Quote:
Originally Posted by Tanick
Sorry if I've hijacked this thread. I'll start a new one if necessary but I guess redbeard's question was comprehensively answered.
I shoot a Sako 85 in 6.5x55 Swedish. I can get 1 MOA with factory ammo so I guess I'm just being picky. Really I'm reloading for the cost savings, not accuracy but it would be nice to get it right. I don't target shoot competitively, just for fun on things like running deer and boar ranges. For deer stalking 1MOA is more than adequate.
I bought some PPU bullets which were useless and have moved to Sierra Match 120g. I just bought some 107g and 140g too. I got the groups smaller by playing with the seating depth. Sako brass and Viht N160 powder.
|
Ah, yes - one of my all-time favorite calibers. I have a Ruger #1 Light Sporter, and my oldest son has a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight (that I gave him on his 12th birthday) in that caliber. That Sako 85 is a very nice rifle as well.
The 6.5 Swede is kind of a quandry. Factory rifles are typically chambered to accept military ammunition, which was originally loaded with big, long, 160 grain round nose bullets. As a result, the throats are very long. So long that lighter spitzer shaped bullets just can't be seated out very close to the origin of the rifling before their bases would be out in front of the case neck. So, they have to make quite a jump accross all of that free bored throat before they engage the rifling. Not very conducive to accuracy. That, and the old Swede typically has a very fast twist rifling, like one turn in 7 1/2 inches, in order to stabilize that long for caliber 160 grain bullet.
The obvious answer is to use those long 160 grain bullets. Hornady has re-introduced theirs after a few years out of production. Lapua has a 155 grain bullet that both of our little Swedes just love. Sierra used to have one, but discontinued it years ago (I managed to squirrel away half a dozen boxes, but have since used them up).
The old Swede made its reputation on these bullets, and they do penetrate like there's no tomorrow. I've never been able to get the short 120 and 140 grain spitzers to shoot as well in this caliber. They shoot great in more "modern" 6.5's, like the .264 Winchester magnum, .260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x.284 Norma, and stuff like that. These more modern chamberings, however, are typically throated much shorter (many won't chamber the long 160 grain round noses) and the rifling is a bit slower. The modern thinking seems to be that these lighter spitzers are "better" than the old round noses, because we can get more velocity out of them, they are more streamlined, and therefor they shoot flatter. Meh... gimme that big, long round nose. It's what the Swede built its reputation on, as the "little gun that could". With that bullet, it kills all out of proportion to its size. And most rifles tend to shoot them better.