6.5x55 sweed

Hi Bob,

You have a great sense of humor and I enjoy your posts.

Cheers Mate,
Paul.

Yeah, he’s a funny man and he has a good face for radio. He would make a good shock jock.

A couple of old farts just retired from radio 80, we could send Bob back to work for 20 years so he can up where they left off. Well, maybe one of them. The other one is disgraced.

If Bob had Lawsy’s money I would take him up on his offer to do a full bag hunt in Namibia. Or at least suggest he could shout me.
 
@Velo Dog
The only thing the 243 can be relied on to do is disappoint. Over rated noisy pieces of crap in my book.
Actually my book doesn't even list the 243 as a cartridge. Look up a dictionary under rubbish and you will find it mentioned.
Bob
I would much rather shot a 250 Savage or 257 Roberts than a 243. However the right bullets help.
Mike
 
"dlmac, post: 1331586, member: 52653"]

I would much rather shot a 250 Savage or 257 Roberts than a 243. However the right bullets help.
Mike

Hi Mike,

A few years apart, I have owned and hunted with those two cartridges.
Admittedly with the .250, I don’t recall taking anything larger than a Nevada coyote.
That said, my .250 took countless ground squirrels and jack rabbits (the true test of any dangerous game cartridge). LoL.
Both were in early issue Ruger Model 77 rifles, (1970’s limited run production back then).

As the years went by, with rifles traded bought and sold, I also owned two different Remington Model 722 rifles, both in .257 Roberts, about 20 or more years apart.
Despite their too short of magazine box design flaw, both these two rifles were quite accurate with pretty much every bullet brand and weight I tried.
However the 2nd Model 722 I owned was uncommonly accurate with 117 grain Sierra flat base spitzers @ 2800 + some feet per second.
It is shown in an attached below photo, with the Montana pronghorn I shot with it.

I have also owned an older Ruger M-77 in caliber 25-06 and I liked it a lot.
But it was finicky about exactly which primers, powders and bullets it liked.
Even after finding just the right combination, sometimes (too often), it would unexplainably throw a flyer out of an otherwise perfectly tight group.
I cannot claim the cartridge is to blame but having only owned one .25-06, I cannot say it wasn’t the cartridge either.
That said, my strongest suspicion is that my rifle was haunted by evil spirits. Hehe.
So, I sold it.
But, I still like the .25-06 even though I like the .250 Savage and .257 Roberts a bit more.
And, the 6.5x55 even more but, that is just one grumpy old man’s opinion.

Cheers,
Paul.
 

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"dlmac, post: 1331586, member: 52653"]

I would much rather shot a 250 Savage or 257 Roberts than a 243. However the right bullets help.
Mike

Hi Mike,

A few years apart, I have owned and hunted with those two cartridges.
Admittedly with the .250, I don’t recall taking anything larger than a Nevada coyote.
That said, my .250 took countless ground squirrels and jack rabbits (the true test of any dangerous game cartridge). LoL.
Both were in early issue Ruger Model 77 rifles, (1970’s limited run production back then).

As the years went by, with rifles traded bought and sold, I also owned two different Remington Model 722 rifles, both in .257 Roberts, about 20 or more years apart.
Despite their too short of magazine box design flaw, both these two rifles were quite accurate with pretty much every bullet brand and weight I tried.
However the 2nd Model 722 I owned was uncommonly accurate with 117 grain Sierra flat base spitzers @ 2800 + some feet per second.
It is shown in an attached below photo, with the Montana pronghorn I shot with it.

I have also owned an older Ruger M-77 in caliber 25-06 and I liked it a lot.
But it was finicky about exactly which primers, powders and bullets it liked.
Even after finding just the right combination, sometimes (too often), it would unexplainably throw a flyer out of an otherwise perfectly tight group.
I cannot claim the cartridge is to blame but having only owned one .25-06, I cannot say it wasn’t the cartridge either.
That said, my strongest suspicion is that my rifle was haunted by evil spirits. Hehe.
So, I sold it.
But, I still like the .25-06 even though I like the .250 Savage and .257 Roberts a bit more.
And, the 6.5x55 even more but, that is just one grumpy old man’s opinion.

Cheers,
Paul.
I have only hunted Whitetail and mule deer with each. They did the job well.
 
