I have a swedish m96 mauser in 6.5x55. It has a 24" barrel and I was thinking of cutting it down to about 17 ". Would there be any performance lost if I do this? Would I still be able to shoot out to 500 yds? Thanks guys for any input you can give me. Travis
- Thread starter rta308
- Start date
Build a short barrel 6.5x55 on a stevens 200 longaction.
Don't cut back that fine old warhorse, you will regret later.
Don't cut back that fine old warhorse, you will regret later.
Thanks for your thoughts guys,I appreciate them.
I'm more of a purist, so I'm always going to advise against cutting up a collectible firearm. However, I wouldn't do it from a performance standpoint, either. In the older Mauser actions, you can't load them as hot as you can with later/modern actions. So, you're limited form the start. To cut the barrel down by a foot is only going to make that problem even worse. That's not to say that it couldn't perform out to 500 yards, because it probably could, but the velocity/energy left at that point is going to be very low.
Maybe trade it for an M38 or a M38/96. Both have a shorter, 23 inch barrel.
When it comes to older Mauser actions(overlooking commercial/FN) the swedes are some of the better actions out there.
Cutting down the 6,5x55s barrel beyond 24 inches is just a waste of performance imo, it needs a longer barrel to run the higher velocities it thrives on.
Used to shoot this caliber a lot once, in European CISM, and it's a very capable long range round.
When it comes to pressure limits, they're proof tested to 66.000 PSI, and have a lot better safety mechanism then most newer low cost actions.
And considering they're commonly run in considerably higher pressure round then the 6.5x55 i would'nt worry too much about that.
Just use common sense if you do handload.
Cutting down the 6,5x55s barrel beyond 24 inches is just a waste of performance imo, it needs a longer barrel to run the higher velocities it thrives on.
Used to shoot this caliber a lot once, in European CISM, and it's a very capable long range round.
When it comes to pressure limits, they're proof tested to 66.000 PSI, and have a lot better safety mechanism then most newer low cost actions.
And considering they're commonly run in considerably higher pressure round then the 6.5x55 i would'nt worry too much about that.
Just use common sense if you do handload.
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I have that same beginning rifle that had been cut down to 16.5 and put in a custom made wood thumb hole stock. Great deer blind gun cuz its so short. Shoots good to 300 yards. Dont recall ever shooting it further than that. Been sitting in a safe for prob 15 years now, wasnt a big fan of that cock to close action.
Thanks guys for your input. I really like this gun and it seems to shoot pretty good so far. If I do my part it will usually put three shots in 3/4" at 100 yds. Been thinking about just putting a better trigger on it and shooting it. I'm going to leave the barrel at the 24" that it's at. As it has all matching numbers but it's already in a composite stock with a blind magazine. Have any of y'all ever done any trigger work on these?
I dropped a Huber 2-stage match trigger in my M1896 FSR (1903 receiver) and it shrunk the groups in half.
I am trying to get groups at 100 under 1.5" with open target sights.
I am trying to get groups at 100 under 1.5" with open target sights.
The actions are fairly easy to put a trigger on, but you need the sear engagement pin of the correct height, witch ai'nt the same on all,
fx the timney is delivered with two heights, due to the variance in Mauser actions designs you might need the higher one, can't say for sure as i've not had a M96.
And in worst case you might have to use a file to slightly touch one of the lugs for the sear engagement, to get the safety to work properly.
Also depending on the trigger you choose, and you're stock inlet, you might have to make a slight touch to the inlet.
Fx the huber should be pretty much a drop in, in a standard stock, wether a more traditional Timney takes up a bit more room due to it's housing.
The best trigger you get for Mausers if you want a 2 stage trigger, with low pull weights, for target shooting is the Bix'n Andy, but they're rather expensive, and will need a bit of stock inletting.
If you want illustrations go look at mausercentral, or surplus rifle forums, and you should be able to find some.
fx the timney is delivered with two heights, due to the variance in Mauser actions designs you might need the higher one, can't say for sure as i've not had a M96.
And in worst case you might have to use a file to slightly touch one of the lugs for the sear engagement, to get the safety to work properly.
Also depending on the trigger you choose, and you're stock inlet, you might have to make a slight touch to the inlet.
Fx the huber should be pretty much a drop in, in a standard stock, wether a more traditional Timney takes up a bit more room due to it's housing.
The best trigger you get for Mausers if you want a 2 stage trigger, with low pull weights, for target shooting is the Bix'n Andy, but they're rather expensive, and will need a bit of stock inletting.
If you want illustrations go look at mausercentral, or surplus rifle forums, and you should be able to find some.
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