Carl Gustaf dated 1913 in 6.5 x 55

[PeterH]

I have been asked to reload for the above rifle (rifle coming shortly) His criteria for reloads is to shoot paper only out to a max of 150 yds.
He has tried some factory ammo in the 120 gr range without any success - my feeling was that modern light weight bullets are not the way to go as speed and psi would be excessive.

I am aware that this old girl would have originally shot bullets in the 155 gr weight range. Without too much research my thoughts were to try something like the 140 gr Sierra Matchkings and use a compliant powder with a burn rate of around .42 to .45 At the moment I am considering RS62 or N160 obviously loaded down to give a speed of around 2400 fps tops. Also seat to SAAMI spec provided it gives good clearance with the lands.

As stated above, the rifle is not with me yet but will upon arrival need (no doubt) a good bore clean followed by my bore camera inspection to ensure that the condition of the bore is still ok to safely shoot.

Question is really directed at the buffs who may load (or have loaded) a similar aged rifle to help me with some pointers and hints.

Many thanks

Peter

 

[Muir]

Peter,
What will a bore scope tell you about the 'safety' of the rifle? Probably not much. Don't bother. It probably won't look pretty and might bother the owner unnecessarily. The rifle is what it is, right? The owner is shooting factory anmmunition so it can be considered safe to shoot.

I shoot 120's from Swedes. If it is factory ammo it is safe. Understand that the SAAMI limits for this cartridge are based on the weaker rifles chambered in this cartridge. The lowest common denominator. When Kimber teetered on the edge of bankruptcy in 1981-82 they bought up most of the Swedes on the US import market and rebarreled them to 270 and other sporting cartridges, finishing them off in cheap stocks. I have shot a number of 96 Swedes rebarreled to 308. They were fine.

Your loading plan sounds good. FL resize and seat to spec. I crimp all my loads. 140's are fine but I wouldn't toss to many Match Kings right off. They are scarce and expensive.

Lastly, I would encourage the fellow to load his own. You always put your hind-end out to the wind when you load for someone else. A mishap totally unrelated to your loads could have you in court.
Enjoy.~Muir

 

[Foxyboy43]

Viht’s latest web reloading guide shows the following for N160 Sierra 140s. These are reportedly and increasingly very conservative but do follow them and start at 43.4gns and work up in v small increments to whatever low limit you prefer, then adjust seating depth to finesse. Like Muir a good crimp is the way to go.
stay safe.

N160

2,81

43.4

759

2490

3,03

46.7

819

2687

 

[Laurie]

The old 140gn Sierra MK is an excellent choice for these rifles. I used one for a long time and won a fair few HBSA medals with it loading 44gn Viht N160. Start at 42gn and work up. You may get sooted cases especially with lower loads in which case try a primer make change. This was long before the Reload Swiss powders, but RS62 would undoubtedly also be an excellent choice and charge weights will be close to those shown for H4350.

 

[Muir]

My comment to avoid Sierras right off is that if the rifle has some fatal accuracy flaw, it will show up with cheaper bullets. I love the bullet, just not the cost!~Muir

 

[PeterH]

Peter,
What will a bore scope tell you about the 'safety' of the rifle? Probably not much. Don't bother. It probably won't look pretty and might bother the owner unnecessarily. The rifle is what it is, right? The owner is shooting factory anmmunition so it can be considered safe to shoot.

Your loading plan sounds good. FL resize and seat to spec. I crimp all my loads. 140's are fine but I wouldn't toss to many Match Kings right off. They are scarce and expensive.

Lastly, I would encourage the fellow to load his own. You always put your hind-end out to the wind when you load for someone else. A mishap totally unrelated to your loads could have you in court.
Enjoy.~Muir

Muir- many thanks for your input as always.

I will not be expecting to see a pristine bore with the camera, I just don't want to see raised corrosion - perhaps I should have stated 'potential accuracy issues' The new owner of this rifle did say that at 50 yds the bullets were going anywhere so capitulated after 8 rounds.

At present I get my Sierra MK's for £40 which (for us on this side of the pond) is quite reasonable and nowhere near the cost of Nosler Accubonds which are expensive.

