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6.5 × 55 mm Swedish, also known simply as , or in its native military as ' ('), meaning "6.5 mm cartridge model 1894", is a first-generation smokeless powder
rimless A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing ...
bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was introduced in the 1890s, and is still one of the most common cartridges in modern rifles built for the Scandinavian market today. The cartridge was developed in a joint Norwegian and Swedish effort starting in 1891 for use in the new service rifles then under consideration by the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.Hanevik, Karl Egil (1998). Norske Militærgeværer etter 1867 In 1893, the cartridge was standardized and adopted under the name ' to facilitate logistical cooperation between Norway and Sweden. The two nations had independent armies and consequently the normal procedure at the time was for their respective governments to use the same ammunition and then purchase small arms of their choice. Norway adopted the Krag–Jørgensen M/1894 rifle, while Sweden adopted the Mauser m/1896 rifle design that was based on a Mauser service rifle designed around the
7×57mm Mauser The 7×57mm Mauser (designated as the 7 mm Mauser or 7×57mm by the SAAMI and 7 × 57 by the C.I.P.) is a first-generation smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in ...
cartridge. The 6.5×55mm cartridge has a smaller
bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...
diameter and lower
free recoil Free recoil is a vernacular term or jargon for recoil energy of a firearm not supported from behind. Free recoil denotes the translational kinetic energy (''Et'') imparted to the shooter of a small arm when discharged and is expressed in joules ( ...
than other full-power service rifle cartridges like the
.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...
,
7.92×57mm Mauser The 7.92×57mm Mauser (designated as the 8mm Mauser or 8×57mm by the SAAMI and 8 × 57 IS by the C.I.P.) is a rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. The 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge was adopted by the German Empire in 1903–1905, and was the Ge ...
,
.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use ...
, and
7.62×54mmR The 7.62×54mmR is a rimmed rifle cartridge developed by the Russian Empire and introduced as a service cartridge in 1891. Originally designed for the bolt-action Mosin–Nagant rifle, it was used during the late tsarist era and throughout t ...
. Thanks in part to its relatively roomy case which was designed for loading long, heavy bullets, and a diameter bolt face, it has proven more successful than other first-generation smokeless-powder military cartridges of similar bullet calibers, such as the 6×60mm US Navy,
6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer The 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer also known as 6.5×54 Mannlicher–Schönauer Greek or simply 6.5 Greek is a 6.5 mm (.264" cal.) rimless rifle cartridge used in the Mannlicher–Schönauer rifle. It is the direct descendant of the 6.5� ...
, 6.5×53mmR Dutch Mannlicher,
6.5×52mm Carcano The 6.5×52mm Carcano, also known as the 6.5×52mm Parravicini–Carcano or 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano, is an Italian military 6.5 mm (.268 cal, actually 0.2675 inches) rimless bottle-necked rifle cartridge, developed from 1889 ...
and 6.5×50mm Arisaka. While the original and colloquial cartridge name is 6.5×55mm, there are some variations in chamberings. In addition to the original 1890s specification, three modern chambering and ammunition pressure variations also exist. * ' is the European C.I.P. designation with ''SE'' being the Swedish two-letter ISO country code.C.I.P. TDCC datasheet 6.5 x 55 SE
/ref> * ' is the American SAAMI designation (official SAAMI abbreviation ''6.5×55'').SAAMI – Z299.4 – Centerfire Rifle – 2015
PDF page 13 of 375
* ' is the Scandinavian designation used by the Scandinavian shooting associations DFS, DGI and SvSF.Blaser løp med SE kammer - dfs.no
/ref> Other common but unofficial names for this cartridge include ''6.5×55mm Swedish Mauser'', and less commonly ''6.5×55mm Mauser'', ''6.5×55mm Krag'' or ''6.5×55mm Norwegian Krag''. The book ''Cartridge Cases'' refers to the cartridge as ''6,5x55 Norway & Sweden''.Cartridge Cases, Per Arne Andersen, Vidar Andersen, Trond Strømstad, 1st Edition 1995, page 136


