Does anyone have any experience loading cast bullets in the 6.5x55? I would like to work up a reduced load using cast for groundhog hunting. Thanks.

steve

steve-in-kville: DITTO steve. Even tho I have yet to cast a 6.5 slug I'll be following this thread. I've several 6.5's (Swede,Mann/SChn'r.) My problem is that I can't see a ready made mold/bullet design that I like. Guess I'm gonna have to have one made for me. Have you settled on a bullet?
Pepe Ray

Reports from some people who are serious cast bullet shooters in rifles (Charles over on www.sixgunner.com / campfire, for example) say that the fast twist on the 6.5x55 will limit you to around 1,800fps, and that's if you do everything else right.

So..... keep that in mind, I'm sure it can be done, just don't put the throttle all the way down.

Yes, and quite successfully. My best load is the Ly 150 grainer and 17 gr of 4227. Others have had some success with other loadings, but mostly in the 1600 fps range. Make darn sure ALL of the copper is removed from the bbl, and very good lube is used. The Swede is at the far end of the fast twist limit for cast, but it will work. It just has some limitations. One other thing, used as fat a boolit as possible. Mine are .267+, and I am shooting in a 'new' mil surp bbl. My smallest 10-round group at a hunert is 1.6 in. Other than replacing the bbl, the rifle is rack condition. sundog

I used to load for my x-wife. We found that Lyman #266455 a 129gr bullet and Lyman #266469 a 143gr bullet worked best. We cast out of #2 alloy and hand lubed them as the bore was a little big, but did use the sizer to set the gas check, with as I recall a sizing die that ran .277 . Unique and 700X worked best with I bevive 700X Being the best. We stayed with mid range loads which all stayed under 2" with the original sights. S.P,G was our lube of choice. Several of our friends had them as well and all had over sized bores.

Best Wishes: Leon

In a 96 Swede used for testing we get excellent results with this load:

BTB 266"-235gLFNGC/13.2g Red Dot/CCI 200/Norma Brass

This load is though a rifle with a bore measuring .2653" and a throat of .2664", and delivers 1.2"-1.4" groups depending upon the day and shooter. As mentioned, bullet fit is critical in these rifles.... guessing at dimensions is a guarantee of longtime frustration. Take the time to slug your guns before settling on a bullet diameter.

God Bless,

Thanks for the replies. The rifle I'm loading for is a new Ruger M77. I'm not looking for a load that fast, just enough to wack a groundhog at 100-150yds. I plan to buy cast bullets to try first, then buy a mold and cast my own. Whether or not I use cast bullets, I do plan on working up a reduced load anyway for the 6.5x55.

Thanks- steve

Thanks for the info fellas. I too asked this question a while back. Marshall.....do you think anyone will ever offer a .268-9 diameter cast bullet for the 6.5 Swede/MS/Carcano?... wink wink ;) I believe MANY of the military rifle of this caliber call for the larger bullets, based on articles read and my own Carl Gustav Mod. 96 Carbine in 6.5 Swede that was made in 1898. My bore slugs .268 and 1/2. As a sidenote and related to the wink, I have often wondered what a bullet made of Beartooth alloy, made long, heavy(160 gr?) and of the right diameter for most of these military 6.5's might do if loaded in front of nice slow burning powder like IMR 4350. Perhaps there is no way to eliminate the bullet failure at the higher velocities......have to get over to the Cast Bullet List and see what they have to say. Sounds like 1800 fps is max and seems the best place to get good accuracy. Thanks to all of you fellas for the info here and in the past.

Been playing with cast in a 1:8 twist 6.5; this one has a reasonably tight bore at .2655" (and a land-to-land of .2560"...that's pretty deep rifling) but still no joy past 1700-1730fps....it's not becasue the barrel isn't getting a good "bite" one them. Gernerous friend sent along some bullets from his old Lyman #26646, nice bullets, but perhaps I'll try one with a bit more nose and a little elss bearing area. So far best accuracy has been below 1600fps.

Not such a bad thing, could live with lobbing those long Loverin style bullets out there at 1500fps... makes nice groups.

Thanks for the info fellas. I too asked this question a while back. Marshall.....do you think anyone will ever offer a .268-9 diameter cast bullet for the 6.5 Swede/MS/Carcano?... wink wink ;) I believe MANY of the military rifle of this caliber call for the larger bullets, based on articles read and my own Carl Gustav Mod. 96 Carbine in 6.5 Swede that was made in 1898. My bore slugs .268 and 1/2. As a sidenote and related to the wink, I have often wondered what a bullet made of Beartooth alloy, made long, heavy(160 gr?) and of the right diameter for most of these military 6.5's might do if loaded in front of nice slow burning powder like IMR 4350. Perhaps there is no way to eliminate the bullet failure at the higher velocities......have to get over to the Cast Bullet List and see what they have to say. Sounds like 1800 fps is max and seems the best place to get good accuracy. Thanks to all of you fellas for the info here and in the past.

I used to have a old Lyman mold that threw such a over sized bullet It would not work well In my 6.5. I still think the old boy that ended up with it is still with us so will try to track him down and get the Mold # and post it.

