Top Spanish Hunting
Well-Known Member
Today I wanted to talk to you about a caliber that we have been testing for a year, the 8.5x55 Blaser. As it is a European cartridge, its name does not indicate how powerful it is. It uses a 55 mm case, like the 6.5x55, but it is much larger so that it can hold large doses of gunpowder capable of propelling its .338” caliber projectiles at high velocities. However, before describing the ammunition, I consider it necessary to note some information about its origin and comment that I have met people who believed that the 8.5x55 could not be a powerful cartridge because they imagined that its case would be small, like the of the 6.5x55, when they don't even look alike. It is almost logical that they thought this way, because the nomenclature followed in Europe to name cartridges only takes into account the diameter of the projectile and the length of the case, not its power as indicated in North American and English cartridges with words like “magnum”, etc. Dimensions of the 8.5x55 Blaser. The ammunition was developed by Norma at Blaser's request based on the .404 Jeffery case with a slightly recessed butt, cut to 55 mm and modified to accept .338 caliber projectiles. And most importantly, with a special gunpowder that burns well in short barrels. The 8.5x55 Blaser is an extraordinary cartridge, almost magical, because it is a high-velocity ammunition designed by Blaser so that it can be fired in short barrels without practically losing performance.
Thus, for example, the 12 gram (185 grain) Barnes TTSX bullet fired from a 60 cm barrel develops 900 meters per second; 894 m/s when fired from 58 cm guns; 873 m/s in 52 cm guns and 852 m/s! in 47 cm guns. That is to say, the loss of velocity between a 60 barrel and a 47 barrel is less than 50 meters per second and this is truly extraordinary because it does not happen with any other conventional high velocity cartridge, in which 60 barrels must be used. -61 cm or longer so that the projectile can reach high speeds, since when shorter barrels are used the gunpowder does not burn well.
Blaser introduced it in 2019 so that hunters who used silencers (fashionable in Europe since 2016-17) would have a powerful cartridge that could be used in rifles as compact as those chambered for standard cartridges (.308 Win., for example) which, to date, were the only types of cartridges whose powder burned acceptably well in barrels shorter than 50 cm.
It should be added that the .404 Jeffery case is what Winchester was inspired to create its .300 Winchester Short Magnum (WSM) cartridge case, which is why the cases of the European and North American cartridges look externally similar. However, since the Blaser ammunition case is a little longer, it is also more elegant (less stubby) than the North American one, as well as much more powerful. Blaser (loaded by Norma), Norma itself and SAX are the main ammunition brands that, at the moment, manufacture the 8.5x55 Blaser. They offer it loaded with various types of lead-free and conventional projectiles weighing between 9 grams (139 grains) and 14.9 grams (230 grains). And with all these weights it develops a muzzle velocity that is slightly lower than that achieved by the .338 Win. Mag with the same bullet weight and long barrel.
Thus, to cite the two examples of the most extreme weights, the 9 gram SAX KJG bullet develops an initial velocity of 1,030 meters per second in the 8.5x55 Blaser and 1,080 in the .338 Win. Mag. And the Norma Oryx of 230 grains 820 m/s in the 8.5x55 Blaser and 840 m/s in the .338 Win. Mag. Therefore, it can be stated that with all the weights offered, the new ammunition is practically as effective as the .338 Win. Magnum with the same bullet types and weights. Now, this does not mean that both cartridges can be compared. They are not comparable, they are very different ammunition because the North American cartridge can fire all the bullet weights of the 8.5x55 and, in addition, much heavier projectiles (250, 275 and even .300 grains), since it uses a longer case designed originally to fire the same bullet weights as the .375 H&H Mag., with which Winchester intended to compete. However, the fact that the 8.5x55 carries lighter weight projectiles is an advantage in the specific case of Spanish hunting (and I would say also in European hunting) because it prevents hunters from using projectiles that are too heavy and therefore insufficient. expansive, which is precisely the mistake that some .338 Win users make. Magnum. In the Spanish fauna (avoiding heavier projectiles at long distances and lighter ones at very short distances) it can be used to hunt in any mode: waiting, hunting and stalking, so it is an ammunition especially suitable for those hunters who want to use a single cartridge in all modes.
