6.5x55 -140 grain powders

Peter Eaton

Well-Known Member
After alot of head scratching, research and advice I am changing my loads from 120 grain to 140 for my Swede. My load I use at the moment is as follows120 grain bullet - 48.5 grains N160 this is a great load in my rifle and achieves around 2800+ fps. In reality the rifle should be able to push just 2900-3000 fps but I guess the tolerances are not so tight in my gun? This load is within limits for N160 and shows no signs of pressure.As I said I wish to move to 140 grain bullets but looking at the data from Viht it looks like N560 would be a better choice in my rifle as it may achieve better speeds for the 140s. But before I try N560 does anyone else use any other powders which are suitable for 140 grain bullets in the Swede. I have seen reloader 19 and reloader 22 metioned before, anyone use these. I have to say that just about every US powder manufactures guides are not really much help as the loads are reduced so older actions can handle them.CheersPete
 
After alot of head scratching, research and advice I am changing my loads from 120 grain to 140 for my Swede. My load I use at the moment is as follows120 grain bullet - 48.5 grains N160 this is a great load in my rifle and achieves around 2800+ fps. In reality the rifle should be able to push just 2900-3000 fps but I guess the tolerances are not so tight in my gun? This load is within limits for N160 and shows no signs of pressure.As I said I wish to move to 140 grain bullets but looking at the data from Viht it looks like N560 would be a better choice in my rifle as it may achieve better speeds for the 140s. But before I try N560 does anyone else use any other powders which are suitable for 140 grain bullets in the Swede. I have seen reloader 19 and reloader 22 metioned before, anyone use these. I have to say that just about every US powder manufactures guides are not really much help as the loads are reduced so older actions can handle them.CheersPete

N560 is the dogs knackers in the 6.5x55 !

its all i used in it , once i tried it
 
Hi leechThanks for the reply, what loads were you using with the N560 and did you try with 140 grain bullets? I read on here that it can be a throat burner but after contacting a very helpful reloader it was explained that in the Swede it shouldnt really be a problem, though in 6.5x284 it would be a throat burner.ATBPete
 
Vit N560 first choice for velocity and in my Sako L691 and RPA Interceptor also best for accuracy. Norma Brass, Fed 210M primer, Sierra Gameking 140gn, 48.5gn N560. OAL in Sako was 3.15 570mm barrel 2700 fps, RPA with short throat 3.05 OAL 2777 fps. I did hit 3000 fps using Hornady 129gn SST's with 50.5gn Reloder 22 behind it, this was also accurate but everything out of the RPA was 0.5MOA or better.
 
Hi leechThanks for the reply, what loads were you using with the N560 and did you try with 140 grain bullets? I read on here that it can be a throat burner but after contacting a very helpful reloader it was explained that in the Swede it shouldnt really be a problem, though in 6.5x284 it would be a throat burner.ATBPete

throat burner ? what a load of crap ! not being funny a modern rifle will out live the average stalker regardless what powder he uses .:old:

i use N560 so much i bought 6kg of the bloody stuff , i use it in my 270 and 300win mag with good results .:thumb:

i think from memory i used 46gn of N560 giving me 2850fps which gave hardly any bullet damage , with 140gn sst's , nosler partitions and barnes bullets .

BUT WORK UP TO THAT LOAD IT MIGHT NOT BE SAFE IN YOUR RIFLE !
 
Hi Lee

Thanks for the advice and I agree with what your saying, looks like N560 would be the ticket as I shoot a tikka t3 and I suspect my final loads would be around the loads your using, will work em up of course. I should point out re the 6.5 x 284 the gent I spoke to said it could possibly be if the gun was being used by a bench rest shooter putting alot of lead down range.

many thanks

pete
 
Hi Lee

Thanks for the advice and I agree with what your saying, looks like N560 would be the ticket as I shoot a tikka t3 and I suspect my final loads would be around the loads your using, will work em up of course. I should point out re the 6.5 x 284 the gent I spoke to said it could possibly be if the gun was being used by a bench rest shooter putting alot of lead down range.

many thanks

pete

i too had a tikka t3 lite very nice rifle indeed !

there is only one disadvantage to N560 , it is quite chunky so running it through a powder measure is a pain in the arse , so if you use a measure make sure your 1/2gn short and trickle the rest !

good luck with your loads ,

cheers lee
 
Hi Pete, I had a number of RFD's who all said the 140grn was the optimum for 6.5x55. My Sako definately prefers a bullet "jump" and I am using H414 at the moment having said that I may give another powder a try, even so my rifle is shooting to a shade over 0.5 MOA @ 100yds and that is not in a bolted to a table benchrest setup.
 
