6.5X55 Love Affair

[Rapier]

I am kinda of a 6.5x55 guy myself, but matrimony, well I just don't know. There is something to be said for those soft talking, bed warmers, on a cold night.

I can not resist, just in the spirit, you know:
1) PO Ackley claimed that the Swede was the very best of the 95 type actions.
2) The Swedes claimed their guns were made with a special steel, would withstand higher pressures and they sent the steel to Germany for the guns to be made from by Obendorf.
3) Swedes are known to have been rebarreled to 22-250 without any ill effect. There was a smith in Canada that specilized in this conversion in the 1960s.
4) The old Hodgdon manual shows a 6.5x55 load for a 96 Swede with a 140 gr Hornady at 3,000 fps.
5) Several benchrest shooters started out with 6.5x55 guns.
6) The twist of a military Swede barrel is about 1-7.5 it will stabalize just about every bullet ever avalable in 6.5
7) One of the most accurate bullets in a Swede is the 85 gr Sierra, it will shoot sub .5 inch groups at 3,500 fps. A good varmit round.
8) 99% of the guns sold in the US had great barrels in them.

Over the years I have built about two dozen custom Sweds, using the military barrel. Of all the guns, only one had a barrel replaced and even that dark barrel gun shot .50 inch groups. The barrel was just so rough, I pulled it and put a brand new, tapered, Mdl 38 barrel in the action. I bought that Mdl 38 barrel for 32.00

Photo is my regular hunting gun, a model 96, built several years ago.
Ed