MV for home load 6.5x55 help

[Muir]

I talked to the people at Federal one year about their brass. They said that the brass drawn for their 6.5x55 is the same as that drawn for their 308 and similar sized cases. There are some dimensional differences but it was the same metallurgic composition. It was more cost effective to just run the same mix. I don't know if that was true then, and if so, I don't know if that holds water now. Just an FYI.~Muir

 

[Blobby159]

I talked to the people at Federal one year about their brass. They said that the brass drawn for their 6.5x55 is the same as that drawn for their 308 and similar sized cases. There are some dimensional differences but it was the same metallurgic composition. It was more cost effective to just run the same mix. I don't know if that was true then, and if so, I don't know if that holds water now. Just an FYI.~Muir

Hi 'Muir' ... That is really interesting but also really significant if it still holds true.. My reloading tends to be on the warm side in general and I have found with the Lapua cases I use that case stretch is yet minimal, especially after the first load, firing, and subsequent trim
to length... My experiences of the 6.5x55 Swedish case formed by Lapua appears to confirm his supposition in that they appear to be are made of a quite resilient, tough brass mix.

ATB ..... and shoot safely.!

 

[ejg]

I talked to the people at Federal one year about their brass. They said that the brass drawn for their 6.5x55 is the same as that drawn for their 308 and similar sized cases. There are some dimensional differences but it was the same metallurgic composition. It was more cost effective to just run the same mix. I don't know if that was true then, and if so, I don't know if that holds water now. Just an FYI.~Muir

I would believe that, keeps things simpler. Also simplifies recycling of left overs as brass is not cheap.
edi

 

[palo]

[Q2UOTE=Muir;1428677]I talked to the people at Federal one year about their brass. They said that the brass drawn for their 6.5x55 is the same as that drawn for their 308 and similar sized cases. There are some dimensional differences but it was the same metallurgic composition. It was more cost effective to just run the same mix. I don't know if that was true then, and if so, I don't know if that holds water now. Just an FYI.~Muir[/QUOTE]
Remington do the same for their 6.5x55 brass. A Remington 6.5 case has the same head size as a 308 and will fit perfectly in a 308 shell holder, a lapua case won't.

 

[Muir]

While brass is the seal that keeps the nasty hot gasses out of your face -and shpuldn't be overly stressed- I have usually loaded to the firearm when using modern brass. My 6.5x55 loads are near the top of the load data when using my commercial FN. The velocities certainly are. I don't fire these in my military 96's but then I have no need to. On the other hand, my Husqvarna 648 is built on a Swede 96 action (minus the thumb cut) and is in 8x57. I load that one to modern 8x57 standards and never worry about it.

It's an odd thing. When I was in gunsmithing school the instructors said that chambering a Swede action for a high pressure cartridge wasn't wise due to the lack of a 'gas shield' as found on a M98 Mauser. It also, I was told, lacks a third locking lug. Well, the 700 Remington has none of the features either. Kimber, in their early-mid 1980's financial restructuring, bought up all the surplus M96 Swedes they could find and rebarreled them to very hot cartridges. Makes you wonder.~Muir

 

[ejg]

In Europe ... use whatever action design you want as long as it doesn't blow up when proofing. Rumours are that some proofing agencies in Germany only proof randomly from the production line of local manufacturers the rest is assumed to be good..... many fail re-proof shortly after when they get proofed due to barrel thread being retrofitted.
edi

 

[Sinistral]

My reloading tends to be on the warm side in general and I have found with the Lapua cases I use that case stretch is yet minimal, especially after the first load, firing, and subsequent trim to length...
My experiences of the 6.5x55 Swedish case formed by Lapua appears to confirm his supposition in that they appear to be are made of a quite resilient, tough brass mix.

I think this is more down to case size rather than metallurgy. On that front new Winchester and Remington cases in 6.5x55 sold for reloading are definitely undersized at the head & rim. They are .308 size so should fit LEE #2 press shellholders.
After firing these you do notice a ring swell above the extractor groove. It wouldn’t surprise me if Federal were the same, but it doesn’t look like they offer cases as components.

https://www.federalpremium.com/products/reloading/brass