6.5 swede loads and speed

[bigrich]

hey fellas , i'm looking to share handloading with 6.5x55 tikka T3 . finally got to chrono my loads on the weekend and it was mildly supprising and confusing
looking at noslers data , man are they optomistc speeds are waaay higher than what i got with some loads . been reading on yank forums 2800-2900fps with 140's my 43.5gn of 2209 with a 140sst @3.106" col gave me 2580fps 44.1gn 2209 gave 2620fps , but at this point the case starts to show slight signs of flow into the ejector hole in the bolt face . primers look good , but brass flow is not good in my book. my other chrono-ed load was 120 noslers @2820fps for 45.5gn of 2209 . another good load is the 125 partition with 44.5gn of 2209 for a guess-ta-mated speed of 2740fps , cause at this point my magnetospeed barrel mounted chrono had worked loose and i shot one corner off the mounting housing

accuracy is more important to me than speed , but the 6.5x55 must have the wildest extremes of data and "internet loads" and speeds of any cartride i've looked at . i'm just curious of what loads and speed you guys are getting , and if there's any easy way of changing my reloading to pick up extra speed without preasure .
i'm using lapua brass and fed210 primers .cheers

[Oldbloke]

Hi, bigrich.

I did some basic comparisons for a mild load in one of my 30.06s a while back. What ADI said I would get was consistantly about 200fps MORE than what Greg's Reloading Tool (GRT) said I would get. (GRT data is based on real testing)

Sooo, I'm guessing most powder manufacturers exagerate what you will actually get.

Note: I have not had any loads tested using a chronograph.

Note: All my loads are mild. I start low, as soon as I get an accurate load I stop and leave it at that.

[deye243]

Don't forget tikka barrels are renowned to be slow compared to other brands the 2 I have and had proved this to be right

[bigrich]

Don't forget tikka barrels are renowned to be slow compared to other brands the 2 I have and had proved this to be right

i think you might be right about tikka barrels being slow .on the other end of the scale i had a madco barreled model 70 years ago that exceeded nosler's load data with RE22 . 2810-2830 fps with 140sst's . it was a warm load but no preasure signs . i'm thinking about sticking with lighter projectiles in my tikka to get a bit more speed for flatter shooting , but no preasure issues . 129gn sst's ,130 accubonds or 125 gn partitions are what i'm looking at .

[bigrich]

Hi, bigrich.

I did some basic comparisons for a mild load in one of my 30.06s a while back. What ADI said I would get was consistantly about 200fps MORE than what Greg's Reloading Tool (GRT) said I would get. (GRT data is based on real testing)

Sooo, I'm guessing most powder manufacturers exagerate what you will actually get.

Note: I have not had any loads tested using a chronograph.

Note: All my loads are mild. I start low, as soon as I get an accurate load I stop and leave it at that.

"mild" loads in a 30-06 are nothing to be sneezed at but ......
my 6.5 is silly accurate , but needs reasonable velocity for projectile expansion and energy transfer

[northdude]

My t3 seems to like the 120 sierras

[bigrich]

My t3 seems to like the 120 sierras

how do the 120 sierras go and what game do you use them on ND ? mine seems to be able to be loaded up more with 2209 and the lighter projectiles . i'm thinking about lightening up my projectile weights to 120-130's and using my swede in more of a 257 bob/243 kinda role . most of the pigs and such i come across don't get past 50kg with just the occasional big'un .
140sst's deffinately track REALLY good over distance , i've tried a few long shots and supprised myself . that was with 44.8gn of 2209 , which produced a defined little dimple in the case head from the ejector hole . primers were starting to look a little flatter with that load but not bad . probably tracking over 2700fps that one . i'm 60 thou off the lands with most of my loads with less than 1/2" groups .
i've considered getting a ackley reamer , which besides getting a little more powder volume , could fix preasure and the case head dimples . like a lot of older cases the swede has a lot of taper . that's probably not helping bolt thrust which could be the cause of the dimples . maybe straight walling it would probably help

[SCJ429]

Don't forget tikka barrels are renowned to be slow compared to other brands the 2 I have and had proved this to be right

Strange I had a T3 in the Swede and was using 2209 to push 143 ELDX to 2980 fps. No signs of pressure. I found load data for the Swede frustrating and was up to six grains above the max before any pressure signs.
I used CCI Magnum primers and Lapua brass. It was a hunting load and didn't seat anywhere near the lands. Just to mag length. Shot the barrel out and replaced it with a Hardy which gave me similar speeds.

