Anybody have a 6.5X55AI? Need some ADVICE...

Hey Gents, (and ladies), ???

I am trying to decide between the .260AI and the 6.5x55AI. Just don't know what to do. Looking at ballistics till my eyes bleed and all, but that tells me the science not the experience. There are pro's and con's to both I'm sure. ie. cost of brass, quality of brass, etc... But what about some experience with the 55AI I've read alot on the forum about the .260AI but not much on the 55. So...??? Anyone have the 55AI and does it load well? What kind of velocity are you getting with, say 142's and so on? Barrell life? Are you HAPPY with it? etc....

ANY advice is appreciated. This should probably be in PaHogs thread about "Tell me what to buy!" ;D And I'm sure Pa has one of each so what say you all?

LH Clark

I am petty sure that dcloco has one, so hopefully he'll chime in in a bit.

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Originally Posted by L.H. Clark

ANY advice is appreciated. This should probably be in PaHogs thread about "Tell me what to buy!" ;D And I'm sure Pa has one of each so what say you all?

LH Clark

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Man, 4 posts and you're already pickin on us Pa guys ::)..Atleast you singled out Justin and not me ;D. You're gonna fit in here just fine :D.

Built two...one for me and another for my hunting buddy. ...and there is two more barrels on order. Why? Have no idea, but there is.

Biggest reason I built the 6.5x55 AI - the bullets. Compare bullets in every caliber and the 14x grain bullets have a large BC advantage over anything else. Of the bullets that have a high BC, you will be banging on your shoulder hard to get them there. The .284/7mm would be a possible alternative, but you will be using a win mag, STW, or ultramag to get the bullet to the target.

Decided against the 6.5x284 because of the cost of the brass and the short barrel life reported by the benchrest shooters.

#1 - high bc bullets available
#2 - better barrel life than 6.5x284, 264 magnum
#3 - cheap brass available and GOOD brass available that won't break the bank

I am using the rifle single shot, so, feeding is not an issue for me. But, if I wanted a repeater, I would go with a newer centerfeed action. Just finished building a 6mm AI on a long action center feed and the load rounds feed fine. If you go with a staggered feed action, you will need to work on the feed lips of the tin.

With a variety of powders available, using 48/49 grains, you will have 2900-2950 fps with a 140 gr bullet. Which translates to 33 moa to 1200 yards with a 0 at 100 yards.

There is another person on the site that built a BEAUTIFUL 6.5x55 AI that shoots lights out as well.

The plain jane 6.5x55 is still tough to bet....even after 120 yrs or so.....

Yes, you will love the 6.5x55AI. Very easy to load for and fire form loads have shot just as well as formed loads. 1-8 twist McGowen but I use 120gr NBT's with H4831sc and 130gr Berger VLD's with RL22. I have a single shot action so not sure about feed issues.

Thanks to dcloco, he took the fear out of my first AI and helped me with load information. I have never had a 260 so can't make a comparison for you.

WOW! I Love this place! ;D I told PaHog that the combined years of knowledge on here is absolutely priceless. Thank you all for your input, it does help with the indecisiveness. dcloco: all the reasons you listed are the ones that I have thought about, ie; cheap GOOD brass availability, of course the BC on the 6.5 projectiles, etc....

And yes, ArmedinUtah, the 6.5X55 is awesome in and of itself, but I just wanted a little more speed and thought that Improving it would be ideal. I was set on a .260 or .260AI for the longest, the .260AI after reading Terry Cross's article, and the fact that I love to convert brass, that is the hobby that I enjoy most.

I thought the .260 would be great for me simply for the conversion reason, converting from .30-06, .270, 7mm-08 etc, would be a labor of love for me. BUT, I realized that I will STILL be able to do plenty of conversion for the 6.5X55 or the Improved 55 as well.......Right?

The 55's case is easily made from the above mentioned parents is it not? I DO Realize the silliness of forming and converting when so much quality, match brass is out there for the 55 but HEY ::) I love to convert, what can I say? It's a hobby. I'm not a competition shooter, just a hobbyist that loves the thought of taking a piece of lead and firing it at such speeds and being able to hit a dime at 100 yards consistently. The physics involved and the pressures, the science and the magic of it all! :D

I believe that I am much closer to a decision, dcloco keeps talking and there will be no decision to make! :D
Besides the fact that I am going with a LA donor regardless of whether its a .260 or a 55 due to seating depth issues and what not on the 142's and VLD's in the .260, I lose nothing and gain speed without excessive pressure with the 55AI over the 260AI I would think. It seems to be a win, win.

Thanks again! Will post on progress of the build.

