Just bought one of my dream rifles! Win Mod 70 Featherweight 6.5x55 Swede!!

[snake284]

That is a dream rifle! God what a gun! That's a great caliber in a great rifle. What more could you ask? I have some Yugo Actions that I'm slowly rebarreling. I thought about a 6.5x55. Then I got to thinking, why not a 6.5X57? It would fit the Yugo to a tee and you don't have to open up the bolt face or anything like that. And I suspect Ballistically, they are so close it stinks.

 

[6.5swede]

Win 70

Good find! A classic rifle in a great caliber. I picked up a mint Win 70 FWT Classic in 6.5x55 last year for a fair premium price. Had the trigger adjusted to a crisp 2 lbs and action pillar/glass bedded. It's a pleasure to shoot. Enjoy your new rifle!

 

[GJgo]

AVS, yes. 25% down & 90 days. I doubt I could have picked it up without that, didn't exactly have the cash to burn..

6.5 Swede, nice stick What loads does it like? I've got some 140gr Amax I can't wait to try. I thought about putting pillars in it, think it's worth it?

 

[snakeman]

very nice

 

[GJgo]

Finished the "custom" fitting of the Weaver picatinny rail today, the end result is very nice. A little cutting, a little grinding, a little bedding, and voila- it fits & it's flat. Too bad it's naked!

 

[elkhunt]

My Swede

I picked up this 6.5x55 CRF in January of this year. Enough wear to not worry, it will be my daughters rifle. I put Leupold QR bases and rings with a matte 3x9 Leupold on it. Looking forward to shooting it when it quits raining. Also, if anyone is looking, there's a guy in PDX is selling an "as new" (no box but has hang tags) European Featherweight in 6.5 Swede for $750, here's a link. http://www.northwestfirearms.com/ri...inchester-model-70-6-5x55-swedish-mauser.html

 

[GJgo]

Very nice, elkhunt. You must like the swede- a year & a half & this is your first post! ..If I get a cow tag this year I think I may take the Swede instead of my 300wsm.

I tried mounting my Swaro 3-10 on the Swede today with a set of low Warne rings. Well, it didn't quite line up for me. My cheek weld was a little high, which I could have dealt with, but with the long action I had it back as far as it could go and it wasn't quite far enough for where I want my eye relief to be. Looks like I need something with either a longer tube, or with a more generous eye relief. I'm giving serious thought to the Zeiss Conquest 3-9.

 

[elkhunt]

Yep, not much of a poster on HR. I was google searching that International FWeight, and this thread showed up. I thought I would jump in and post a picture of my Swede. I have a buddy who has been a long time shooter of the Swede, so he has loads all worked up, which will be nice. Nice scope choices, I am just sort of a boring Leupold guy... made in my State of Oregon. Are you using the quick detach Warne rings, those are very nice. I have a couple rifles I swap scopes on my .338 has a 3.5x10 scope and a 1.5x5 for heavy cover, again I use Leupold QD for that task. All the best.

 

[6.5swede]

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6.5 Swede, nice stick What loads does it like? I've got some 140gr Amax I can't wait to try. I thought about putting pillars in it, think it's worth it?

Thanks and yours too. The trigger on mine was unacceptable, so while it was being worked on, I had the forearm pressure point sanded down, barrel free floated and the action pillar/glass bedded. It worked well for me....shoots well under an inch @ 100 with 125gr NPT's and 120gr TSX's. I have a Tikka T3 Swede that luvs the 140gr Berger hunting VLD's. You should definitely give the 140gr Amax's a try.

 

[GJgo]

Interesting find when I made my first handloads for the Swede the other day using a new Redding die set. The Lapua brass, out of the box, had a shoulder a few thou too long to easily close the bolt. So I FL sized the cases & the shoulder didn't move. Turns out I have to set the die to cam over a bit & knock the shoulder back about .002-.003" to get the bolt to smoothly close.

The good news is that the standard Redding FL sizer w/ the expander is producing brass with only .002" neck runout, and the Redding seater is seating the 140gr AMAX with also only .002" runout.

 

[GJgo]

Shot the Swede for the first time today! Just a few rounds, needed to get some fire formed brass to take some measurements. It's a real sweetheart. Picked up a Zeiss 3-9, fits great w/ Warne rings & has good eye relief. Loaded up some rounds to book length using H4831SC, some 43 & 44 gr loads. That's max in the Hornady book (to cope with the small ring mausers I guess) but it wasn't even hot enough to seal the necks (carbon back into the shoulder) or flatten out the primers at all. This should be a great cartridge to load for!

