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Hello all,
I am trying to work up a load for an upcoming coyote hunt. I have a Carl Gustav 1900 M96 (long barrel). No stock disk but a good looking barrel.
Current items I have
85gr Sierra Blitzking/varminteer
S&B and Sako brass. Once fired
IMR 4046
AA2460
CCI LR non magnum
Anyone got a good, accurate load with these components? I'm just looking for a starting point so, if anyone has good advice for the smaller pills and COL and such, would love any advice.
Is that powder really IMR 4064?
I would call Sierra if you don't have a Sierra Manual. The Sierra and Lyman manuals used to have the most accurate loads identified. However the most accurate load may be with another powder.
Even with their recommendations you still have to try the loads in your rifle.
Agreed, always work with loads from a reliable source, and that's not from the fertile mind of an unknown voice from the darkness of the internet. The powder manufacturers have bags of info...
Be sure to check out your 85 grain Sierra loads on paper before engaging Señor Coyote. With the M96's long barrel, it's not hard to push that little bullet over 3500 fps at sub-maximum pressure. With the tight twist, deep rifling, and thin jacket, it's not unknown to see this (intentionally) fragile bullet disintegrate a few yards downrange, leaving no evidence but a short trail of blue-gray vapor. My own experience with this effect was many years ago; it's been reported that Sierra did some redesign later.
See 6.5 X 55, twist rate light bullets for discussion by some good folks who are a bit confused about this bullet's weight (scroll down and they catch the error).
I've seen this as a black puff also...Quote:
Originally Posted by Parashooter
Depends on ambient light and background.
The biggest mistake is asking what load to use on the internet, as stated in post #3. Buy at least TWO good reloading books, personally have Lyman and Hornady. Both are good but use the Lyman most of the time seeing as it usually appears Hornady was written by a lawyer, it is a good book just too often a huge variance from the Lyman recommendations.
Remember all the factors in the books include, make of case/primer and gun and most show what combination gave the best results which is worth considering, however that means nothing till you try any load in your gun.
Ok. I know all guns are different, I know what shoots well in your gun might not shoot well in mine......
All I was looking for was a starting point. I have been reloading and shooting for almost 30 years.
Instead of me spending a ton of time trying to find a starting load, I would like someone to point me to a good powder or load to start. I will work it from there.
Thanks for all the advice, but I really just want a starting point.
...And whats safe in mine may not be safe in yours and vice versa. Most here won't quote load data for this reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stonefly2
FWIW, light short bullets and the very long throats commonly found in military rifles aren't a combination that normally gives good accuracy. I've tried loading the 85-100gr varmint bullets in the 6.5x55 Swede and 6.5x50 Japanese. In my experience it was a total waste of good components. It's not possible to seat the bullets out far enough so they engage the rifling before leaving the case neck. However, I have an oddball ''custom'' Arisaka T38 that was apparently built to shoot the light varmint bullets. It was re-barreled and chambered in the original 6.5x50 caliber and shoots the 85gr Sierra's really well, but it has a unusually short throat for a 6.5mm. With a C.O.A.L. of 2.710'' the bullet is touching the rifling. It also has much tighter bore/chamber dimensions, pretty much all a FL die does is neck size the case and the max load is only 2-3 increments above the starting load.
Lyman publishes a pamphlet size load data book that covers 6.5x55 loads ranging from 100gr up through 150 gr bullets. You can buy it on Amazon for about $12 (US). I use it for my starting point loads for my M96, validating safe function with the suggested starting load before increasing the charge until I'm happy with the results. YMMV. Amazon.com : Lyman Load Data Book 24, 25, 6.5-mm : Hunting Cleaning And Maintenance Products : Sports Outdoors
If you buy the wooden training rounds and pull the wooden bullet and (safely) discard the powder, you will then have sized and primed brass that just needs the right charge and a bullet. Do a search on Youtube and you'll find a gent that shows this exact process using a Lee Classic loader (Amazon.com : Lee Precision 6.5X55 SWedish Loader : Gunsmithing Tools And Accessories : Sports Outdoors).
ONE problem with that solution is that you will need to crimp your rounds before using them in a semi-auto like the AG42 (if you happen to have one).
