Hello, I Hunt with a 30.06 which I like very much.  however I'm looking for something with less kick. How does the 6.5 Swede rate against other "low kick" calibers? I would be hunting up to large deer at ranges possibly up to 400 yds.  Thank you

Just read up, the 6.5 is usable up to Moose. I whacked one last year with a 165gr soft point. Did a great job on that doe. Tikka T3 Hunter.

The Northern European hunters like the 6.5 for moose, hogs n deer.   Lots of converted WW1 n WW2 surplus up there.   6.5 is very accurate.

Hello and thanks for the responses. I am familiar with the 6.5 caliber in a c&r way, as I have a ljungman and a Swedish Mauser. They are very pleasant to shoot and very accurate.  That's why I'm a bit focused on the swede round.   I'm just wondering about comparing it with other 6.5 ish rounds with respect to killing power on large deer and trajectories.   Would it be a decent brush caliber?

Very fine round; there is no such thing as a brush caliber. None are better for "brush busting"; they all are going to deflect. As for shortness of the gun - depends on the model. I've killed a half dozen with my 260Rem - you won't see any difference between the 2 rounds on deer - all between 75 and 125yds. Several dropped in place, none ran more than 10-20yds.

The 6.5x55 is a fabulous cartridge for hunting. In a modern rifle it's easy and safe to shoot a 140gr bullet at 2700-2800 fps or more depending on barrel length.

Any rifle brand/model recommendations?  I'm leaning to an all weather type rifle

6.5 swede, 260 rem, 6.5 creedmoor, not going to be a lot of difference between the 3. If you handload you can get more out of the swede than you will with factory ammo.

The 6.5's in general get remarkable penetration. Pick a good bullet that expands well and you're set.

The 6.5 Swede is a totally fantastic round for hunting deer-sized animals.   You'll see a lot of write up about how wonderful the .260 Remington and 6.5 Creedmore are for deer.  These are both pretty much ballistically identical to 6.5 Swede.

120 and 140 grain 6.5's have nice high ballistic coefficients.  They hold velocity well, and shoot relatively flat for a given velocity.  High sectional densities mean penetration is good.  And modest velocities mean bullets are not taxed to their limits, so they expand well, still hold together, and drive deeply.  In all honesty, these are just about perfect for 100-250 lb animals....  And so long as shot placement is good and a proper bullet it used, the 6.5's will get it done on larger critters too.

Recoil in a typical scoped 6.5 Swede will run about 13 ft/lbs of recoil.  Recoil from a 30-06, using a typical 180 at 2750, out of the same size and weight of rifle, will run about 20-22 ft lbs of recoil.  In other words, the 6.5 swede offers really good killing power and decent ballistics  with about half the recoil of the .30-06.

I've owned 260 Rem and love it.  6.5 Swede would be awesome too.  I would have no problem owning and using a nice old 6.5 Swede on deer and caribou. However, if I was buying a new rifle, I'd be strongly tempted to look into 6.5 Creedmore.....  You won't find many, if any, new rifles chambered for the Swede.

Recommending a new rifle is difficult.  I don't know what your price points are.

As I said above, the Tikka T3 Lite is a great gun and not over priced. Ultra smooth action and very accurate. Read up on them.

I have a Remington 700 in 6.5 Swede and it's an amazing hunting rifle/cartridge combination for deer.  Unfortunately they were only made 1 year, and only in blued steel/walnut stock, so not easy to find ora good choice for all weather.

I would look into a Tikka.  I'm considering picking one up for an all weather/drag it through the boonies alternative to my Rem 700.

I have two 6.5x55s and both are on Modern actions.  The first one is a Howa 1500 and the other one is a CZ 550.  The Howa has a 22" barrel while the CZ is the full stock variant and has a 20.5" barrel.  The CZ is much more accurate than the Howa is and the Howa sits in the safe.  

I will be buying another one this year and it's going to be a Tikka in Left hand.  I love the caliber.  It's mild recoil, great bullet selection, and with a modern action it can be loaded to it's full potential.  Even the factory loads are great for hunting even though they are down loaded quite a bit.  

With all this said it's not a magical round and it won't do anything that most other cartridges will do.

I am a huge 6.5 fan.  I own a 6.5x55 and a 6.5x57.  Both are more than capable of taking elk sized animals beyond 400 yards.  If I was in the market to buy another 6.5 with similar ballistics it would probably be a 6.5 Creedmoor.  If you are looking for an even lighter weight 6.5 option that still has the capability of taking deer sized game out to 400 yards and beyond with very mild recoil you should also take a look at the 6.5 Grendel.

You might find these threads are worth your time.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1950944_Do-you-have-a-6-5-Creedmoor-rifle---Why-not-.html

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1936434_Why-isn-t-6-5-Grendel-popular-.html

I will probably sell my 6.5x57 and replace it with a lightweight bolt action 6.5 Grendel in the next year or two, or keep it and get the Grendel anyway.

Thanks for all the replies.   I've narrowed the rifle down to the Sako 85 Finnlight vs the Mauser M12 extreme.  Just can't decide on which one.   The Sako is stainless though, do deer see the stainless sooner than a matt finish?   Any recommendations between the two rifles?

Sako makes an awesome rifle.  I have no experience with the other.  If you're concerned about stainless steel "flash", then you can always wrap the barrel with some of that camp cling wrap.

Agree in fact I am pretty sure the swede won't get the velocity of the other two in factory ammo, but with handloads it can equal the other two in 140 and below bullets and surpass them in the 150 to 160 range.

They might be capable but not recommended for shooting that far on that big of game.  In europe they are used on moose(which are about the same size as a normal bull elk) but they aren't shooting at very long ranges and they are typically using the 156 to 160 grain bullets, which won't expand at 400 yards because they are round nosed bullets with poor BC's(which by the way seem to up the "knockdown" power of just about any caliber.)  For deer to 400 yards though it would be a excellent choice.

Never had a problem with my stainless rifles that I know of.  Most stainless rifles are a dull finish not a polished one.  I actually really like my stainless guns.  I have nice blued and wood guns and I prefer them as far as looks but I almost always grab the stainless synthetic guns because I worry the weather won't be good or I will end up walking through brush and messing up the blue or the wood stock.

I'll be going deer hunting for the first time this year. I am planning to take my M38 Swedish Mauser, in 6.5x55. I've been reloading for this round for a while, and I'm so impressed by its versatility and efficiency. Very excited to go.