Thread: Redundant Calibres

It surprises me that 6.5x55 is mentioned in this thread as possibly being redundant. Tikka still make them (as does Blaser).
There must be thousands of the M96 & 93 ex service rifles in NZ.
Mine is a modern (20 years old) S&L and is superb.
N560 and 140 AMAX or Gold Dots at 2840fps and its good for anything. 21.5" barrel.

Its the second 6.5x55 I have had and they both have been superbly accurate.

The S&L is my only heirloom rifle and its ear marked to go on to my sons. I even keep a little note book tracking the loads and details, and the loaded ammo in stock so that they can just pick it up and use it when the time inevitably comes.

Originally Posted by Tahr

It surprises me that 6.5x55 is mentioned in this thread as possibly being redundant. Tikka still make them (as does Blaser).
There must be thousands of the M96 & 93 ex service rifles in NZ.
Mine is a modern (20 years old) S&L and is superb.
N560 and 140 AMAX or Gold Dots at 2840fps and its good for anything. 21.5" barrel.

Its the second 6.5x55 I have had and they both have been superbly accurate.

The S&L is my only heirloom rifle and its ear marked to go on to my sons. I even keep a little note book tracking the loads and details, and the loaded ammo in stock so that they can just pick it up and use it when the time inevitably comes.

Greetings @ Tahr,
In the very early 1990's a friend and I were chronographing some 6.5x55 loads on my new 35P. One load was the Norma 140 grain load. This chronographed 2,750 fps. a little faster than claimed for the highly touted 147 grain load in the Creedmoor. Seems to me we have not made much progress in 30 years.
Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings @ Tahr,
In the very early 1990's a friend and I were chronographing some 6.5x55 loads on my new 35P. One load was the Norma 140 grain load. This chronographed 2,750 fps. a little faster than claimed for the highly touted 147 grain load in the Creedmoor. Seems to me we have not made much progress in 30 years.
Grandpamac.

The new news is the old news

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings @ Tahr,
In the very early 1990's a friend and I were chronographing some 6.5x55 loads on my new 35P. One load was the Norma 140 grain load. This chronographed 2,750 fps. a little faster than claimed for the highly touted 147 grain load in the Creedmoor. Seems to me we have not made much progress in 30 years.
Grandpamac.

is the development of these new cartridges really about progress tho ...... or is it about profit ? as you evidenced the velocity is comparable
6.5cm = 6.5x55
7mm08 = 7x57
to name a couple
it leads me to wonder manufacturers can build lighter rifles with less materials to produce similar results lower build cost equals bigger profit? or am i just cynical?

Originally Posted by scotty

is the development of these new cartridges really about progress tho ...... or is it about profit ? as you evidenced the velocity is comparable
6.5cm = 6.5x55
7mm08 = 7x57
to name a couple
it leads me to wonder manufacturers can build lighter rifles with less materials to produce similar results lower build cost equals bigger profit? or am i just cynical?

Same could be said about the 7PRC & 7RM

Its about action & magazine length, efficiency & twist rates, the 6.5 CM is an AR10 cartridge

one could add some oldies now thankfully redundant - 16 gauge shotgun ( still have Dads old 1890 hammer gun -not to be fired ) .22 short .22 birdshot most all bloody useless - although I understand the short was popular early days indoor target shooting - but some one here can answer this one -I have always wondered about -if a .22 was supposed to be for short-long and long rifle as many early .22 were stamped then surely the jump of a short from breech to rifling must give the start of rifling problems - one old remington pump .22 I had -very clear ring about 1in from breech end - I often wondered if that was to many shorts early days as it was from twenties

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

one could add some oldies now thankfully redundant - 16 gauge shotgun ( still have Dads old 1890 hammer gun -not to be fired ) .22 short .22 birdshot most all bloody useless - although I understand the short was popular early days indoor target shooting - but some one here can answer this one -I have always wondered about -if a .22 was supposed to be for short-long and long rifle as many early .22 were stamped then surely the jump of a short from breech to rifling must give the start of rifling problems - one old remington pump .22 I had -very clear ring about 1in from breech end - I often wondered if that was to many shorts early days as it was from twenties

