The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old September 7, 2008, 07:52 PM   #1
Dearhunter61
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 5, 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 518
6.5x55 Swede

I am not having a lot of success finding a load that will consistently shoot sub MOA with my 6.5x55...I have loaded Hornady 140 grain BTSP bullets with multiple powders and powder combinations. Powders include Varget, IMR 4350, Win 760, IMR 4831 and Reloader 19.

I was wondering if any of you can offer some recommendations? Have any of you found accuracy with smaller bullets? What have you found that worked well for you?

The best I have been able to do and duplicate is with Reloader 19 powder. I have shot 1.07 and 1.04 3 shot groups with this but frankly I am looking for something around the .75 or better area.

Also this is for a deer rifle and not a target rifle.

Thanks,
Dearhunter61 is offline  
Old September 7, 2008, 09:28 PM   #2
welder05
Member
 
Join Date: March 27, 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 29
My best results have been with 120 Sierra Pro Hunter (flat based bullet) and Varget 37 - 37.5 grs.
welder05 is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 07:08 AM   #3
VaFisher
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 24, 2006
Posts: 596
My best came using 4064 powder and the Hornady 140 gr. SST bullets. I didn't say how much powder mainly because there are so many old and new rifles in that caliper out and I would not want to lead you in the wrong direction. My loads were for the older Swede rifle that my wife uses for deer hunting, sweet shooting gun it is and she loves it.
VaFisher is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 08:13 AM   #4
sundog
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 22, 1999
Location: Green Country, OK
Posts: 782
I've had good results with Hdy Interloct flat base 140s and H4831SC at 2400 fps. If I remember right, I used a mag primer. I've shot several 10-round sub 2-inch groups at 100 with this load with an 'as issue' M96. Properly scoped and bedded as a hunting rifle, I see no reason why you should not be able to get MOA 3-round groups.
__________________
safety first
sundog is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 08:19 AM   #5
fisherman66
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2005
Location: The Woodlands TX
Posts: 4,677
IF you have a trim barrel contour you might want to add some cool time. I let mine spend 5 minutes resting between shots.

Is your cold bore shot consistent? That's usually the only one that counts.
__________________
la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!
fisherman66 is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 09:29 AM   #6
Stumper
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 15, 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 438
Pardon me if this seems rude in any way, but I would never concern myself with sub MOA groups in a deer rifle. If it will shoot sub 3 MOA it will be entirely adequate on deer further than most people should shoot at them. if it is sub 2 MOA (which my 6.5 Swede seems capable of with almost any load) then it is fine further than I should shoot at game under hunting conditions.
__________________
"Let us speak courteously, deal fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready." Theodore Roosevelt

"If only God has magic, how does Santa get down the chimney?" Natalie Peters age 4
Stumper is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 10:13 AM   #7
Dearhunter61
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 5, 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 518
Stumper

I do not consider your remarks rude. I guess the main thing with this rifle is I purchased it to replace hunting with my 7Mag and to that end I would like it to shoot comparable groups and that means sub MOA. I understand that a lot of folks are ok with 3' groups or smaller...perhaps even 4' groups or smaller for deer hunting but that is simply not what I expect. I want to know when I put the crosshairs on a deer the bullet will hit where I am aiming, at least within an inch of it. To me this completely eliminates the gun as a cause of either a missed deer or a badly hit deer. Then it is NO EXCUSES for me. If I miss then it is all on me. That is just what I am looking for. And also I want to know that if I take a 300 yard shot I am comfortable that I can make it and the gun is up to the task. Beyond 300 yards would be a stretch for me...I simply do not think I would take a shot beyond that distance.
Dearhunter61 is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 12:11 PM   #8
fisherman66
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2005
Location: The Woodlands TX
Posts: 4,677
I don't ask for MOA, but I want it close. A neckshot is only possible with a fairly accurate rifle. I don't encourage that shot, but I will take it when presented the opportunity. I only concern myself with cold bore shots. I will leave a barrel fouled if needed.
__________________
la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!
fisherman66 is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 01:05 PM   #9
firewrench044
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 9, 2007
Location: Fort Pierce, Florida
Posts: 381
My 6.5 X 55 Swedes --
29" barrel (7.5 to 1 twist)
142 gr Sierra
43.5 gr IMR 4350
CCI # 34 primer

24" barrel (7.5 to 1 twist)
142 gr Sierra
35.8 H Varget
CCi # 34 primer

The 7.5 to 1 twist semms to work best with heavyer bullets, and as you can see the longer barrel works better with a slower powder, I use the
CCi # 34 primer because it is a magnum primer and they ignite the powder better in cold weather, and I already have them in stock for my Garand
firewrench044 is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 01:32 PM   #10
sundog
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 22, 1999
Location: Green Country, OK
Posts: 782
Fisherman, you pretty much got it. That first round cold barrel shot is the one that makes the difference. It always needs to go to the same place. At 50 yards it is less a problem than at 200. I'm with you on the fouled barrel - check the zero just prior (actually several times with a cold barrel), and then "leave'r be".
__________________
safety first
sundog is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 02:01 PM   #11
T. O'Heir
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 13, 2002
Location: Canada
Posts: 12,453
"...I want to know when I put the crosshairs on a deer the bullet will hit where I am aiming..." That's about how the rifle is sighted in, how good a shot you make, the wind, etc., not the group size.
What rifle? A milsurp Mauser just may not be capable of shooting a sub-MOA group.
"...300 yards..." Too far. With a 100 yard zero, factory 140 grain bullets drop like bricks between 250 and 300(7 inches). 17" low at 300. Sighted in at 200, they drop about 6" between 250 and 300. 1224 ft-lbs of energy at 300 too.
__________________
Spelling and grammar count!
T. O'Heir is offline  
Old September 8, 2008, 02:48 PM   #12
Dearhunter61
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 5, 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 518
Yes and No

True in order to hit a target where you aim at it...in this case a deer...you need to have your rifle/scope sighted in...I assumed that was a given...sorry. But I have seen many times where a gun was "sighted in" and the shooter missed target.

