Which 6.5?

[nodlenor]

I'm considering the purchase of a 6.5 and am leaning toward the 6.5x55 with the 260 Rem. as a second choice. I would like to hear some comments as to why I should or should not go with the Swede over the 260 or other 6.5s.

[beemanbeme]

.260 uses a "standard" headed case (necked down .308) so that reloading shell holders and such can be interchanged. Minor advantage.  Cases may be made from .243/7-08/.308 so brass would never be a problem.
Swede has a odd sized head. Domestic ammo is usually made using 30-06 size headed brass which may or may not cause problems.  single source brass could be a problem.

I don't have any experience with the Swede but I do with the .260 and I think it's the same argument as with the 7-08 and the 7x57.  Any difference is in your mind.    I know that a .260 with a 140gr Core Lokt bullet will kill WT deer like the Hammer of Thor. And it and the rifles make a neat, tidy package. 

[Bearcat 74]

I love my .260 I used 140 Core-Lokts before I started reloading, now I am using H414 and 120 NBTs and it is just awesome.  The 6.5x55 interests me as well, I just have not picked on up yet. 

[AtlLaw]

I don't have any experience with the Swede but I do with the .260 and I think it's the same argument as with the 7-08 and the 7x57.  Any difference is in your mind.    I know that a .260 with a 140gr Core Lokt bullet will kill WT deer like the Hammer of Thor. And it and the rifles make a neat, tidy package. 

+1
I have 2 Swedes and 2 .260's, a 7/08 and a 7x57.  From experience I can tell you Bee is exactly right   

[canon6]

I have had both 6.5X55 and 260's,The only difference I could ever see, was the 6.5 was a lot older.I killed everything, that was legal to hunt,in Wyoming with the 6.5X55  .120 gr NBT for deer/antelope/etc and 140 NPT for everything else.  Doug

[Lone Star]

Another vote for the .260.  Other notes: while the Swede can be handloaded to equal the .260, high-performance Swede factory ammo is much more difficult to find and expensive.  Too, if you want a true short-actioned rifle, the Swede won't work.  The .260 has a theoretical advantage in long range accuracy, but you'd have to be a top long-range match shooter to notice.



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[Brithunter]

Hmmmm I see the old saw about short action has reared it's ugly head  Honestly in a manually operated Bolt action just how much more effort is it to move the bolt 6mm (0.236") and how long will it take? And if the 6mm difference in length means the rifle is too heavy perhaps one should look for another past-time or hobby 

Me I have two 6.5x55's one old and one modern  and would still stick with the Swedish cartridge if I got another. One reason is that I don't like bullets to protrude into the case past the base of the neck. As to factory ammunition? well I would think it depends one where you are as I am far more likely to be able to get the Swedish cartridge than the Remington one  .

[Guy Pike]

My Husqvarna 1640 in 6.5x55 will never leave the family! It shoots well with Wolf or S&B factory loads and is not the least bit difficult to reload. As to the long action,well, that's a debate I refuse to enter!

[nodlenor]

So far I'm still leaning toward the Swede.

[Lone Star]

Hmmmm I see the old saw about short action has reared it's ugly head...And if the 6mm difference in length means the rifle is too heavy perhaps one should look for another past-time or hobby...

I see the old-schoolers are once again pounding the keys discounting the preferences of hundreds of thousands of hunters and shooters simply because they do not agree with the old-schoolers' own cherished beliefs in the right action length.   These guys can deny reality as much as they want, but the fact is that a great many shooters simply WANT short-actioned rifles.  Why any one would criticize this is pretty amazing - but it's a free website.  Who cares why they want short-actioned rifles - fortunately in the US at least  they have the choice to buy them - or not.  I tell ya, some of these reactionaries won't be happy until the only  rifles available are A3 .30-06s or MkIII .303s.....




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[nomosendero]

Do you reload?

[AtlLaw]

the old-schoolers' own cherished beliefs in the right action length. 

I figger rifle guns are a lot like wimmins, some got loooong legs and some got short legs, but they all PURDY!!

'Course I seem to remember Jack O'Conner writing that he didn't see much need for a .308 in a bolt action.... over a 30/06 I believe.  Sorry, the cite is long gone with my youth... 

[nodlenor]

Yes I reload and I don't have a preference between short and long action. I have both and both work just fine. My youth has long since gone also but I still look and the length doesn't matter there either.

I thought I started out asking about the 6.5, oh well, I'm still leaning toward the Swede. They probably have long and short legs also.

[AtlLaw]

I'm still leaning toward the Swede.

Truth be known, if I had to pick one over the other <cringe!>    I'd probably go with the Swede myself.  Matter of fact I had my one full blown, built just for me rifle done on one (Swede '96 action) in one (6.5x55).   

