Llama Bob
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Creedmoor or Swedish for Big Animals?
- Thread starter Swifty Morgan
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Swifty Morgan
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So if I want to choose between a CZ 557 and a Tikka, I'll need a better reason.
Gtscotty
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How about weight? Or a safety that locks the bolt?
The CZ 557 is a great rifle as well as the now discontinued CZ 550. I have the CZ 550 American and the Manners 557...the CZ's can be hefty in the weight department if that matters to you but they are great rifles.
Sako and Tikka both make 6.5x55 and I think they now offer 6.5CM as well. Other choices are Mauser M12 and some other euro brands or you could build your own custom if none of those fits your needs. Do not worry about the 1:8.6 vs the 1:8 as it will only make a difference with very long bullets at lower velocities if any at all. Most hunting type rounds will be fine in either.
Kendal Black
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The argument about "anything that walks..." has no legs, particularly when I consider the curious case in which a New York City flatfoot killed a polar bear with a .38 Special. The circumstances were unusual. I suppose it proves you never know what you are signing up for when you take the badge.
If the animal is large and dangerous, an annoyed brown or white bear, for instance, any rifle you bring will seem none too big. .338 Winchester Magnum and up are well regarded for big hostile bears. I have no experience shooting large bears, but in circumstances where that might need doing I took along a 12 gauge with slugs.
To answer your question, I have a 6.5 Swede rifle I owned for many years before the Creedmore was even thought of. Still have it, plan to keep it. If you have the one, you have no need of the other. The 6.5 Creedmore is the better cartridge, but slightly so. Considering the Swedes had a cartridge very nearly as good more than a hundred years ago should make you reconsider hype and hoopla.
gsbuickman
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I made the mistake of letting my Swiss karabiner k-31 go for something else that I thought I just "had to have" and I've been kicking myself in the proverbial but ever since and as soon as I find another one it'll be coming home for my collection. With that being said I have and all original Carl gustaf's 94 / 14 Swedish Mauser and a beautiful Norwegian steyer Krag Jorgensen , both of which are chambered in 6.5 Swedish & a pile of brass to reload for them. I won't waste my time with a Creedmoor just because almost everyone else on the planet is on that bandwagon, I'm not . I like to be different, I like to rock the boat and I like to be different because I don't want to do the same thing everyone else is doing just because they're doing it . The 6.5 Swede is a fantastic Round And if you do a little reading about it you'll find out the swedes and the Norwegians have been knocking moose down with it for 100+ years. It's a flat shooting long-range cartridge with very little if any recoil at all, I think my 22-250 has more felt recoil than my 6.5's and if I need more than the 6.5 before I find another Swiss k-31 I have multiple 30 caliber rifles to choose from.
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Swifty Morgan
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entropy
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https://www.grafs.com/catalog/category/categoryId/770
Reload. Shoot surplus to get used to the gun, then work up a load for hunting. Privi brass is just fine for hunting loads. I did the same for one of my Mosins that I hunt with, and the K31 is far more accurate than any Mosin. (Except perhaps a Finn 28-57)
Reload. Shoot surplus to get used to the gun, then work up a load for hunting. Privi brass is just fine for hunting loads. I did the same for one of my Mosins that I hunt with, and the K31 is far more accurate than any Mosin. (Except perhaps a Finn 28-57)
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gsbuickman
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Simple, order Surplus Swiss GP11 ammo from Graf and Sons . Once you have brass for it you can reload it
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dh1633pm
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This is like the 44 mag versus 45 colt thread, only with 6.5's. I have both. Problem solved. Horsemen61 responded first, and best. If you can't decide, a quarter is all you need.
Random 8
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I can speak to this question and the original one. I reload for my K-31, but I have taken both targets and Whitetail with PRVI 174gr SP. It is fine, accurate hunting ammunition. I believe Hornady also makes the 150 SST in this round, and it would be fine for lighter deer, but I found it to be too soft for my liking on big Northwoods deer. BTW, GP-11 is on the endangered species list. If you find ANY for a decent price, buy it immediately.
As for the 6.5 debate, if deer are the largest on your menu, either cartridge will be perfect. Factory ammo selection is a little better for the CM, but the internet is a big place and there are some fine factory offerings in 6.5x55, especially from Norma and PRVI. IMHO there is not enough difference between the rounds ballistically to prefer one over the other.
If larger than deer are also on the menu, consider a 7mm-08 with a premium bullet as it will handle bullets to 160 grains at a respectable velocity without beating you up too badly.
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