Vladymere Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Fellows, I'm still thinking of building a match rifle. I had planned on making it in .308 Winchester but am now considering a 6.5mm What are your thoughts on the 6.5x57mm cartridge versus the 6.5x55mm Swedish round? Any advantage of one over the other? I'm planning on uisng an intermediate length Mauser receiver. Will the 6.5x57 work in this action or does it require a standard length action? Thanks guys, Vlad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoedoh Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Vladymere, For simplicity's sake, I think I would build a 6.5x55. I know that caliber has been used successfully for a long time as a match caliber and I have seen match rifles so chambered. In fact, I have a long range shooting program that was given to me by a relative that uses the 6.5x55 as the "lightest" caliber to hone your skills. Furthermore, I would tend to think that you may find more match grade components for the 6.5x55 than the 6.5x57. Plus, commercial ammo is always more common for the x55. I don't think you could go wrong with either caliber though. And I doubt you'd have much trouble building either caliber on an intermediate action. I myself am in the process of building a semi-varmint 6.5x55 on a Yugoslavian action. This just my $.02 so take it for whats its worth. I think you'll be find which ever cartridge you choose. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimro Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 x55 model, buy Lapua brand brass and SMK's or Scenars. If you are building on a m98 action you can push them a lot faster than on a 96 action, but I wouldn't recommend it if there is the slightest chance of the ammo getting into an m96. Of course the faster you push them the quicker your barrel will wear out, so a standard load that is accurate for you might be best. Then again you could always go with a wildcat like the 6.5-08 AI http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek046.htm Jimrol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clark Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Lothar Walther sells long chambered barrels in each caliber, so one need not buy a reamer. Forster sells die sets for both, so one could do either. The advantage with 6.5x55 is that I am already feeding M94, M96, and M38 rifles. The advantage with 6.5x57 is that the cheap brass is all .470" at the base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelsdou Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Some time ago I was considering building a 260 Remington or a 6.5x57 and some folks here gave me some sage advice about putting a swede barrel on a M98 small ring action (turk). It made sense in that you could push the "Twede" to higher pressures and get the same or better performance than going to the 260 or 6.5x57. But alas, my turk action and swede barrel haven't come back yet from the 'smith so hard data I have not. That '08 cartridge is mighty efficient; my Hornady book shows max loads in the 260 pushing the 160 grn bullet to 2600 fps whereas the max load on the same bullet in the 6.5x57 to 2500 fps. Both test barrels were 1 in 8" twist. Checking my M24/47 8mm loads my COLs are 3.100", so I would think you'd be OK on 6.5x57's in a similar action, but you'll have to check for yourself. The book shows the 6.5x57 max case length at 2.232" vs 2.244" for the 8x57. Actually, I don't think you'd be dissapointed with any of the above. I'd like to see results you get if you decide going with the 6.5x57. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladymere Posted August 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2005 Thanks for the advice fellows. I'm still leaning towards the 6.5x57 due to the common case head. You can load any of the projectiles you would with the Swede. Can't get ammo over the counter but with a match rifle your talking hand loads anyway. Vlad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
724wd Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 about the head diameter, has anyone really had trouble with getting a 6.5x55 to chamber in a 98? arent some swedes (and other pre-98's) 7x57? that should mean the head diameters are close enough to get the rim to jump under the extractor, shouldnt it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 about the head diameter, has anyone really had trouble with getting a 6.5x55 to chamber in a 98? arent some swedes (and other pre-98's) 7x57? that should mean the head diameters are close enough to get the rim to jump under the extractor, shouldnt it? 2683[/snapback] It's not so much the feeding as it is the fact that the 6.5x57 is nominally the same size as the 7x57, 8x57, .270. .30-06, etc. So brass is easy to come by. The 6.5x55 can require a wee bit of work to fit & feed correctly but not usually. I like the 6.5x55 because the excellent atrget quality Lapua brass is cheap, relatively speaking. if you want a real neat 6.5 then consider the 6,5x68S. Long Range targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odies dad Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 The 6.5x55 in my Tweede feeds great. I didn't have to do any fiddling with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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