History and development

In 1886, France introduced a cartridge for use with the then-new smokeless propellant, introduced as Poudre B, in the 1886 pattern
8×50mmR Lebel The 8×50mmR Lebel (8mm Lebel) (designated as the 8 × 51 R Lebel by the C.I.P.) rifle cartridge was the first smokeless powder cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. It was introduced by France in 1886. Formed by necking down the ...
, which started a military rifle ammunition revolution. In 1891, the Swedish-Norwegian Rifle Commission started its work. After extensive ballistic tests where different calibers were tested (8 mm, 7.5 mm, 7 mm, 6.5 mm etc.), the optimal caliber was determined to be 6.5 mm (0.256 in). Following this decision, a joint Norwegian-Swedish commission was established in December 1893. This commission worked through a series of meetings to decide on the different measurements for the cartridge case. The Norwegians early presented a 6.5 mm rimless cartridge design, but the Swedes wanted a rimmed cartridge. As a compromise, the Norwegians produced an experimental semi-rimmed cartridge which was very similar to what would become the final version. The book ''Cartridge Cases'' refers to this cartridge as ''6,5mm Norwegian Experimantal''. This cartridge had a 6.7 mm bullet, a 55 mm long case, but differed from what became the final version by having a slightly less tapered shoulder, a slightly smaller diameter base (11.75 mm) as well as being semi-rimmed (12.6 mm). However, after a firearm demonstration by Mauser, the Swedes changed their mind and wanted a rimless design. After further discussions, a rimless cartridge case of 55 mm length was approved, and each possible measurement (diameter at base, diameter at neck, angle of case, angle of shoulder etc.) was decided upon. The corresponding dimensions of the cartridge chamber to be used in a future service rifle was also determined. At the time of its development the 6.5×55mm was a high-performance smokeless-powder cartridge. The design of the joint Norwegian-Swedish commission was subsequently adopted by the Norwegian and Swedish governments, and entered service in the Norwegian and Swedish militaries. The cartridge was also adopted by the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish civilian shooting associations DDS, DFS and FSR. In 1984, the C.I.P. independently standardized the cartridge as ', and revised their standard in 2002 and 2007. In 1990, a specification was introduced along with the Scandinavian target rifle by the Scandinavian shooting associations DDS, DFS and FSR with the designation ' which tightened up the original tolerances (minimum and maximum dimensions) of the 1893 design standard, added a slightly longer chamber space for the neck for increased safety with untrimmed reloads, and increased the pressure rating. The SKAN chambering is approved for firing any 6.5×55mm cartridges satisfying the aforementioned C.I.P. and SAAMI standards. In 1993, the SAAMI also independently standardized the cartridge as ''6.5×55mm Swedish'', with the official SAAMI abbreviation being ''6.5×55''. The closest European and American ballistic twins of the 6.5×55mm are probably the German 6.5×57mm Mauser and the American
.260 Remington The .260 Remington (also known as 6.5-08 A-Square) cartridge was introduced by Remington in 1997. Many wildcat cartridges based on the .308 Winchester case had existed for years before Remington standardized this round. Because 6.5 mm ( ...
cartridges. While the 6.5×57mm and 6.5×55mm both require a long-action receiver, the shorter .260 Remington being (based on the .308 Winchester cartridge) can be fitted to a short bolt-action format. Other 21st century cartridges, like the
6.5×47mm Lapua The 6.5×47mm Lapua (designated as the 6,5 × 47 Lapua by the C.I.P.) is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge that was developed specifically for competition shooting by ammunition maker Nammo Lapua and the Swiss rifle ma ...
and the
6.5mm Creedmoor The 6.5mm Creedmoor (6.5×48 mm), designated 6.5 Creedmoor by SAAMI, 6.5 Creedmoor by the C.I.P. or 6.5 CM or 6.5 CRDMR for short, is a centerfire rifle cartridge introduced by Hornady in 2007. It was developed by Hornady senior ballistic ...
that have entered the market also are able to provide similar performance to factory 6.5×55mm ammunition. However, the extra case volume of the 6.5×55mm promotes a longer lifespan of the cartridge case when reloading, and will provide higher velocities when handloaded to the same pressure as its more modern counterparts. However, the approved chamber pressure ratings for older rifles then may be exceeded.