[beemanbeme]

If you are leaning toward the Swede then by all means "follow your heart" -- hey, I'll bet that'd make a neat title for a movie.  Simply stated, if you are secretly wanting a Swede and let someone talk you into buying a .260, you will never be happy with it. I let a fellow do that very thing with a .270 when what I really wanted was a .280. The .270 was a fine rifle, accurate, good looking, I killed my first antelope with it but I couldn't wait to trade it off for a .280.

 Since you reload, get the Swede, buy a couple hundred cases and a proper shell holder and you're good to go.

You know, not to jack this thread BUT, I've had a lot of rifles and I've never really thought about the long and short of it. I've read articles by various pundents that said stuff like "you can't properly exploit a .257Rbt in a short action" and such but I just figured it was a slow news day or something. I wouldn't buy a .243 rather than a 6mm because the .243 was a short action. I selected a 30-06 over a .308 because of performance not length.  I was told the 7-08 would never match the 7x57 because of the loooong action for the 7x57 and the 7-08 couldn't handle the top end of the 7mm bullets.  I know for a fact that is genuine organic fertilizer.  You have to have a short action so's you wouldn't short stroke the action and get a jam in an awkward situation.  Speaking for myself, when I cycle my bolt, long or short, in an expedient moment or under duress, I am amazed that I don't rip the damn thing right out past the stop.  And the empty just might land in the next time zone.

I guess what my question is: Who dreams this crap up? 

[nodlenor]

Thanks for all the input. I think I would have bought the Swede anyway but it is good to get some input from others sometimes.

beeman; you are just trying to be too logical. If everyone thought like that we couldn't argue about anything. But you are 100% correct.

Bet we get some more input now!

Thanks again. I appreciate all of your input on the subject.

[Brithunter]

Hmmmm I see the old saw about short action has reared it's ugly head...And if the 6mm difference in length means the rifle is too heavy perhaps one should look for another past-time or hobby...

I see the old-schoolers are once again pounding the keys discounting the preferences of hundreds of thousands of hunters and shooters simply because they do not agree with the old-schoolers' own cherished beliefs in the right action length.   These guys can deny reality as much as they want, but the fact is that a great many shooters simply WANT short-actioned rifles.  Why any one would criticize this is pretty amazing - but it's a free website.  Who cares why they want short-actioned rifles - fortunately in the US at least  they have the choice to buy them - or not.  I tell ya, some of these reactionaries won't be happy until the only  rifles available are A3 .30-06s or MkIII .303s.....

Hmmmm I suppose closing in on the 50 mark may be old 

But I do think a lot of shooter are brainwashed by the media into the must be short action frenzy  It's like the fad for lightweight rifles doing to rounds again. Nothing new to that one either  . As for rifle choices well I am rather whimiscal on that as I have a fair few of different types and eve makes  and handload for some 10 different rifle cartridges sorry but don't have an 03 Springfield rifle nor a No1 Mk111 303 

As for 6.5mm's well I have Four, two are chambered in 6.5x55 one is  6.5x53R and the other a 6.5x54MS. yes I happen to like the 6.5mm calibre  but I find I tend to buy rifles because I like them and they feel good to me and not because of what their chambered for which is why I also have four .270 rifles  . In fact only three rifles have I really sought out in a particular chambering. One is my Mauser M96 Slide Bolt in 6.5x55 and the other is a Parker-Hale 1200 Super in 7.92mm sorry being old fashioned again, the other was my first full bore and I wanted a .270 and found a shop soiled new BSA CF2 Stutzen at a local gunshop which I still have.


.

[jnclement]

I put a 6.5X55 barrel on a Savage on got at a pawn shop (30-06), and I'm very very happy with it. Also built a 6.5x47 Lapua on one. Guess I need a 260 next, but I'll probably build it on a long action, so I can seat the bullets out where they need to be.

[DakotaElkSlayer]

Hmmm...do you like the Remington 673??  Seems like they blew them out and I have been seeing 'em in 6.5 Rem Mag for great prices.  Although the 6.5x55 is all I need, the prices and ballistics on the 6.5 Rem Mag tempted me.

Jim

[smokepolehall]

i have owned .308 & 7mm08 & 243 which i still have & Swed 6.5x55. the case length doesn't matter to me. i like all of them, never had the .260. i like my Swed, a very mild recoil loves most any powder & bullet combo i have used. its accuracy is as good or better than most.
really its going to be what you really think you want.

