6.5 by 55

[mrmiskin]

hello all,
I am asking for your opinion on a few things. First the 6.5 by 55 Swede as a hunting cartridge which is not going to see anything larger than a deer or the occasional hog. I have a 30-06 a 7mm mag and a 270 and the 270 is mostly for my son. He can handle the 270 but the 30-06 kicks a little hard and the 7mm is out of the question. I have read in a previous post that the 6.5 by 55 has the kick of a 243 and quite a bit of knockdown power.
secondly for Rocky and anyone else who cars to weigh in bullberry barrels, Rocky I read your article and see where they make a 6.5 by 55 for the tc encore. seems like you were pretty impressed. tried to get them on the web but my company has a web blocker that wont let us get any hunting sites. i know pretty unamerican but what can i say. the only reason i get on huntchat while i am at work is that i work on an offshore oil rig called the hunter so they cant block you guys. also i know from experience that a heavier gun kicks less and was wondering since the 270 he uses is on an encore with a synthitic stock would getting one of the laminate stocks and fore ends be of any value. i like the synthetic just because of the low maintenance and the lack of tears when you drop it and ding it up. any how thanks for the time and keep up the good work. OOPs almost forgot how are supplies like bullets and cases available for the 6.5 for handloading. i now handload everything i own, yes i have the fever. you know when i got that 270 barrel i went to wal- mart and got some ammo, remington core lok and took them home to sight her in. fired 12 shots and had 7 misfires. was striking the primer just as hard as the ones that went off but nothing. i couldnt believe it

[jplonghunter]

mrmiskin

I have 6.5 x 55 built on 1910 Mexican Mauser action and in a word (superb).Low recoil,can load from 85 to 165 grain bullets,will perform out to 300 yds.,and would not hesitate to hunt most north american big game.
Also have Arisaka and Swede in 6.5 x 55 and reccommend it to all who ask.
Good luck and if we can help just holler.

jplonghunter

[gumpokc]

6.5x55 is a very overlooked cartridge.

I have yet to do any serious hunting with mine ( only coyotes and some varmitting so far) but i would not have any problem using it for anything from elk on down.

[Ol` Joe]

The 6.5x55 has been killing game from moose down to varmites for the last 100+ years. It is a great little cartridge for deer and as you have heard recoil is light enough for all but the most sensitive shoulder. The Swede is noted for being a very accurate cartridge and is widely used for targets in Europe along with hunting. Components are easy to find, the 6.5 bullet is available any where I`ve found loading components in wgts from 85gr - 160 gr, and brass is becoming more and more common. Remington, Federal, Hornady, Winchester and Norma all offer loaded ammo if you desire.

BTW I have been useing the 260 Remington, a American clone of the Swede ballisticly, on whitetail for the last 7-8 years and leave my 7-08 and `06 in the safe during season anymore. The little 129 gr Hornady SPs` I load drop deer like lighting.

[Contenderizer]

mrmiskin

First, I must agree with the others, the 6-1/2 Swede is a great round. Low recoil, flat shooting, and, with the proper bullet, it will take about any North American game.

I am a little surprized that your son likes the 270, but finds the 30-06 to kick a little too much - given that the 270 is nothing more than a 30-06 necked-down. When firing the same weight bullet the recoil should be very similar. It may be a mental thing, or, as you mentioned, the gun itself might be the factor.

Yes, brass, etc is available and reasonably priced for the Swede. Here is a suggestion, though. If your son is comfortable with the 270 barrel on the Contender, why not stick with it? For deer and hogs the 270 will perform just as well as the Swede and you won't need to invest in a new barrel and dies. If you are trying to reduce recoil a little, take the gun in and have a Limb Saver (or something similar) installed. At the same time, you could have the length of pull adjusted for the little guy.

I doubt that changing to a wooden butt-stock and fore-stock will add enough weight to make any difference. Spend the money on the Limb Saver.

