MY ITALIAN SWEDE

A few seasons ago, I took stock of the firearms in my small hunting arsenal and came to the conclusion that my CZ .243 Win, although still in pristine condition, was becoming redundant. Due to the persisting drought in the Karoo I haven’t used my .243 there for about four seasons. The .243 is also not versatile enough (read powerful) for some hunting applications and its 100gr bullets are wind sensitive.

I own a .223 Rem, 7x57, 7x64, .30-06 and a .375 H&H but felt that I needed a calibre capable of launching bullets weighing from 90 to 140gr. So, I have decided to let go of the .243 Win.

For more than a decade I have been eyeing the 6.5x55 Swede. Its low recoil and muzzle blast, inherent accuracy and short action (thus potentially lightweight rifle) count in its favour. When used for hunting, the long, slender bullets with high sectional density provide flat trajectories and impressive penetration (a 140gr 6.5mm bullet has a higher SD than a 160gr 7mm bullet). Furthermore, it is versatile with bullets ranging from 77gr right up to 160gr. I am not a speed freak requiring 3 000+fps velocities (I prefer to limit my shots to 300m), and I also love classic calibres. The modern 6.5s