Ammo Guide Ballistic Comparison : 6.5 Creedmoor v 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser

[Shootist43]

Gert, there is a story behind my original Swede. I won a State Rifle Championship two years in a row, 1994 and 1995 with a Win. Mod 70 in 243. Prior to the 1996 Championship I took shipment of my first Swede. It was accurate, almost beyond belief. I wanted to win the 1996 Championship with a 100 year old rifle. Since this is a "Target" match I wanted to maximize my opportunity. For that reason I modified the bolt. It has since proven to be my go to rifle.

 

[Red Devil]

It does seem the 6.5x55 is the better option for reloaders. I will say I fell into the marketing trap and bought not 1 but 2 6.5 Creedmoor rifles (my son and I both shoot it) I don't see this as a bad thing though because it introduced me to a caliber that isn't used in my area even though it has exceptional performance. I now am fully aware of the wonders this little bullet is capable of, and I will one day have a very nice 6.5x55 rifle to call my own.

The modern pressure factory ammo is the upside. (a trap with really good cheese?)

Avoided the 6.5 CM because am perfectly happy in the field w/ the .270 Winchester.

...and then got a 6.5x55 because was interested in a 6.5mm 24" Bbl'ed aperture sighted rifle, and the Ruger African came along.

Couldn't be happier.




Red

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Great looking rifle ...it seems the 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser has quite a following...

 

[ChrisG]

The 6.5x55 will do everything the 6.5 creedmoor will do at lower pressure and just as accurately within normal field conditions... except be a few millimeters shorter and fit into an action that is like, what? 6% lighter... I can make that up by going from a leather wallet to a nylon one.... also... from an engineering aspect, the Swede is better designed for practicality and reliability, while the creedmoor was designed to be uber modern and squeeze as much 6.5mm performance as you can from a somewhat normal looking, 308 length COAL. The Swede will shoot as good if properly bedded, hit as hard or harder (though for 6.5s there are diminishing returns in pushing the bullet much past where the Swede does), it will, all other thing being equal, feed and extract better and it is ubiquitous. The Swede trumps the creedmoor in almost any practical hunting scenario... but it doesn't come in a whole bunch of "tacticool" setups so I guess the creedmoor has THAT going for it...

 

[ChrisG]

Agreed , still accurate though brother. I'm not buying into the hype, but just stating fact of the matter. The thing I find fascinating about the 6.5, I makes you an automatic sniper. No training, no dope book, hell you don't even need to read wind (only by a few articles I've read about it). I'm sure there's better, but you can't argue availability of factory ammo.

... not to mention the other 98% of sniper training that isn't shooting, like discipline, physical stamina, fieldcraft, recon, counter recon, mental and physical toughness, and the million other skills that no 6.5 CM user ever bothers to learn or even realizes is part of the deal. When they strap on they're MOLLE armored vest and thigh holster to go shoot in the desert, because they can hit a gong 600 yards... that "makes you a sniper".I guess some people never grew out of dress-up make believe

 

[sestoppelman]

LOL to all of this! Not one to follow the herd either, I did just order up a Creedmoor, but wait for the real reason. Here in WA, on July 1, this state will henceforth consider ALL semi auto rifles to be an assault weapon! All of them, even a squirrel rifle if its semi auto. This was a voter approved initiative and its full of intrusive new rules to follow. So being a M14 type rifle nut and thinking I might just want one in 6.5 someday, I just went ahead and got one coming. Were it not for this stupid law kicking in soon, it wouldn't really even be on my radar.

BTW, like many here I popped early on for the Ruger Hawkeye Swede and while I liked it well enough its accuracy left me disappointed. I tried every trick I know, it just wasn't there. So next I tried a Remington 700 Classic, one of which I owned years ago, and it shot everything I put in it almost to the same POI no matter the load, fantastic shooter. Its long gone. Alas, the latest Rem shot about like the Ruger, very meh! Its gone too, life is too short to spend stupid amounts of time and money trying to make guns shoot that need that much persuasion.

Then I though well, how about a .264 Win mag! I have been on a bit of a tear lately looking at and buying post '64 Winchester model 70's, got a good shooting .338 mag, great rifle. Been looking for one in .308 but just like the early model Rem 700 ADL in .308, they are amazingly scarce!

I tool around on the M14 forum and several of those guys have M14's or M1A's in the Creedmoor and speak highly, very highly of the accuracy of the round on that platform. So, I got one coming. I have quite a few 6.5 bullets to load and nothing to shoot them in!

 

[Shootist43]

Stoppelman, have you ever owned an 1896 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser? IMHO the gun itself is an integral portion of the "shooting platform" I love so much. There are over a dozen of them in my safes. While they may not shoot as good as the first one I bought, I can honestly say that none of them left me disappointed in their accuracy. Do a little looking on Gunbroker or similar site and these rifles can be had in the 4 -5 hundred dollar range. If you don't like what you get you can always sell it. BTW the unsporterized versions sell for a lot more that what I usually look for.

