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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Rifles
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FATBOY404
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Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ?
      #190477 - 22/09/11 08:25 PM

As the title says.
What are they like to reload ?.I heard the brass is really thick and needs full loads to seal.

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HuntingSchneider
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: FATBOY404]
      #190484 - 22/09/11 10:19 PM



The 5.6 x 57 has very thick brass at the neck, due to the cartridge being designed to use a .22 magnum insert as a finisher. I don't think the 6.5 x 57 has.

But then, I may be wrong......



.

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: FATBOY404]
      #190486 - 22/09/11 10:30 PM

Quote:

As the title says.
What are they like to reload ?.I heard the brass is really thick and needs full loads to seal.



As HS says, that is a problem with the 5.6x57.

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John aka NitroX

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DarylS
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: NitroX]
      #190488 - 22/09/11 10:56 PM

6.5x57 is standard for brass thickness, I think. There is no reason for it not to be.

Excellent round, BTW - if loaded to normal specs for the 57mm case. It's better balances, case capacity vs. bore size than the 6mm version - the 6MM Rem and therefore is very efficient.

SAAMI standard for the 6MM Rem is 65,000PSI. CIP for the 6.5x57 is 57,000PSI.

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Daryl


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xausa
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: DarylS]
      #190491 - 22/09/11 11:27 PM

Right after World WAr II there was a home industry involved with rechambering 6.5 Arisaka rifles brought home from the South Pacific to a wildcat called variously the 6.5X.257 or the 6.5 Spence Special. This was simply the original chamber reamed out to accept .257 Roberts brass, reinventing, for all practical purposes, the 6.5X57, which had been around much longer.

I always thought this was a perfect cartridge for the Mauser 98 action for use on whitetail deer. Its competitor, the 6.5X.308 (.260 Remington) is better suited for a true short action, but is harder to make feed correctly in a Mauser action.

Unlike the 6.5X55, 6.5X57 brass can be easily made from a number of other sources, such as the 6mm Remington, the .257 Roberts, the 7X57, and even the 8X57 and the .30-'06, if the reaming or neck turning required is not a problem.

I have one of both, a 6.5X.257 on a Mexican Mauser small ring action and a 6.5X57 on a BRNO 22F. I'm sorry not to be able to quote loads and velocities, but my chronograph has been out of action for some time now, and I don't have access to my old records. I think of it as a bit longer ranged (flat shooting)than the 6.5X54 Mannlicher Schoenauer, without the accompanying noise of the even larger 6.5X.284 or 6.5-'06. With fast burning powders and relatively heavy bullets the short barrel of the BRNO carbine is not an ear splitter.

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DarylS
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: xausa]
      #190495 - 23/09/11 12:20 AM

Loaded to the nuts, the 6.5x57 will exceed the .260 Rem for ballistics. That means it should accomlish 3,250fps with 100gr. and 2,850 to 2,900fps with 140's for an accomplished handloader with calipers & chronograph and knowledge how to use them in load development.

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Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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FATBOY404
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: DarylS]
      #190534 - 23/09/11 07:12 AM

Thanks for the replies.

I see Zastava are making a 6.5x57 for $550. Might be worth a play one day.

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lancaster
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: FATBOY404]
      #190566 - 23/09/11 04:13 PM

my newest project is a Vergueiro sporter in 6,5x57 because I hade this 6,5mm barrel blank. a 6,5x58 portuguese would have been cool but without a chamber reamer or factory ammo anymore I decided to being wise and take the 6,5x57.
20 years ago when surplus rifles were cheap and swedish ammo was also cheap the 6,5x55 was just another milsurp cartridge. this was the time when the 7x64 rule and nowbody build a 8x57 anymore. it has changed a little bit now and everyone made new sporters for the 6,5x55. thats what I dont like!
6,5x 55 x 57 and x58 are all very similar so the x58 is obsolet now. we will see which cartridge survive on the the long run.

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tophet1
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: lancaster]
      #190567 - 23/09/11 04:53 PM

John Foxwell is having one put together now with a Lothar Walther barrel. He bought it as a job lot from used guns where it was advertised for quite some time with cases and dies IIRC.

He can tell you what the brass looks like.

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Phillip
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: tophet1]
      #190576 - 23/09/11 08:34 PM

I have one in a Brno 21F,loading has no issues and it shoots as well as my 6.5x55 or any other of my 6.5 rifles...


