The little Swede that could.....

lefty315 · Mar 5, 2017

So there I was....(always wanted to start a story like that) headed to the range this morning to meet my buddy with his chronograph. I've been working out two bullets for my Ruger No 1 RSI in 6.5x55. A 140 Ballistic Tip and a 140 Partition. Both bullets measure 3.080 to the lands in my rifle. The BT's have shown the best group at 3.010, the Partition 3.015.

43.5 grains of IMR 4350 for the BT, 44 grains for the Partition. Both loads were virtually identical in velocity at 2640 fps on a 35 degree day at 8:00 AM. I was happy with that, especially considering the RSI only has a 20 inch barrel.

The 3 shot group closer to the orange dot are the Partitions, the group left of that the BT's. 11/16ths for the Partition, 3/4ths for the BT. Which I think is terrific since I'm using a 1-4 Leupold with a German #1 reticle. The lighting this morning made the post as crisp as I have ever seen it, but it still takes some concentration to maintain the same aiming point.

Alderman · Mar 5, 2017

Reminds me of a story when I took my Remington Classic Swede to the local shooting range.
There was an old guy sitting at one of the benches with an old military Swede with some old looking scope.
I was busy shooting some other rifles but kept an eye on him. He would shoot one round, fiddle fart around and load pistol mags for about 15 minutes, then touch off after another shot.
After three shots I was curious so walked down range with him to find one ragged hole in the target.
Asked him what ammo he was using and he told me it was the cheapest stuff he could find.
Up to that point I was looking forward to showing him how it was really done but
I didn't even take my Swede and "custom" reloads out of the truck that day.
BTW, I'd be happy with those groups.

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Blkram · Mar 5, 2017

Nice groups lefty...looks like promising loads out of that short barrel. And decent velocities too.

After seeing the loaded rounds with the Lapua Mega 155 gr bullet on another thread, have been thinking that it's would be fun for moose and bears in a short barrelled Swede!

Still wanting one of those rifles too! But it will have to wait until next year.

lefty315 · Mar 5, 2017

Extremely happy with the accuracy and speed. It'd make a great gun for the river bottoms of Montana or Wyoming, with the occasional shot out into the open fields.

JD338 · Mar 5, 2017

Good shooting. Those bullet/loads will cover a lot of hunting

JD338

SJB358 · Mar 7, 2017

That's pretty danged cool Lefty. Those 6.5 Swede's seem to be really easy to shoot well. Kind of a bonus that both loads shoot similar. You can do alot of range shooting with the BT's. Heck, those long 140 BT's kill pretty danged well too. I haven't tried the 140 BT yet compared to my AccuBond load, but man, I love the Swede when it starts just laying them in there like that.

lefty315 · Mar 7, 2017

Yeah, I figure for what I'm going to use it for the BT should work on just about anything, but it is neat to have an option. I have a box of 140 Accubonds that I'll try and see what they so. Anything that'll hold consistently around an inch an I'm happy.

A good friend of mine and I were talking about planning a hunt the year we both hit 50, only 2 short years away. We were thinking a deer hunt on Anticosta island would be pretty neat. I'm thinking that Swede would be a fun gun to take.

gerry · Mar 7, 2017

That gun is shooting great and the speed is good for a shorter barrel. We have shot deer with thwe 140 gr Ballistic Tips and deer, bear and mountain goat with the Partitions. Wiith the 140 gr Ballistic Tip I would be happy shooting animals bigger than deer even and of course the Partition is still one of the best all around bullets.

35 Whelen · Mar 8, 2017

Good shooting and a Great gun for sure the Sweede is pretty tough to beat.

Polaris · Mar 8, 2017

This was definitely a cartridge ahead of it's time. Unfortunate it hasn't quite caught on with the American market. It's out there, but pretty much as a cult following. With modern powders and bullets, a strong action and high quality brass, it is the equal or superior to the sexy newcomers 6.5 creedmore and 6.5x284.

Efficient, accurate, flat shooting, high SD, what's not to love. I would certainly have a hunting rifle in this caliber if I wasn't limited to a few models or a custom barreled rifle.