[evan price]

I am loading 6.5x55 for my M38 Husky using the only brass I have (PMC which means pretty much crap). Load is a Hornady 129-gr SP and Varget.

My target is a "box" made of 1/8" plate steel. Using 35-grains I punched a splayed puckered hole in the first plate but would not go through the other side.

At 36-grains it would punch a perfect circle hole in the first plate and nearly blow through the other side.

At 37 grains it punched two perfectly circular holes in both 1/8" plates and then through two 2x4s behind the target.

Problem is the 36 grain loads had bright rings around the case heads. The 37 grain loads had a 90% case head separation. You could see a black line with gas leakage.

According to Hodgdon 37.5 grains is the max load. Why is it popping cases? My headspace is fine. Chamber is clean and good shape.

Just Pretty Much Crap brass? Which is the best brass to use in a Swede? Who has it at a good price?

[spencerhut]

The 37.5g Varget load is one of the higher pressure loads for the 6.5x55 at 51,000PSI. For that pressure you are getting perhaps 2650FPS from your 129g bullet.

Why are you concerned about piercing steel plates? What kind of armor plated animal are you hunting?:scrutiny:

I'd use some H4831 or H4350 with the 6.5x55 for the same velocity at a lower pressure.

How many times have you reloaded these cases?

[ftierson]

As mentioned, try H4831 or IMR4831, which are about optimal for the 6.5x55mm (especially when you get up around 140gr bullets)...

With bullets in the 120-130 gr range, you might try something like H414, too...

Forrest

[Jim Watson]

Your chamber headspace may be fine, what about your cartridge headspace?
Casehead separations sound more like setting the shoulder back too far in the sizing die than excessive loads.

[Jake in TX]

I agree with Jim Watson. How many times have you reloaded this brass? Always full length resized them?

Pick up some Wolf Gold ammo, and use that brass. It is made by Prvi Partizan of Serbia. I have a number of these (back when FMN was available). I'm using Alliant Reloder 22 and 140 grain bullets, and collet neck sizing, and have not had a separation yet.

Jake in TX

[lonniemike]

FWIW, I've some PMC brass from factory 139 grain SP on their 4th loading now and some(POS) PMC brass from factory 144?grain Target Loads. The target load brass(from it's first reloading) firing gave me one total case separation at my third pull of the trigger. Upon inspection of the first two fired brass cases, I could see incipient separation on both!!! I didn't shoot anymore of that batch of brass that day and later at the house I pulled apart 17 cases and found, with the old bent wire trick, 17 more cases with incipient separations-ringged and thinning on the inside of the cases. It's been a number of years ago, but I've still got the cases to remind me to always check any brass new or used, especially PMC brass. best-o-luck

[evan price]

This is the first reload of this brass. It was that Target Load brass. I full length resized them with a Lee die set.

I am shooting at a steel target only because my last firing of this rifle was at a similar target with swedish surplus ammo and PMC soft points and I want to duplicate that ammo load. I figure that if it can shoot through the same kind of stuff it is good to go.

[Curator]

evan,

If you are serious about reloading for your Husky, why struggle with junk? Buy some new-unfired brass from Lapua, or Winchester, or even Remington. Fireform the cases on the first firing with the bullet seated out far enough to give a little resistance when closing the bolt. This will insure that the case head will be held tight against the bolt face when fired, not driven forward by the firing pin. These cases when so fired will only expand in the forward section of the case (neck and shoulder). They will be perfectly fireformed for your rifle and its headspace. Get a Lee Collet die and only neck size your reloads. The cases will last for 15 or 20 loadings as long as you don't hot-rod them too much. Firing factory ammo to get brass for reloading is a lousy way to fireform new cases. Factory ammo has the minimum dimensions possible so cartridges chamber in every rifle out there. Military rifles usually have generous headspace so they function with any ammo that meets specifications. Combine the two and you get really short brass life unless you take the time and effort to fireform new cases to you specific rifle.