[skb2706]

Bullberry makes a great barrel and they are very accurate. But if you really want one I would plan on ordering 7-9 months before you actually need it. Fred is good.....Fred is not fast.

[Rocky Raab]

Sorry to catch this thread so late. But what the guys said is spot on.

It's one of the cartridges I've always wanted to play with, and the few that I've fired were as pleasant as can be. If your son gets one, you'll never touch it again, LOL!

Big yuppers on Fred being good but slow - and slower every day now that one of his competitors went away and Bullberry orders almost doubled!

[razmuz]

I love the 6.5X55 and have two of them. For elk & deer you need nothing larger. However, if I were buying today I'd get the Rem. 260. Why?, because of the shorter cartridge length.

[Minihuntur]

O.K. so I cant say much about the 6.5 but I've heard that it is just as good as what the others said. The real reason I replied was to ask what kind of 7mm are you using. Again I have not shot one but a buddy of mine said that the 7mm Remington Mag has more punch than a 30/06 but less recoil. Is he right?
Minihuntur

[Jack]

"......buddy of mine said that the 7mm Remington Mag has more punch than a 30/06 but less recoil. Is he right? "
In my experience, no, he's not.
I would rate the recoil of the 7mm Remington magnum as similar to the 30-06, or slightly more, depending on what bullet weight each rifle is using.
The 6.5x55 is an excellent low recoil cartridge.
If you want a 7mm, the one you want is the 7x57 or the 7mm-08. Both are relatively low recoil cartridges that are extremely effective- similar to the 6.5x55.

[Ol` Joe]

Again I have not shot one but a buddy of mine said that the 7mm Remington Mag has more punch than a 30/06 but less recoil. Is he right?

Recoil is the result of wgt (bullet + powder) and velocity, caliber has nothing to do with it. A bullet of a given wgt driven at a given speed from any equal wgt rifle will recoil with very close to the same force. A 7mm Mag with a 150 gr bullet will recoil more the a 30-06 with the same wgt bullet due to more powder wgt in the formula and a added 150 or so fps.
The 270 with a 150 gr bullet at 2900 fps recoils the same as a `06 with 150 gr bullets at 2900 fps in same wgt rifles..................I think I`ll quit before I confuse myself:D

[Contenderizer]

Ol' Joe is dead-on in his discription of recoil. The only thing I might add is that the weight of the gun changes "perceived recoil." In his example above with the 150 gr bullet... if the 270 were a heavier gun, it may SEEM to the shooter that recoil is about the same as the 30-06.

[Andy L]

If your son gets one, you'll never touch it again, LOL!

Boy Howdy!! I bought my son one in a CZ 550 American. I fell in love with it, but he wont turn loose of it for dad to shoot very often. LOL

I did steal it to go elk hunting. Its impressed me enough that my 300 Win and my 25-06AI have taken a backseat, bigtime. Its just a pleasure to shoot and was accurate right out of the box. Cant beat it, IMHO.

[RUMLUVER]

My dad is a huge fan of 6.5x55. He can't say enough how much he likes this caliber. So for a present this year I had one built for him I will be picking it up from the gunsmith soon. He said he has not seen a better kill delivered on deer with any other caliber than with the 6.5x55. I just hope he likes the I had done for him.

[Brithunter]

Originally posted by razmuz
I love the 6.5X55 and have two of them. For elk & deer you need nothing larger. However, if I were buying today I'd get the Rem. 260. Why?, because of the shorter cartridge length.

Errrrrrrr having a cartridge shorter by 0.197" is going to help how? :confused:

Sorry but I cannot understand the hype with short actions and short cartridges :( just how long does it take to move a bolt 5mm (0.197") Heck if short actiosn was the be all and end all then the Ruger No1 and other falling/dropping block actions would rule. Failing that you need to look closely at the old Mauser Model 66 which was designed by Walter Gehmann and has a telesopic bolt.