Husqvarna 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser

[6pt-sika]

What do you guys use in your 6.5x55 Swedish Mausers ?
I'm thinking I wanna get my Hunsky shooting with a cast bullet load for deer .
Anyone have experience with the following ;
RCBS 6.5mm 140 grain GC FN
Lyman 266673
Saeco #264 6.5mm 140 gr Spitzer GC

[BD]

I use 140 grain Jumptraps over 13 grains of Unique to teach folks to shoot. Very accurate to 100 yards, hardly any report and almost no recoil. I use 120 grain Nosler Bts or 140 grain Speer hot points over WC852s to hunt, (either of the 4831s, or H1000, 4350, RL22 would work as well).

If you are primarily looking for a hobby, you could spend a lot of time getting a good RNFP to get to 2,000 fps or so in a Swede for hunting. Or, you could have a life, and also go hunting occasionally using condoms to do the damage.
BD

[upnorthwis]

I have the SAECO mold. Tried to lubrisize with .264 diameter sizer but the force was bending the boolits. Have since bought a .266 sizer that works a lot better. Have also finger lubed with good results. Use 20 gr. 4759. Before I came across actual 6.5 x 55 brass, would resize .257 Roberts, .260 Rem, or 7MM Mauser.

[koger]

I use the lyman 140gr mold you mention, will have to look up my data, been a while since I loaded any. I also use a 120gr jsp, Sierra for most of my deer hunting here in KY, from 30-500yds, have taken a bunch of deer cleanly in a 96 swede I sporterized/customized in 1985. When I ran a shop, in the good old days, I bought them by the crate, picked the unissued ones to build on for my customers. Have built way over 100 of them.PM me if interested in my loads.

[6pt-sika]

The gun already shoots well with the Hornady 129 SP bullet , but once I plunk a deer with that bullet I figured I would perhaps try to take one with cast bullets in the gun .

Five or so years ago I wouldn't have asked which worked best and rather just bought all three molds and found out for myself . Now I don't really wanna put the money into that many molds for just a single rifle .

[6pt-sika]

If you are primarily looking for a hobby, you could spend a lot of time getting a good RNFP to get to 2,000 fps or so in a Swede for hunting. Or, you could have a life, and also go hunting occasionally using condoms to do the damage.
BD

Dude I deer hunt from mid july until mid january .

I use alot of different rifles both cast and jacketed .

I have plenty guns for just killing a deer . I just thought I'd kill a deer with the Hornady bullet the Swede already shoots well then get one at a later date with cast .

I already did the hobby casting thing when I had two dozen lever guns for the 444 Marlin cartridge and about 40 molds !
That was a trip keeping everything in order when most of the rifles looked the same but I had a different bullet/load in each one !
To remedy that situation I had labels on each rifle with the bullet and powder charge .

[W.R.Buchanan]

6pt: Contact "Dutchman" here,,, he is the resident authority on these guns and this round in particular.

It is going to be difficult to get a Swede to shoot Cast really well as the twist rate in the barrels is very fast. As a result the speeds have to be kept down in the 14-1600 fps range. All of the 6.5 boolits are long skinny things that require a fast twist to stabilize. Pretty much everyone I know uses either 129 gr or 140 gr jacketed bullets in this caliber.

Do get as much info from the Dutchman as you can. he knows these guns really well.

Randy

[curator]

6pt-sika:

The Lyman, RCBS and Saeco moulds are all severely under size for good accuracy and velocity in the 6.5X55 Sweede mauser. Having pulled most of my remaining hair out trying what the "experts" on this and other sites recommended, I finally hit on Veral Smith of LBT who cut a bullet mould to match my particular rifle's throat. He advised a .267/140/sp-gc design using wheel weight alloy. I made a throat slug and sent it to him along with a check. He sent back a 2-cavity gas-check mould which I promptly cast several hundred boolits following his instructions for water-cool quench. Sizing/lubing, crimp-on gas checks at .2675, loading over 16-18 grains of Alliant 2400 or WC680 gave 1660 fps in both my M38 Husqvarna or my 1919 Carl Gustav M96 and 1.25, 5-shot groups from the bench at 100 yards from either rifle. I have harvested several one-shot kills on Florida deer with this combination despite the pointed configuration of the boolit. A larger meplat may get more expansion, but penetration and two wounds (pass-through) trumps expansion on most deer-size game animals. This boolit is absolute "murder" on feral hogs. possibly due to the added resistance from thick skin and grizzle. Accuracy quickly degrades once you push boolits past about 1800 fps due to the fast twist and the higher pressures needed to propel them.

[Dutchman]

266673 drops from the mold at .266". Lubed with White Lable BAC and 13.8 grs 2400 at 50 yds 5 rds into one hole. Best used in a rifle with a new or like new barrel. And this was fired from a m/38 with a scope. Why waste your time experimenting with anything else?


http://images58.fotki.com/v696/photos/2/28344/157842/020x2-vi.jpg

http://images41.fotki.com/v1580/photos/2/28344/157842/DSCF6637bb-vi.jpg

[richhodg66]

I have a rather decently sporterized Swede I haven't shot much yet, just factory ammo. I already had dies and the rifle presented itself (with a scope) for $180 out the door, I figured I couldn't afford not to.

I need to get the stuff to cast for it, too neat a rifle not to and Dutchman has me inspired now.

[6pt-sika]

[QUOTE=Dutchman;3013788]266673 drops from the mold at .266". Lubed with White Lable BAC and 13.8 grs 2400 at 50 yds 5 rds into one hole. Best used in a rifle with a new or like new barrel. And this was fired from a m/38 with a scope. Why waste your time experimenting with anything else?


http://images58.fotki.com/v696/photos/2/28344/157842/020x2-vi.jpg

http://images41.fotki.com/v1580/photos/2/28344/157842/DSCF6637bb-vi.jpg[/QUOTE/]. What kind of velocity did that load give you at or near the muzzle ?

[Dutchman]

What kind of velocity did that load give you at or near the muzzle ?

Can only estimate 1,500 fps.

The magic number.

Dutch