[USSR]

evan,

Like Jim said, have you checked your cartridge headspace? Do you have a tool for measuring how far you are bumping your shoulder back, or are you just screwing your FL die into your press and cranking em out?

Don

[SlamFire1]

As the others have said, you using case gages?

This web site is really useful for showing how to use case gages. I recommend looking at the pictures, and it explains the special case gages needed for the belted cartridges.

http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar46.htm

[Vern Humphrey]

Every rifle is a law unto itself, and one rifle may give pressure problems in a load that is perfectly safe with another, supposedly identical, rifle. That's why we start low and work up.

First of all, I only neck size for most rifle rounds. If I have problem closing the bolt after a few loadings, I nudge the shoulder. And, of course, I keep them trimmed -- a long neck can cause real pressure problems.

In my Husky (sporterized by Kimber), I like H414 (basically the same as WW 760), H4350, or H450.

[CZ57]

Very good point Vern. I'm only jumping in here because the 6.5 X 55mm is part of a three caliber conondrum for me. There is a relatively new powder that makes owning either a .260, 6.5 X 55mm or 7mm-08 a near necessity. Just slower than 414 or 760, Ramshot Hunter also has a unique characteristic, it is supposed to rival extruded propellants in temperature stability. Hunter is a very dense spherical that will meter exceptionally. It's nearly perfect in burn rate to mate to any of these three calibers. For 6.5 X 55mm I'd probably go with the CZ 550 and its twist rate of 1 in 8.6" which is slower than that used in SMs. And, I'd like to bump velocity to it's full potential, but nothing is really gained over the .260, except for the Swede's inherent accuracy potential. Just a few years ago, Ramshot didn't even give data for 7mm-08 with Hunter. I talked to their ballistician about it because it was my oppinion that Hunter might also have another benefit here, 100% load density. Evidently, he came around and a couple of years ago they started listing 7mm-08 loads with 160 and 175 gr. Bullets. If you contact them, they now have data for bullets down to 120 grains in 7mm-08. I need to add a new mid caliber and I just can't help thinking that I'll regret it if I don't go with the CZ 550 in 6.5 X 55mm, or maybe the 6.5 X .284 from their custom shop!;)

[evan price]

Just screwing the FL die into the press and cranking them out.
I assumed that the shoulder was set as a fixed distance from the base of the cartridge? Once the die bottoms out the shoulder should be set to right length, no?

[lonniemike]

Evan that would probably work most times without excess headspace. But I think a few people are trying to get you to get a case length gauge, measure shoulder lengths compared to chamber dimensions, and/or try to not push in the shoulder so far when resizing the cases.
Pitch-or hold for observation-your remaining Target Load cases. With a bent wire, bobby pin, etc, can you feel a ring forming inside your cases?
Speaking of resizing, instead of bottoming out your FL resizing die on the shell holder, try turning out your resizing die a turn or more until a fired case is resized so little it will not chamber in the rifle. Then turn the die down closer to the shell holder in little steps until the case will just chamber the case. Some people like a crush fit, some like an easy close on the bolt. When you find this setting it may be close to where you already were setting up before with the shell holder and die touching. Or maybe it will be much farther away, which might indicate that you had too much headspace.
I do think your TL cases a suspect after or even before the first(factory) firing. I've well over a thousand pieces, maybe two, of 6.5 brass. I load Lapua, Priv, CBC, PMC, and military brass none of it gives any problems exept for the Target Load brass. best-o-luck

[USSR]

Just screwing the FL die into the press and cranking them out.
I assumed that the shoulder was set as a fixed distance from the base of the cartridge? Once the die bottoms out the shoulder should be set to right length, no?

Evan,

No! By varying the distance from the bottom of your die to the top of your caseholder, you are also varying the amount the shoulder is bumped back. Bumping your shoulder back too far induces excessive headspace, hence your case head separation problem. Get yourself an RCBS Precision Mic or other tool, and set your FL dies up properly, and you won't have this problem.

Don