Thread: Sub-sonic 6.5x55

It's being done a lot using cast bullets. I haven't heard of anyone doing it with jacketed bullets. There is a risk of sticking a bullet in the bore so caution needs to be used. There was a write up on developing subsonic loads for jacketed. I'll see if I can find it.

If you're not familiar with cast bullet loading you should be aware of the dangers of double loads with pistol or shotgun powders (one can use Trail Boss which almost fills the case and is what is used for subsonic jacketed loads in larger cases). There is also a danger of reduced charges of rifle powders 'detonating'. They don't actually detonate but they do on occasion blow up rifles and the 6.5x55 is probably the most susceptible to this. There was even a factory load developed using a test barrel which caused blow-ups in military rifles. I think this was the first time the event was reproduced in the lab. It's called a SEE or Secondary Explosion Effect. However, most alleged SEE's are likely to be inadvertent double charges of faster powders.