6.5 Swedish mauser

[jerry p.]

Have any of you guys shot any of the light weight 6.5 bullets in your M96? I know it was made to shoot a 156gr. bullets, but I just picked one up and want to load light bullets for my kids to shoot Deer. Thank - Jerry

[lefty o]

ive always shot 140's in any mine. absolutely no issues with 140's, and ive heard enough people shooting 120-130 that it shouldnt be an issue, assuming the rifle itself is fine.

[Larry Gibson]

I've used the 120 gr bullets from Nosler, Speer and Sierra..... worked well on small and medium deer but are a bit to easily expanded for some shots on larger deer. I prefer the Hornady129 gr SP though as it is an excellent game bullet for deer in the 6.5x55. Haven't used the newer tipped bullets except the Nosler.

[Adam Helmer]

jerry,

My M96s like the 129 and 140 grain jacketed bullets with the proper powder charges. I have not yet casted 6.5MM boolits.

Adam

[Der Gebirgsjager]

140s are good....

[TNsailorman]

My Swede 96 did not like the 120's that I tried too well. Maybe should have worked more with them but gave up early as the 140's were shooting just fine with about any load I tried. I only tried a couple of loads with the 120 grain bullet but it did shoot decent with them. It was that the 140's were shooting so good , I just settled on them and never tried all that much with the other weights. I no longer have the 96 but I do have a Ruger Mark II in the 6.5x55 Swede. james

[jerry p.]

Thanks Guys. Jerry

[shadowjames]

i shot everything from 120 to 159 for any deer i would be fine shooting the 159 weight down to 140 large deer at 120 you have to chase or track farther if not a absolute perfect heart shot

[Budzilla 19]

140 grain Sierra Match Kings at about 2550? if I remember correctly. Hornady 160 grain RN Missiles!!! those things are fun! 1910 M96 unmodified barrel and trigger, H4350 and CCI 200 primers. Good to go. Just my opinions. Anything I ever shot with it went down in one shot, can't ask for anything better.

[curator]

jerryp:

One of the problems with "light" 6.5 bullets have shooting in the 6.5x55 Swede is the fact that they are .264" or even slightly under that. The groove diameter on military M96 mausers is usually .266+. This coupled with the Swede's rifling twist of 1 in 7.87" makes finding an accurate combination problematic particularly with boat tail bullets. I have found the Sierra "Pro-hunter" 120 grain soft-point, flat base bullet to be much more accurate than any 120 grain boat-tail bullet. I seat them out to just touch the rifling leade and use a moderately slow (IMR4350 or Reloder19) powder with a light crimp from a Lee collet crimping die. Recoil is minimal with excellent accuracy at about 2500-2600fps.

[koger]

I have a 96 Swede that I sporterized in 1985. I did load work up over 2+ years, went thru 8 powders, 4 primers, 6 different cases. I have a load for the 120 gr Sierra, that shoots under 1/2 MOA, out to 400 yds if I can do it. I started using thid 120 gr for deer hunting here in KY about 25 years ago, and never had any issues with it, most deer dropped at the shot out to 450 yds! I have a USA made 4x12 Burris on it, zeroed 3.5 inches high@100yds, dead on from 300-350, and I have played with this scope enough, so that I can turn it to 6x and place the target on the bottom duplex where it comes to a point, for 450-500 yds! I took my longest shot last year while recuperating from a hip replacement. I had ranged all corners and nooks of my neighbors field and a buck came out right in front of a tree I had ranged at 510 yds and started rubbing is face on a licking branch. I set the scope accordingly, and he was quartering away at the shot, hit him behind the ribs on the left side, took out the vitals, and blew the right front leg off at the knee, he went a few feet and died. Now I shoot in this field all summer and spring, coyote and ground hog hunting, and knew the range, and felt confident in my gun and load. I routinely hit chucks from 300-400 yds, and a deer is a much bigger target. Also, with my handloads I am running the 120 at 2990fps, with no pressure signs. If you want my load info, pm me. The powder used is IMR 3031. It was one of the most accurate, and checks out as 99% effficent on Qwik Load.

[Eddie Southgate]

I use 139 gr Lapua Scenars on paper with excellent results . I also use the Sierra Matchkings in 140 gr that work almost equally well . I own 9 Swedes including a m63 on a Husky action plus a Ruger carbine and haven't tried any bullets that I couldn't make work well but those two have always given best results .

PS: I really like RL22 in my Swedes .