I have been having monstrously good success with IMR7828SSC in my FN Commercial 6.5 Swede. Haven't chronographed it but the accuracy is sterling.~Muir
 
Thanks for the replies sp far gents, what your all saying is what I have been finding out recently. I dropped to 120 grain bullets as thought they would be a flatter shooting bullet.I then found out that its a wee bit of a myth, yeah sure a 120 with a good co.eff will be flat, but one with a rubbish co. eff wont be a flat as a 140 with a good co.eff. Hence I am now going back to 140s with good co. effs as although they may not be as fast the trajectory is only a bit different than the 120s, but I still need to get them moving faster than when using N160 to see the better results. I only dropped to 120s after using factory bullets......but no wonder ....most 140 factory bullets are dire and drop like stones,
 
Hi Pete, I had a number of RFD's who all said the 140grn was the optimum for 6.5x55. My Sako definately prefers a bullet "jump" and I am using H414 at the moment having said that I may give another powder a try, even so my rifle is shooting to a shade over 0.5 MOA @ 100yds and that is not in a bolted to a table benchrest setup.
Why chase the dragon,that is superb accuracy from a factory rifle,h414 is a top powder in my humble opinion.
 
I am using reloader22 46.5grn with 140grn Nosler partitions and is giving me 2650fps and finding this load very accurate,
 
I'm a bit new at reloading. But I've got Hornady 140 sp and vit N160 sat on the bench at the mo. I've been told by a few peeps that 44gns is a good starting point. So I'm going to be working up some loads based on that + /-.5 gn. I'll post the results once I'm tested them.
As I said I'm new at this reloading game and still swithering about head depth in the case.
 
Hi Pitnie

I would be interested to see how your loads go, with any luck you will have tighter tolorences in your barrel and be able to achieve the higher speeds with N160. When you say head depth I take it you mean the seating depth of the bullet/OAL. If so 6.5 x55 are know for having throats that are deeper so you will find you wont be anywhere near the lands or if you were the bullet isnt seated deep enough in the case or will be too long to fit in the mag. Dont let it worry you, either go with the bullet makers oal and play around tih that. I know of a chap on here who has a friend who is a bench rest match shooter and he says there is alot of tosh spoken about OALs...just experiment but dont get to stressed with it.
 
I read a good article once about the best powders to use in the 6.5x55 with 140 grain bullets. They recommended n560, r22. and norma mrp.
I use n160 and 130 grain bullets but also tried n160 and n560 with 140s. n560 did give a bit more velocity at max loads but accuracy was not great and when i reduced the load to get accuracy it was doing the same speed as n160. you will just have to try a few powders to see what works best in your rifle.
 
Hi Palo

Thanks for that all the powders you mention are coming up on my searches too, I realize what you say about trying other powders but the down side is the cost. I am erring towards then N560 or the reloader 22 , one thing I know is that my rifle is always far more accurate when the bullet is on the faster side.

ATB

Pete
 
Reloader 22 works good in the Tikka 6.5x55 with 120-140g heads can get 3000fps with a 20' barrel does the job.....
 
Hi Pitnie

I would be interested to see how your loads go, with any luck you will have tighter tolorences in your barrel and be able to achieve the higher speeds with N160. When you say head depth I take it you mean the seating depth of the bullet/OAL. If so 6.5 x55 are know for having throats that are deeper so you will find you wont be anywhere near the lands or if you were the bullet isnt seated deep enough in the case or will be too long to fit in the mag. Dont let it worry you, either go with the bullet makers oal and play around tih that. I know of a chap on here who has a friend who is a bench rest match shooter and he says there is alot of tosh spoken about OALs...just experiment but dont get to stressed with it.

Have a read through this Pete, quite an interesting post.
 
140gn Nosler Partitions over 44gns of IMR4831 gives me 2,705 fps out of my 6.5x55 blaser (23" bbl)
 
Back
Top