Today I got to take a rifle to the range for the first time. It's a sporter based on a '98 Turkish Mauser with an aftermarket barrel in caliber 6.5x55 Swedish. This was a popular conversion years ago. I just had the parts for it laying around for many years, and finally got the time to put things together. As I was working on this rifle I researched this site for load data and information on the 6.5x55 cartridge. I found lots of valuable information posted by Dutchman, Larry Gibson, and many others. Based on what I learned I chose a load of 14.0 grains of 2400 with the Lyman # 266673 boolit. I used PPU brass with Winchester LR primers.
After I shot several informal targets sighting in and getting used to the rifle I shot the target that I posted here. This was shot at 50 yards. The lowest bullet hole in the group (I pulled that shot) I knew that I'd messed up the shot the moment that I sent it. That opened up a 10 shot group from 7/8" to a whopping 1". Not bad for the first time out of the gate. The boolits that I used were that "hybrid" style that I've been loading, where the driving bands are powder coated but the bore riding nose isn't. All the boolits had been gas checked, sized to .266" and swirl lubed in 45-45-10. A big thanks to all the members that posted their expertise on what works, and what doesn't, with cast loads in this caliber.