Cartridge specifications


Original specifications

All
Swedish Mauser "Swedish Mausers" are a family of bolt-action rifles based on an improved variant of Mauser's earlier Model 1893, but using the 6.5×55mm cartridge, and incorporating unique design elements as requested by Sweden. These are the m/94 (Model 189 ...
bolt actions were proof tested with a single 6.5×55mm proof round developing approximately piezo pressure (55,000 CUP psi). The book ''Norske Militærgeværer etter 1867'' cites each Norwegian military Krag–Jørgensen rifles in the beginning was fired at the factory (either Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk or Steyr) with proofing rounds rated at , and
copper units of pressure Copper units of pressure or CUP, and the related lead units of pressure or LUP, are terms applied to pressure measurements used in the field of internal ballistics for the estimation of chamber pressures in firearms. These terms were adopted by co ...
. After a while, use of the proofing rounds was dropped, as they were viewed as "unnecessarily powerful". Proofing with and rounds was continued, as they were viewed as necessary to get the
action threads In firearms, barrel threads refer to the screw threads used to attach a barrel. Action threads, also called receiver threads, are situated at the chamber end of the barrel, and can be used for attaching the barrel to the receiver. The receiver ...
"set" and thereby "strengthening the barrel". During this process, the chamber tended to lengthen by and a maximum of was accepted.Norske Militærgeværer etter 1867 (1998) by Karl Egil Hanevik, , page 137, 366 and 367


Swedish and Norwegian chamber differences rumor

Some historians have assumed that there was a difference in cartridge blueprint measurements between Swedish and Norwegian 6.5×55mm ammunition, but this may be unintentional. Due to different interpretations of the blueprint standard, i.e. the standards of manufacturing using maximum chamber in the Krag vs. minimum chamber in the Swedish Mauser, a small percentage of the ammunition produced in Norway proved to be slightly oversize when chambered in the Swedish Mauser action, i.e. requiring a push on the bolt handle to chamber in the Swedish arm. A rumor arose not long after the 6.5×55mm cartridge was adopted that one could use Swedish ammunition in Norwegian rifles, but not Norwegian ammunition in Swedish rifles. Some even alleged that this incompatibility was deliberate, to give Norway the tactical advantage of using captured ammunition in a war, while denying the same advantage to Sweden. However, after the rumor first surfaced in 1900, the issue was examined by the Swedish military. They declared the difference to be insignificant, and that both the Swedish and Norwegian ammunition were within the specified parameters laid down. Despite this finding, the Swedish weapon-historian Josef Alm repeated the rumor in a book in the 1930s, leading many to believe that there was a significant difference between the ammunition manufactured in Norway and Sweden.


C.I.P. specifications

The 6.5×55mm has 3.75 ml (57.9 gr H2O) cartridge case capacity. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in
bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...
rifles and machine guns alike, under extreme conditions. 6.5×55mm maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm). Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 25.6 degrees. The common
rifling In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize th ...
twist rate for this cartridge is 220 mm (1 in 8.66 in), 4 grooves, Ø lands = , Ø grooves = , land width = , and the primer type is large rifle. According to the official C.I.P. rulings the 6.5×55mm can handle up to Pmax piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers. This means that 6.5×55mm chambered arms in C.I.P. regulated countries are currently (2013) proof tested at PE piezo pressure. As Denmark, Norway and Sweden are no C.I.P. member states, their civilian users nor their shooting associations DDS, DFS and FSR have to oblige to the C.I.P. rulings in force.


