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6.5 Swede Resurgence?

Flycaster1977

Has anyone noticed demand for rifles in 6.5 swede going up? I own three and have been messing with the cartridge for a long time. Recently, a fair number of people i know have been asking a whole lot of questions about them. It seems that these folks are looking at the swede because they like the idea of the 6.5 CR, but want a little more punch. They mentioned that Rifles chambered in 6.5x55 are bringing higher money on gunbroker and that their local shops have sold out of any that were available.
I wonder if the popularity of the creed may be helping to spark new interest into the old swede.
 
I've seen most of the Swedes disappear from the shops. I think it's a convergence of several things, first it's a great cartridge and dedicated loaders see real potential in the rifle, second there seems to be a surge in collecting for that rifle, third the rush to buy anything that goes bang.

I have one and just can't find it in me to let go of it, mild shooting, accurate and I guess I'm attached to it.
 
Over here in the UK, we have a much greater and historically longer interest in 6.5mm, largely thanks to the 6.5X55mm. I got my first one some 25-30 years ago, a mint secondhand Parker-Hale M81 Classic. The M81 Classic is reckoned by many to be the best of the long run of 20th century P-H sporting rifles, and the 6.5X55 was one of its best chamberings for both UK deer species and general shooting.

Surplus Swedish Mauser military rifles aside (which are likely still our number one choice for Historic Arms competition shooting), there has long been significant use of the 6.5X55 in our deerstalking, and if anything interest and use have increased in recent years. The advent of the Creedmoor has sharpened that interest a bit, but neither increased nor diminished its use to any great extent. Factory ammunition is very widely available for the 6.5X55 here and this has been a significant factor in its popularity. The big loser has been 260 Remington, especially as factory ammo had become both scarce and expensive even before the Creedmoor arrived. 7mm-08 is probably overall another loser despite having a small base of ardent fans.

The other factor in all this here is the 6.5X47 Lapua which has carved a niche for itself as a multi-role number among those who handload. Most British deer species are on the small side and the 6.5X47L is more than adequate for them. The Creedmoor plus the steady move to compulsory use of non-lead bullets in field shooting may weaken its position however.
 
I know a few that lived with the 6.5x55 for some time.
Everyone is now shooting some form of the .284 Win.
It may be me but it seems the 6.5 bullet has dropped
off in popularity as of late. Going thru another cycle
I guess.....
 
Not long after having a nice Palma rifle built on a Nesika K action, I decided I didn't want to be limited to the 308 in the only custom prone rifle I owned, so bought a 6.5x55 match reamer from JGS, a Krieger 6.5mm 1-8tw medium Palma blank, and had a local gunsmith fit and chamber that bbl for the Nesika. I shot it in several any rifle 'Palma' matches, as well as in a few 3x600 any/any matches, and was very pleased with the accuracy with S142MKs loaded to around 2850fps.
Fast forward several years, after I'd bought my 1st lathe and started doing my own bbl work - after buying a BAT 3LL action, I did a couple of hvy Palma bbls for it - one in a straight 284, the 2nd in 6.5x55AI. The main reason for going to the Ackley Improved version was to get away from the need to trim cases after every firing, although I'm also able to push 140-142gr bullets to 2930fps with good accuracy & no signs of excess pressure.
 
Demand for any firearm has gone up!
At least here in the states.
When i was looking for a donor action for my 257 Roberts AI build i ended up buying a new rifle that was left over on clearance because it was less expensive than a used rifle. :oops:
 
In my opinion, the 6.5CM opened the door to the 6.5x55. I have told several guys about it as of late, and all but one have switched over. I have built over 100 riles in this caliber, in the last 37+ years of gunsmithing, some were unissued 96's that sold for $69 back in the early 90's and a several on 98 and Savage 110 actions. I just finished on for myself on a 110 that I trued up, put a Krieger 8 twist with a 6.5x55SE match chamber on it. I have only tried 2 loads so far. The first load is pushing a 123Sierra MK at 3200fps, coated in HBN and groups in the .2's. The second load is pushing a 142 Sierra MK coated in HBN at 2900fps, and shoots in the low.3's. My first rifle is one I built on a unissued 96 match rifle, that I bought in 1985, and have shot matches, killed over 40 deer, 700 woodchucks, and hundreds of crows with it and put thousands of rounds thru it, at max velocity with little wear. The last time I shot it to see how it would group at 300yds, it put 3 rounds of my deer hunting loads, into 1.045 of an inch. I like the swede much better overall than the 6.5cm
 
