Red dot and 6.5 x 55?

[aprayinbear]

Let me say from the start that I'm pretty new to reloading. I started out with Classic Lee Loaders over the years and have recently picked up a Lee Anniversary Kit with single stage press. I Like the single stage; seems to work for me and I like the added safety of working on one round at a time.

Recently, I started loading for my Mosin Nagant using the basic Harris recipe for "the load" as a guide. I find that by using 12 grains of Red Dot, behind a 135grain Beartooth cast bullet, I get good, cheap accuracy with almost no recoil (perfect multiple target rounds and for my more recoil sensitive friends.) My goal was accuracy out to about 100 yards.

Last week I became the happy owner of a Carl Gustaf swedish mauser 6.5 x 55. The Lyman Cast Bullet Manual suggests a starting load of 7 grains Red Dot with cast bullets. Could I use the same recipe with a jacketed bullet of the same weight?

Anyone have experience with the 6.5 x 55 with similar "reduced loads?"

All Thoughts Welcome......

 

[rcmodel]

No, you cannot use jacketed bullets with very reduced loads of any kind.

Bore friction is much higher with a jacketed bullet then with a greased lead bullet.

Very easy to stick a jacketed bullet in the bore with tiny charges of fast powder.
Because it simply cannot maintain enough bore pressure long enough to keep the jacketed bullet moving.

rc.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Very easy to stick a jacketed bullet in the bore with tiny charges of fast powder.
.

It's also very easy to blow a nice rifle to pieces and possibly part of your face in the process because a double charge of 12grs of powder is invisible in a rifle case. Almost without exception you see pics or read a report of a KBoomed rifle it's a result of either a pistol powder being used inadvertently or some cheapskate 10% density fast handgun propellant variant of "the load". At least quit being a tightwad and get some trail boss.

I can't for the life of me figure out what grown mens fascination with these Russian roulette loads are

 

[aprayinbear]

Good thoughts Krochus but.....

Krochus,

I think your concern makes a lot of sense. But.... a double charge of Red dot in a 7.62 x 54 case is not invisable. In fact it takes up quite a bit of the cartridge volume, unlike... say Bullseye. That being said, any necked case is hard to see clearly. So I've been weighing every charge and loading my cartridges one at a time.

About the 6.5 swede. The load was taken from the Lyman cast bullet manual (they commonly suggest Red Dot in many of their cast bullet loads), so I think its a bit overstated to call it a Russian roulette recipe. My questions was the difference in using jacketed bullets with the same load. RCmodel answered my question well.


Shoot safe, shoot straight, have fun.