SAAMI specifications

The SAAMI maximum average pressure (MAP) for this cartridge is piezo pressure measured with modern piezoelectric pressure gauges that more accurately measure chamber pressures or alternatively 46,000
CUP A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cl ...
psi measured by the (outdated) deformation of a copper cylinder.


SKAN specifications

The SKAN specification was introduced to tighten up the original tolerances of the 1893 design standard. Otherwise its measurements is almost identical to the original standard except for a slightly longer chamber space for the neck by less than a millimeter. Complying barrels have usually been marked with "6,5 × 55 SKAN". In 2018, the tighter C.I.P. chamber (6,5 × 55 SE) was banned from competitions in the Scandinavian shooting associations on the grounds of competitive equity and safety. Since 2020, regulations changes in Germany resulted in new SKAN barrels manufactured by SIG Sauer being be marked "6,5 × 55 SE, approved for SKAN". The SKAN chambering is sometimes erroneously referred to as SCAN, however SKAN is the correct designation.


Military ammunition


Nomenclature

In the militaries of Sweden and Norway the 6.5×55mm cartridge is designated as ''6,5 mm patron m/94'' (''6,5 mm ptr m/94''), initially spelled with complete year (''m/1894''), meaning 6.5 mm cartridge model 1894. The core designation is usually expanded on depending on what type of design the cartridge has: *''Skarp patron'' (''sk ptr'') – 'sharp cartridge' (literal), 'live cartridge' (formal) –
live ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...
for combat or practice shooting. *''Kammarpatron'' (''kptr'') – 'chamber cartridge' (literal), 'gallery cartridge' (formal) – gallery ammunition for short range indoor shooting. *''Lös patron'' (''lös ptr'') – 'loose cartridge' (literal) or 'blank cartridge' (formal) –
blank ammunition A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound ( muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a b ...
with wooden/plastic projectile for
blank-firing adaptor A blank-firing adapter or blank-firing attachment (BFA), sometimes called a blank adapter or blank attachment, is a device used in conjunction with blank ammunition for safety reasons, functional reasons or a combination of them both. Blank firin ...
use. *''Blindpatron'' (''blindptr'') – 'blind cartridge' (literal) or 'dummy cartridge' (formal) – dummy ammunition for different exercises. *''Laddblindpatron'' (''laddblindptr'') – 'blind loading cartridge' (literal) or 'dummy loading cartridge' (formal) – dummy ammunition specifically for loading exercises.


Cartridges

Various military variants of the 6.5×55mm cartridge has been developed over the years; types like enhanced precision, armor piercing, tracer, blank, inert and training cartridges have been available. See the table at the bottom of the article for an overview of the most common 6.5×55mm military cartridges that have been used.


Long round-nose service ball (1894)

The initial service projectile introduced for the 6.5 mm m/94 cartridge in 1894 was a long round-nosed ball projectile, in Swedish described either as an " ogive bullet" ( sv, ogivalkula) or "blunt bullet" ( sv, trubbkula). The projectile weighed and reached a muzzle velocity of with muzzle energy when fired from a long barrel. This cartridge was initially just designated as ''6,5 mm skarp patron m/94'' (''6,5 mm sk ptr m/94'') – meaning 6.5 mm live cartridge m/94 – but in 1942 the designation changed to include the projectile in order to more easily distinguish it from other variants, becoming ''6,5 mm skarp patron m/94 projektil m/94'' (''6,5 mm sk ptr m/94 prj m/94'') – meaning 6.5 mm live cartridge m/94 projectile m/94. 6,5 mm sk ptr m/94 prj m/94 was the standard service ball cartridge up to the early phase of World War II and Norwegian occupation by Germany in 1940. It was removed from Swedish ammunition manuals at the end of March 1976.