It's not a good idea to use blank cases for loading live ammo. They may not handle the higher pressures. No sense in taking chances when good quality 6.5x55 brass is readily available.Quote:
Originally Posted by Funktastic
According to my copy of the 2003, 5th Edition of the Sierra manual, IMR-4064 is listed for the 85gn bullet
Using a M96 Rifle with a 29.5" barrel and Federal 210 primer:
ABSOLUTE MAX is 46.3gn for a velocity of 3500 fps.
MOST ACCURATE load is listed as:
41.7gn IMR-3031 with a MV of 3200fps.
Check the bullet and powder maker's websites for more up-to-date information.
part of the problem will be that the Swede barrels have a twist-rate of 1:8.5 inches; VERY tight twist. This is because they had to stabilize the old, LONG and heavy (>160gn) round-nosed ball bullet.
Thus, the lighter bullets, traveling at "ludicrous speed" (3200fps), will get VERY hot and be spinning at insane RPM from that fast twist rate. Hence: GREY MIST in front of the muzzle.
If you are intent on challenging something like a coyote, take a look at 100gn bullets as the lightest useful weight.
Actually, the brass is once fired, quality mil brass that Sweden remanufactured into the "blanks" (with wooden bullets to help them feed reliably). That leaves plenty of case life to judicially use this brass for normal published loads. The only gotcha would be for subsequent reloads because they are verdant primed, requiring a lot more work and creativity to deprime, and the need to find the right Berdan primers to reload. I've run nearly 100 rounds without any issues. I use a pare of vice grips to gently crush and remove the wooden bullet without damaging the case neck, then I dispose of the old powder, full length resize, chamfer/debur, and then load. I haven't used a chrono to record velocities, but I've used the published Lyman loads for 140 gr HPBT (Sierra Match King), and worked from the lowest through maximum recommended load using 4064 powder. No irregularities, and the only limits on the accuracy of my 1916 M96 out to ranges AF 330 yds are my fundamentals and the open sights. I just haven't found a suitable decapping process for the spent cases or a Berdan primer source so I can resize, clean, anneal, and reload again. Which is too bad because it really is high quality brass.Quote:
Originally Posted by vintage hunter
Hi thee to your friendly Gun Shoppe and order the RCBS / Lachmiller Berdan decapper. These are a VERY nifty tool and, once set correctly for the particular case-head / primer size, will cheerfully dig out any lightly crimped primers with ease, without mangling the all-important anvil in the primer pocket.
MUCH less messy than any of the "hydraulic" methods. Hydraulic " is, however, about the only way to fly with anything heavily crimped in. Once you have the primer out, it is a simple matter to cut or swage the remnant crimp out of the way and "re-throat" the primer pocket.
In the only video I could find on line, the "presenter" is doing it all wrong, hardly a good a "wrap-up" of the equipment. Most of the comments are fairly snarky; "why would you bother", etc. One answer is cost, the other relates to really eccentric types who ONLY have Berdan-primed brass for their exotic British and European Big-Bore hunting rifles.
The RCBS decapper is not exactly a cheap piece of gear, but what is these days?
I am half-way through "re-cycling" yet ANOTHER 4-gallon drum of BERDAN primed 7.62 NATO cases (Singaporean, I believe), A bit boring, but the price of the brass (scrap-prices) was too good to pass up. A lot of the Australian-produced (MF / AFF / ADI Berdan primed stuff is LUDICROUSLY heavily crimped and the RCBS tool will have a very short life on a steady diet of them. However, Swede primers seem to be relatively lightly staked / crimped in. Un-crimped primers like you find in a lot of steel-cased ammo are a walk in the park. Given the extortionate cost of ammo and components over here in Oz, a lot of us will go to what seems to our 'merican cousins, a ridiculous amount of effort. It has ALWAYS been that way.
As for primers, you will need a .217" job. Vihtavouri / Kemira (No. 3) make one, as do our Russian cousins at Murom (KVB-7). Some quiet little shop MAY still have some of the excellent RWS 5608 or 5627 in stock.
I've been doing this sort of thing for over forty years; you too can be a true eccentric among peers.