[2ndtimer]

My Swede is a Howa 1500 Lightning.  It shoots pretty well with heavier bullets, but if it has a downside, it is that mine will NOT shoot lightweight bullets.  Efforts with the Speer 90 gr TNT and the 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip were awful.  And the 120 gr Speer and 120 Nosler Ballistic Tips were average at best, 2 to 3 inch groups at 100 yards.  With the 129 gr Hornady SP and the 140 gr Hornady SP or Speer 140 gr, groups were much better, around an inch and a half.  The Howa 6.5x55 has a ton of free bore in its' throat.  I think I just can't seat the light bullets close enough to the rifling to get decent groups.  I load all the ammo to an OAL of 3.15", the SAAMI maximum, if it can reach it.  I think that would be one advantage of the .260 Rem over the 6.5x55 would be its' more conventional throating, since it was never designed to shoot 160 gr RN bullets like the Swede.  I bet the .260 would shoot very well with the lightweight 6.5 bullets, although for medium to large game, the Swede is fine as is.  I have owned a 7mm-08 remington in a lightweight Model 70 carbine, and was surprised at how hard it kicked.  The Howa in 6.5x55 seems much milder on the recoil.  When I finish shooting out the barrel in my Stevens 200 in .243, I plan on rebarreling it to .260 Remington and see how it compares.  Oh, and by the way, Legacy Sports is planning on offering the Howa in 6.5x55 again after not offering it for the past 4 years or so.  So you can choose between CZ, Tikka, Sako, and Howa for factory 6.5x55 rifles.  I tend to think of the 6.5x55 as the thinking man's 30-06.  It won't beat you up, yet gets the job done.

[Brithunter]

Hmmmm not knocking Howa's but have heard other having the same problems with them in 6.5x55. It must be twist rate as my Sporterised Swedish Mauser has a long throat having the original miltary barrel yet gives accuracy of around MOA with 100 grin bulelts and a little over with 77 grain ones ( I brought a couple of boxes of Norma 77 grn soft points)  and 120 gain bulelts shoot well ( aroun 1/2"-5/8" groups) however I have not been able to find a good load for teh Hornady 129 grain bullets  so far.

An intersting point is that a modern 6.5x55 chambered Mauser M96 Slide Bolt I have prefers heavier bullets like the 140 grain ones and the barrels on these are rumoured to have been made in the US and I wonder if the twist rate is correct for the 6.5x55 Swedish round no matter where the barrel was actually made it's throated to take the 160 grain RN bullet and I can use loads of the same length in either rifle.

Oh and Steyr Mannlicher also offers the 6.5x55 as does Sauer and Rws in their Titan rifle.

[Rangr44]

I elected to follow my heart, and spend the $525.00 !

[AtlLaw]

You'll not be sorry!     Now, get some dies, and a bunch of bullets of different weights and see what that cartridge can REALLY do!
BTW, I have a M-70 F'weight push feed (in 270).  I can't tell if yours is controled round feed, is it?

[beemanbeme]

Nice looking piece of wood. 

[Brithunter]

Hmmm I happen to like those Model 70 Featherweights, never got around to getting one though as something else I just had to have always seems to come along  , friend brought one in 308 and have shot that and it's very accurate with Federal American Eagle ammo  .

[Rangr44]

Mine is the CRF Featherweight Classic - and, last Christmas, Santa brought me a set of RCBS dies, and all the components I'll need for awhile.

It'll be quite a challenge for me to beat it's grouping with Norma  156gr Onyx factory ammo, though.

[kombi1976]

I know it's already been said but people are right about the difference between 260 Rem and 6.5x55 being a load of old cobblers.
Same with 7mm-08 and 7x57.
The big difference in terms of performance is that, as some have already said, the 260 is usually suited for lighter bullets because of it's shorter throat and vice versa for the 6.5x55 with long bullets.
There is also a difference in rifling as the standard 6.5x55 rifling is 1:7.9" and a 260 rem is either 1:9" or 1:10".
As such the 6.5x55 is happier stabilising the heaviest bullets made for 6.5 cal.
But the ".260 has a theoretical advantage in long range accuracy, but you'd have to be a top long-range match shooter to notice" is real nonsense IMO.
All the "short fat=better accuracy" propaganda we've had preached to us in the last decade is personified in the 6.5x55.
It has a wider body and a sharper shoulder than the 260 even if it is 4mm longer and, more to the point, it is a consistent winner in bolt action service rifle competition here in Australia if nowhere else where it competes with 303s, 30-06s, 8x57s and 308s.
And since a mate of mine took down 6 water buffalo including 3 big bulls using a sporterised M96 with 140gr S&B factory loads I'm convinced.
I'm sure 260s are great but give me a Swede, thankyou. 

[Jim n Iowa]

I was thinking about a 6.5 in a AR. What are the suggestions?
Jim

[kombi1976]

I think the best option is probably 6.5 Grendel.
They were originally designed for ARs to be a cartridge that was a good compromise between 7.62 NATO and 5.56 NATO.
It isn't as potent as 260 Rem, clocking about 2600fps with a 120gr pill and 2450fps with a 140gr bullet, but it's short, fat dimensions means it suits the AR well and I believe uppers and mags are already available on the market.
Lapua makes brass and any good HPBT bullet will see the best from the Grendel.
There are close similarities between it and 6.8 SPC and if your seeking a cheaper alternative the Rem is probably it in terms of factory ammo, cases and tailor made bullets.
But IMO opinion if you are willing to give it a crack there is more to be got from the Grendel.
Here's a pic of a AR counter-sniper kit in 6.5 Grendel to wet your appetite: