That being said, American competitive shooters began to appreciate the aerodynamic benefits of 6.5mm/.264″ bullets before the shooting and hunting communities at large. 264 Winchester Magnum and the 6.5 Remington Magnum also struggled to gain widespread acceptance for various reasons. That wasn’t due to a lack of effort: American cartridges like the. Indeed, 6.5mm (.264″) cartridges in general had a tough time getting traction in the United States for many decades. The lack of appreciation for the 6.5 Swede among Americans was not due to any particular shortcoming on part of the cartridge. However, while the cartridge did eventually develop a small following in North America, it never caught on in the United States to the same degree as it did in Europe. Over the years, the 6.5×55 Swede became very popular in Europe. Combined with the very mild recoil and very good accuracy of the cartridge, the 6.5 Swede rapidly gained a reputation for effectiveness on big game like moose and reindeer. Indeed, since it used bullets with a relatively high sectional density, bullets fired by the cartridge tend to penetrate especially well. 45-70 Government, the 6.5×55 Swede quickly became very popular among civilian hunters and shooters in Scandinavia. Similar to other cartridges originally developed for military use like the 7mm Mauser, the. Partly due to this reason, the cartridge is also known as the 6.5x55mm Mauser, the 6.5×55 Swedish Mauser, and the 6.5x55mm Krag even though the cartridge is officially designated as the 6.5×55 Swedish by SAAMI and the 6.5×55 SE by CIP. While the two countries were united under the same monarch, Sweden and Norway maintained separate military forces which adopted different service rifles chambered in the new cartridge: the Swedish Mauser for Sweden and the Krag–Jørgensen for Norway. In 1894, the commission selected the cartridge now known as the 6.5x55mm Swedish. Not to be outdone by the other European powers, Norway and Sweden (which were united under a common monarch at the time) established a commission to select a new smokeless military cartridge for the two countries during this same time period.
30-06 Springfield, and the 7.92x57mm Mauser.
The result was a series of new cartridges that came on the scene around the turn of the century like the 7mm Mauser, the. The story of these cartridges begins in the 1890s with the 6.5×55 Swede.įearful of being outgunned in a future conflict, European and American military forces scrambled to develop service rifles designed for use with smokeless powder in the late 1800s. 260 Remington vs 6.5 Creedmoor vs 6.5×55 Swede: History
This helps support the blog and allows me to continue to create free content that’s useful to hunters like yourself. This means I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase. Some of the links below are affiliate links. In this article, I’m going to do a detailed comparison of the 260 Remington vs 6.5 Creedmoor vs 6.5×55 Swede in an effort to cut through some of the misunderstandings that swirl around these three cartridges so you can make an informed decision regarding which one will work best for you.īefore we get started, I have an administrative note: 260 Remington and 6.5×55 Swede struggled to gain widespread acceptance in the North American hunting community? What is so special about the 6.5 Creedmoor? Why has the Creedmoor really taken off while the. For these reasons, the rapid ascent of the 6.5 Creedmoor has prompted questions about how it really stacks up against some of the more time tested 6.5mm cartridges like the. There are valid points on both sides of the debate, but there are also a number of genuine misconceptions about the Creedmoor since it first came on the scene. It has also been surrounded by a lot of marketing hype from fans of the cartridge and receives a lot of shade from those who don’t like it for various reasons. While the 6.5 Creedmoor is great cartridge that’s popular for good reason, it’s far from the first well designed 6.5mm cartridge. Regardless of what you might think about the cartridge personally, the 6.5 Creedmoor in particular has greatly benefited from this change in attitude towards the 6.5 caliber. Most hunters and shooters in North America will probably agree that 6.5mm cartridges in general are much more popular now than they were just a decade or so ago.
Looking for an accurate and mild recoiling 6.5mm cartridge? Here’s what you need to know about the 260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 6.5×55 Swedish Mauser cartridges.