6.5x55ai light loads

Hi all,
I am having a rifle built sometime in the next 6 weeks. I am still switching back and forward between 6.5x55, 6.5x55ai, 6.5slr, and 260/260ai.
its a long action so overall length is no issue. I have always liked 6.5x55 and am fairly keen on the ai version's mainly so i have the option of getting the heavy 147eldm, 150smk and 155berger going a decent velocity if needed. i will predominantly shoot 140/142gr projectiles.
For general everyday shooting/practice/short range days etc i was hoping to run it at standard 6.5x55/creedmore/260 velocity's ie 2500-2700 with 142gr to get as long a barrel life as possible and use less powder but when hunting and long range shooting i can run a much hotter high performance load. The rifle is intended to be a long range hunting/target/f class rifle for when i get some spare time to go join the local club.
IT will be built on a tikka m65 action and have a 26in barrel

So I was wondering if any one loads there 6.5x55ai with reduced loads,what the load is and what sort of results you get ie accuracy, brass life, barrel life etc?
Also just out of interest what sort of performance are you getting out of your full power loads, accuracy and velocity? whats the brass and barrel life like compared to a standard 6.5x55

Thanks for your help.

With any AI rounds just use the standard parent case loads as starting / mild loads. They will shoot slower (less pressure) than the parent case because of the greater case capacity in the AI.
The 6.5x55 AI should be very good because the 257 Roberts AI is a very good AI and the case is almost the same. What about 6.5 x 57 AI ? that would be made from necked down 7x57 cases.

Then there is always the 6,5 PRC or something along those lines if you want speed . Id shoot the same loads at the range that i would use on the hill .That way you know where they are going and your familiar with your set up . Just my 2 cents

Thanks moa hunter that’s a great help.
Wayno I agree it’s best to use the same load at the range and on the hill but I’m just worried about barrel life if I use a hotter load for everything, all the information I have found on the internet suggests if you run the velocity at the top end you will get the similar barrel life to a 6.5x284. I intend to shoot it regularly so I don’t want something that will eat barrels when I’m just practicing

Barrels are a consumable and can be replaced.
"better to burn out than fade away"

Just shoot a standard .260 but you don't need a 26" barrel to get the speeds you are after.

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Go the swede! (6.5 x 55 swede)

Easy to load for, good barrel life, all the bits are off the shelf. One load for every thing.
140 Amaxs, not to fast, but hitting 12in plates at 800m repeatable.

Down side is need to trim brass after a bit.

did some one say '06 AI

Anything pushed hard will wear out faster its just physics. Your barrel is your cheapest consumable , you will have spent more on powder/projectiles brass by the time your barrel is toast. and a 6.5 -06 wouldnt be a silly idea either .

Before building a 6.506 watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93kVM22XHSo
The important bit being that the SAUM gets 200 fps more with an identical powder charge to the 06

If you want to be trying sierra 150gn then you need to take note of the required barrel twist. I found they're not as precise as 147gn in my 1/8" twist (they actually require 1/7.5"min)

Go the 6.5x55AI

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Originally Posted by Gkp

Barrels are a consumable and can be replaced.
"better to burn out than fade away"

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That's good if you have lots of disposable income and a stock of barrel blanks in your cupboard plus a good gunsmith just waiting to do your rebarreled.

Also barrels, particularly in the hot 6.5s have a nasty habit of going off the boil at the most inopportune moment eg 1/2 way through the NRANZ National's.

I would build a 6.5 PRC before I went down the path of a 6.5x55ai.

25/08 has an 18" bbl 260 shooting 143eldx at over 2800fps. No need to go crazy on the calibre

Thanks that’s all good info, barrel twist rate is on my list of things to discuss with the gunsmith we may have to order one with the correct twist.
Superdiver do you know what powder is being used in the 260 to get those velocities?
I don’t mind long barrels my intention is to start at 26 and if its to much of a pain I’ll cut it down to 24 I won’t go shorter unless I really have too.

I was originally looking at PRC with the same intention of having a mild load and a full power load but for some reason it just doesn’t float my boat.