Spitzer boat tail service ball (1941)

Later service ball version of the 6.5 mm m/94 cartridge, adopted in 1941. *1941 designation: ''6,5 mm skarp patron m/94-41'' (''6,5 mm sk ptr m/94-41'') – meaning 6.5 mm live cartridge m/94-41 *1942 designation: ''6,5 mm skarp patron m/94 projektil m/41 prickskytte'' (''6,5 mm sk ptr m/94 prj m/41'') – meaning 6.5 mm live cartridge m/94 projectile m/41 sniping Sweden, which remained neutral during World War II, decided during the early 1940s to develop a new ball projectile for the 6.5 mm m/94 cartridge intended for sniping and sharpshooting, specifically for weapons such as the m/41 sniper rifle. To improve accuracy and ballistics the new projectile was designed as a
spitzer bullet The spitzer bullet (or spire point) is a pointed projectile that is primarily used in small-arms. The pointed nose shape, which was developed for military purposes in the late 19th and early 20th century, was a major design improvement compared ...
, a design which had previously not been used in service for the 6.5 m/94 cartridge. The new cartridge was loaded with a boat tail
spitzer bullet The spitzer bullet (or spire point) is a pointed projectile that is primarily used in small-arms. The pointed nose shape, which was developed for military purposes in the late 19th and early 20th century, was a major design improvement compared ...
(D-projectile) fired at a muzzle velocity of with muzzle energy from a long barrel. The new spitzer cartridge was adopted from around 1941 onwards. As the original round-nosed m/94 projectile was obsolete in comparison, the new spitzer projectile came to replace the old m/94 projectile as the new service ball cartridge almost immediately upon being adopted.


Blanks

Swedish blanks or ''lös patron'' were loaded with bullet shaped wooden projectiles that were painted red. To fire these blanks the Swedish military used a blank firing attachment (BFA). These adapters were mounted on the muzzle and designed to shred the wooden projectile as it exited the muzzle to prevent injuries to nearby people and to allow functioning of automatic weapons. A wooden blank designed to fire
rifle grenade A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used dur ...
s was also designed. It was used in a dedicated rifle grenade launcher based on the Remington m/67-89 (originally chambered for 8x58RD) called Krevadkarbin m/16 (blast carbine m/16). The Krevadkarbin m/16 was outfitted with a "rifle grenade cup" at the end of a very short barrel for the wooden blank.


Pressure

The Swedish 6.5×55mm military ammunition had, according to their ammunition registry of 1960, a normal average pressure of with the exception of tracer rounds (slprj m/39 and m/41) at and armour piercing (pprj m/41) at . Note that the method of measurement is not stated.Ammunitionsregister för armén, 1960
/ref> The book ''Norske Militærgeværer etter 1867'' cites the standard ammunition as having a standard working pressure of measured with a copper crusher.


Table of military 6.5×55mm cartridges


Military service


Norwegian service

The 6.5×55mm cartridge was used by Norway in the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle and in the Madsen machine gun, as well as in several prototype self-loading rifles.


Swedish service

In Swedish service, the 6.5×55mm cartridge was used in the
Swedish Mauser "Swedish Mausers" are a family of bolt-action rifles based on an improved variant of Mauser's earlier Model 1893, but using the 6.5×55mm cartridge, and incorporating unique design elements as requested by Sweden. These are the m/94 (Model 189 ...
family of bolt action arms comprising the ''m/94'' (Model 1894) carbine, ''m/96'' (Model 1896) long rifle, ''m/38'' (Model 1938) short rifle and ''m/41'' (Model 1941) sniper rifle and the
Ag m/42 A&G, AG, Ag or ag may refer to Businesses and organizations * A&G Railroad (former reporting mark AG) * Action Group (Nigeria), a political party during the Nigerian First Republic * Aktiengesellschaft, a German type of corporation * Assembli ...
semi-automatic rifle. The Swedish Mauser arms had a relatively tight 200 mm (1 in 7.87 in) twist rate optimized for stabilizing the relatively long heavy bullets used in the Swedish 6.5×55mm military service ammunition. It was also used in several light, medium and heavy machine guns such as the Schwarzlose,
Browning BAR The Browning BAR is a gas-operated, semi-automatic rifle produced by the Browning Arms Company in Belgium. The rifle loads from a detachable box magazine. Browning introduced a redesigned BAR in 1966. Variants There are several models of the ...
, Kg/1940 Light machine gun,
Bren Gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...
,
Browning M1917 The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; it has also been used by other nations. It was a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cool ...
,
Browning M1919 The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and ...
and
FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, in ...
. The FN MAG was eventually returned to its original
7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...
chambering when the Swedish armed forces switched to that cartridge as its standard rifle cartridge for communality reasons following the adoption of the Heckler & Koch G3 in the early 1960s.


