How big is 6.5x55??

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charlieg43

charlieg43

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Iv been hearing good things about the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser, and im just a little confused on the size, stupid question I know. Many people say its bigger than .270, others smaller and that its more powerful. Im just trying to see where it fits in around say .243, .270 and .308 etc. Any info on the subject would be great!!

Cheers
 
Hard to believe the question.
Bigger than .243 less than .270 or .308 but it can carry a long bullet of 160gr which is large for calibre size and makes it very popular for elk/moose in sweden where it was for a long time the military cartridge.
Martin
 
Each calibre will have it's fans, but the 6.5x55 seems to fiercely divide opinion. I have one, and love it. Used 120gn BT's for a while, but find 140gn SP's better for what I do. I've shot muntjac through to red stags on the hill, and have never felt undergunned.
 
Last edited:
Only reason why the 6.5x55 was/is popular for elk and moose is because for most it was the only rifle they had.
Like in Germany where many had left over 8x57's. Many people including many Swedes think the 6.5x55 is not a good Elk cartridge
which is logic due to the low energy. Fine for medium deer if one chooses the right bullet.
Mostly due to wrong bullet choice it got a bad reputation. I am sick of this calibre as a friend has one and every deer
he shot just ran away ruining our day. Even with perfect shot placement. In hindsight it was possibly the wrong bullet. I don't go
shooting with him anymore.
As they always claim...the 6.5 makes up in penetration what it lacks in energy which makes things worse with small animals
as very little energy is dumped into a side on shot. In some cases one would be better off with a 223.
edi
 
Bavarianbrit, sorry I know it is a little stupid, I was just a little confused. Im new to stalking so just looking for info on calibres I am not familear with. Thanks for clearing it up guys! Pointbreak your very right, probably more than adiquate for UK stalking. Thankyou all for the information :-D
 
I love my swede infact ive got two ,and with 120gn Barnes ttsx going at around 2800fps nothing I've shot has moved more than a couple of yards most drop on the spot as has all the ones my mate has shot with the right bullet it will knock down any deer in this country end of..........
 
MONGOOSE said:
I love my swede infact ive got two ,and with 120gn Barnes ttsx going at around 2800fps nothing I've shot has moved more than a couple of yards most drop on the spot as has all the ones my mate has shot with the right bullet it will knock down any deer in this country end of..........
Click to expand...

How many hundred Sika have you dropped on the spot with it ?

HWH.
 
ejg said:
Only reason why the 6.5x55 was/is popular for elk and moose is because for most it was the only rifle they had.
Like in Germany where many had left over 8x57's. Many people including many Swedes think the 6.5x55 is not a good Elk cartridge
which is logic due to the low energy. Fine for medium deer if one chooses the right bullet.
Mostly due to wrong bullet choice it got a bad reputation. I am sick of this calibre as a friend has one and every deer
he shot just ran away ruining our day. Even with perfect shot placement. In hindsight it was possibly the wrong bullet. I don't go
shooting with him anymore.
As they always claim...the 6.5 makes up in penetration what it lacks in energy which makes things worse with small animals
as very little energy is dumped into a side on shot. In some cases one would be better off with a 223.
edi
Click to expand...

very interesting post. my father and brothers in law have always shot the swede and it seems they are always off tracking deer or out the next morning to find them as they bolted post-shot off the woodland rides on last light.
I've seen plenty drop too, but many run and heard of many run - that's been with 140g to 156 soft points and norma vulkans.

interestingly, the reds tend to drop faster than the roe, like you mentioned.

personally I have always used .243 and now .223 on roe, and have only had to go tracking for a couple of deer, the rest have dropped where I shot them, literally dropped, not a step, even with H/L shots.
 
MONGOOSE said:
I love my swede infact ive got two ,and with 120gn Barnes ttsx going at around 2800fps nothing I've shot has moved more than a couple of yards most drop on the spot as has all the ones my mate has shot with the right bullet it will knock down any deer in this country end of..........
Click to expand...

Mine loves the TTSX or TSX. Great bullet great caliber!
 
ejg said:
Only reason why the 6.5x55 was/is popular for elk and moose is because for most it was the only rifle they had.
Like in Germany where many had left over 8x57's. Many people including many Swedes think the 6.5x55 is not a good Elk cartridge
which is logic due to the low energy. Fine for medium deer if one chooses the right bullet.
Mostly due to wrong bullet choice it got a bad reputation. I am sick of this calibre as a friend has one and every deer
he shot just ran away ruining our day. Even with perfect shot placement. In hindsight it was possibly the wrong bullet. I don't go
shooting with him anymore.
As they always claim...the 6.5 makes up in penetration what it lacks in energy which makes things worse with small animals
as very little energy is dumped into a side on shot. In some cases one would be better off with a 223.
edi
Click to expand...

Edi: Have you loaded for or hunted with the 6,5x55? I don't know what you friend was shooting but his results fly in the face of the experiences of many shooters here on this site, and many others world wide. You are wise not to hunt with him anymore. Wrong bullet choice is no condemnation of the cartridge. I will be hunting mule deer and whitetail deer with a 6.5x55 using 120 grain bullets at 2873 fps. I'm not worried about the ability of this cartridge to drop these deer.

As to the Swedes not having any other options, I dispute that. I have four Husqvarna commercial rifles from the 1930's and 1940's in 8x57 and 9.3x57 so there was obviously a choice: the same models were offered in 7x57 and 9x57. I suspect that like the 30-06 in the US, there were many surplus rifles available and people used them. I wonder how many cash strapped hunters -like those in the US- used military ammo?~Muir
 
Charlie43 - 'they're' off for a bit of a side debate - dont worry about it ;)

Cliched - but there are no silly or daft questions. Whether starting out or otherwise; one of the prime purposes of SD is to be an open forum for such things. I did a double take at BavariBs first sentence - but think I'm just misconstruing it.

Enoy the forum! :D
 
Moray Outfitting said:
Charlie43 - 'they're' off for a bit of a side debate - dont worry about it ;)

Cliched - but there are no silly or daft questions. Whether starting out or otherwise; one of the prime purposes of SD is to be an open forum for such things. I did a double take at BavariBs first sentence - but think I'm just misconstruing it.

Enoy the forum! :D
Click to expand...
Moray,
Sorry if it wobbled you but I guess as have been in engineering roles for 40+ years that to check a metric size against an inch size was to me something I would have been embarassed to post on an open site, every mobile phone has a calculater included plus google is great for such simple stuff.
No offence was meant to the poster.
Martin
 
I was recommended the 6.5x55 by a friend - managed to try one and liked it a lot.
Got myself a Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 and have had no regrets.

Find a calibre, bullet and rifle that you are comfortable with and practise as much as possible.
Then enjoy the shooting.
Everyone has their own particular favourite calibre, bullet, rifle and scope and it's just a case of finding yours.

Atb

Ed
 
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