I can affirm that the 8.5x55 is indeed extremely precise. I tested it at my shooting range, shooting with support at 100 meters with a Blaser R8 rifle with a 56 cm barrel without thread on the muzzle, Blaser B1 2.8-20x50iC scope and Blaser TTSX 160 grain ammunition (which is very fast; develops a speed of 940 m/s).
Thus, for example, the 12 gram (185 grain) Barnes TTSX bullet fired from a 60 cm barrel develops 900 meters per second; 894 m/s when fired from 58 cm guns; 873 m/s in 52 cm guns and 852 m/s! in 47 cm guns. That is to say, the loss of velocity between a 60 barrel and a 47 barrel is less than 50 meters per second and this is truly extraordinary because it does not happen with any other conventional high velocity cartridge, in which 60 barrels must be used. -61 cm or longer so that the projectile can reach high speeds, since when shorter barrels are used the gunpowder does not burn well.
Blaser introduced it in 2019 so that hunters who used silencers (fashionable in Europe since 2016-17) would have a powerful cartridge that could be used in rifles as compact as those chambered for standard cartridges (.308 Win., for example) which, to date, were the only types of cartridges whose powder burned acceptably well in barrels shorter than 50 cm.
It should be added that the .404 Jeffery case is what Winchester was inspired to create its .300 Winchester Short Magnum (WSM) cartridge case, which is why the cases of the European and North American cartridges look externally similar. However, since the Blaser ammunition case is a little longer, it is also more elegant (less stubby) than the North American one, as well as much more powerful. Blaser (loaded by Norma), Norma itself and SAX are the main ammunition brands that, at the moment, manufacture the 8.5x55 Blaser. They offer it loaded with various types of lead-free and conventional projectiles weighing between 9 grams (139 grains) and 14.9 grams (230 grains). And with all these weights it develops a muzzle velocity that is slightly lower than that achieved by the .338 Win. Mag with the same bullet weight and long barrel.
Thus, to cite the two examples of the most extreme weights, the 9 gram SAX KJG bullet develops an initial velocity of 1,030 meters per second in the 8.5x55 Blaser and 1,080 in the .338 Win. Mag. And the Norma Oryx of 230 grains 820 m/s in the 8.5x55 Blaser and 840 m/s in the .338 Win. Mag. Therefore, it can be stated that with all the weights offered, the new ammunition is practically as effective as the .338 Win. Magnum with the same bullet types and weights. Now, this does not mean that both cartridges can be compared. They are not comparable, they are very different ammunition because the North American cartridge can fire all the bullet weights of the 8.5x55 and, in addition, much heavier projectiles (250, 275 and even .300 grains), since it uses a longer case designed originally to fire the same bullet weights as the .375 H&H Mag., with which Winchester intended to compete. However, the fact that the 8.5x55 carries lighter weight projectiles is an advantage in the specific case of Spanish hunting (and I would say also in European hunting) because it prevents hunters from using projectiles that are too heavy and therefore insufficient. expansive, which is precisely the mistake that some .338 Win users make. Magnum. In the Spanish fauna (avoiding heavier projectiles at long distances and lighter ones at very short distances) it can be used to hunt in any mode: waiting, hunting and stalking, so it is an ammunition especially suitable for those hunters who want to use a single cartridge in all modes.
I can affirm that the 8.5x55 is indeed extremely precise. I tested it at my shooting range, shooting with support at 100 meters with a Blaser R8 rifle with a 56 cm barrel without thread on the muzzle, Blaser B1 2.8-20x50iC scope and Blaser TTSX 160 grain ammunition (which is very fast; develops a speed of 940 m/s).