koger said:
In my opinion, the 6.5CM opened the door to the 6.5x55. I have told several guys about it as of late, and all but one have switched over. I have built over 100 riles in this caliber, in the last 37+ years of gunsmithing, some were unissued 96's that sold for $69 back in the early 90's and a several on 98 and Savage 110 actions. I just finished on for myself on a 110 that I trued up, put a Krieger 8 twist with a 6.5x55SE match chamber on it. I have only tried 2 loads so far. The first load is pushing a 123Sierra MK at 3200fps, coated in HBN and groups in the .2's. The second load is pushing a 142 Sierra MK coated in HBN at 2900fps, and shoots in the low.3's. My first rifle is one I built on a unissued 96 match rifle, that I bought in 1985, and have shot matches, killed over 40 deer, 700 woodchucks, and hundreds of crows with it and put thousands of rounds thru it, at max velocity with little wear. The last time I shot it to see how it would group at 300yds, it put 3 rounds of my deer hunting loads, into 1.045 of an inch. I like the swede much better overall than the 6.5cm
Click to expand...
Since the Swede has been around for a century + that can't be correct. Shooters are just finding out that the cm isn't the miracle cartridge everyone thought it was.
 
It's a great caliper - another example, such as the 257 Roberts, of a great caliber getting lost in the non-sensical world of introducing "new and better" cartridges with all the associated mythical hype.
 
For two similar performing cartridges, the Creedmoor's plus is its being designed for sensible bullet seating at a short-action overall length. Conversely, the 6.5X55's downside is the need for a long action, not to mention a 7,000 psi PMax 'deficit' even in the higher pressure European 'SE' version as rated by Europe's SAAMI equivalent, the CIP.

Despite looking considerably larger than the Creedmoor and 308 Win based numbers, the 6.5X55mm in standard form only offers a modest capacity increase, about enough to compensate for lower pressures. That should though give some benefit in barrel life compared to a hot-loaded 260 or Creedmoor, especially as the case capacity is now just enough to allow use of a couple of very cool burning powders, H1000, and (my favourite for the application) Viht N165. (It'll be interesting to see how much benefit the new 'high-energy' N565 provides with heavier bullets in 6.5X55.)

Of course, choose one of the several 'improved' variants around and run it it heavier than the SE's 55,000 psi and the 6,5X55 becomes a very potent match cartridge indeed with excellent precision / consistency.

I just like 6.5X55, perhaps because of its history, perhaps its looks, perhaps because I can still remember 40 + years on how impressed I was by my first time seeing and handling a mint surplus Swedish M1896 long rifle. (£55 back then!) I've loaded for and shot both 260 and 6.5 Creedmoor (still have a rifle in the former), but they don't do much for me 'emotionally'. No doubt about it though, I see many people putting in really good results on the ranges with 6.5 Creedmoor custom rifles taking full advantage of tough small primer brass and the latest generation of heavy low-drag match bullets. Nevertheless, when the barrel on my 7mm-08 Savage PTA based F-Class rifle is past it, it'll be a plain-Jane 6.5X55 barrel that will go back onto it from store, resuming its previous life of shooting 140gn Berger LRBTs at c. 2,850 fps over a case-full of N165.
 
I just picked up my first 6.5x55, been wanting one for some time. I’m debating have it chambered to an Ackley but I think I’ll leave it as is and see what it does first. VV N555 May be a good option in it, if not I’ll try some of the other standard options. Should be fun.
 
I bought my first 96 Swede about 6 years ago. I like the older military rifles and have collected a few shooters, not museum pieces. I liked the 96, so I found an M38 and had it drilled for a scope. It soon became one of my favorites. I’m finally moving forward with a 6.5-55 build I’ve been dreaming about for a while. I’ve collected a Stiller long action repeater and a Bartlien 8 twist barrel. The reamer’s on the way. I just saw Paul’s octagonal barrel job and thought it would be perfect for what I want to do. Now, I’m looking for a “retro” stock design and a nice blank.

Naknecker: see if you can find some H100V. It works great in my guns, shooting 120-140s.
 
nakneker said:
I just picked up my first 6.5x55, been wanting one for some time. I’m debating have it chambered to an Ackley but I think I’ll leave it as is and see what it does first. VV N555 May be a good option in it, if not I’ll try some of the other standard options. Should be fun.
Click to expand...
I am loading imr4350 and norma urp with 120 grn pills.
I use the european load data from normas site on the two newer rifles that i have.
 
joshb said:
I bought my first 96 Swede about 6 years ago. I like the older military rifles and have collected a few shooters, not museum pieces. I liked the 96, so I found an M38 and had it drilled for a scope. It soon became one of my favorites. I’m finally moving forward with a 6.5-55 build I’ve been dreaming about for a while. I’ve collected a Stiller long action repeater and a Bartlien 8 twist barrel. The reamer’s on the way. I just saw Paul’s octagonal barrel job and thought it would be perfect for what I want to do. Now, I’m looking for a “retro” stock design and a nice blank.

Naknecker: see if you can find some H100V. It works great in my guns, shooting 120-140s.
Click to expand...
Is the M38 made by Husqvarna, I think I’ve seen those in the past, a couple really clean ones that were very reasonable priced too.
 
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