New Rifle required 6.5 x 55

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Hi Guys

I have for years used .243 calibre and had no problems with the calibre or rifle, this is now up for renewal due to age, fair wear and tear.

I am looking at a 6.5 x 55 as an all round calibre for deer excluding reds and Sika, my stalking is generally, Fallow, Roe and Muntjac.

Any suggestions of experience with and or performance good or bad for the 6.5 or preference for other calibres and or preferred scope would be most welcome

Thanks
Phil
 
Join the 6.5 club - you won't regret it. Accurate, low recoil, wide selection of bullets for reloading. I love mine, having changed from .308 a few years ago. It does all I need it to do on reds and roe.
 
I have stopped all six with my 6.5 and am about to re-barrel it, love it and won't change it for the world.
 
I will second the above statements... I love my 6.5 x 55 too... As they say shoots well, low recoil and has plenty to offer with its stopping capability on deer, I have shot Roe, Fallow, Muntjac and Sika with mine always produced good results!!!

ATB

Alex
 
I have never regretted buying my 6.5x55, it has accounted for fallow, roe and a muntjac. I used to use 140gn Federal Powershok but now load my own. I am using 129gn SST's and they have stopped everything on the spot so far.

I bought a Sako 75 finnlight, there is a second hand Deluxe on at the Northallerton gun shop which can't have done much work.

ft
 
A great choice there.
Light bullet head handloads shoot flat and hard.
heavy 156 factory slow and sure (no recoil much) but cut through bracken and bramble and get there in woodalnd, they have the added advantage of absolutley NO meat damage.
I've had many calibres and love the swede.
Still take my 7mm rem mag for really big beasts/long shots on open hill or pigs.
Mine is also a finlite 75 8 1/4 lb's scoped and loaded ready to go. NICE.
 
Hi Phil,

I also used a 243 for many years, but made the change over to 6.5x55 about 8 months ago and bought a Sauer. I am sure you will not regret the change, just wished I had done it before!! I home load for mine with truly excellent results. Go for it.....

ATB

T
 
Another fan here. Decided to trade in my .243 and .308 for the 6.5 a month ago. With luck it should arrive from Tikka tomorrow.

I have used my farthers rifle in said calibre on many occasions - though only shooting at paper. The recoil is similar to a .243.

At the moment he has taken Roe, Red, Fallow and Sika using Nosler Partition 140grn Spitzers.

Thanks to Lee-6.5 on this forum I have some Hornaday Interlock 160grn Round-Nosed bullets to on Wednesday - if they work well I can see them becoming the main fodder for my new rifle. I like a pole-axing round :evil:.

Next time I see some I think I shall get some Nosler Ballistic Tip (hunting type) 120grn - I hear very good things about them as a Roe and smaller round.


Sam
 
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6.5 x 55 is a proven game getter. The high SD and sensible velocities with heavier bullets make it very potent indeed! good choice
 
Another big vote for the 6.5 x 55, i also have a 243 but always pick up the 6.5 when going stalking, has never let me down yet.
 
Before you go 6.5x55 have you considerd a 6.5 x 47 lap , will do much the same job but burnning less powder , i had one briefly, a mate of mine who is a die hard 6 mm br fan bought it after seeng it shoot and loves it extremly accurate . in fact he likes the round so much he has just had a short barrel one with a full lenth mod built.

That said i currently have a 6.5 x 55 and it shoots very well as did my previous two , its about to be sold to pay for another project , bit of a serial swopper i'm afraid !

Keith
 
Are there many factory rifles in 6.5x47 lap?
Will it fire 160 gr bullets at 2500 fps. 47.5 gr R22 needed?
I love my 6.5 x 55. I used to have a 308 which kicked a bit in a light rifle & lobbed bullets, so I went to a 25 06 which smashed deer & was a bit bullet limited so I choose the middle ground. I use it for everything. I prefer it to the 223 now
 
Prbably not at the moment , the op did not specify if he was after a custom rifle of a factory rifle , so was just a suggestion , that said if he was looking factory he could not go far wrong looking at 260 rem or again if he was going custom route 6.5 284 that said sauer did list this as a factory chamber for a while .

Ref the 160s it probably would but without looking at quick load the 6.5 x 55 would have more boiler house behind it to do a better job of it , personaly if i had the need to be pushing 160's to hunt something larger would be looking to a bigger round 6.5 x 68 perhaps, lets face it most of the deer in the uk shot at normal ranges up to say 300 m will go down to a well placed shot with bullets in the 100 to 140 g range .

I would agree the 6.5 has a good selection of bullets availble but again when you get to the 160g range choice limited most are in the 120 to 140 g range which perhaps is an indication where this round works best .

My old sauer shot 120 BT very well and i saw no reson to move away form that .

What part of ammanford you from ? don't let the London as my loacation mislead you :)
 
hi phil ,

ive been using the 6.5 for nearly 2 years and it has proven ability to take the largest red stag to the munty with ease !

come august i will be using it on lowland red stags and in november on the hinds , now i have my home loads spot on using 140gn sst 's and RL22 shooting these animals at 200m will not be ans issue( im not a real fan of long range shooting but my red deer stalking dictates it )

and hopefully in september ill be grassing my first sika stag this david brown off here in milness !

cheers lee
 
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