I would much rather shot a 250 Savage or 257 Roberts than a 243. However the right bullets help.
Mike
@dlmac
A good 25 even the little 250 Savage will do more than the useless 243. Try and load a nice 117gn even the Hornady round nose into a 243. Ain't Gunna happen it tips out at 100.
A nice 117gn SST in the Savage and you have a dead deer out to 200. In the Roberts that becomes 300 and in the 25-06 that's 400. In the 257 Weatherby that's the next county.
Bob
 
@dlmac
A good 25 even the little 250 Savage will do more than the useless 243. Try and load a nice 117gn even the Hornady round nose into a 243. Ain't Gunna happen it tips out at 100.
A nice 117gn SST in the Savage and you have a dead deer out to 200. In the Roberts that becomes 300 and in the 25-06 that's 400. In the 257 Weatherby that's the next county.
Bob
My 257 Wby store goes like this, a fella from the city went hunting in the Western state of ID and was told that he would have shot up to 500 yds. He decided he needed a 257 wby for the hunt. Well most of the State of Idaho shots are under 150 yards unless you can not hunt. Add Mr. Murphy into the equation and the elk showed up 60 yds behind him. He shot the poor elk 4 times with bullets made for 7mm mauser speeds and they were disintegrating on impact. The elk did finally die. The same bullet in a 257 roberts would have done the job much better.
 
My 257 Wby store goes like this, a fella from the city went hunting in the Western state of ID and was told that he would have shot up to 500 yds. He decided he needed a 257 wby for the hunt. Well most of the State of Idaho shots are under 150 yards unless you can not hunt. Add Mr. Murphy into the equation and the elk showed up 60 yds behind him. He shot the poor elk 4 times with bullets made for 7mm mauser speeds and they were disintegrating on impact. The elk did finally die. The same bullet in a 257 roberts would have done the job much better.
Sorry I never proof read anything.
 
All this talk of .25-06 but I don’t understand why we don’t see a commercial rifle using the 6.5mm or .264” dia projectile in a similar case.
There just seems to be to be more variety of 6.5 projectiles .

I am sure it’s been done but not I’m not sure if there is a standard carrtridge or chambering of factory rifles for it.

6.5-06a.i would be even more tempting
 
My 257 Wby store goes like this, a fella from the city went hunting in the Western state of ID and was told that he would have shot up to 500 yds. He decided he needed a 257 wby for the hunt. Well most of the State of Idaho shots are under 150 yards unless you can not hunt. Add Mr. Murphy into the equation and the elk showed up 60 yds behind him. He shot the poor elk 4 times with bullets made for 7mm mauser speeds and they were disintegrating on impact. The elk did finally die. The same bullet in a 257 roberts would have done the job much better.


Greetings dlmac,

For my hard earned money:
Extremely high velocity is only valuable for extremely long range.
I mean by this, approaching a Kilometer distant target, such as 1,000 yards down range or, whatever system you want to use for measuring a super long shot rifle target, on your favorite rifle range.
Indeed, I have done some long range shooting, on the local US Army base, with such boring old fuddy-duddy cartridges as the .30-06 and 7MM Remington Magnum, to name but 2 of the several.

This was done against steel “lollipop” reactive targets, that would fall over backwards when hit and then slowly stand back up.
The steel plate (lollipop) was as I can best recall in my now advanced years, either 16 or 18 inches across.
If any of you AH members, who’ve also used the Fort Richardson Rifle Range (Anchorage, Alaska) can chime-in with the actual measurements of said round shaped (“lollipop”) steel reactive targets (not the human silhouette ones), I would be grateful.

Note:
I have no gripe against shooting human silhouette targets.
But for hunting rifle practice, the previously described “lollipop clangers”were perfecto.

Anyway and IMO, the very worst part of extreme velocity is that at more commonly typical hoofed game shooting distances, about 250 meters and under (usually 150 meters and under), extreme-blistering hot velocity ruins way too much meat.
I cherish wild animal meat.
Therefore, I do not appreciate having it unnecessarily blood shot, splattered to the moon and ruined.
For myself, my wife, 2 fine sons and most if not all of my “outdoorsy” friends, venison is a special treat, over the typically almost bland, store bought, farm animal meat.

Moving right along, my personal experiences, out to approximately 400 meters / yards, provided I’m using an aerodynamic bullet —> once a high ballistic coefficient projectile reaches about 2,800 - 2,850 feet per second, punching a hole through some tasty animal’s shoulder/ribcage, from field positions, is not difficult, for any well practiced rifle enthusiast.

I am however a Capitalist and so, I do applaud Roy Weatherby for his clever and highly successful marketing efforts.
Bravo I say. $$$$$$$
He earned and he well deserved every red penny of his wealth.
Nonetheless, for my wants and needs, none of the Weatherby cartridges interest me in the slightest, not even a tiny bit.

My same yawn and shrug goes for the Remington Ultra-Magnums, John Spazzeroni cartridges, Ackley Improved cartridges ( “Improved” … Ha ! ) and so forth and so on.
All great marketing success stories but nonetheless, they each and every one, answer no question that I have ever asked, that is for sure.
(Same goes for straight-pull and semi-automatic hunting rifles but, that is for a different thread).

Now once again, I’m even boring myself so, at this stage, I will stop.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.
 