My biggest conundrum is I have is I have always liked the old 55 and I have wanted to build one for the last 10 years, but common sense tells me I should probably go with a more modern case that’s probably stronger and rated at much higher pressure

Which is where ai’ing the 55 comes into it by doing that I would get better performance out of it while keeping the pressure at the modern 6.5x55se max pressure and still have room to spare

Greetings 6.5,
At least you have the calibre sorted. The 6.5 .284 should tick all your boxes, good cases, plenty of load data etc but it may not be what you are looking for. I sense that you may be looking for something a little different rather than the well trodden paths. The 6.5 06 as you likely know has been domesticated as both the 6.5 06 A square and the 6.5 x 64 Brenneke. The former has the 06 length case and latter the .270 length case so either could be stamped on the barrel if as you say it floats your boat. I suspect that most 6.5 06 chambers are cut long enough for the .270 case so these could necked down rather than necking .25 06 up subject to an actual measurement. 6.5 x 64 Brenneke does have a nice Germanic ring to it.
Keep us informed,
Grandpamac.

Hi, i use a 6.5 AI as my go to in the open country, it has a 22" barrel, with a 1-8 twist
it pushes 140gn A Max's at 3020fps using N560 powder.
I don't do any light loads in it as it is solely used for hunting,
i don't keep an accurate tally on brass life or barrel round count as it is a hunting rifle and i don't care about those numbers,
if it's buggered then replace it. if i was to guess then i would put brass life at about 5-7 reloads each so far and barrel
could have had 800-1000 rounds as a guesstimate,
as a hunting rifle it probably only shoots 40-60 rounds a year.
also use a 6.5x55 carbonlite for everything else.

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Originally Posted by 6.5

Thanks that’s all good info, barrel twist rate is on my list of things to discuss with the gunsmith we may have to order one with the correct twist.
Superdiver do you know what powder is being used in the 260 to get those velocities?
I don’t mind long barrels my intention is to start at 26 and if its to much of a pain I’ll cut it down to 24 I won’t go shorter unless I really have too.

I was originally looking at PRC with the same intention of having a mild load and a full power load but for some reason it just doesn’t float my boat.

My biggest conundrum is I have is I have always liked the old 55 and I have wanted to build one for the last 10 years, but common sense tells me I should probably go with a more modern case that’s probably stronger and rated at much higher pressure

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I load for a few Tikka .260 using Hodgdon superprofrmance and 143 ELDX 1 is an 18" the others are 20" all push over 2800fps loads are near max.

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Thanks for that 25/08.
That sounds good Hunty better than what I was expecting. Where did you get your dies from?

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Originally Posted by 6.5

Thanks for that 25/08.
That sounds good Hunty better than what I was expecting. Where did you get your dies from?

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got them with the rifle (second hand) Redding Dies, i think he got them in from USA

I run a tikka t3 260rem. Its an awesome calibre. im running 2209 adi. 143 eldx @ 2740 i think with a 22 inch barrel. its a great calibre. dont need to fire form brass. Excellent lapua brass avalible. low recoil.

Nothing wrong with the 6.5 Creedmoor either. Very accurate cartridge generally. For hunting deer I use the 143 ELD-X at 2800 fps with moderate pressure from a 24" barrel Tikka using AR2009 and RE16 and can easily get 2,900 fps with RE26 but don't use that as it's a compressed load and not worth the trouble.

For competitive target shooting I use the 140 ELD-M at a reduced load of around 2,600 fps. Managed to fluke a few competition wins with that as it's mild and .5 MOA.

Ive had to begrudgingly admit the 6.5cm is a cal to be reckoned with at the target mound. Fellas are commonly shooting them at 1/2 moa off the rack with bought ammo.

But dont think a 6.5x55 cant keep up. I run one and its more accurate than me and ive got it in the sweet spot using 147eldm doing 2815fts with ADI2213sc (its now 28" after being threaded 2 weeks ago).

I like the AI and cm for the efficiency. A lot of the extra space in a swede case is just 'pie in the sky'. You can use it but you brass is gonna hate you

Yes I agree the 6.5 creedmoor is a good caliber, as a general purpose target to hunting for the average joe it is pretty hard to beat especially if your using factory ammo. I even recommended it to a friend who has just started hunting with us as in my opinion its the best all rounder out there at the moment. I am obviously biased towards 6.5’s though.

But I don’t follow my own advice I would rather have a 6.5x47 or something bigger in the 6.5slr, 6.5x55, 6.5x55ai just to make life difficult for myself. I will be catching up with the gunsmith in the next week to sort out what where going to do and how much of a hassle it would be to get dies and reamers if I did go 55ai.
Thanks for your help I appreciate it.