Smokey Joe
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2003
- Messages
- 2,617
Don't seem to mix well at all in my Bubba-ized Swede Mauser. (No comments on the Bubba-izing, please--it was that way when I got it.)
Want to take the Swede deer hunting this fall, so have been trying to work up a load it likes. Began by thoroughly cleaning the bbl. With a smaller diameter bullet than, say, a .30-'06, I decided to go with a high-grade bullet, and so went for a box of Barnes TSX's. Hmm, they don't come in 140 grain size in 6.5mm (supposedly the Swede's favorite bullet size) but they do come in a 130 grainer.
Took some doing to find a load for this--I wanted to use IMR 4350 as a propellant, as I have it and it works very well with everything else from .243 Win up to my '06. E-mailedBarnes. They are "developing the data" for their TSX's, they tell me, and can't advise on the 130 grainer in the Swede. But they'll be happy to sell me a copy of their new reloading manual--WHEN it is ready around the first of next year.
The Complete Reloading Manual for the 6.5x55 Swedish gives Barnes' loads for their other 130 grain bullets, so I went with that. Made up a series from the lightest charge listed to the heaviest, in 0.5 grain increments. (I normally do that when working up a load. Then when I find the load with the most promise in the 0.5 grain series, I make up a series in 0.1 grain increments, bracketing that most promising load.)
Anyhow, took 'em out to the range and shot 'em up, and found that the Swede's stock was touching the bbl, so as to interfere with vibration. Scratch that whole try.
Loaded up the same series again, and relieved the bbl on the Swede, and took rifle and ammo to the range today. Shot up 1/2 the series and quit in disgust. Whoopie, the best I could get was about a 4" group @ 100 yd. Trust me, I'm a better shot than that, especially on a bench, using a Wichita rest.
Now just for the heck of it, I'd also done up a similar series using 140 grain Sierra Game Kings. Different powder amounts, of course, since a heavier bullet, but in the same 0.5 grain steps. Shot half of that series today too. (Darkness interfered with the completion of the series.) Used the loads in Lyman's 48th edition for a 140 grain bullet. First load in the series, said by Lyman to be hitting an astounding 2100 fps, got me a 1 1/2" group. The other loads I shot from this series were worse, but most were tighter than the groups with the Barnes bullets.
One difference between the two series besides the bullets was that the Barnes series cases had been shot out of this rifle previous, and been neck-sized. The cases for the Sierra series were brand-new cases. In theory, that should aid the Barnes bullets in grouping better than the Sierras, but alas, I live in the real world, not in Theory.
Anyhow, I'm puzzled by what I've observed so far. Do Swedes not like Barnes bullets generally? Is there a hunting bullet they DO like? Is the phase of the moon wrong or just WHAT????
I'd like a tighter group than 1 1/2". I'd like a little more velocity, but accuracy is more important. Any helpful observations or suggestions would certainly be welcome!
Want to take the Swede deer hunting this fall, so have been trying to work up a load it likes. Began by thoroughly cleaning the bbl. With a smaller diameter bullet than, say, a .30-'06, I decided to go with a high-grade bullet, and so went for a box of Barnes TSX's. Hmm, they don't come in 140 grain size in 6.5mm (supposedly the Swede's favorite bullet size) but they do come in a 130 grainer.
Took some doing to find a load for this--I wanted to use IMR 4350 as a propellant, as I have it and it works very well with everything else from .243 Win up to my '06. E-mailedBarnes. They are "developing the data" for their TSX's, they tell me, and can't advise on the 130 grainer in the Swede. But they'll be happy to sell me a copy of their new reloading manual--WHEN it is ready around the first of next year.
The Complete Reloading Manual for the 6.5x55 Swedish gives Barnes' loads for their other 130 grain bullets, so I went with that. Made up a series from the lightest charge listed to the heaviest, in 0.5 grain increments. (I normally do that when working up a load. Then when I find the load with the most promise in the 0.5 grain series, I make up a series in 0.1 grain increments, bracketing that most promising load.)
Anyhow, took 'em out to the range and shot 'em up, and found that the Swede's stock was touching the bbl, so as to interfere with vibration. Scratch that whole try.
Loaded up the same series again, and relieved the bbl on the Swede, and took rifle and ammo to the range today. Shot up 1/2 the series and quit in disgust. Whoopie, the best I could get was about a 4" group @ 100 yd. Trust me, I'm a better shot than that, especially on a bench, using a Wichita rest.
Now just for the heck of it, I'd also done up a similar series using 140 grain Sierra Game Kings. Different powder amounts, of course, since a heavier bullet, but in the same 0.5 grain steps. Shot half of that series today too. (Darkness interfered with the completion of the series.) Used the loads in Lyman's 48th edition for a 140 grain bullet. First load in the series, said by Lyman to be hitting an astounding 2100 fps, got me a 1 1/2" group. The other loads I shot from this series were worse, but most were tighter than the groups with the Barnes bullets.
One difference between the two series besides the bullets was that the Barnes series cases had been shot out of this rifle previous, and been neck-sized. The cases for the Sierra series were brand-new cases. In theory, that should aid the Barnes bullets in grouping better than the Sierras, but alas, I live in the real world, not in Theory.
Anyhow, I'm puzzled by what I've observed so far. Do Swedes not like Barnes bullets generally? Is there a hunting bullet they DO like? Is the phase of the moon wrong or just WHAT????
I'd like a tighter group than 1 1/2". I'd like a little more velocity, but accuracy is more important. Any helpful observations or suggestions would certainly be welcome!