Danish service

In 1946 Denmark made a standard cartridge with two different bullets. The ''6.5 mm skarppatroner m/46-ru'' had a ''rundspids'' (round tip) bullet (like the Swedish ''projektil'' m/94) for use with Danish Krag rifles by the
Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
. The ''6.5 mm skarppatroner m/46-sp'' had a ''spidsskarp'' (pointed tip) bullet (like the ''projektil'' m/41) for use in more modern firearms like the Swedish Mauser.


Sporting use

The 6.5×55mm cartridge is highly esteemed as a hunting round in Europe (particularly in Scandinavia), and North America. It is used for hunting most kind of game including moose in Scandinavia, while in most other countries it is used to hunt deer and other medium-sized game. Sportsmen who favor the round laud the combination of low recoil coupled with the cartridge's inherent accuracy and superb penetrative qualities due to the high obtainable
sectional density Sectional density (often abbreviated SD) is the ratio of an object's mass to its cross sectional area with respect to a given axis. It conveys how well an object's mass is distributed (by its shape) to overcome resistance along that axis. Sectio ...
. Despite its enduring popularity amongst a devoted niche of American sportsmen, U.S. rifle manufacturers have, for the most part, ignored the cartridge. As of 2014 there were at least four mainstream American arms manufacturers, Thompson Center, Barrett Firearms (Fieldcraft), Remington (Model 700), and
Ruger Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and Pre ...
producing a sporting rifle in chambered for the 6.5×55mm. European rifle makers including
Blaser Blaser Jagdwaffen GmbH (pronounced: Blah-zer) is a German firearms manufacturer of high-end shotguns and rifles both for the hunting and tactical market. It was founded in 1957 by Horst Blaser, developing the drilling Blaser Diplomat. In Sep ...
, CZ,
Sauer & Sohn J. P. Sauer und Sohn GmbH (Sauer & Sohn) is a manufacturer of firearms and machinery and is the oldest firearms manufacturer still active in Germany. The products of this company are frequently referred to as Sauer. J. P. Sauer und Sohn History ...
,
Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd ...
, and
Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH is a German manufacturer of hunting rifles in the Lüke & Ortmeier group. History 1999–2003 In 1999, the Mauser civilian gun segment was separated from the military segment and was purchased by the German investors Mic ...
offer sporting rifles chambered for this cartridge, as does the Finnish arms manufacturer SAKO/Tikka, and Japanese manufacturer
Howa is a Japanese machinery manufacturer. The company is known internationally for their production of military and civilian firearms. However, they also manufacture products such as machine tools, sweeping vehicles and windows and doors. Histor ...
, while ammunition manufacturers such as Norma, Lapua,
Prvi Partizan Prvi partizan ( sr, Први партизан, Prvi partizan; abbr. PPU) is a Serbian manufacturer of ammunition and handloading components, based in Užice, Serbia. The company produces ammunition for civilian and military consumers in a varie ...
, RUAG Ammotec, Remington Arms, and
Hornady Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition cartridges, components and handloading equipments, based in Grand Island, Nebraska. History The company is currently run by Joyce Hornady's son, Steve Hornady, who took over ...
offer loadings of the 6.5×55mm round that are designed for use only in modern hunting rifles that can tolerate higher chamber pressures. Finnish powder manufacturer Vihtavuori warns modern Pmax piezo pressure loadings should never be used in the Krag–Jørgensen or Swedish Mauser or similar older rifles. This warning is relevant as the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish national shooting organizations strive to keep the costs of participating in their shooting events reasonable. Their rulings restrict the use of very expensive highly specialized target rifles by allowing only the use of their respective (historic) military service rifles and the
SIG Sauer 200 STR The SIG Sauer 200 STR (Scandinavian Target Rifle), also known as the SIG Sauer 200 STR Match, is a bolt-action rifle mostly used as a target/competition rifle for national competitions by Norwegian, Swedish and Danish sport shooters. It is a var ...
rifle. Because 6.5 mm (.264 in) bullets have relatively high
ballistic coefficient In ballistics, the ballistic coefficient (BC, ''C'') of a body is a measure of its ability to overcome air resistance in flight. It is inversely proportional to the negative acceleration: a high number indicates a low negative acceleration—the d ...
s, the 6.5×55mm has seen success in long range target matches of . The 6.5×55mm cartridge was widely used in fullbore biathlon competitions until 1975 (when it was replaced by the
.22 Long Rifle The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smo ...
(.22 LR) rimfire cartridge), because of its inherent accuracy and historical popularity with the Scandinavian nations who have dominated this sport. The 6.5×55mm was and is used for target shooting disciplines like F-Class and
benchrest Benchrest shooting is a shooting sport discipline in which high-precision rifles are rested on a table or bench — rather than being carried in the shooter's hands — while shooting at paper or steel targets, hence the name "benchrest". Bot ...
. The cartridge is also used by Scandinavian target shooters that use the Sauer 200 STR (Scandinavian target rifle) as their competition rifle.
Metallic silhouette Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette is shot with large bore rifl ...
shooters also use the 6.5×55mm. In North America the 6.5×55mm was the third most frequently mentioned caliber for hunter rifle at the 2003 Metallic Silhouette Nationals.


