6.5×55mm



The 6.5×55mm (designated as the 6.5x55 Swedish by the SAAMI and 6,5 × 55 SE by the C.I.P. ) is a rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Other less common names are 6.5×55mm Swedish Mauser, 6.5×55mm Mauser and 6.5×55mm Krag. It was developed in 1891 for use in the new service rifles then under consideration by the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. 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 rifle, while Sweden adopted a Mauser rifle design.

The 6.5×55mm cartridge has a smaller bullet diameter and lower recoil than other full-power service rifle cartridges like the .30-06 Springfield and 7.92×57mm Mauser, but thanks in part to its relatively roomy case with an uncommon 12.2 mm diameter bolt face which was designed for loading long, heavy 6.5 mm bullets has proven more successful than other first-generation smokeless-powder military cartridges of similar caliber such as the 6×60mm US Navy, 6.5×54mm Mannlicher-Schönauer, 6.5×53mm Dutch Mannlicher, 6.5×52mm Carcano and 6.5×50mm Arisaka.

Cartridge dimensions
The 6.5×55mm has 3.75 ml (57.9 grains H2O) cartridge case capacity. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in 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 twist rate for this cartridge is 220 mm (1 in 8.66 in), 4 grooves, Ø lands = 6.50 mm, Ø grooves = 6.73 mm, land width = 2.5 mm and the primer type is large rifle.

According to the official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings the 6.5×55mm can handle up to 380.00 MPa 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 475.00 MPa PE piezo pressure. The German 6.5x57mm and the American .260 Remington cartridges are probably the closest European and American ballistic twins of the 6.5×55mm. The .260 Remington being a post World War II .308 Winchester-derived cartridge developed by Remington to provide 6.5×55mm performance in a short bolt action format.

The SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) for this cartridge is 51000 psi piezo pressure (46,000 CUP).

All Swedish Mauser bolt actions were proof tested with a single 6.5×55mm proof round developing approximately 455 MPa piezo pressure (55,000 CUP).

Chamber differences rumor
Due to different interpretations of the 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 required a heavy push on the bolt handle to chamber in the Swedish Mauser rifle. After the rumor of this difference first surfaced in 1900, it was examined by the Swedish military. They declared the difference to be insignificant, and that both the Swedish and Norwegian ammunition was within the specified parameters laid down for the 6,5×55mm. 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.

Military ammunition


The militaries of Sweden and Norway loaded their 6.5×55mm skarp patron m/94 projektil m/94 (live cartridge m/94 projectile m/94) service ammunition with a 10.1 g long round-nosed m/94 (B-projectile) bullet fired at a muzzle velocity of 725 m/s with 2654 J muzzle energy from a 739 mm long barrel up to the early phase of World War II and Norwegian occupation by German in 1940.

From 1941 onwards Sweden, which remained neutral during World War II, adopted skarp patron m/94 prickskytte m/41 (live cartridge m/94 sniping m/41) ammunition loaded with a 9.1 g spitzer bullet (D-projectile) fired at a muzzle velocity of 800 m/s with 2912 J muzzle energy from a 739 mm long barrel. Besides a pointed nose the m/41 D-projectile also had a boat tail. Originally developed for the m/41 sniper rifle, this new cartridge replaced the m/94 ammunition loaded with the M/94 projectile for general use.

Besides the two skarp patron (live full metal jacket ball cartridge) variants various other military 6.5×55mm ammunition types like tracer, blank, inert and training cartridges were available.

The Swedish military ammunition was loaded to 320 MPa piezo pressure.

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 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 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, Kg/1940 Light machine gun, Bren Gun, Browning M1917, Browning M1919 and FN MAG. The FN MAG was eventually returned to its original 7.62×51mm NATO chambering when the Swedish armed forces switched to that cartridge as its standard during the post-World War II era.

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 harvesting most kind of game including reindeer and moose in Scandinavia, while in most other countries it is used for taking deer and other medium-sized game. Sportsmen who favor the round load the combination of low recoil coupled with the cartridge's inherent accuracy and superb penetrative qualities. Despite its enduring popularity amongst a devoted niche of American sportsmen, U.S. rifle manufacturers have, for the most part, ignored the cartridge. There is currently no mainstream American arms manufacturer chambering a rifle model for the 6.5×55mm.

European rifle makers including Blaser, CZ, Sauer & Sohn, Steyr and Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH offer sporting rifles chambered for this cartridge, as does the Finnish arms manufacturer SAKO/Tikka, while ammunition manufacturers such as Norma, Lapua, Prvi Partizan, RUAG Ammotec and Hornady offer loadings of the 6.5×55mm round that are designed for use only in modern hunting rifles that can tolerate higher chamber pressures. These modern loadings should never be used in older military rifles.

Because 6.5 mm (.264") bullets have relatively high ballistic coefficients, the 6.5×55mm has seen success in long range target matches of 300 m – 1000 m. The 6.5×55mm cartridge was widely used in biathlon competition until 1975 (when it was replaced by the .22 Long Rifle (.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 1000 yd target shooting disciplines like F class. The cartridge is also used by Scandinavian target shooters that use the Sauer 200 STR (Scandinavian Target Rifle) as their competition rifle.

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 its American equivalent, SAAMI. Such cartridges which use commercial factory cases are generally known as wildcats. By changing the shape of standard factory cases (decreasing case taper and/or changing the shoulder geometry) the wildcatter generally increases the case capacity 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 case, wildcatters also can change the original calibre. A reason to change the original calibre can be to comply with a minimal permitted calibre or bullet weight for the legal hunting of certain species of game. Because the 6.5×55mm offers a relatively wide short cartridge case that can be relatively 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 Impoved In the 6.5×55mm Ackley Impoved the cartridge case capacity is raised to approximately 4.03 ml (62.2 grains H2O). The Ackley Improved family of wildcat cartridges are 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.