7.5x55 Swiss for Hunting

Did France just remove it's silly caliber restrictions? That's great news! As a fellow subject of the European Union, all signs of French politicians sobering up are good news!

edit: I can't see why the 7.5 Swiss would be a bad hunting round going after any critter on the European continent. I haven't shot a brown bear with one (yet), but I only use .308 Winchester for hunting, and from what I understand, the calibers are ballistically similar.

As far as I know, the 7.5 Swiss actually uses standard .308 bullets, so if you can get Norma brass for the cartridge, a handloader can use it without any problems.

Occasionally I see posted pictures of deer taken by hunters using the K31 rifle. They have purchased scope mounts so they can better aim in low light conditions. As a cartridge, during load testing I easily pushed a 0.308” 174 military bullet to velocities between 2550 and 2600 fps. This cartridge is in the same power class as a 308 and therefore is fine with any bullets for the 308, and of course, will perform the same as a 308 on game.

I conducted some load development for the 7.5 Swiss. I have never purchased Swiss ball, but a bud gave me a chance to shoot some across my screens.

AA4350 gave excellent accuracy and just about duplicates Ball velocities with 51.0 grains and a 168 Nosler Match bullet. As you can see 52.0 grains produced velocities over Ball, so I do not recommend that load. It is here for reference.

Instead of AA4350 I am shooting surplus WC852 in the 7.5 Swiss. This is a ball powder, and I purchased my lot from Jeff Barlett at GIBrass.com . It turns out Accurate Arms purchased a 90,000 pound lot of WC852, faster burning than Jeff’s lot, labeled as 2700. My lot of WC852 shoots extremely well, was dirt cheap, and I am using that up. But if I did not have the surplus powder, I would give IMR4350 or AA4350 a go as it shot very well.

7.5 x 55 Swiss Model K-31

AP11 Swiss Ball headstamp DA 78
24 Mar 04 T = 70 ° F


Ave Vel = 2565
Std Dev = 11
ES = 23
Low = 2551
High = 2574
N= 4

168 gr Nosler Match 51.0 gr AA4350 INDEP brass and primer OAL 2.850
22 Dec 01 T = 58 ° F
Ave Vel = 2536
Std Dev = 17
ES = 45
Low = 2510
High = 2555
N= 9


168 gr Nosler Match 52.0 gr AA4350 INDEP brass and primer OAL 2.850
22 Dec 01 T = 58 ° F
Ave Vel = 2624
Std Dev = 31
ES = 72
Low = 2588
High = 2660
N=5

I bought several boxes of Hornady 165 gr BTSP a long time ago. It grouped awesome 1.5 inches at 100 yds with my Swiss K 31 . I ve never hunted with it yet .

Privi makes softpoint ammo in 7.5 x 55. Can't remember if they're 165 or 174 grains.

I set up one of mine for hunting a few years ago. Scoped (Nikon 2 x 7) with a Swiss Products clamp on mount. My only complaint would be the scope made it difficult to pull back the cocking ring with gloves on. Could be a problem if you had to shoot in a hurry. I loaded up some Sierra 180 Pro Hunters with IMR4350.

I never got a shot so nothing to report.

7.5 swiss with a 180 grain bullet can push up to 2400 FPS(feet per second) assuming that you are using a military surplus rifle with a 30 inch barrel. with a shorter barrel the velocity may be reduced by as much as a couple hundred FPS depending on length. by comparison a 308 winchester with a 26 inch barrel is able to push a 180gr bullet about 2600 feet per second.

it would depend on what you are hunting. I don't know the size of game is in france but in america a 7.5 swiss would be more than sufficient for deer, hogs, black bear, and even limited application for elk, moose and grizzly bears(assuming that you could get within 150 meters of the animal).

I don't know if reloading is legal in france or not but if it is and you or someone you know reloads, a 180 grain speer deep curl bullet would have a higher ballistic coefficient than most available bullets for the 7.5 and would perform better over range.

I have a K31. Great rifle.

With Russian ammo however, I get an almost 20% light primer strike rate. Every range I've shot at banned "steel core" bullets by checking with a magnet (GP has a nickel jacket but its a waste of time to argue) or FMJ. I haven't had a chance to shoot the stockpile of GP11 I have. The only other Russian ammo I've shot was from a semi-auto AK clone, so its hard to tell if the Russian stuff is garbage since that gun shoots anything.

*Edit* The strikes look fine and the casings are not bulged which is why I don't think its the gun. Its also been cleaned numerous times.

Scrumbag said:

Yes axxxel, they have. Law here:

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affic...n=id&oldAction=rechTexte#JORFARTI000027792868

Only restricted calibres are:

a) Calibre 7,62 × 39
b) Calibre 5,56 × 45 (so .223 is out)
c) Calibre 5,45 × 39 Russe
d) Calibre 12,7 × 99 (Boar hunting with 50BMG...)
e) Calibre 14,5 × 114 (Guessing it would be difficult to get one of these swinging)

Otherwise .308Win, .30-06, 8 & 7 x 57, .303 Brit, 7.62x54r...

Where are you based Axxxel?

Everyone, thanks for the info and keep it coming! Really helpful stuff.

ATB,

Scrummy

Click to expand...

I'm from Sweden! I've never been to Switzerland but I've been reading a lot and it seems like a very cool country.

I use .308 Winchester for everything. There are many bullets to choose from for a handloader like me, and they are all less expensive than for example 7 mm bullets. In addition, there are many firearms to choose from; compact bolt action rifles with a short receiver and modern semi-autos with standardized magazines. Sure, I could get a smaller calibre for roe deer and a larger for brown bear, but in the end, mammals die when you shoot them in the lungs. In a worst case scenario I'll just shoot it again. Only having one caliber means I only have one kind of reloading tools, one kind of cartridge box, one single recipe for practice bullets and so on. I can also buy cheap surplus ammo when opportunities arise. Can't do that if you have rifles in .270 WSM and 9,3x74r.

Knowing that I could bring my Sako to France one day makes me even more satisfied to be a .308 owner.

I've never seen a K31 in real life but they look very nice in pictures. I'd love to see a straight pull hunting rifle made from steel and wood, instead of a plastic Blaser with a thousand small parts. Buy one and hunt with it!

Do many Swiss hunters go to France for hunting?

I hunt deer with 165 gr. Hornady 7.5x55 and it really works well. Better than 308 in my opinion. K31 sights and accuracy really help.

I took several deer with my K31 last season. It has supplanted my .30-06. The exit wounds are impressive. A darn fine round for deer. (soft points)