Shorter barrel for 6.5 Swede

[boarhuntr]

Hi Gents,
  I have a Sharpshooter supply stainless 6.5 Swede barrel mounted on a Savage 110 action. The barrel is medium contour, quite heavy and 23 in. long. It is very muzzle heavy, not to my liking, so I'm thinking of bobbing the barrel down to 18.5 in or 20 in.
How's your experience with shorter barrels on the 6.5 ?  I know they're making AR's in 6.5 grendel that are 16 in. long and getting tremendous results.   So I wonder if I lose much velocity with a shorter barrel, and is it going to be an issue.  I plan to use it for deer and hogs up to 300 yds.
Thanks,


Michael

[pastorp]

20" will give you good performance.  And I like a slightly weight forward rifle, easier to hold steady and shoot well. Those barrel light wispy rifles are hard to shoot well, especially off hand. 

Regards,

[shot1]

Before I would go hacking up a barrel I would just add some weight to the stock. Place some lead in the butt stock under the butt plate and balance out the rifle. Shortening the barrel down to 18 to 20" will give you much more muzzle blast. I assume that you are a reloader. My old Speer loading manual has loads for the model 94 Swedish Mauser carbine that had a 18" barrel. With max loads listed of IMR 4831 they got 2820 fps with 120 gr bullets and 2599 fps with 140 grs bullets. If you will be shooting US factory ammo your velocity will be much lower than these loads.

[pastorp]

My personal 6.5 is a 260 Remington. It in a browning BLR that I had rebarreled to 260 from 308. I chose a medium contour 20" barrel for this build am very happy with it. The idea that a cartridge holding 40+ or - grains of powder will give lots of muzzle blast is ridicules. 

Cartridges in this class work very well for a hunting gun.  JMO.

Regards,

[shot1]

I guess that HUGE FIRE BALL coming from the end of the muzzle of my neighbors M-94 Swede Mauser 18" barrel is just a figment of my imagination.

[pastorp]

Must be.  everything's relative. Huge is hardly the term I would use. But I wasn't there. 

I know my traper marlin in 30-30 with 16 & 1/4" barrel is comfortable to shoot as was several trapers I had built in 45-70. 

Regards,

[Lloyd Smale]

I would think it would work fine in a 20 inch barrel but i dont think id go shorter. tons of 257 roberts ultralite rugers out there with 20 inch barrels and model 7s in 260 that seem to kill just fine. cant see where the 6.5x55 is much differnt then those two.

[ratherbefishin]

I have several swedes [6.5x55 and 9,3x57]and I find a 22''-24'' barrel seems to work about right.Finest hunting rifles you can get too-you'd pay a lot more for a modern rifle to find its equal.Nor can you get better value for your money-I generally can get one for about $250 in excellent condition
With the Husqvarna line up of 6.5x55, 8 x57,9,3x57 and 9.3 x62 you really don't need to look anywhere else for any game you will run into in North America

[nomosendero]

I have several swedes [6.5x55 and 9,3x57]and I find a 22''-24'' barrel seems to work about right.Finest hunting rifles you can get too-you'd pay a lot more for a modern rifle to find its equal.Nor can you get better value for your money-I generally can get one for about $250 in excellent condition
With the Husqvarna line up of 6.5x55, 8 x57,9,3x57 and 9.3 x62 you really don't need to look anywhere else for any game you will run into in North America

I agree that the 22-24" barrels work out well. My Wife's 6.5x55 has a 24" barrel & it is a fine rifle. I think 22" would be fine, thou we can't see a reason to cut this barrel.
I personally would not want a 20" in this cartridge or the 260 or CM. 20" works great in a 308, but we are talking about a good deal smaller bore here with comparable powder charges. I havn't cronoed one set up that way, but do know of several guys with 260's & CM's that benefit from 22"+ barrels.
If anyone has 20" cronoed results with the Swede, please chime in. The internet nearly always reveals exceptions, but I would  start with at least 22".

[ratherbefishin]

Unless you are dealing with a significant weight issue,I fail to see any real advantage in cutting a swede 6.5x55 below 22''.My  Husqvarna ''sporters'' aren't too heavy[haven't actually weighed them] even with military stepped barrels and walnut stocks and a nice Leupold M-8 fixed 4X with which I have taken over 30 deer and a couple of Black Bears.You are combining moderate weight,low recoil ,supurb accuracy and a very efficient high SD bullet moving at about 2800 fps .All I know is if I hold it straight-anything I point it at falls down
If it ain't broke-why fix it?

[gcrank1]

I have an old WWII era 6.5x52 Carcano carbine; 18ish IIRC, and have loaded it with some of the faster burning rifle powders; it has lost a lot of the potential of the cartridge but its a good open sight woods gun. The venerable Win. '94 carbine also does not utilize the potential of the 30-30 cartridge as well as the rifle model but has been loved for its 'fast handling'. I do not jump shoot or attempt to hit running game, so it is kinda moot (or, to put it another way, Im only half fast anyway....).