WELL...........after another cup of coffee or two and rereading my last post.........I have to admit to myself that "hitting a dime consistently at a hundred yards" is above my skill level! ::) Let's change that to......say..... the side of a barn! ;D Well, maybe an oarnge? ANYway.....you all know what I mean.. ??? 8)

I've been shooting the plain jane 6.5x55 for a couple months now and have about 500 rounds down it. I've had 120gr Nosler BT's over the chronogragh at around 3100fps and 140gr Berger VLD's at 2850fps this weekend. I've already considered AI'ing it just for better brass stability and some additional velocity but DCLOCO's velocities kind of squashed my hopes of any serious increase in speed.

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Originally Posted by wdchuckhuntr

I've been shooting the plain jane 6.5x55 for a couple months now and have about 500 rounds down it. I've had 120gr Nosler BT's over the chronogragh at around 3100fps and 140gr Berger VLD's at 2850fps this weekend. I've already considered AI'ing it just for better brass stability and some additional velocity but DCLOCO's velocities kind of squashed my hopes of any serious increase in speed.

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I'm also shooting a straight 6.5x55 and getting the same velocities with 123 Sierra's (3100) and 140 vld's and 142 Sierra's (2850) And i had also thought about an AI. I thought there would be a bigger increase in velocity than that.

Well.......I think that Dcloco is being a little conservative on the powder amount he gave out. A person should probably be careful giving load data advice on any forum, that being said, I would say that there are still advantages to be had such as a decrease in propellant for the same velocity (economy), and you are for sure not going to have the pressures your going to have trying to attain 3100fps out of a 142 as you would in a .260 or .260AI, IMHO. Both of these are, I think, some of the primary attributes of an Improved cartridge. Plus they look sooooo cool! 8)

So.....you get longer brass life, use less powder, attain higher velocity (I'm pretty sure) and so on. These are all very important to me as well so the info. is still appreciated. So my hopes aren't dashed, but I can see that if you are going to invest in another barrel it might not be worth it for what you guys are attaining now, for me, I've got the luxury of an intitial build so....I believe the 55AI is what it will be... for today anyway. :D

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Originally Posted by wdchuckhuntr

I've been shooting the plain jane 6.5x55 for a couple months now and have about 500 rounds down it. I've had 120gr Nosler BT's over the chronogragh at around 3100fps and 140gr Berger VLD's at 2850fps this weekend. I've already considered AI'ing it just for better brass stability and some additional velocity but DCLOCO's velocities kind of squashed my hopes of any serious increase in speed.

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I have not pushed my loads hard. Don't care to wear the brass and barrel out.

Of the biggest concern of my loads, I have only tested a couple powders. Some Viht or RL17 would definitely put a little more speed behind this as well.

Also forgot to mention, when I crowned, chambered, and threaded both barrels, my barrel is the slower of the two...by almost 100 fps. Why? Don't know...just don't make fun of my "slow" rifle! LOL!

TooBuilder's rifle is absolutely beautiful and shoots...well...as good as it looks. Believe his is a touch faster than mine as well.

For bullets...you really need to pick what you want to shoot. A throat to shoot a 142 gr AMax will be a lot deeper throat than a 140/142 gr HPBT.

I rented the reamer from 4D rental (search for them). But, I finally bought a reamer as well.

Would highly recommend using a long action. Don't have a 6.5x55 AI loaded with a 142 gr AMax...but it is rather long. Short action definitely will not cut it.

Also forgot to add....there is not much recoil from this round either. Definitely less than a 308 running 150 to 168's.

...and the BIG reminder....ALL OF THE LOAD INFORMATION that is printed in load manuals are tailored to Swedish M94/M96/M96B rifles. Supposedly, these actions cannot handle the higher chamber pressures as newer actions. There is also a 6.5x55 Skandanavian round out there as well....NOT the same cartridge either.


TooBuilder - please post a pic of the fine shooting iron that you built.

You guys are probably getting tired of these two pics but if it inspires another 6.5x55AI build then that is OK. This is my load with fire formed brass and 120gr NBT's. 48.5gr H4831sc with the bullet touching the lands. The reamer used was set up to throat for the 120 NBT's however I also shoot 130gr Berger VLD's with RL22 and get very good results. Not sure if I am pushing it as much as dcloco but seem to have found a pretty good sweet spot so I think I will stick with it for now. I have not tried the 140gr bullets yet.
[img width=600 height=450]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/Toobuilder/IMG_2422.jpg[/img]
The rifle was built with a RB/LP target action, 1-8 twist 30" McGowen barrel and an A2 style stock out of hard curly maple.
[img width=600 height=450]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/Toobuilder/IMG_2339.jpg[/img]

That is one fine looking blonde!

[img width=600 height=450]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/Toobuilder/IMG_2339.jpg[/img]