6.5x55 question

[Jose_Luis_G]

You don't say which powder. What barrel life did you get from your Pac-Nors in this chambering, please?

Sorry, I missed that. It is VihtaVuori N560.
I have one with 9,214 shots still in good shape, but I use it for training. Four grooves, 1 in 8" turn.
The other one is also Pac-Nor and today it is 2,235. Five grooves, 1 in 8" also. This is the one for competition.

 

[Laurie]

Thank you Jose_Luis_G. 2,000 plus and still healthy is pretty good going especially using N560. I'd always assumed somewhere around the 2,000 mark with full-pressure CIP 6.5X55mm SKAN (55,000 psi) loads on the basis of the cartridge size and powder burn falling between the 2,500 or so rounds of a hot loaded 260 and the 1,000-1,300 of the 6.5-284 when pressures are kept sensible.

6.5X55 Swedish Mauser (40,000-42,000 psi) loads should see barrels last nearly forever.

 

[Liven The Dream]

Just a Note on this bolt face size ! Win. brass has the smallest Dia.
I use win. brass in my Barnard Action std. bolt face, Not one trouble .
Norma or Laupa will not work . Just my 2 cents.
Still love the round at 1000 yards, New barrel for this year. 5R Obermeyer 32" .

H4831SC 142 Match Kings at 2890 + or -

 

[Rpbump]

I have a Bartlien barrel on a 98K action chambered in 6.5x55AI. So far SMK 142gr bullets have shot the best. I'm looking forward to traveling back to TX and testing accuracy at 600 to1,000yds. 2900 to 3050 fps using 4831SC with no pressure signs verified with a Magneto speed chronograph. Velocity around 2950 fps with the SMK's appears to be the most accurate load. I do use Lapua brass.

Rpbump

 

[RW]

I have a Bartlien barrel on a 98K action chambered in 6.5x55AI. So far SMK 142gr bullets have shot the best. I'm looking forward to traveling back to TX and testing accuracy at 600 to1,000yds. 2900 to 3050 fps using 4831SC with no pressure signs verified with a Magneto speed chronograph. Velocity around 2950 fps with the SMK's appears to be the most accurate load.

Rpbump

I shoot a 6.5x55ai and when I had it built on a rem 700 approximately 4 years ago and when it was chambered it would not shoot Lapua brass so I had it opened up and sako extractor. And to the OP that said brass is expensive It is the cheapest Lapua sells! RW

 

[P72]

My views are that the late 1800's 6.5X55 is sort of a funny odd ball cartridge because of its larger head and rim diameter than the standard .308. All sorts of weapons have been chambered for the 6.5X55 including the Browning Automatic Rifle. My bolt action rifles having a non-rotating extractor will handle the 6.5X55 in respect to rim/head diameter but there is no way my Rem 700 will accept the larger rim /head diameter and since this rifle works just fine with the Remington factory extractor why mess around with it.

The 6.5X55 falls between the short 6.5's like the Creedmore and .260 and the longer ones like the 6.5-06 requiring a long action. I know the ascetic properties of the 6.5-06 lag behind the 6.5X55 but I will always go for the 6.5-06 because of cheap abundant brass and somewhat higher velocities and the more sophisticated shape of the 6.5X55 round is wasted on me - when I want a 6.5 round that looks good I will shoot my 6.5X47 Lapua.

 

[Changeling]

My views are that the late 1800's 6.5X55 is sort of a funny odd ball cartridge because of its larger head and rim diameter than the standard .308. All sorts of weapons have been chambered for the 6.5X55 including the Browning Automatic Rifle. My bolt action rifles having a non-rotating extractor will handle the 6.5X55 in respect to rim/head diameter but there is no way my Rem 700 will accept the larger rim /head diameter and since this rifle works just fine with the Remington factory extractor why mess around with it.

The 6.5X55 falls between the short 6.5's like the Creedmore and .260 and the longer ones like the 6.5-06 requiring a long action. I know the ascetic properties of the 6.5-06 lag behind the 6.5X55 but I will always go for the 6.5-06 because of cheap abundant brass and somewhat higher velocities and the more sophisticated shape of the 6.5X55 round is wasted on me - when I want a 6.5 round that looks good I will shoot my 6.5X47 Lapua.

