrum]

For the last ten years I have been using a dual cavity Saeco .264 140 grain mould for my two Carl Gustafs Swedish Mausers, one rifle is a m96 and the other is a m96/38, both with receivers dated in the early 1920s. I lapped one mould cavity out so it casts 0.2685" and the other cavity casts at 0.266", both with wheel weights. My two rifles have different groove diameters and each size boolit is about 0.001" over the groove diameter of its respective rifle. My "pet" load is 46 grains IMR 5010 with the 140 grain boolit, more than 46 grains of powder produces erratic results. I have also used 7.6 to 10 grains Red Dot with this boolit with good results.


rl857