Leon

Thanks for the info fellas. I too asked this question a while back. Marshall.....do you think anyone will ever offer a .268-9 diameter cast bullet for the 6.5 Swede/MS/Carcano?... wink wink ;) I believe MANY of the military rifle of this caliber call for the larger bullets, based on articles read and my own Carl Gustav Mod. 96 Carbine in 6.5 Swede that was made in 1898. My bore slugs .268 and 1/2. As a sidenote and related to the wink, I have often wondered what a bullet made of Beartooth alloy, made long, heavy(160 gr?) and of the right diameter for most of these military 6.5's might do if loaded in front of nice slow burning powder like IMR 4350. Perhaps there is no way to eliminate the bullet failure at the higher velocities......have to get over to the Cast Bullet List and see what they have to say. Sounds like 1800 fps is max and seems the best place to get good accuracy. Thanks to all of you fellas for the info here and in the past.

Chris-
You can get a custom mold (for cheap) for that 6.5 Swede from Midsouth Shooters Supply/Reloading/Cast Bullets/Special Order Molds. Have a look. The mold was designed for the 96's and weighs 170 gr. Velocity is limited with conventional loadings to about 1600 fps, but it has a meplat that will punch a hole thru something.

THANK YOU FELLAS!!!!!!! Will be checking that site right now.........

One other thing. Seems like the largest dia size die available w/o custom make is .266. If you want larger take a look at this http://www.castpics.net/RandD/hone_a_die/hone_a_die.htm

btw, lots of other very data on that site put together by the gang from the old shooters dot com. sundog

Thank you Sundog and all. That is most useful info and will save it to my favorites. I Just back-ordered the Lee Reproduction Military mold in 6.5 Swede in 170 gr. Hopefully it will drop them close to the right diameter. If not, then I am only out 13 bucks+ship. Worth the experiement I think and I will keep you fellas posted. I appreciate all the help and didn't mean to jump in on another persons post. I heard that there is a european manufacture putting out loaded .268 Jacketed bullets for the Carcano or Mannlicher. Maybe there is a bit of movement towards bigger bullets for the military rifles which will carry over to the Swede. God Bless.

I heard that there is a european manufacture putting out loaded .268 Jacketed bullets for the Carcano or Mannlicher. Maybe there is a bit of movement towards bigger bullets for the military rifles which will carry over to the Swede. God Bless.[/QUOTE]

Graf's and Son I believe has been advertizing the .268" jacketed bullets as components...but not sure when they expected the product to be ready for shipping.

Thanks Ribbonstone.....sounds interesting! I will have to go on over there and order some up. I wonder why there has not been a move to larger bullet sizes? The Swede has large lands, and I am wondering if I will be OK pressure wise with the .268 jacketed bullets. Is this why they have stuck with the smaller .264's? I hate the idea of eroading the throat of my gun with the smaller stuff as my old rifle is a family heirloom. As a sidenote, I think the Swede is much stronger than many have given it credit for. My gunsmith specializes in guns built on the 96 Carl Gustav action. He says the metallurgy is far superior to anything he has seen on a Mod. 98, which is why he builds his rifles from these actions exclusively. Many thanks again fellas!

I just ordered a box of 6.5mm bullets from Beartooth. I also ordered a box of 7mm for my 7x57. This should be fun!

steve

Thanks Ribbonstone.....sounds interesting! I will have to go on over there and order some up. I wonder why there has not been a move to larger bullet sizes? The Swede has large lands, and I am wondering if I will be OK pressure wise with the .268 jacketed bullets. Is this why they have stuck with the smaller .264's? I hate the idea of eroading the throat of my gun with the smaller stuff as my old rifle is a family heirloom. As a sidenote, I think the Swede is much stronger than many have given it credit for. My gunsmith specializes in guns built on the 96 Carl Gustav action. He says the metallurgy is far superior to anything he has seen on a Mod. 98, which is why he builds his rifles from these actions exclusively. Many thanks again fellas!

Chris:

I certainly wouldn't change something as drastic as bullet diameter and not work up from well below listed loads...for that matter, tend to caution and end up reworking loads whenever I change a component.

Why the small bullet/big bore? Seems to have bee a trend at certain time...not just in 6.5's, but in several other military calibers as well. 8mm Simese are noted for being well over bore (but with tall lands), .303 Brits. running as large a .318" have been reported, and I've measured some 30 Krags at .310". Guess we won't know exactly why....could well be a design they wanted, could be that military tolerances were wider than sporting, or it could be that they just started with oversized rifling cutters (they wear smaller as they are used) in order to get the most miliage out of the tooling.

Have an old 6.5 Jap with a perfect bore...the land-to-land diameter runs .255", the groove to groove runs .266". That's about as tight as I've had in a military 6.5..and at that, the rifling is a bit more "agressive" than what's used today (that would be .0055" tall lands)....odd loking rifling as well, kind of a Metford design.