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DarylS
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: Phillip]
      #190584 - 24/09/11 01:24 AM

Everyone has a 6.5x55. Having a 6.5x57 is something akin to having a wildcat in comparrison - at least here in Canada, it becomes simply a: "form your brass and reload proposition" just as if it ws a wildcat - quite an attractive one at that- just to be different.

Ackley Improving the case is only natural and what a great round it becomes - 3,250fps with 120gr. TSX!

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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FATBOY404
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: DarylS]
      #190598 - 24/09/11 07:12 AM

Quote:

Everyone has a 6.5x55. Having a 6.5x57 is something akin to having a wildcat in comparrison - at least here in Canada, it becomes simply a: "form your brass and reload proposition" just as if it ws a wildcat - quite an attractive one at that- just to be different.

Ackley Improving the case is only natural and what a great round it becomes - 3,250fps with 120gr. TSX!



Now you are talking Daryl !!.

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ozhunter
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: FATBOY404]
      #191522 - 09/10/11 10:23 PM

I have had two of them. One a fullwood M98 and the other a fluted barrel for my Blaser.
Great round but as I bought a stack of RWS factory rounds (127 Cone Point) I have had no need to use my reloading gear for it.

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FATBOY404
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: ozhunter]
      #191541 - 10/10/11 07:21 AM

Adam.

Is the 6.5x57 something special ?.

I think it would be a great deer hunting round.

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ozhunter
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: FATBOY404]
      #191565 - 10/10/11 08:39 PM

I found it great for Pigs and Deer up to the size of Red's. But I seem to grab the 7x64 more often but that is likely due to it wearing a great light gathering Zeiss 2.5-10x50 IR.

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Red
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: ozhunter]
      #198221 - 31/12/11 06:30 PM

FatBoy,
I've been using a 6.5x57 for about 8 months now, It 'was' a factory zastava before someone else robbed the action, so I grabbed the barrel, loading dies and some loaded rounds and rebuilt it on a 98 action.

Shoots like a dream with hand loads, mind you I've never bothered to even look for factory stuff here in Australia.

I have the original set of dies that I acquired with the barrel, which I think were 'Falcon'? if memory serves me right. But i have since acquired a Redding 3 die set which work well with certain brands of brass but not with others.
I generally resize 8mm mauser brass down into 6.5mm but I have used 7mm mauser RWS brass and necked it up to .30 cal then necked it back down to 6.5 to give it the false shoulder which also works well (I think i found that idea in a cartridges of the world book?)

You might find that you will need to try a few brands of brass to get things working right though. I found that using Remington 8mm mauser brass necked down 6.5 in the Redding dies the projectiles are only held loosely and you can pull them out with ease by hand.
I don't know if this is a function of RWS having thicker case necks than Remington and the Redding dies allow for that? but I found I didn't have any trouble using Winchester 8mm mauser brass or the 7mm RWS brass. I'll be trying Federal brass next to see how that goes, as I'm lead to believe that has quite a thick neck too.

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FATBOY404
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: Red]
      #198230 - 31/12/11 07:27 PM

Thanks for the info mate.

Can you post some of your loads ?.

Welcome aboard and look forward to hearing more on the 6.5 x 57.

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Taylor416
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: FATBOY404]
      #198244 - 31/12/11 08:26 PM

I had a 6.5 x 57 R in a single shot break action German rifle years ago, great cartridge, shot NT boar, wild dogs, Fallow deer and a handful of buffalo (selected shots) quite successfully. Used the 160 grain round nose Hornady, now sadly not available! I also had a supply of 160 gn round nose steel solids from a military cartridge, maybe a dutch round, that worked well on the occasional big buffalo bull that turned up in unexpected places.

Wish I still had it!

cheers

Chris

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Rolf
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: Taylor416]
      #198723 - 05/01/12 10:37 AM

Gentlemen,

here an answer for the initial question:
Anyone have or had a 6.5x57?

I have reloaded and shot on the range a Mauser 98 in 6,5x57.
The cases of RWS and Sellier&Bellot were not especially thick (in comparism to 7x57 cases).

The cartridge reloads easily, I developed loads for roe deer hunting from a "Hochsitz".
Range was expected to be below 100 meters and roe deer is a light-boned animal, so we tested Nosler 120grs Ballistic Tip and Hornady 129grs SST with Kemira N140.
The result was very good on roe deer/body shots and the Hornady 129grs SST, this was also the bullet which was most precise (tested with a 6power scope, so this remark has to be regarded with caution...).