Wildcats

The 6.5×55mm case is also used as the parent case for modified variants that are not officially registered with or sanctioned by C.I.P. or SAAMI. Such cartridges which use commercial factory cases are generally known as wildcats. By changing the shape of standard factory cases (decreasing case taper or changing the shoulder geometry) wildcatters generally increase the case capacities of the factory parent cartridge case, allowing more propellant to be used to generate higher velocities. Besides changing the shape and internal volume of the parent cartridge cases, wildcatters also change the original calibers. A reason to change the original caliber can be to comply with a minimal permitted caliber or bullet weight for the legal hunting of certain species of game. Because the 6.5×55mm offers a wide short cartridge case that can be easily reloaded, and hence be reused several times, it has been used by wildcatters. With the 6.5×55mm as the parent case wildcatters have created the 6.5×55mm Ackley Improved In the 6.5×55mm Ackley Improved the cartridge case capacity is raised to approximately 4.03 ml (62.2 g H2O). The Ackley Improved family of wildcat cartridges is designed to be easily made by rechambering existing firearms, and fireforming the ammunition to decrease body taper and increase shoulder angle, resulting in a higher case capacity.


See also

*
6 mm caliber This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets of a caliber between and . *''Length'' refers to the cartridge case length *''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the cartridge Measurements are in millimeters then inches, i.e. ''mm ( ...
* List of rifle cartridges * List of Swedish military calibers * Table of handgun and rifle cartridges * .256 Gibbs Magnum


References


Footnotes


Further reading

* ''Accurate Smokeless Powders Loading Guide Number Two (Revised)'', Book by Accurate Arms Co, Wolfe Publishing, 2000 p. 229 * CIP CD-ROM Edition 2003
dutchman.rebooty.com – 6.5x55 Ammunition

amkat.se – 6,5x55 All


External links


Rich collection of various headstamps

6.5×55mm cartridge dimensions



SAAMI Drawing 6.5x55 Swedish

Ammunitionsregister för armén, 1960
{{DEFAULTSORT:6.5x55mm 6.5×55mm firearms Military cartridges Military equipment of Denmark Military equipment of Norway Military equipment of Sweden Pistol and rifle cartridges Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1894