 

[Owen Sparks]

My old Sweedish Mauser that was made in 1907 will hit a dime off sandbags at 100 yards! Does it really get any better?

 

[Float Pilot]

Out of the three lightweight rifles I have left, the M-70 Featherweight in 6.5x55 is the best balanced and best in how it shoulders and handles.
The Husqvarna 1600 lightweight (top in photo) is a close second.
The M-700 Titanium on the bottom is a dream to carry, but odd to shoot.

I love the 6.5x55 cartridge, but the M-70 Featherweight does not shoot it as accurately as some of my Swede Mausers.

 

[GJgo]

Had a chance to do a ladder test the other day with the H4831SC & the 140gr Amax. The throat is so long in this thing that there's no way I can get that bullet close to the lands, so I loaded them 100 thou off to get some neck tension. I loaded up rounds from 44 to 48 gr in 1 gr increments, had a hard time finding info onlne for this combo in a modern action. Necks didn't start to seal till around 46gr. At 48gr the brass looks good, pushes it out at 2700fps. Based on the fired brass there's a little more in it so I'll have to try again. 47 & 48gr were almost on top of each other so I bet I'm getting close right out of the gate. Dang, this thing shoots sweet!

Also picked up some 130gr TSX FB to try out. At the lands the base of the bullet comes close to the bottom of the neck in the brass, much better fit with the tangent ogive & FB with this super duper long throat. I just got a doe tag for this fall with this combo's name on it.

 

[GJgo]

Tried some loads with the 130 TSX FB today. I'm getting full neck engagement on the bullet at .050" off the lands. Having a real hard time finding loads for modern actions.. So, I tried starting at 47g H4831SC (since 48 was GTG in the 140 AMAX) but I was getting wipes on the case head right off the bat. 47.5gr was 2950 fps, and 48.5 popped a primer. Time to start going in the opposite direction! Suprising, the 130 TSX must have a much longer bearing surface than the 140 AMAX. The groups I can say are *very good*- I'm pleasantly suprised for a FWT barrel.

I've read that some guys go down to H4350 (a little faster) and have good success. I wonder if it'd work in this 22" barrel. Has anyone here tried it?

 

[Float Pilot]

The TSX bullets have more friction due to their long bearing surface and the fact they are made from a different metal. So they tend to show more pressure signs and sometimes show a little less velocity.

I have used H-4350 and H-100V in short barreled 6.5x55s with good results. Also RL-17 seemed to work well in my 22 inch M-70 fwt 6.5x55. (45 grains of RL-17 gives me 2,800 fps for a 140 grain SST. with no pressure signs. )

An Elk, Caribou, Moose, Deer or black bear will not know the difference between being shot with a bullet doing 2850 fps or one that blows the primers at 2950 fps. But your brass sure will.

 

[GJgo]

I have used H-4350 and H-100V in short barreled 6.5x55s with good results. Also RL-17 seemed to work well in my 22 inch M-70 fwt 6.5x55. (45 grains of RL-17 gives me 2,800 fps for a 140 grain SST. with no pressure signs. )

What kind of accuracy were you seeing with RL17? I've tried it in a number of other calibers, and while I can always get more velocity than I can with H powders, the accuracy & velocity ES has never been as good.

 

[Get R Done Guns]

Congrats,

Always nice when you get a gun you have wanted! Nice rifle!

 

[bear007]

My father gave me a model 70 XTR featherwight in 6.5x55 I love it I also have one in a U.S. krag side loader officers model carbine from 1917. I use a Simmons Aetec Master 2.8-10X44 Rifle scope with sun shade on the xtr for hunting great rifle I love this caliber. My XTR shoots all 6.5 ammo with no issues at all and only now and then does the trap door not lock up right great find.

 

[bear007]

I picked up this 6.5x55 CRF in January of this year. Enough wear to not worry, it will be my daughters rifle. I put Leupold QR bases and rings with a matte 3x9 Leupold on it. Looking forward to shooting it when it quits raining. Also, if anyone is looking, there's a guy in PDX is selling an "as new" (no box but has hang tags) European Featherweight in 6.5 Swede for $750, here's a link. http://www.northwestfirearms.com/ri...inchester-model-70-6-5x55-swedish-mauser.html

elkhunt is that a 6.5x55 in stainless? were did you find it I would love one in stainless!