If anyone is interested, I can provide data for US powders like IMR4320, IMR4350 and IMR4831.

best wishes for 2012!
Rolf

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Kiwi_bloke
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: Rolf]
      #198749 - 05/01/12 08:53 PM

I think HuntingSchneider is onto it; it's the 5,6x57 RWS that has the thick necks. I have one and also the .22 WMR and .22 Hornet inserts that are used in it, (and they work well too, by the way. Good for teaching kids to shoot as no recoil).

The 6,5x57 is a Mauser round and I have a Krieghoff Drilling in the rimmed version. Too soon to say much about it, S&B make ammo. I bumped into a gunsmith who'd done a lot of antelope hunting in Africa using one. His hunting mate used the rimmed 6,5x57R version. He was unstinting in his praise of it, particularly using the 93-grain (6 gram) bullet which I presume must have been the RWS one. However on one hunt, he used an H-mantle bullet instead, and shot an antelope from behind that simply ran off and then stopped about 100 meters wondering what on earth was that. The bullet had only created a superficial wound and then glanced off into space. A head-shot sorted it out. I have heard that early H-Mangtle bullets were inconsistent.

I loaded some hoarded 93-grain RWS bullets the other day in an older 6,5x68 RWS custom Mauser by Helmut Bischofer of Austria. 3 of the 5-shot group were touching. Look out chammy's. The 125-grain and 140-grain 6.5mm Nosler partitians are said to work well with the 6,5x57.

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Red
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: Kiwi_bloke]
      #199261 - 12/01/12 05:48 PM

I can't really comment on the 5.6x57 case neck thickness as I've never seen one.

However I did notice the 6.5x57 RWS cases have quite a thick neck when compared to the neck thickness of a 8mm mauser cases I've used to neck down which were made by winchester or Remmingtion ?
I also noted that the 7mm mauser cases made by RWS had a neck thickness comparable to the factory 6.5x57 cases that I had picked up and worked well with no reloading or sizing problems during the necking up to .30 cal and back down to 6.5mm.

I'm not saying that the difference in neck thickness is huge, but it was enough that the remmington brass would not resize in my dies when all the other stuff would?

Just a quirk I have come across in my time reloading for it.


FatBoy,
I'll post some loads for it when I can get time to Chrono them unless you're just after starting loads? I also found that the data on http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=113 and http://www.accuratereloading.com/6557.html were a good starting point.


Cheers

Red

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Freestate101
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: Phillip]
      #201079 - 30/01/12 08:36 AM

Phillip, I had a Brrno Manlicher in 8x57 that was an exact copy of the one pictured in your post, including the claw mounts and scope. However it was not pleasant to shoot (Read too much recoil) and I let it go. I have since wished I would have had it rechambered to 7x57 or 6.5x57. Loved the rifle but hated the cartridge in so light a rifle. I guess I'm a whimp when it comes to recoil. LOL

Jim

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MikeRowe
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: Freestate101]
      #201111 - 30/01/12 01:36 PM

I think the 6.5 .264 dia 160 grain round noses are still available from Hornady. I saw them on Graf's (I think) about three weeks ago, and called a friend of mine who has a 6.5 Mannlicher. He bought a thousand of them.

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450
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: MikeRowe]
      #205607 - 20/03/12 09:15 PM

Fatboy404. You have picked a great calibre in 6.5x57. I faced this problem a short time ago as I was looking to get a rifle made. For simplicity I chose the 6.5x55 built on a 98 action with a 26" medium MAB barrel and a boyd laminated thumb hole stock. The 6.5x55 is about 63 thou shorter than the 6.5x57 and has a sharper shoulder and a longer neck. Cases are readily avaliable. With ADI 2209 I can safely get 129 grn hornady SST at 2950fps and the 140 grn Sierra BT at 2850fps. Fallow deer, goats and foxes have all fallen to the SST without any problems and it is flat shooting. Accuracy is superb. IMHO I think the 6.5 calibre is ideal for the majority of Australian game. Good luck with your project.

Wayne

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The worst days shooting and hunting is better than the best day at work

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FATBOY404
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Re: Anyone have or had a 6.5x57 ? [Re: 450]
      #205609 - 20/03/12 09:20 PM

Have not done anything yet but I do want a 6.5 cal to fill a gap between my 6x45 and 8x68/338-06.

Might go a 6.5x68 yet.

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