 

[ChrisG]

Stoppelman, have you ever owned an 1896 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser? IMHO the gun itself is an integral portion of the "shooting platform" I love so much. There are over a dozen of them in my safes. While they may not shoot as good as the first one I bought, I can honestly say that none of them left me disappointed in their accuracy. Do a little looking on Gunbroker or similar site and these rifles can be had in the 4 -5 hundred dollar range. If you don't like what you get you can always sell it. BTW the unsporterized versions sell for a lot more that what I usually look for.

The only thing that bothered me about the 96 mauser I bought (it was a cavalry carbine made in 1904) was that it was a cock on closing.... It was very difficult for me to get used to the extra bolt throw pressure on closing

 

[Shootist43]

Chris, I converted the first Swede I bought to a cock on opening action. All of the rest of them are cock on closing. Weren't all of the old Mausers i.e. K 98 etc. cock on closing? Agreed it takes a bit of getting used to. Since I tend to operate a bolt aggressively I never really notice it.

 

[sestoppelman]

Have not had one but considered it and looked at lots of them. In the end I just decided to bag the Swede for other pursuits.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Stoppelman, have you ever owned an 1896 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser? IMHO the gun itself is an integral portion of the "shooting platform" I love so much. There are over a dozen of them in my safes. While they may not shoot as good as the first one I bought, I can honestly say that none of them left me disappointed in their accuracy. Do a little looking on Gunbroker or similar site and these rifles can be had in the 4 -5 hundred dollar range. If you don't like what you get you can always sell it. BTW the unsporterized versions sell for a lot more that what I usually look for.

Now I know whom to ask to bring me a original Huskvarna 38 in a 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser caliber rifle ...Shootist, you need to visit me next year so we can go and hunt ..just bring two 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser with you I will buy one and get the permanent import permit for the one rifle..you have far too many great rifles ... Just received notice that the 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser reamer from Pasific Tool and gauge are completed and it is shipped to Dave West a forum member and a great friend who really assisting me much in buying stuff in the USA..as have other members as well..it really is much , much appreciated ...

 

[Tim Blackwell]

I have a great soft spot for the 6.5x55 Swede. When I was a kid my Dad bought an original M96 rifle and it became my first centrefire at 16. With my part-time job I had the bolt handle customized, synthetic stock and scope mounts fitted, a Timney trigger and a full reblue.

I shot all manner of stuff with that rifle and wore out the first barrel in the process. When it would no longer group i bought an 'in the white' M38 barrel, rust blued it myself and had it screwed in. Lo and behold, with my load of a 140gn SST at 2710fps, it shoots under MOA.

Now approaching 110 years old, the old girl doesn't come out of the safe often, but still does the business when called upon

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Blacks, great story and photos, thank you for sharing , I am sure my 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser I am building is going to be a great rifle I will cherish as well..

 

[Shootist43]

Sorry Gert, I only have one Husqvarna. It is still in its' original guise. I bought two Swedes from a buddy that needed some room in his safe, The Husky and a 1917 version of the model 1896. He had both of them for around 30 years, neither of which were fired during that time. The best part is that I got them both for $600.00. Sometimes a guy gets lucky.

 

[Shootist43]

I have a great soft spot for the 6.5x55 Swede. When I was a kid my Dad bought an original M96 rifle and it became my first centrefire at 16. With my part-time job I had the bolt handle customized, synthetic stock and scope mounts fitted, a Timney trigger and a full reblue.

I shot all manner of stuff with that rifle and wore out the first barrel in the process. When it would no longer group i bought an 'in the white' M38 barrel, rust blued it myself and had it screwed in. Lo and behold, with my load of a 140gn SST at 2710fps, it shoots under MOA.

Now approaching 110 years old, the old girl doesn't come out of the safe often, but still does the business when called upon

View attachment 290792

The sweet part about this is when you pass it along, your Swede will probably still shoot MOA. BTW your Swede is almost identical to most of mine with the Ramline stock, Timney trigger & safety.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Sorry Gert, I only have one Husqvarna. It is still in its' original guise. I bought two Swedes from a buddy that needed some room in his safe, The Husky and a 1917 version of the model 1896. He had both of them for around 30 years, neither of which were fired during that time. The best part is that I got them both for $600.00. Sometimes a guy gets lucky.

Shootist, you are truly fortunate to have those two great rifles..

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Hickok45 walking in the woods with a Model 96 Swedish Mauser. The picture quality of the HD video is quite impressive.

https://www.full30.com/watch/MDE4NjM2/swedish-mauser-model-96-woods-walk