6.5x55 cast bullets

Started by subsonic, August 27, 2007, 05:15:51 AM

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subsonic

Has anyone on here tried cast bullets in a 6.5x55?
 
I'm thinking about picking up a mould and trying it myself and I'm looking for suggestions.
 
I have load data from the Lyman cast bullet book for their moulds, which should at least get me started.
 
I am thinking about the hard-to-get RCBS 6.5-140-SIL silhouette mould as my first choice, as I am not terribly fond of Lyman's mould design.  Has anyone got a good picture of what the RCBS bullet looks like? Is it a bore-nose-rider?
 
I'm concerned about the fast twist my rifle has. It's a CZ 550 and has 1 in 8.5" twist or so, but it seems all 6.5x55 guns have a similar twist rate.
 
I've heard that it's hard to make cast bullets under .30 caliber work. Any truth to that?

gitano

I think the twist rate will not be an issue UNLESS you are striving for the fastest possible loads. There will be some velocity above which you cannot go without "stripping". What that velocity is, I do not know as I have only little experience with shooting cast bullets, and none with the 6.5x55. However, there are those here that do have considerable experienc shooting cast bullets - Drinksgin for one - and I'm sure there are more folks at Cast Boolits that would be more that willing offer opinion and advice.
 
Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

subsonic

Thanks for the input. I just signed up over there, and will post it over there too at some point.

drinksgin (deceased)

SS, there are several 6.5x55 cast bullet shooters there, research the archives, there are a number of threads on it.
Al. formerly Deputy Al, now 9.3x62 Al, I believe has done quite a bit with that cartridge
There was at least one group buy mold in 6.5, may have been more.
NRA life, TSRA life, SAF life, GOA, CCRKBA, DEF -CON

Nelsdou

Ditto what Drinks said.  There's a ton of good info of the frustration others have experienced trying to shoot cast in the Swede on CB.

I have a Swede sporter w/barrel twist of 9, six groove.  I've had good luck with the Beartooth 135 grain sized at .265" over 19 grains of 5744.  Just for grins, I had some spare H-Benchmark and got excellent groups w/22 grains.

Good luck,

Nels
Put it into perspective; we live on a rock hurtling through space, what could be scarier than that?

subsonic

I had a couple of minutes to pop on over there and found some stuff. Didn't have time to read through everything, but did find some stuff on the "cruise missle" bullet.
 
I can imagine that my CZ might be a bit different than a 96 Mauser when it comes to finding a cast bullet that it likes. My chamber throat is shorter, but still very long.
 
I'll search more over there tonight, as I don't have access to that site from this PC.

Nelsdou

I have the "cruise missile" mould, and boy it produces some loooong bullets.  Although it's designed for long-throated Swedes, I obtained it for application in a Carcano, which is even deeper throated and over-sized in bore diameter.  Loads of 10 grains or so of Unique is fairly accurate.  Any faster and it becomes a minute of barn in accuracy.

For a CZ I'd lean towards the shortest bullet I could find but still fill the throat reasonably well.

Beartooth 135g on the left, "Cruise Missile" on the right.



Nels
Put it into perspective; we live on a rock hurtling through space, what could be scarier than that?

subsonic

Ever tried the RCBS 6.5-140-SILhouette mould?

gitano

Nels - What's the weight of the "cruise missle".
 
Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

subsonic

The post I saw showed them at 173gr, I think out of wheelweights and before the gas check was added. They are big, ugly, and probably shoot great if your rifle has a huge, long throat, like an M96.
 
I think it was a 4 or 6 cavity "special order" Lee mould from Midsouth Shooters Supply, but I'm going from memory. I need to spend more time researching on that forum tonight, but doubt I'll have time until next week sometime.

drinksgin (deceased)

Midsouth has a 2 cavity , 170gr , 6.5 mold, you will find it in special order section of molds.
Really expensive, less than $18,  plus shipping.
NRA life, TSRA life, SAF life, GOA, CCRKBA, DEF -CON

subsonic

Quote from: drinksgin;65842Midsouth has a 2 cavity , 170gr , 6.5 mold, you will find it in special order section of molds.
Really expensive, less than $18, plus shipping.

Is this the Lee "Cruise Missle" mould? I'd search more on cast boolits, but I can't get there from here, only on my home PC.

Nelsdou

170 grains sounds right for the "Cruise Missile".  Mine's a two cavity mould.  Using 10 grains of Unique keeps it accurate, however not particularly fast.  The Carcano is a 10 twist barrel btw.  Would like to see what the terminal effects would be in a hunting situation, i.e., 170 grains air-cooled WW, 6.5 sectional density, flat meplat.  Kinda like launching a lead spear with a blunt point.

I have not tried the RCBS 140.  It doesn't show in any of my "shooting stuff" but I do see it now in the latest RCBS catalog.

Another handy way to see what cast bullets work and perform well for the 6.5x55 is to look up the Cast Bullet Association and toggle down to the Military Match results.  They publish the caliber, mould, lube, bullet weight, powder and estimated velocity used to achieve the scores.

My quick review indicates the Saeco 264 has some success.  Note too the MV's are generally no more than 1600 fps.

Nels
Put it into perspective; we live on a rock hurtling through space, what could be scarier than that?

subsonic

I had some time to search on Cast Boolits last night, finally.
 
Looks like the Lee "cruise missle" does come out at around 170-175gr once checked and lubed. Casts anywhere between .270 and .268, and fits the M96 type throat well.
 
I think this is going to be a bad choice for me, due to the tighter throat on my rifle, and then I'd have to size the snot out of it and seat it deep. But the price is great, and the shape looks good.
 
I see that RCBS makes 2, 6.5 moulds - .26-140-FP that is special order and spendy (not that far from ordering an LBT Mould...), and 6.5-140-SILH that is normal production, but scarce. I think, from the one picture I can find, that the SILH is a Loverin type RN. The SILH is probably the best bet for me, since I don't really intend to hunt with these anyway, just plink and shoot for accuracy, and I don't want to spend LBT money....yet.

subsonic

The local Grafs store showed the RCBS 6.5-140-SILH as available to order from the warehouse, but not in stock there, so I said to go ahead and try to order it. Sure enough it showed up yesterday!
 
It is not a Loverin style roundnose. It's a flat point with a small meplat. Looks just like the drawings that you CAN find of the 7mm and .30 SILHouette moulds.
 
I'll post some pics next time I fire up the pot.

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