Your last paragraph is noted

 

[PeterH]

The old 140gn Sierra MK is an excellent choice for these rifles. I used one for a long time and won a fair few HBSA medals with it loading 44gn Viht N160. Start at 42gn and work up. You may get sooted cases especially with lower loads in which case try a primer make change. This was long before the Reload Swiss powders, but RS62 would undoubtedly also be an excellent choice and charge weights will be close to those shown for H4350.

Laurie - thanks for that

Actually from the notes I have done, my start point was 41.5 gr of N160 with increments of .4 gr with the fall back of RS62 if needed.

This rifle interests me because of it's age, prior to this I reloaded for a 1940 rifle in 5.6 x 61 Von Hofe Super Express and by contrast a modern 20 Ackley Hornet - which I understand has a modest following in the States but is relatively unknown here but what an accurate little rifle!

 

[Fosbery Holster]

My load for a Swedish Mauser would be to use Lapua brass, Lapua Scenar 139 grain HPBT, Reloader 22 powder, Remington large rifle primers, and replicate the complete overall length of the original service round of 78mm.
l find this loading to be extremely accurate in the Swedish m96.

This load data was also given to me by a friend who enters and wins Sniper rifle comps regularly out to 300 yards.

 

[PeterH]

My load for a Swedish Mauser would be to use Lapua brass, Lapua Scenar 139 grain HPBT, Reloader 22 powder, Remington large rifle primers, and replicate the complete overall length of the original service round of 78mm.
l find this loading to be extremely accurate in the Swedish m96.

This load data was also given to me by a friend who enters and wins Sniper rifle comps regularly out to 300 yards.

Thanks F H

I do have RL22 but alas no Lapua 139's

I will however bear in mind your suggested col of 78 mm

 

[Fosbery Holster]

Thanks F H

I do have RL22 but alas no Lapua 139's

I will however bear in mind your suggested col of 78 mm

l purchased my last Lapua Scenar 139’s from “Edinburgh Rifles” really good to deal with.

The load data l use as far as l am aware replicates the latest original round but l purposely didn’t state the powder weight for safety reasons but if you are interested l would give you a starting weight for RL22.

 

[Foxyboy43]

l purchased my last Lapua Scenar 139’s from “Edinburgh Rifles” really good to deal with.

The load data l use as far as l am aware replicates the latest original round but l purposely didn’t state the powder weight for safety reasons but if you are interested l would give you a starting weight for RL22.

Exactly why I advised starting with Viht’s own minimum load and working up - slowly! You would think they would be pretty sure of what they are putting out as a minimum load In this litigious society we regrettably occupy.

 

[Fosbery Holster]

Exactly why I advised starting with Viht’s own minimum load and working up - slowly! You would think they would be pretty sure of what they are putting out as a minimum load In this litigious society we regrettably occupy.

For me it’s imperative that we follow the data and start with minimum load and work up.

Sometimes there’s no modern load data for our prize possessions and we have to rely on recorded information from books published before our birth.

 

[Foxyboy43]

Amen.

 

[Fosbery Holster]

The load data l use as far as l am aware replicates the latest original round

The original 6.5x55mm round was the m/94 cartridge adopted in 1894, the later version to which l refer is the m/94 round loaded with the improved m/41 “Torped” (torpedo) spitzer bullet, as in the Lapua Scenar 139gr.

When the original round was replaced by the improved round a table was produced and attached (upside down) to the rifle stock to inform the Swedish user in aim correction (sights) for using the new round in rifles produced using the original round.

The reason the table was attached upside down on the stock was so that the service personnel using the rifle could quickly look down on the stock to view the sight correction needed whilst using the new improved m/41 round.

We must also remember that these rifles were zeroed for 300 meters and will shoot high at any lesser distance whilst using the original service sights and service rounds.
So don’t be surprised with whatever reload you choose if it shoots high using the original sights.

 

[PeterH]

We must also remember that these rifles were zeroed for 300 meters and will shoot high at any lesser distance whilst using the original service sights and service rounds.
So don’t be surprised with whatever reload you choose if it shoots high using the original sights.

Noted - Thanks, I will take that into account

Peter

 

[Sagebrush]

Here's a solution to the front sight height.
Brownell's UK Small Ring Mauser Front Site