6.5x55 club, sound off!
 

who else has a 6.5x55, and particularly what are your favorite projectiles?

I've got a beautiful full stock Zastava m70 mauser topped with a leupold 1-4x20mm

Sako Bavarian Carbine. I am using the 129gr AccubondLR in front of R-22.

2 customs one gets fed 140vlds and rl-22
The other h-4831 and 140g sst's

Tikka t3...n560 and 125gr Nosler partition

M38 , M96 ,sporters, and my Grandson has a cut down M96 he started hunting with this year . We shoot 125 gr Nosler Partitions in the M96's, and I shoot 140 Nosler Partitions in the M38.

The 6.5 x 55 is a sweet shooting caliber.

I have one based on a Husqvarna HVA and RKS 24 " barrel. The other is a factory chambered Voere Titan II.
Bullets range from 129 SSTs, 143 ELD-X to Woodleigh 160 gr RN.
I'm finding H 100V, Ramshot Hunter and RL 22 to be great powders for pretty much any 6.5 bullet I use. It's an awesome cartridge that's for sure.

Various Swede mausers and a semi custom off a savage. 130 Accubonds have been great, but so have plain jane Speer 120'2 and 140's

I needed to use long 140’s in my Sako 75 Swede ... anything shorter and I don’t know if the old swede could make the jump to the lands:).

Mine started out as a finlight in a 270. Put on a Ron Smith 25" gain twist on it, Near rail and set it in a mcmillan hunters edge stock.

Shoots the 140gr partitions well and is a proven game getter.
Also shoots the 142 SMK's for my long range target shooting. Best group to date is 6" at 900 yards with the factory stock.
Recently worked up a load for the 160 Woodleighs but have yet to harvest anything with it. Brass is Lapua along with H4831sc for a powder seemed to work for me.

This is one of my "Do not sell guns"

BSA Mauser started it's life as a 7x57.
Recently fitted with a Jury medium contour, 1:8, and finished at 26".

Shout out to Bob Jury and Henry Remple for great products and service.

Although the trigger isnt the best it consistently shoots half moa.

140gr SMK and SGK over H4831SC.
6.5x55 is a pleasure to shoot.


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1986 Rem Classic ... 1:9 ... 95gr V-Max / 156 gr Vulcans / 160gr RN ... 140gr TBBC... powders primarily IMR4064 / IMR 4350 / RL 22

Sounds like a keeper for sure. Did they make that model with a wood stock or only composite?

When I shoot the 6.5x55 and others (6.5AI , 6.5x54MS , etc) I love the big 260's , but my current Mannlicher has been modified to shoot the shorter 140's as well and I may start working with them.
Cat

I have a tikka t3, thinking of trying out the 120ttsx and some h1000.

Jeepers fellas any pics of these rifles?

Not familiar with this cartridge other than its been around for sometime but what's all the fuss about this calibre?

We the people of the 6.5x55 are so old timey, we can’t post pictures. Mine’s a Geco Mauser 98 action, rebarreled to 28” by Carl in Sweden. Puts 143g Eld-x bullets in the same hole at 100 yards at 2700 fps. I had him revved up close to 3000 before the snug bolt, but this is sooo comfy and accurate.... mmm

The big deal is, it’s been 5% better than the Creedmoor since 1894!

6.5 x55
 

I have a Tikka T3 with a Leupold VX-3 3.5-10 that shoots almost any projectile very well. 120 gr TTSX, 127 gr LRX, LR Accubonds in 129 gr & 142, Accubond 130's & 140's, Matrix 140 gr, Lapua Mega 155 gr, Partition 125gr! Best of the best are 120 TTSX with 45.0gr of H100-V or 140 gr Accubond with 45.0gr of RL-22. I originally bought it for my son but he rarely gets to use it because it is now my favorite rifle!

Tikka T3 with an aftermarket Bell & Carlson all weather stock. Topped with a Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44 with the Z600 reticle. A joy to carry all day and a dream to shoot. Definitely a caliber that punches way above its weight, and I am going to go out on a limb and say that I may even prefer it over my 7-08 :scared0018::scared0018:

Preferred bullet so far is the 140 grain Nosler Accubond. Tried RL-22 as the manuals suggested. Groups were "acceptable" however when I switched to IMR4350 things really tightened up. Haven't tried it yet but a friend swears by IMR4831 in his 6.5 Swede, so I will be trying that next. Still struggling a bit with the 140 grain Nosler Partitions, and haven't found the sweet spot yet.

The only powder I’ve ever tried in it is H4831sc. Great especially in the long barrel I guess. More temp stable than IMR.

T3 VARMINT in a B&C, haven't developed a load for it yet, bought it a couple months ago and haven't had time to do anything with it other than put a Sightron STAC on it.

6.5 x 55
 

Husqvarna M 38 and a Ruger M77 Mk II.

160 RN have dropped lots of game for me.

Just wanted to show this great elk wallow.

My 6.5 Swede shoots great with 140gr core lokt & 160gr cast.

Sako 85 carbine that has been customized by the previous owner. Currently running Barnes 130 tsx with H4350. https://i.imgur.com/AvkjIcD.jpg

I was shooting the caliber so long ago people would look at me like I had 3 eyes every time I would mention my 6.5x55

When my wife started hunting with me some 35 years ago I wanted us to use the same cartridge and I picked the 6.5x55 and she like it and I had one already and new it well so I bought her one in a husky.

Her first two hours ever moose hunting she dropped a 50 inch bull,so that cartridge stuck with both of us while out together . I still think it's a great cartridge to this day and when I told guys back then what I was shooting they had no clue on what the cartridge was. I bought one in a tikka 10 years back and is one of my favorites to shoot and it's an accurate one.

Out of all my Tikka rifles my 6.5x55 is the most accurate.

Have 3 - so far
 

One closet queen (Krag Jorgensen) that was used with CIL 160 RN's, Sako AV loves Varget with Hornady 140 FB, and a newer Tikka T3 still being fed Nosler 140 Accubonds. Seriously considering a light mountain rifle - not sure which one yet, but it will be a 6.5 Swede.

My beater 6.5 is a Tikka T3 and it’s a laser. I use the 129 accubond LR or the 127 LRX with RL-17. My nice 6.5 is a Viking arms 1900 super lyx and i use the 142 accubond LR. Both shoot better than I do.

I’ve got an older Tikka M65. And a 96 Mauser that’s been shortened and sporterized.