New to me--Swedish 6.5 x 55mm

[tejano]

Made in 1943 by Husqvarna. Got it yesterday evening. I have a box and a half of 100 gr. Nosler BT's left over from when I owned a 260 Remington a decade ago. Going to shoot them first and then go to cast boolits.

I am not yet a caster so I usually buy from Montana Bullet Works. They sell 140 gr. Lyman 266469 RN_GC and 140 gr. RCBS 57904 FN_GC. At the risk of starting another "spirited,","nasty," or "contentious" thread regarding the 6.5 Swede, does anyone have experience with either of these bullets that they are willing to share with this novice?


:D

[StarMetal]

Made in 1943 by Husqvarna. Got it yesterday evening. I have a box and a half of 100 gr. Nosler BT's left over from when I owned a 260 Remington a decade ago. Going to shoot them first and then go to cast boolits.

I am not yet a caster so I usually buy from Montana Bullet Works. They sell 140 gr. Lyman 266469 RN_GC and 140 gr. RCBS 57904 FN_GC. At the risk of starting another "spirited,","nasty," or "contentious" thread regarding the 6.5 Swede, does anyone have experience with either of these bullets that they are willing to share with this novice?


:D

tejano, First of that is a very nice looking rifle. Stay away from the Lyman mould as Lyman has gone crazy and cutting most their moulds undersized. I recently got a 266469 for another 6.5 caliber rifle and the first mould barely made .264 bullets. Sent it back and then mailed me a new one and it barely over .265. The Swede needs a fat bullet to feel the throat, but the groove on the Swede needs it too. I can't vouch for the RCBS as I don't have one.

There may be a few new moulds becoming available for 6.5 caliber so keep your eyes open on the group buys.

Joe

[Uncle Grinch]

Tejano,

I have the RCBS 6.5-140-FNGC mould and used it for years in my M38 Swede with very good success. I found that sizing my boolits to .267 helps. (I honed my .266 sizer out).

Good luck! Swedes are habit forming.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

That looks a lot like my M38 which is also a Huskvarna. If you use casts, then the. correct weight is 140 grains. There are a number of powders that will work well, but an important point to remember is that the MV must be kept relatively low... 1500-1600 fps because of the fast twist. Otherwise the accuracy goes downhill. I use the RCBS 140 grain special order version which casts at .266-.267 for me with WW. Its too bad about Lyman as their 469 is a good bullet, but they have gone to the dogs recently with quality control. A few loads that work very well for me are; IMR 4198-16 grains, IMR 4227-16 grains and IMR 4895-19 to 20 grains. As you probably already have noticed, there is no adjustment for windage on the rear sight so any necessary correction for it has to be made on the front sight. Its a pain. If you get tired of that there is a replacement sight made by a "Mojo" Co. that sells thru Midway for around $60. Good shooting. LLS

[Dutchman]

Nice rifle, even though I don't get the warm fuzzies from Husqvarna Swedes.

I've shot a bunch of the Lyman 140 gr Loverin .266" and they shot under MOA with 10.5 grs Unique @ 1,500 fps. Couldn't be happier with that bullet. Though the ones I just finished up were purchased. I do have a new 2 cavity Lyman and 2 cavity 150 gr Lyman that I haven't tried yet as well as the 170 gr Lee cruise missile in 2 cavity.

100 gr j-type bullets will reach 3,000 fps and shoot very flat though they won't give MOA (or 2 MOA) accuracy they will slam coyotes at 300 yds like they got hit with a Mack truck. Shot maybe 1,000 rds of Winchester and Hornady 100 gr long ago through my Carl Gustaf m/38.

FYI the lightest j-bullet is the Norma 77 gr. Don't think Norma makes it anymore but I've been sitting on a box. Sierra 87 gr HP are pretty neat but don't overdo it. In the 70s (1970s) the 85 gr HP were constructed of a thinner jacket material and when driven really fast would disintegrate into thin air out about 50-75 yards. You'd see a puff of dust and no bullet impact. Took me a while to figure out what was happening with that one (excessive rotational rpm). So I switched to the 100 gr SP. In j-type bullets I'm a big fan of the Hornady 160 gr round nose as it approximates the original 156 gr. RN m/94 bullet. Then the m/41 came along as a special purpose 139 gr sniper bullet and it became the standard from then on. But the 160 gr is very impressive at everything.

Powders I'm using: Unique, Swedish military gallery powder (pull down), 2400, SR4759 and Rx7. All for cast. For j-type stick with Re22 and IMR4831. The 6.5x55 loves slow powders. Of all those Unique whoopsass on them all for accuracy (and the Swede gallery powder are equal). I don't particularly feel the need to keep trying with the 140 gr Loverin when they do this for me:

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

And the Lee 170gr .267" with 13.8 grs 2400. I'll do as suggested and shoot this one at 100 yds to see if these bullets straighten out as they're tipping a wee bit. But dang accurate for an unstable bullet.

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

Dutch
http://dutchman.rebooty.com
Swedish Mausers & rolling blocks

[carpetman]

Did I hear something about if you want to shoot cast at real high velocity the 6.5X55 is the one to get? Something about the RPM's makes them the choice.

[Bret4207]

Re 22 is THE 6.5x55-140 gr jacketed powder from what I've seen. Just fantastic!

[tejano]

Thanks for the tips guys! [smilie=2:

[9.3X62AL]

Nice-looking rifle, Tejano!

My 6.5 x 55 Swedish is in a Ruger 77R, and this caliber is one of a very few that I haven't shot cast boolits with. It has been LIGHTS-OUT accurate with every 140 grain j-word I've tried in it, and today I'm heading out to the desert to try a sight-in with Barnes TTSX 120s. That way, I can Save The Condors while trying to collect a buck. The Ruger has a bit slower twist rate than the milsurp Swedes (1-9", I think), but it is an altogether efficient game caliber that recoils gently and hits hard.

[scrapcan]

you will enjoy that rifle a lot. shooting cast will help help you be humble also. Slug the end of chambe rand the bore to get the dimensions you need.

[Uncle Grinch]

Tejano,

I have the RCBS 6.5-140-FNGC mould and used it for years in my M38 Swede with very good success. I found that sizing my boolits to .267 helps. (I honed my .266 sizer out).

Good luck! Swedes are habit forming.

BTW... my avatar is a Swede Husqvarna 6.5x55 on a 98 action.

[dubber123]

You may get lucky with the "469" Lyman mould if you get an older one. I bought one off a member here, and to my delight, it casts at .268".