[SCJ429]

I use Lab Radar to measure bullet speed.

[northdude]

The sierras go really well. A typical 3 shot group at 100m will consistantly go 3/4 of an inch or under. Over here I shoot small pigs goats and deer. Shoot them in the right spot they go down. Im using 2209 as well. I do a lot of bush hunting so ranges are pretty close. I found the 140s tended to pencil through at close range as well so went lighter

[bigrich]

Don't forget tikka barrels are renowned to be slow compared to other brands the 2 I have and had proved this to be right

Strange I had a T3 in the Swede and was using 2209 to push 143 ELDX to 2980 fps. No signs of pressure. I found load data for the Swede frustrating and was up to six grains above the max before any pressure signs.
I used CCI Magnum primers and Lapua brass. It was a hunting load and didn't seat anywhere near the lands. Just to mag length. Shot the barrel out and replaced it with a Hardy which gave me similar speeds.

Magnum primer may be the key. A mate told me recently that uncle nick recommended magnum primer for free extra speed in some cases. Hmmm, I have some magnum primer kicking around

[bigrich]

The sierras go really well. A typical 3 shot group at 100m will consistantly go 3/4 of an inch or under. Over here I shoot small pigs goats and deer. Shoot them in the right spot they go down. Im using 2209 as well. I do a lot of bush hunting so ranges are pretty close. I found the 140s tended to pencil through at close range as well so went lighter

The great thing about a tikka is you can carry different loads in different magazines and change them out as required. If you got time pigs have a habit of jumping up under my feet at times

[phill55phill]

I'm 3 grains over Max with nobler 140s in a m98 action no pressure signs don't know what velocity but should be up there also using g 250 primers 2209 powder

[bigrich]

I'm 3 grains over Max with nobler 140s in a m98 action no pressure signs don't know what velocity but should be up there also using g 250 primers 2209 powder

what powder is that with phil ? i just bought some 129sst's to try in my 6.5x55 tikka . i'll get the max accurate 2209 load with these and trial them on my next trip .

[phill55phill]

2209

[bigrich]

2209

yup, righto. thanks phil i've gone past max loads in the past in other rifles with no preasure signs . dunno why my tikka is preasuring up
might try some magnum primers , but it's a bit pointless if i can't buy any more . probably go to lighter projectiles and try to get some better than average speed that way . just means shot placement will be a little bit more important

[phill55phill]

Only used magnum primers because that is all I have

[SCJ429]

I used CCI Magnum primers because they lowered my ES and SD.

[bigrich]

went out to my local range to sight in my 140sst load today for a upcoming freindly comp with the ozzie deer association at the end of the month . my load of 43.5 gn of 2209 was producing very, very slight marks on the case head from the ejector hole in the bolt face . not enough to worry about . fed210 primers look fine. for a "out of the box" tikka dropped in a B&C stock she does alright . .7" @ 100 1.3/4" high ,1.5"@ 200 for 0, 3" @300 f0r 7" low. that load cruises 2580fps that'll do for hunting rifle accuracy . best thing is it's extremely consistant . i've a sneaking suspicion my rifle might respond better with 2213sc for 140's .

i did some load work ups with 129sst's , found a real nice .6" @100 node with 44.8gn of 09 .col 3.105". tried something different though . i used win large rifle primers instead of fed210 and no preasure signs at all . hmmm. i might work up a little more and watch for the ejector hole mark . could be a change in primer might yield better results . by cross referencing to other load results that were cronoed , i estimate i'm getting 2750-2800fps out of the 129sst's . should give better ballistic performance than my 140 load . i'm not going to go round and round wearing out a barrel on load developement i'll probably settle on the 129sst as a "do all" load and see how far she'll go with powder . "xxl load data" website is very accurately close to my crono results.
another point of interest is i noticed nosler's high FPS with their load data and ruger m77 high fps with swede loads has something in common . 1-9 twist ratio . slower twist , more bullet speed . and i don't think 1-9 wouldn't work well with 140"s . if i feel like a project a 6.5x55 ackley with a 1-9 twist 24" barrel could be on the cards super-swede !

anyone got any feed back on game performance with 129sst's at around 2800fps . i feel like my 140's are overkill on anything less than a red stag anyway

i'm waiting for some joker to tell me to just buy a 308......