Last edited:
Gert, my 6.5x55 is an older Tikka M695, basically the TX3 ancestor.
Long thoat and shoots everything really well.

My hunting load is currently Norma Oryx at +-2500fps and I will take everything short of Eland with this.
Im going to switch to Rhino 140gr bullets as the ups and downs of availability really irritate me.
Example, I have worked a load for the 140gr Fusion bullet and maybe have 20 left.
Cant find any more so its a dead end.
I can never find Partitions, if I had a good supply of those I would settle on 140gr for everything.
 
Greetings dlmac,

For my hard earned money:
Extremely high velocity is only valuable for extremely long range.
I mean by this, approaching a Kilometer distant target, such as 1,000 yards down range or, whatever system you want to use for measuring a super long shot rifle target, on your favorite rifle range.
Indeed, I have done some long range shooting, on the local US Army base, with such boring old fuddy-duddy cartridges as the .30-06 and 7MM Remington Magnum, to name but 2 of the several.

This was done against steel “lollipop” reactive targets, that would fall over backwards when hit and then slowly stand back up.
The steel plate (lollipop) was as I can best recall in my now advanced years, either 16 or 18 inches across.
If any of you AH members, who’ve also used the Fort Richardson Rifle Range (Anchorage, Alaska) can chime-in with the actual measurements of said round shaped (“lollipop”) steel reactive targets (not the human silhouette ones), I would be grateful.

Note:
I have no gripe against shooting human silhouette targets.
But for hunting rifle practice, the previously described “lollipop clangers”were perfecto.

Anyway and IMO, the very worst part of extreme velocity is that at more commonly typical hoofed game shooting distances, about 250 meters and under (usually 150 meters and under), extreme-blistering hot velocity ruins way too much meat.
I cherish wild animal meat.
Therefore, I do not appreciate having it unnecessarily blood shot, splattered to the moon and ruined.
For myself, my wife, 2 fine sons and most if not all of my “outdoorsy” friends, venison is a special treat, over the typically almost bland, store bought, farm animal meat.

Moving right along, my personal experiences, out to approximately 400 meters / yards, provided I’m using an aerodynamic bullet —> once a high ballistic coefficient projectile reaches about 2,800 - 2,850 feet per second, punching a hole through some tasty animal’s shoulder/ribcage, from field positions, is not difficult, for any well practiced rifle enthusiast.

I am however a Capitalist and so, I do applaud Roy Weatherby for his clever and highly successful marketing efforts.
Bravo I say. $$$$$$$
He earned and he well deserved every red penny of his wealth.
Nonetheless, for my wants and needs, none of the Weatherby cartridges interest me in the slightest, not even a tiny bit.

My same yawn and shrug goes for the Remington Ultra-Magnums, John Spazzeroni cartridges, Ackley Improved cartridges ( “Improved” … Ha ! ) and so forth and so on.
All great marketing success stories but nonetheless, they each and every one, answer no question that I have ever asked, that is for sure.
(Same goes for straight-pull and semi-automatic hunting rifles but, that is for a different thread).

Now once again, I’m even boring myself so, at this stage, I will stop.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.
Totally agree with you except on 280 AI. In 7mm cartridges, 170 - 175 bullets are king. Usually pretty good to great BCs, with SD at .3 or higher, but at more modest MV of 2700 - 2800. With a good bullet like an A -Frame, North Fork SS, Nosler Partition or Accubond, it's a great cartridge for both near and as far as I really care to shoot, 400 yards under most conditions, and 500 under ideal conditions.

And I get 1 more round in the magazine relative to 7mm RM. Better to have and not need than to need and not have.
 
Gert, my 6.5x55 is an older Tikka M695, basically the TX3 ancestor.
Long thoat and shoots everything really well.

My hunting load is currently Norma Oryx at +-2500fps and I will take everything short of Eland with this.
Im going to switch to Rhino 140gr bullets as the ups and downs of availability really irritate me.
Example, I have worked a load for the 140gr Fusion bullet and maybe have 20 left.
Cant find any more so its a dead end.
I can never find Partitions, if I had a good supply of those I would settle on 140gr for everything.
140gr SBC bullets all the way from Randburg.
I can even give you loads.

Work like a charm.
 
Greetings dlmac,

For my hard earned money:
Extremely high velocity is only valuable for extremely long range.
I mean by this, approaching a Kilometer distant target, such as 1,000 yards down range or, whatever system you want to use for measuring a super long shot rifle target, on your favorite rifle range.
Indeed, I have done some long range shooting, on the local US Army base, with such boring old fuddy-duddy cartridges as the .30-06 and 7MM Remington Magnum, to name but 2 of the several.