In a 96 Swede used for testing we get excellent results with this load:

BTB 266"-235gLFNGC/13.2g Red Dot/CCI 200/Norma Brass

This load is though a rifle with a bore measuring .2653" and a throat of .2664", and delivers 1.2"-1.4" groups depending upon the day and shooter. As mentioned, bullet fit is critical in these rifles.... guessing at dimensions is a guarantee of longtime frustration. Take the time to slug your guns before settling on a bullet diameter.

God Bless,

Marshall,

The order that I recently received from you included a box of .266" cast bullets that I will be loading in a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. Thanks for such great products and also for the above loading data for this bullet in the Swede.

Jasper

I heard that there is a european manufacture putting out loaded .268 Jacketed bullets for the Carcano or Mannlicher. Maybe there is a bit of movement towards bigger bullets for the military rifles which will carry over to the Swede. God Bless.

Graf's and Son I believe has been advertizing the .268" jacketed bullets as components...but not sure when they expected the product to be ready for shipping.

I bought some of the loaded cartridges over a year ago from Graf & Son. The bullets were available before that, the summer of 2002. The bullets are .2675", 160-grain round nose specifically copied by Hornady from the original Italian Carcano bullet. They're excellant Hornady bullets. See Dave Emery's article on the Carcano at
http://personal.stevens.edu/~gliberat/carcano/emary.html
I wouldn't hesitate an instant to use them on deer. I might try some penetration testing before trying them on elk. If they fit your particular rifle, try them!

Once again, however, work the bigger bullets up VERY CAREFULLY! They WILL produce GREATER PRESSURE. I found this out with my Carcano. I didn't cause any damage but I found, when testing out my brand-new Shooter's Chrony, I was getting almost 2700 fps from paper-patched .257", 120-grain bullets. It's wonderful what sealing off the gas leakage around the bullet did!

-91

Hi Nitro,

Not yet, but it is my next project. It could take a bit but hopefully soon. My bore measures .2685 on my 6.5 Swede(Short Cavalry Version w/ Turned down bolt made in 1898). I just got a Lee mould for this caliber, and I am anxious to see what diameter it produces(170 gr. Flat Nose). I still think Marshall ought to break some ground and produce just one little .268 diameter cast bullet for the Swede ;) No one else I know offers the correct diameter for many of these military Swede/ Carcano/Mannlicher's. I would like to hear how Beartooth's 6.5 Cast bullets are holding up at high speed.....ie...above 1800 fps? Get back to you as soon as I can.

Can anyone tell me why they don't recommend the use of extruded powders with the new .268 bullets? I take it they mean Tubular shape by extruded. Does it bump up the pressure somehow??????

Who? Where did you hear that, exactly?

MikeG,

Good question. You know, I can't remember. I thought it was in a recent article on the 6.5 Swede, but because of my magazine obsession there are too many to try to recall. It might have also been one of the online catalogues for midway or similar? Alright...get back to you guys on this one.

If you dig it up again, let us know!

Hello everyone. I am new to the forum. I have reloaded for the 6.5x52 carcano for a while. The .268" 160 gr Hornady bullet has a much thicker jacket than their .264' 160 grain. This was done since some carcano have tall lands, long barrels, and gain twist, which shredded prototype bullets with normal jackets. Hornady gives very specific data for this bullet, including data for IMR 4064. However, both slower and faster powders than recomended can cause pressure spikes. The article by Dave Emary on the carcano home page mentioned earlier in the thread is very helpful. I have stuck with their recomendations in a Model 38 carcano (21" barrel, constant twist), and have had no problems. However, I have not yet tried to approach the maximum. This problem with pressure does not seem limited to gain twist, according to others, so be careful with this bullet. I believe starting below the recommended starting loads may also present the danger of a stuck bullet.

I have had slightly better luck with Buffalo Arms .268" 140 grain spire point. It does not seem to be such a fussy bullet. The 160 grain bullets have shown some evidence of wobble, but the 140 grain bullets don't. Working to the max load may cure the wobble. Also, my carcano has a pretty worn barrel. The twist is fairly fast, 1 to 7.7 inches is what I've measured, as best I can.

Take care.

[Thank you Junkbug for your input! Very interesting info. That makes sense as to why I saw the powder warning(still don't remember where). It makes me want to continue down the cast bullet path with this cartridge with lessened velocity, although your Buffalo Bore bullet sounds interesting! Does it too have a thick jacket? My Swede has the extremely fast twist also. Thank you again for chiming in!

I do not believe the Buffalo Arms bullet has the thick jacket. Their literature makes no mention of it, and it was available before the Hornady .268' bullet. I will try to post my file copy of Hornady's reloading info for the 6.5x52 carcano. I would also consider calling Hornady's tech support and see if they have any insight or recommendations about using it in large groove diameter 6.5x55 Swedish rifles.

I do not believe the Buffalo Arms bullet has the thick jacket. Their literature makes no mention of it, and it was available before the Hornady .268' bullet. I will try to post my file copy of Hornady's reloading info for the 6.5x52 carcano. I would also consider calling Hornady's tech support and see if they have any insight or recommendations about using it in large groove diameter 6.5x55 Swedish rifles.

Sorry. the file is too large to attach.