I have a 1905 Winchester single shot .22 "Boy's Rifle". At least that's how I think of it. A lovely proportionate small 22. Bought it in Dunedin in 1980 for $25. It was well worn when I got it with a couple of cracks in the woodwork. A nice brown patina on the nickel steel. Stamped on the barrel is "22 Short-22 Long- 22 Long Rifle". I stopped shooting it with modern LR rounds after the first try as it spat powder back into your face. And it took a pocket knife or flat blade screw driver to lever the spent cartridge out of the chamber. Couldn't get or find 22 Longs but 22 shorts were easy to get. Lo and behold. That rifle was and still is a stunning tack driver with its tiny open iron sights and 22 shorts. It has cleaned up a feral cat problem in a certain city park where both Council and SPCA had washed their hands of it. Many moons ago now I hasten to add. In my hands it has knocked off a few possums and accounted for a modestpassle of hedgerow rabbits. But mostly it sits pining to be in the hands of a 12 yr old out in the paddock or in the scrub. It makes little noise and certainly does not wear a suppressor. My kids learned to shoot with it. Now my grandkids line up for a go. The lethal little 22 short is mild mannered, accurate and effective. If they still allowed it I would go hunting rats at the city dump. It's great for possums and rabbits to 25m. Headshots. I'll never willingly part with it and there's a lineup of family hoping to inherit it. I got given a couple of bricks of said 22 Short solids- target ammo. Then last year I bought a guys old stock of many hundreds of hollowpoints. The rifle was clearly fed a constant diet of shorts from new, which has led to a belling of the chamber, or maybe a groove, that LR cartridges expand into making extraction difficult. And the headspace can't handle LR pressure any more. I have other rifles to shoot LR with. Oh for the days when a 12yr old could wander the scrubby edges of gulleys and waterways with a little singleshot and a pocket full of .22 shorts. Rabbit, rat or feral cat beware.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

one could add some oldies now thankfully redundant - 16 gauge shotgun ( still have Dads old 1890 hammer gun -not to be fired ) .22 short .22 birdshot most all bloody useless - although I understand the short was popular early days indoor target shooting - but some one here can answer this one -I have always wondered about -if a .22 was supposed to be for short-long and long rifle as many early .22 were stamped then surely the jump of a short from breech to rifling must give the start of rifling problems - one old remington pump .22 I had -very clear ring about 1in from breech end - I often wondered if that was to many shorts early days as it was from twenties

Had an old BSA bolt single shot when I was a kid we'd shoot trout with. Me and my mate would load it with a short and put the whole gun under the water, inch it close to the trout and pull the trigger. We got a lot of trout with that gun and the barrel was 'ringed' all along it's length. It think we fired long-rifles through it too - I think my mate said it was legal back then.

We did that in those 'jump across' farm streams - got some big eels out of them too.

Those 'shorts' didn't make much noise - they had their uses around houses as they didn't upset anyone - wouldn't try that with an high velocity.

Never did figure out what the 'birdshot' ones did - I shot a rat in a garage once and the bloody thing kept going ...........

Originally Posted by Tahr

It surprises me that 6.5x55 is mentioned in this thread as possibly being redundant. Tikka still make them (as does Blaser).
There must be thousands of the M96 & 93 ex service rifles in NZ.
Mine is a modern (20 years old) S&L and is superb.
N560 and 140 AMAX or Gold Dots at 2840fps and its good for anything. 21.5" barrel.

Its the second 6.5x55 I have had and they both have been superbly accurate.

The S&L is my only heirloom rifle and its ear marked to go on to my sons. I even keep a little note book tracking the loads and details, and the loaded ammo in stock so that they can just pick it up and use it when the time inevitably comes.

Everybody knows the 308 was made redundant 61 years before it was designed.