This was done against steel “lollipop” reactive targets, that would fall over backwards when hit and then slowly stand back up.
The steel plate (lollipop) was as I can best recall in my now advanced years, either 16 or 18 inches across.
If any of you AH members, who’ve also used the Fort Richardson Rifle Range (Anchorage, Alaska) can chime-in with the actual measurements of said round shaped (“lollipop”) steel reactive targets (not the human silhouette ones), I would be grateful.

Note:
I have no gripe against shooting human silhouette targets.
But for hunting rifle practice, the previously described “lollipop clangers”were perfecto.

Anyway and IMO, the very worst part of extreme velocity is that at more commonly typical hoofed game shooting distances, about 250 meters and under (usually 150 meters and under), extreme-blistering hot velocity ruins way too much meat.
I cherish wild animal meat.
Therefore, I do not appreciate having it unnecessarily blood shot, splattered to the moon and ruined.
For myself, my wife, 2 fine sons and most if not all of my “outdoorsy” friends, venison is a special treat, over the typically almost bland, store bought, farm animal meat.

Moving right along, my personal experiences, out to approximately 400 meters / yards, provided I’m using an aerodynamic bullet —> once a high ballistic coefficient projectile reaches about 2,800 - 2,850 feet per second, punching a hole through some tasty animal’s shoulder/ribcage, from field positions, is not difficult, for any well practiced rifle enthusiast.

I am however a Capitalist and so, I do applaud Roy Weatherby for his clever and highly successful marketing efforts.
Bravo I say. $$$$$$$
He earned and he well deserved every red penny of his wealth.
Nonetheless, for my wants and needs, none of the Weatherby cartridges interest me in the slightest, not even a tiny bit.

My same yawn and shrug goes for the Remington Ultra-Magnums, John Spazzeroni cartridges, Ackley Improved cartridges ( “Improved” … Ha ! ) and so forth and so on.
All great marketing success stories but nonetheless, they each and every one, answer no question that I have ever asked, that is for sure.
(Same goes for straight-pull and semi-automatic hunting rifles but, that is for a different thread).

Now once again, I’m even boring myself so, at this stage, I will stop.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.
I do agree with you and I am sure of the Veterans on the site have no issues with human silhouette targets. I have had several AI cartridges, they were fun but more work for very little if any gain. Maybe some longer case life.
Dlmac
 
All this talk of .25-06 but I don’t understand why we don’t see a commercial rifle using the 6.5mm or .264” dia projectile in a similar case.
There just seems to be to be more variety of 6.5 projectiles .

I am sure it’s been done but not I’m not sure if there is a standard carrtridge or chambering of factory rifles for it.

6.5-06a.i would be even more tempting
The 260 remington is good cartridge but really doesnt fill a niche. My favorite is the 6.5/284.
 
The 260 remington is good cartridge but really doesnt fill a niche. My favorite is the 6.5/284.
@dlmac
The 6.5-284 is just the 6.5-06 in a shorter better design case. Basically the same case capacity. The 6.5 REM mag is similar.
Bob
 
The 260 remington is good cartridge but really doesnt fill a niche. My favorite is the 6.5/284.
I like the 260 Rem, but for a .264 suffers a fatal flaw IMO: the COAL. I imagine you'd have to give up a good bit of case capacity to fit Norma Oryx, Lapua Mega, or Woodleigh Weldcore 160 gr in it.
 
I like the 260 Rem, but for a .264 suffers a fatal flaw IMO: the COAL. I imagine you'd have to give up a good bit of case capacity to fit Norma Oryx, Lapua Mega, or Woodleigh Weldcore 160 gr in it.
I agree the 260 rem is limited to coal due to the short action. I still think it is better than a 243 and is a good cartridge but as you say 120-139 ran grainers are really about all it can handle well.
 
I like the 260 Rem, but for a .264 suffers a fatal flaw IMO: the COAL. I imagine you'd have to give up a good bit of case capacity to fit Norma Oryx, Lapua Mega, or Woodleigh Weldcore 160 gr in it.
If Woodleigh were available.

The COAL. Is why I’m thinking it should in a .30-06 case.

I did read on the .284-6.5 but it’s a niche thing.

I still wonder if the 6.5-06 would be more popular than the .25-06 if it was available on the shelf as direct competition to the .25-06 with the 6.5 projectiles options available.

I imagine the 7thousandths difference diameter in the same weight in the same case isn’t going to be a game changer but 6.5 cal seems to have more options.
 

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Grz63 wrote on roklok's profile.
Hi Roklok
I read your post on Caprivi. Congratulations.
I plan to hunt there for buff in 2026 oct.
How was the land, very dry ? But à lot of buffs ?
Thank you / merci
Philippe
Fire Dog wrote on AfricaHunting.com's profile.
Chopped up the whole thing as I kept hitting the 240 character limit...
Found out the trigger word in the end... It was muzzle or velocity. dropped them and it posted.:)
 
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