If the rim bothers you why don't you have a Smith open up the Remington bolt head a few thousands, the cost would be minimal since it is as simple as sharpening a pencil to a gun smith. Then you wouldn't have anything to moan about.

I find it fascinating that you seem to hate the 6.5 x 55 cartridge but evidently own some.

You seem intent on all your posts to downgrade what everyone says about just about any subject to the point you make yourself look like a fool.
I actually don't think you own any firearms, you are just one of those individuals that get their rocks off trying to manipulate conversations to make yourself sound informed, when in fact, to people who have expressed the "known" truth about things, you are an idiot !

 

[flatlander]

One of the first custom LR bbls I had chambered was a Krieger med Palma in 6.5x55 for my Nesika K Palma rifle. At the time, it never occurred to me that I might someday be able to afford more than one LR prone rifle, so I intended to shoot the 6.5x55 bbl in any/any matches, and switch back to the 308 for Palma. However, I found myself shooting a lot more any/any 600-1000yd matches than Palma, and so the 6.5x55 bbl got a lot more use. Eventually, when I got a lathe & started doing my own bbl work, I put together another LR prone rifle on a BAT 3LL in a Robertson H&H stock, for which I chambered two hvy Palma bbls - a Bartlein in 6.5x55AI, and a Krieger in 284. Eventually, I had to send the bolt back to BAT to have them make a slight modification to the extractor to work better with the 6.5x55AI bbl - IIRC, it seems that they cut the extractor face back just a few thou to allow it to slip over 6.5x55 rims more consistently. It worked, and still works just fine with the 284 bbl. I liked the AI version a lot - not so much because I could get a little more velocity out of it, but because I no longer had to trim cases every other firing. I pulled the old 6.5x55 bbl off the Nesika and set it back a thread, then ran the AI reamer into it. Also built myself a LR tactical rlfle in 6.5x55AI on a LA M700 in a McM A3-5 stock, using a 26" Bartlein 1-8.5tw in Rem varmint/sendero contour. It was a very good shooter, but then a customer latched onto it and bought it. So now I'm waiting on a Bighorn TL2-LA action so I can replace the M700 with a new 6.5x55AI.

 

[Laurie]

What did you do for 6.5X55AI dies Dennis?

 

[JRS]

RCBS and Redding make the dies, possibly others. I have a BJAI chambering, and had mine made by Al Warner. He also used my chambering reamer to modify my bullet seating die.

 

[LHSmith]

RCBS and Redding make the dies, possibly others.

RCBS nor Redding catalogs this caliber. They used to make custom dies, but they stopped years ago. Even if they start making them again, it would be much cheaper and quicker to have Whidden make them.

 

[JRS]

I stand corrected. HDS had three RCBS 2 die sets listed recently, but have since been sold. I wasn't aware that Redding no longer lists them as "custom". Hornady will make them from a reamer drawing.

 

[flatlander]

What did you do for 6.5X55AI dies Dennis?

Laurie, I sent three fired cases & reamer print to Hornady and had them make me a FL size die - results with it have been excellent. Used my 6.5x55AI finishing reamer on a spare 6.5 seater sleeve for my Forster Ultra Mic seater. If I were starting over today, I'd probably go with a Whidden die set, or at least get his bushing FL sizer, then modify the sliding seater sleeve of a Forster Ultra Mic as I've already done.

 

[wbm]

No trouble finding dies for the Swede.

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/Dept/Reloading/Dies/6-Point-5-X-55-Mauser

 

[Barlow]

I don't know if it's still true, but I read sometime back the 6.5x55 was the most handloaded cartridge in the world. It's a gem! Barlow

 

[Will Henry]

The good, bad, and ugly,
It's all good, there ain't no bad, and it ain't ugly. My first serious "F" class rifle was one I built about eighteen years ago in 6.5x55 and this cartridge is still my first choice for an F/O rifle. It's easy and it's effective. WH