6.5x55 load for ljungman

[yumastepside]

Does anyone have a handload that approximates the original military load for a Swedish ljungman?

Roger

Information

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[Bruce McAskill]

An old load would be 160 gr bullet with 38 grs of IMR 4320 for 2320 fps out of an 18" barreled carbine. Start at 35 grs and work up.

[Eaglelord17]

The best load for a AG-42 will not be any of the military loadings. Those gas systems are overgassed with standard military issued ammo (to the point that they used to oil the cartridges in service).

[Ernest T]

You might want to check out this thread: Handloading for the AG42b Ljungman Rifle

Many of us have found that installing an adjustable gas screw on the Ljungman is a nice way to keep the brass from being ejected into the next city, and not too hard to do once you find the right size screw. This way you can adjust for how far the ejected brass is thrown after you find your best load: Ljungman AG42b Gas Regulator

[yumastepside]

Thanks for all of that, I'll check them out....sorry, its actually a 42b, so I now know it uses 140gr pills.

Roger

[Eaglelord17]

Not necessarily.

The AG-42 and 42b used the same gas system (no difference other than one being stainless and one not). The rear sight is actually calibrated for both calibers, there is a little spring steel wire behind the dial, which you can pull out and turn the dial until it goes from pointed to round nose if you so choose.

Personally I would use 140grns myself and start at the bare minimum loading moving up slowly until I had something the rifle functioned with but wasn't shooting brass to the next range.

In service because the gas system was set up to overgas the rifle they would oil cartridges to assist in reliability as it was simply overgassed so much. Don't oil the cartridges yourself, that is dangerous, just stating what they would do. Whether or not the overgassing was a symptom of being developed in about 9 months or just deciding it was better to have too much gas than too little, I don't know.

The other thing is with reloading for them DO NOT USE FEDERAL PRIMERS. They are too sensitive and will lead to a out of battery detonation, I know this from personal experience.

[Ernest T]

The other thing is with reloading for them DO NOT USE FEDERAL PRIMERS. They are too sensitive and will lead to a out of battery detonation, I know this from personal experience.

I recommend using CCI #34 primers to avoid the above problem with the Ljungman.

[yumastepside]

Yes, I did read about the main differences between 42 and 42b, but also the 42 was originally set up for 156gr RN and the 42b for 140gr spitzers.

Roger

[Sunray]

CCI #34 primers are nothing more than magnum primers. The cups are no different than any other CCI primer.
Loading for an AG is no different than any other semi-auto. You must FL resize every time, check the case lengths and trim chamfer and deburr as required only and watch the OAL.
I'd use the 140's simply because they're easier to come by.

[Parashooter]

CCI #34 primers are nothing more than magnum primers. The cups are no different than any other CCI primer. . .

No and yes. Cups are same but anvils are reported as different/shorter - at least compared to the BR-2 primer. See post at So just how similar are CCI #34 250? - M14 Forum