6.5x55 reloading question

[samuelcmm]

Im reloading for a 6.5 swedish mauser and I was wanting to know what the best powder is i currently am using imi 4350 but was wondering if there was a better one the bullets i am using are sierra match king BTHP 140 grain and 41.8grs of powder just seaching around any sugestions would be good and if you dont mind what you have found to be the best load

 

[rcmodel]

Lyman #49 shows a MAX charge of 36.5 grains IMR-4895 with that bullet as potentially most accurate.

I haven't tried it, so I can't say.

rc

 

[ojibweindian]

I use RL19 under a 140 grain Interlock, touched off by a WLR primer. I'm getting 1.02" @ 100 yards, on average.

 

[samuelcmm]

Sorry I hit the wrong number its soposed to be 40.8 and hodgdon data charts recommend 41 grains with a max of 45 I wouldn't go pas 42 but thats just me.

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

Youll have to select rifle then 6.5x55 then imr 4350, 140gr bullet


and anyone know much about Vihtavuori n160 ive had a few people recommend it

 

[USSR]

If you are shooting LR, I believe the 139gr Lapua Scenar and 142gr Sierra MatchKing are better bullets. I have always used slightly slower powders with mine: RL22 and N160.

Don

 

[george d dennis]

i use 140gr sierra bullet and 34.0grs of imr 4895 with a cci primer.

 

[8mmman]

Powder for 6.5x55

I've shot a lot of 6.5 swed over the years and found SLOW powders work best. Like 4831

 

[Shinbone]

I have a 6.5 x 57 and 4064 seems the most accurate with a hollow point boat tail.

 

[Ol` Joe]

I like R22 followed by H4831. The Swede likes it slow

 

[NCsmitty]

In my '41 Husky, 43gr of H4350 under 140gr Rem, or Hornady. In my M98 rebarrel, Rel-22 provides the push at a bit higher pressure in Lapua brass.


NCsmitty

 

[41 Mag]

Similar to others I found that RL-19 and RL-22 did the best in my daughters 6.5x55. I used the Hornady 140gr A-Max as it was the only bullet at the time that we actually got a group out of rather than a pattern. The throat is so long in hers I can set a 160gr atop of the case and close the bolt without touching the lands. The longer A-Max simply did the trick. WE kept the velocity down to around 2650 on the top end as it's a older mil-surp.

I will add this, year before last, I got a pretty decent deal on some of the Privi 140gr SP's. I picked up 10 boxes simply to shoot hogs with. We sat down to try them out one afternoon and they shot a one hole group at 100yds, actually the best group ever fired by this rifle. Even the grandson being 7 at the time shot a nice 3 shot clover leaf. Since then thats all we have even bothered with. Several hogs and deer later, I will most likely get some more when we run out f these.

 

[ProfessrH]

I'm a fairly new reloader (started over the summer) and while I've had great results with my K31, and to a lesser extent with my CZ vz24, my Swede is giving me a devil of a time. I started out using H4350 and got crazy results: powder charges that were good in August were giving pressure signs (stiff bolt opening) in November; and sometimes I had sooty cases and stiff bolts in the same batch. Note: I measure powder carefully. Anyway, from H4350 I went to IMR4895 (liked what I saw in the Lyman manual) and found a load that shot nice on one range trip but (again same batch) delivered sooty cases the next time out. The rifle (an M96 cut down to m38 length and scoped) loves Hornady 140 grain factory ammo, but I don't want to go back to having other people make my ammo for me. From what I'm reading here, it sounds like I went the wrong way--IMR4895 is faster than H4350, but I probably needed to go slower. I'll try RL22 or H4831 next, but I'd be delighted to hear from others with similar experiences (especially if they also have solutions and/or explanations).

Thanks in advance!

 

[NCsmitty]

Welcome to THR, ProfessrH.

I have to ask if you're using mixed head stamped cases. Domestic cases like Remington and Federal run undersize as a rule, where the European cases like Prvi-Partizan (PPU), Norma and Lapua run close to true size because the Swede chamber and case requirements is a bit larger than domestic '06-308 size brass that's used to make Swede 6.5 cases. Some of Winchester's cases are now PPU, and should be ok.

I don't have an answer, IF you're using one type of brass, and you are probably aware that sooty brass indicates low pressure, and stiff bolt lift is usually high pressure.
That could be indicative of inconsistent powder drops, but I've found H4350 to run through measures quite consistently, and is usually a better choice for the Swede than any of the 4895 powder family.


NCsmitty

 

[ProfessrH]

Thanks, NCsmitty.

Actually, I made that discovery too, but my troubles have persisted. I'm using PPU headstamp brass (the Privi Partizan ammo I bought soots the cases terribly, and hits pretty inconsistently, problems I didn't encounter with their ammo for the 7.5x55, but the brass is good, as far as I can tell. I'll probably pull what's left and reuse the primed brass with Hornady 140gr soft points).

I like the theory of uneven powder measures . . . but I've been weighing each charge--which takes forever but which I thought would keep everything consistent. (I use the Lee powder scale, along with a powder trickler made from a business card and a wooden coffee stirrer).

Anyway, today I bought some H4831SC, and will run up some loads with that in the next few days (hooray for Spring Break!). I'm hoping that the slower powder will solve this weird haunted-Mauser problem.

Meanwhile, perhaps I should confess that I just had venison for lunch--from a deer I killed this season with one of the reloads I'm fussing about here.

Will keep you all posted. Thanks again for this--and all the wisdom I've gleaned in my visits to THR.

--ProfessrH

 

[GJgo]

I typically like the slowest powder that will give me my velocity, and my M70 Swede is no exception. With H4350 & H4831SC I got weird, random "pressure" issues in my primers & I solved it by switching to H1000. Consistent results, lowest SD, great accuracy, and I got my velocity no problem. In fact, my TSX & Amax loads are every bit as accurate as my heavy barrel Savage 308.

 

[SHR970]

I've had good luck in my three rifles with RL-19 & 22, and mixed luck with IMR 4831. I even found a load my sporterized M96 carbine likes of IMR 3031. All of these were loaded with 140 gr,. soft points from 3 different makers.