6.5x55 Swede SE....true sub quarter minute rifle

[Hammer47]

Don't usually comment on accuracy from one of my rifles but I have recently completed a Swede SE and after 5 range trips the accuracy is truly amazing. I am a benchrest shooter and it takes a lot in the accuracy department to impress me. Groups are right at .500 at 300 yards and 1.25 inches at 600 yards in very light breeze and minimal mirage situations. Error is almost always in the horizontal and there is virtually no error in the vertical. This is with a dead on hold and do not compensate for any minor "felt" breezes. I always try to "shoot the lull". Vertical error at 600 yards stays at .750 or less, so the breeze is the culprit.

Rifle is a Kelbly Atlas singleshot long action with a 28 inch Krieger 8 twist barrel, old 3 lever Remington trigger I have had since Precious was a pup and a Kelbly 1M stock which I pillared , bedded and painted with an adjustable cheek riser and buttpad.

Glass is SWFA SS straight 16X with moa quad reticule. At $300 it is the best buy on this or any other planet. Can't say enough good things about this scope. I put 'em on everything.

Loading 39.5 [SAFE IN MY RIFLE BUT CANNOT RECOMMEND IT IN YOURS............that oughta cover it............. IMR 4064 with a SMK 140 grain bullet seated to one caliber depth in the case. Brass is Lapua, neck turned and all benchrest tricks applied. My Krieger 8 twist barrel is very long throated so I have no idea how close the bullet is to the lands. Have not cronographed the load but it is slow judging from the impact report time however with this accuracy I am not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If anyone can extrapolate this speed I would be appreciative.

I would like to thank this venue for convincing me to do this build. Dunno why the slower powders everyone else uses were very poor accuracy wise in my rifle but I am done with the search for the "accuracy load".

Many thanx guys.........................gary

 

[MLC]

Don't usually comment on accuracy from one of my rifles but I have recently completed a Swede SE and after 5 range trips the accuracy is truly amazing. I am a benchrest shooter and it takes a lot in the accuracy department to impress me. Groups are right at .500 at 300 yards and 1.25 inches at 600 yards in very light breeze and minimal mirage situations. Error is almost always in the horizontal and there is virtually no error in the vertical. This is with a dead on hold and do not compensate for any minor "felt" breezes. I always try to "shoot the lull". Vertical error at 600 yards stays at .750 or less, so the breeze is the culprit.

Rifle is a Kelbly Atlas singleshot long action with a 28 inch Krieger 8 twist barrel, old 3 lever Remington trigger I have had since Precious was a pup and a Kelbly 1M stock which I pillared , bedded and painted with an adjustable cheek riser and buttpad.

Glass is SWFA SS straight 16X with moa quad reticule. At $300 it is the best buy on this or any other planet. Can't say enough good things about this scope. I put 'em on everything.

Loading 39.5 [SAFE IN MY RIFLE BUT CANNOT RECOMMEND IT IN YOURS............that oughta cover it............. IMR 4064 with a SMK 140 grain bullet seated to one caliber depth in the case. Brass is Lapua, neck turned and all benchrest tricks applied. My Krieger 8 twist barrel is very long throated so I have no idea how close the bullet is to the lands. Have not cronographed the load but it is slow judging from the impact report time however with this accuracy I am not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If anyone can extrapolate this speed I would be appreciative.

I would like to thank this venue for convincing me to do this build. Dunno why the slower powders everyone else uses were very poor accuracy wise in my rifle but I am done with the search for the "accuracy load".

Many thanx guys.........................gary

4064 shot great with the old 160 Sierras in my 6.5x55 and boy did they plow through venison.

 

[Sheldon N]

If anyone can extrapolate this speed I would be appreciative.

Quickload predicts 2758fps at 53k PSI, assuming an OAL of 3.15".

 

[Rifletuner]

Those 6.5x55s do tend to shoot. Can you let us know how the brass holds up after multiple shootings? I will be interested to know how often you need to trim cases with that set up.

 

[RyanM]

I had a Swede that was a tack driver as well. I shot 140 Bergers over 48grs 4831SC - mid 2,800s speed wise.

It is a great cartridge, I kind of think of it as a "light magnum" especially if you were to AI it. I would think an 6.5X55AI would be able to get the 140s darn close to 3,000.

However, as @Longshot systems has asked - the brass needs a lot of trimming and I don't think you will get as many firings out of it in standard form as some other brass. The whole cartridge is tapered to aide in extraction and as you can imagine this leads to a lot of brass flow.

 

[Hammer47]

Brass is on the 7th firing. I anneal every other firing and trim every 4th, not that it needs much with this mild load. Measured case head expansion and it was only .0003 from virgin so this load is certainly non stressful to the rifle. Should get a lot of life out of this barrel. Primer pockets are like new.

 

[sav338lapua]

Wow love to see these posts on 6.5X55. Got my model 96 in 1983 and a gun smith friend of mine and I sportorized it and it's never let me down. Kept the barrel at 27.5" and mine loves any of the 4831 powders but I'm thinking of trying some of the newer powders. Reason being, I've been working with the 250 savage and found a great load with reloader 17 which was developed for short magnum cartridges. Well 40grs of it with a Berger 115gr match/hunter??
From a 26" barrel- 3056 FPS avg velocity!!! So I think it's time to look at the 6.5X55 too.

 

[Clearlight]

The SE is a cracker . Many moons ago I shot a local 500 meter BR comp , using a stock Tikka T3 x55
in a GRS stock , off an Atlas bipod, much to the disgust of the BR guys . I used factory Lapua ammo
loaded with 139 Scenar and won a few times . Best group was 1.8 with the factory ammo . That’s
ridiculously good for factory ammo .

When I started to handload for it though , the constant trimming was a drag , and the long freebore
in the Tikka sucked . Ended up at 46 of H4350 under a 140 Hybrid , jumping about 0.060 . Switched
to x47 though , and haven’t looked back .

EDIT : a custom x55 with less case taper , and less freebore would be a cracker , I think there is such
a thing , called a ‘ Swedemore ‘ ?

 

[Sheldon N]

EDIT : a custom x55 with less case taper , and less freebore would be a cracker , I think there is such a thing , called a ‘ Swedemore ‘ ?

Yep!

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/6-5-addiction-swedemoor.6309914/