Limitations of the 6.5x55 SE Caliber

[Atticum]

The 6.5x55 SE Caliber:

It is most useful to discuss this caliber in relation to .308

There are two overt drawbacks: Availability and Price.

This thread is concerned with its other limitations as a hunting round. Penetration, Expansion, Trajectory, Velocity, Range, Stopping Power, etc... again, relative to the .308 caliber.

Handloading can be considered, although I do not handload.

To facilitate discussion, I will start with a common question:

Is the 6.5 caliber sufficient for any game in North America?

 

[dbyrne]

I have been wondering the same thing. I am planning to buy a Tikka T3 lite in either 6.5x55 se or .308 win and keep flip-flopping back and forth between the two.

 

[R.W.Dale]

There are two overt drawbacks: Availability and Price.

there's a third that exacerbates these two issues.

Anything "metric" loaded by an american ammo manufacturer is going to be laughably underloaded garbage. In my experience 6.5x55 is no exception to this rule. To get full powered loadings you're limited to European ammo manufacturers or handloads.

Shooting real deal full pressure loads yes 6.5x55 would be good for anything short of big bears. Firing weak american factory loads......not so much

 

[woof]

I've always wondered why "sufficient for any game in North America" is such a big selling point. I would think anyone with the means to hunt the largest game would have a whole safe full of rifles. The only people I can think of who might need one rifle for all would be economically strapped Alaskan natives, and they have .338 Magnums or at least .30-06s. IMO, the 6.5x55 is not sufficient for any game but very sufficient for anything say, 500lbs and under.

 

[Yosemite**Sam]

Depends ? What ranges are you willing to shoot at and how accurate are you with your rifle ? Most factory loads are on the light side with respect to lower chamber pressures held for the older receivers. Modern rifles can be pumped up a little with hotter reloads. I own 3 of the 6.5x55 rifles. One Kimber, one Winchester 70 fwt and one interarms mauser. Personally I prefer the .308 for a little more power.

 

[USSR]

I would not hesitate to use it on anything in NA other than the big bears.

Don

 

[Ol` Joe]

Ask a Swede hunter how many Polar bear and moose have dropped to it over the years.......

 

[cracked butt]

The 6.5x55 really comes alive if you handload for it.

 

[DRYHUMOR]

S & B and PRVI offer 131 gr SP and 139 gr FMJ respectively for less than $20 a box.

New brass and bullets are reasonable as well. Hornady 6.5mm 129 gr SP interlocks are pretty spiffy.

I'm moving into this caliber myself. I expect it'll do what I want it to do.

 

[NCsmitty]

308 VS 6.5x55 Ballistics

Here's a ballistic comparison of some of the best factory loads available for each. It is an honest comparison with no fudging numbers. You'll note the high BC of the 6.5 allows it to eat away at the 308's initial advantage, and I'm not taking anything away from the 308. They are both great cartridges.


NCsmitty

 

[Runningman]

Is the 6.5 caliber sufficient for any game in North America?

Not sure I would want to confront an angry Bear or hunt Tyrannosaurus Rex with a 6.5 x 55. But outside that with the right bullet in the right load the 6.5 is adequate for most NA game.

The American factory loads are under loaded in in the 6.5 x 55 yet they still seem to do the job. To really get the most out of a modern 6.5 X 55 some of the European loads such as from Norma or handloads with Reloader 22 and 125 - 140 grain bullets really do help its performance.

 

[browningguy]

I'm with most others, anything except big bears. I use my 7x57 for anything that comes by, I handload though.

 

[earlthegoat2]

The answer to your question is yes.

The reason why is handloading.

 

[dbublitz]

Speaking of such a rifle to handload for all North American game, this may do the job. Something I picked up last week, a special run of 250 of these stainless/walnut Ruger No. 1 Swede beauties!

 

[9mmepiphany]

how about a more useful statement:

the 6.5x55 is sufficent for any game in North America that you think a 308 is sufficent for.

limitation vs. the .308:
1. it has more limited recoil than the .308
2. if has a more limited range of adjustments needed at longer ranges
what i'm trying to say is that it recoils less and flys straighter at longer ranges

anything i wouldn't use a 6.5x55mm on, i'd want a 375H&H Mag

 

[hinton03]

I have hunted extensively in Germany with the 6.5X55 and it cleanly killed Boar and Roe Deer. I think it compares well with the 308 Win but don't consider it a first choice for larger game.

When I hunt game the size of Elk I tend to reach for magnum calibers.

I once went on a Brown Bear hunt on an Island in the gulf of Alaska. I was using a 300 Win Mag and after seeing a few bears I felt under gunned, I would have been very hesitant to pull the trigger on one of those bears toting the 6.5X55.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Just a point of fact...not being argumentative either way, but NCsmitty used the worst possible bullet weight for the 308 in that graph.

I know lots of people use 150 grain bullets (and I often wonder why), but the 165/8 grain bullets are far better for hunting in every way.

 

[evan price]

I know of Swedes who drop elk with 6.5x55. As has been mentioned many times, it comes down to handloading. Handloaded 6.5x55 vs handloaded .308 is a horse race. I faced the same quandry when I was going to buy a long-range shooting rifle- I was wanting a Tikka T3 Lite SS- did I want 6.5x55 or .308?

The point became MOOT when a Rem 700PSS in .308 appeared at a local shop for an excellent price.