6.5 swede shooters

okoyote

okoyote

New member
Any regrets? I'm about to send my 25-06 in to get rebarreled and the swede is my pick unless someone can talk me out of it.

The specs: 24 inch threaded and fluted, tikka varmint profile. Throated for 140s.

The plan is for a long range critter getter and paper puncher.
 
Since you already have the 25-06 platform it seems that the 6.5-06 would be natural..?

I am in about the same place as you are and I feel the 6.5-06 makes the most sense. I already have brass. Plus the 06 case has more potential performance wise. Lapua make brass for both [30-06, 6.5x55 ]. Just something to chew on.
 
I think there's a reason the 6.5x55 Swede is so often coined as "the .30-06 of Europe". Sure, on paper it might line up a bit closer to somewhere between a .243win and a .270win, or parallel to the 6.5 Creedmore (although the Swede handles bigger bullets a bit better), but the moral of the story is that it's versatile and effective.

I have had two rifles in the Swede, a Mauser that I bought on a whim for $80 when I was still in high school (gunshow loophole!), then a Ruger M-77 that I wish I had kept. Both were fantastic deer rifles, and buckled antelope like a house of cards. A little heavy on coyotes unless you're measuring in football fields (or unless you're not fur hunting).

The Mauser was actually more accurate than the Ruger for most loads, but both were fantastic shooters, light recoil and surprisingly good killing performance on heavy bodied KS whitetails.
 
You should be happy with your choice of a 6.5x55 Swede. Rebarreled a Stevens 200 from 270 Win to 6.5 Swede and I'm happy with mine. But then, already had 4 Swedes, some sporterized military and some still military. All nice shooters. A number of gents I shoot with on a regular basis have gone with rifles chambered in 260 Remington last year or so. They are happy with performance of a .260.
 
Well, I did make a last minute change to a .260 rem. Lots of anguishing thought put into this. I am starting from scratch anyway and figured I would go with the short action option. They are so close ballistically and I plan on shooting the 130 grain vld. I know the swede is supposed to run the 140s a little better, but it seems to be splitting hairs.
 
Going to use a long action on the 260? 6.5x55 most data out there is for safe loading in the older actions out there it should have a pretty good advantage over the 260 at modern pressures, cheap lapua brass available also. Could also do a 6.5x55ai
 
Originally Posted By: okoyoteWell, I did make a last minute change to a .260 rem. Lots of anguishing thought put into this. I am starting from scratch anyway and figured I would go with the short action option. They are so close ballistically and I plan on shooting the 130 grain vld. I know the swede is supposed to run the 140s a little better, but it seems to be splitting hairs.



Going to run a short action case through a long action? Don't make sense.


6.5-06 is your best option. Think about it.

The 6.5-06 is ballisticaly the same as the 6.5-284. More is just more.
 
Yeah. Tikka action but going custom stock and bottom metal. I am trying to keep everything as trim as possible. (nevermind the long action!
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) Looks to me that the swede can push the 140s to 2850-2900, but the 260 can hit 2800. Good enough for me and the fact that I plan on shooting the 130s. If I were to go AI I would probably just go 6.5 x 284 to avoid fire forming. Again spent a lot of time thinking this over. It really came down to the idea that I'd have to do custom bottom metal for a long action and the long action mags available tipped me towards the .260. I'm also doing a custom .204 ruger on a tikka t3 action. Using the t3 action for a short action round doesn't bother me a bit. Slick, good trigger, and built stout. Now that the aftermarket options are getting better I will probably do more.
 
Originally Posted By: Smokeless


Going to run a short action case through a long action? Don't make sense.


6.5-06 is your best option. Think about it.

The 6.5-06 is ballisticaly the same as the 6.5-284. More is just more.

The factor here is barrel life. The .260 will run nearly twice as long. I shoot a lot. I know barrels are replaceable but speed is not a top priority in my book. My .25-06 only lasted 750 rounds or so. Yep, I ran it hot. Lots of prairie dogs around this state. In a target rich environment I just can't help myself!!
 
Any gun you shoot long and hard will have a short barrel life. This includes the .260 REM.

I think you will have problems with feeding running a short case through a long action, but hey, it's your gig.

If you are set on the 6.5x55 then go for it. It will work fine for you.

But if you burned a 25-06 out in 750 or so rounds, then your 260 or Swede won't last much longer. Maybe twice that with much less performance. You cant shoot 'em long and hard.


If your happy, then I'm tickled.

 
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Tikka makes one action for all sizes. No problems feeding. I don't shoot all my rifles like the 25-06, it was a cheap gun with good performance that I had fun with. The 260 shouldnt be a slouch in the performance category. Thanks for the input though. I asked for it!
 
I went with the Swede in a newer action. It can be loaded hotter than the .260, 6.5x47, or creedmore. does it need to be loaded hotter? Nope. And for the most part I don't load it above published data. I haven't had it that long and have been trying to develop loads for it between the .243 and .308 and the .204.
 
Guess what I did. Went with the swede! Ordered brass and dies today. The rifle is on its way to benchmark. I'll fill you all in when I get it running.
 
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