6.5x55 Swede Ammunition Questions.

Agsalaska,

If you can find a few boxes of the 140gr Privi give it a try and see how it does in your rifle.

I picked up a 6.5 quite a few years back for my daughter to use, and after MANY rounds looking for a load that would shoot within a golf ball sized group, I finally hit one that she shot until a couple of years back. I picked up a dozen boxes of the Privi on sale figuring it would be great cheap ammo for hogs. Turns out it has been the most accurate ammo I have ever put through the rifle.

When had it out for the first time, I zeroed the scope with it at 100yds, then shot three rounds after it cooled off. All three could easily be covered with a dime. then I gave up the chair to my then 8yr old grandson who also fired three rounds, followed by my daughter who finished up with three herself. When we walked out to the target I could have covered all 9 rounds with a quarter easily. Not too much else to say on the accuracy when you have three different shooters all put them together like that, especially when one is an 8yr old. Well to be fair he isn't/wasn't the average 8yr old, as he has been shooting since just after his 3rd birthday.

Anyway the point is give it a try. We have since dropped quite a few hogs up to around 250# and several nice sized E.TX deer all with one shot stops.

My favorite load is a 120 grain ballistic tip with 44.9 grains of IMR 4350. I use it for both varmints and deer. I am NOT recommending this only stating that I have used it with great success. (my disclaimer) Work up loads slowly and carefully.

The factory loads in many brands at 139 grains are also great. I prefer Winchester in the Silver boxes. Hard to come by these days.

While I love Norma ammo it is $uper expen$ive.

I have used the Winchester Featherlight, Winchester Sporter, Sako Model 85, and Sako Finnlight in this caliber. The Sporter being the tops they are all accurate. Being older now the Finnlight is my hunting companion.

I have some of the 165 round nosed bullets by Norma but have never used them.

4350 is great for 120s, so is RL19, first deer I ever killed with a handload was IMR 4350 pushing a 120gr Ballistic Tip

Hokkmike said:

My favorite load is a 120 grain ballistic tip with 44.9 grains of IMR 4350. I use it for both varmints and deer. I am NOT recommending this only stating that I have used it with great success. (my disclaimer) Work up loads slowly and carefully.

The factory loads in many brands at 139 grains are also great. I prefer Winchester in the Silver boxes. Hard to come by these days.

While I love Norma ammo it is $uper expen$ive.

I have used the Winchester Featherlight, Winchester Sporter, Sako Model 85, and Sako Finnlight in this caliber. The Sporter being the tops they are all accurate. Being older now the Finnlight is my hunting companion.

I have some of the 165 round nosed bullets by Norma but have never used them.

Click to expand...

I'll take those 165s off your hands if you aren't using them!

Fella's;

Well, since we're now swapping load information, here's what I worked up:

140 gr Sierra Gamekings #1730, Winchester brass, CCI primer, 52.6 grains of Ramshot Magnum. This is not suggested for anything but modern actions, if you try this, work it up careully please. With that disclaimer, I'm getting 2700 - 2750 fps temperature dependant. The S/D is low double digit, and the accuracy is there.

The gun is a modified Tikka left hand bolt with a custom recoil lug. The barrel is a Lilja 22". All the action work & barrel fitting was done by Dave Young in Tracy Montana. The stock was done by Rob Smith and the checkering by Tom Stevens. Zeiss made the scope, it's a 3.5-10X mil-dot in Talley rings. Dennis Earhardt in Helena blued all the metal to match the Zeiss & did an excellent job, but then he is an acknowledged world-class smith.

This gun will consistently produce .5 three shot groups from a cold barrel. The absolute best it's ever done is a .261".

900F

SGKs shoot good in mine, but 45.5gr of RL 19 and a 129gr SST shoots one hole at 100 yards, and my favorite hunting load is 46.5gr of RL22, PPU brass, a CCI primer and a 140gr SST, very accurate at 100yd AND hella powerful out to 500 yards. Mine likes them at 2.950" same length I load Ballistic Tips and Deep Curls to.