As for groups.....Perhaps you might explain yourself better....If I have a gun that shoots 3' groups and shoot at a squirrel a hundred yards away it is not the fact that the gun does not shoot the "bullets" loaded for it well but that the gun is not sighted in properly to compensate for 3' groups?

Sorry but you kind of lost me. To me the only way you can sight in a rifle and be able to depend on it is to first have a bullet/powder combo etc that the rifle shoots good groups with....perhaps not....
Dearhunter61 is offline  
Old September 14, 2008, 09:34 PM   #13
Dearhunter61
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 5, 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 518
Finally the light came on...

Well...I finally figured out why my 6.5 has not been grouping for (*#&. I went to the range today and after shooting 2 groups with my 6.5 and then 1 with my 7-08 and the 1 with my 223 and then 1 with my 22-250 I knew something was amiss....I fired one more group with my 6.5 and watched as after each round it would walk across the target about an inch at a time.... So packed everything up and went home....took a nap....kinda POd but was pretty sure I knew what the problem was....yep you guessed it....the scope was loose. When I woke up grabbed my gun rest and gun and grabbed the screw driver and of course the front mount was loose. AGH!!! So now I get to hopefully go back tomorrow evening and try this again. I am really hoping this was the problem. It was becoming a real issue that the gun was not shooting any better than it was. So hopefully tomorrow evening it will be proven out that the prblem was in fact the scope and mounts.
Dearhunter61 is offline  
Old September 15, 2008, 02:09 AM   #14
azsixshooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 22, 2007
Location: Pinckney, MI
Posts: 657
I had the same problem with my 6.5x55 Swede! Coincidence, obviously, that the caliber is the same but I definitely feel your pain.

I bought my CZ 550 at Sportsman's Warehouse and got a Nikon scope there too. I was planning to mount it myself, but they offered to do it and laser bore-sight it so I figured why not.

-They did it in archery and didn't use gunsmith screwdrivers, nicking the ring screws all up;

-The guy doing the mounting handed it to me about 4 times to check and the crosshairs were way off from level everytime (he even said "your killin' me" when I gave it back to him and told him it still wasn't right after 3 or 4 times);

-When I went to shoot it it wasn't even on the paper at 50 yards;

-I wasted a lot of time and ammo before I realized the rear mount was loose;

She's all lock-tited down now and it certainly has been a relief to have gotten that figured out. I knew I was shooting factory and milsurp ammo, but after all I had heard about the accuracy of the Swede and of the CZ rifles I was really feeling let down. Now that things are fixed and I'm shooting handloads I'm getting sub-MOA groups, even when sitting on a bucket and shooting off the tailgate of my truck using a rolled up towel on my range bag as a front rest.

I had luck with several loadings using AA3100 and 120 grain Nosler Ballistic tips in Federal cases with Rem 9 1/2 primers, but the one I decided to go with was 47.5 grains for now. I shot a .625" group with that combination so I'm going to take a bunch of them to the range and see if I can do it consistently and with 5 shot groups instead of the 3 shot group I test fired.
__________________
"Which side are we on? We're on the side of the demons, Chief. We're evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spread devastation and destruction wherever we go. I'm surprised you didn't know that." --Saul Tigh
http://sargesrollcall.blogspot.com/2...s-no-more.html
azsixshooter is offline  
Old September 15, 2008, 08:00 AM   #15
Dearhunter61
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 5, 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 518
azsixshooter

Thanks...I was feeling the pain. I bought this one after buying a couple of other rifles over the last few months. The wife was not all that happy with me buying it and to tell you how upset she was I decided NOT to buy another scope for it but to remove the scope on my 270 right now and buy one later for my 270. So when it was not shooting accurately I was feeling the heat! Especially after all I had read about the accuracy of this round. I already own two other CZs in 22-250 and 22lr and they are both very accurate so I expected the same with this one and was just not getting it. So after finding that the scope was loose it made me feel a little better...I have yet to shoot it after correcting this so until I do and it shoots better I will still be holding my breath.
Dearhunter61 is offline  
Old September 15, 2008, 07:33 PM   #16
Dearhunter61
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 5, 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 518
Ok...finally...I think I have found a load.

All right all....I have finally found a load...I think....I need to duplicate it but if I can then I will be set.

I shot a .5 inch 3 shot group today. This is what I have been looking for. If I can repeat it or at least shoot it under an inch the next time then it will be my hunting load for this gun. I have a couple of other loads just over an inch that I am going to reload and see if they will repeat at least the same performance or better.

Bullet - 130 grain Barnes TSX, Powder - Hodgdon H4350, 45.5 Grains, Primer - Federal Match 210
Dearhunter61 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:24 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.08036 seconds with 10 queries