6.5x55 swede short barrel

[rqubak 0]

Hi I'm new to this forum and this is my first posting. I'd be grateful for some advice from some of the the more experienced guys out there. I've bought a new takedown/modular rifle (6.5x55 caliber) from a well known German manufacturer through my local gun shop who ordered it from the UK 'specialist importer' (I'll resist mentioning names so no one gets embarrased). Initially the order was supposed to take 4 weeks which stretched to nearly 3 months because various parts of the rifle were either incorrectly delivered by the 'specialised importer' or were missing (silver bolt delivered instead of a black one, missing magazine, missing warranty card, missing instruction manual, missing sling swivels) and so had to be corrected. When I finally picked up the rifle several weeks ago, I took it home and found the barrel was 19.5 inches (with a bore length of about 18.5 inches) when I ordered a standard barrel of 23.5 inches. When I queried this the gun shop they told me that since I asked for it to be factory threaded then the manufacturer automatically reduce the length by 4 inches to allow the fitting of a silencer - apparently the normal thing for rifle threaded barrels sent to the UK!! Anyway I had a feeling I was being fobbed off, considering all the other problems that I had, and so contacted the manufacturer direct and queried this. I was told that if I ordered a standard lenth barrel, factory threaded, then that is what I should recieve - short barrels are only available on request. My gun shop got a mouthful from me and now I've been offered the correct length barrel but have to wait 3 month for the next batch to be manufactured. Anyway what I wanted to ask does anyone know of the effects of a short barrel on the 6.5x55? my gut feel is that there would be a drop in muzzle and down range velocity (how much?) and significant increase in muzzle blast and muzzle flash so I'll have to use a moderator to get over this. Any views on this?

[RicW 67]

You will lose accuracy, muzzle velocity (and hence down range knock-down capability) and it will kick like f**k. Otherwise no problems.

 

Me, I'd sue the dealer under the "Suitability for use Act"

 

Ric

[langouroux 14]

ask deker he has rifles with cxhopped barrels.

[flytie 1]

According to the reloading books i have, you can knock off about 25fps/inch that's removed from the quoted velocities for your original length barrel.

 

This page is worth a read, http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_barrel.htm

 

I hope this "shop" you are going to are giving you a good deal, with a lot of goodies thrown in for what they have put you through. If not tell them to stuff it and try another shop. I would and do recommend Macleods of Tain, they were brilliant with me and could not be bettered on price or service delivered.

 

ft

[CharlieT 32]

To achieve the sort of velocities quoted for factory ammo you will need a 24" barrel, as that's what they base the figures on. However with hand loading such velocities are achievable from an 18" bbl.

 

Accuracy wise you wont notice the difference at normal hunting ranges of up to say 300 yds.

 

Yours at 19 1/2" with a mod should prove a handy stalking/foxing rifle.

 

Mine is 22" and does not kick so I don't see why one 2 1/2" shorter should particularly with a mod on.

 

However having said all that 24" is considered the optimum length for a Sweed. If you start with 24" you can always take some off but you can never add some back.

 

Personally I would insist they change it and suffer the wait.

[langouroux 14]

you could always ring a proffesional gunsmith and ask..they would know the answer off the top of their head i would hope!

[coldweld 65]

I have a .260 rem light stalking rifle with a 20' barrel . With the mod it is a sweet rifle and you can see the strike ! Without the mod it kicks like a .243 but has a loud BARK .

Try a crono before you change barrels if it is deer legal you are fine ! Short barrels can't be that bad RPA do a .243 and .308 woodland stalker with a 16'' barrel

[Yokel Matt 918]

 

The 6.5 is a pretty slow cartridge anyway so losing an extra 4" would equate to around 100fps less muzzle velocity on ball-park figures which isn't the end of the world as long as it meets legal requirements. Accuracy shouldn't be affected as long as they haven't screwed up the shortening job. Again handloading may be the way forward but at the end of the day this is not something you should be pushed into - they've fecked it up and tried to fob you off. Ask them to provide you with a (second hand?) rifle as a 'stop gap' while you wait for them to make good on your original order... plus something for the hassle... some aple mounts perhaps .

Edited March 3, 2010 by Local

[rqubak 0]

Thanks for all the advice. The takedown/modular rifle I bought was a Mauser M03 Extreme. The barrel is detachable from the stock and measures 19.5 inches but the bolt head locks into the barrel so the bore of barrel is only 18.5 inches therefore effectively making it an 18.5 inch barrel. Despite my gun shop giving it the 'it will be alright' crap, I haven't put a bullet through it and am waiting the 3 months for them to get hold of another barrel. If its a day late I'm going to insist a full refund and if they wont agree to that then I'm taking the whole thing to court and will also be suing for damages and costs. I'm sure the police might also be interested in why the gun shop/specialist dealer is supplying the public with a short barreled rifle that might not be deer legal.

 

Anyway I've divulged the name of the rifle I bought so for those who are interested it shouldn't be too hard to find the name of the 'specialist importer'. In time I'll also tell the name of the gun shop I used as I want to discourage as many people from using them as possible after what they put me through. Their customer service is rubbish and they can't even be bothered to return phone calls or emails. The thing that makes me livid is that the rifle cost me nearly 3 grand and the customer service from my gun shop and importer is s***. Part of me wishes that they fail on their promise to deliver the new barrel in 3 month so I can take them to court for the sheer satisfaction of paying them back for all the trouble they caused me.

 

Watch this space

[flytie 1]

Thanks for all the advice. The takedown/modular rifle I bought was a Mauser M03 Extreme. The barrel is detachable from the stock and measures 19.5 inches but the bolt head locks into the barrel so the bore of barrel is only 18.5 inches therefore effectively making it an 18.5 inch barrel. Despite my gun shop giving it the 'it will be alright' crap, I haven't put a bullet through it and am waiting the 3 months for them to get hold of another barrel. If its a day late I'm going to insist a full refund and if they wont agree to that then I'm taking the whole thing to court and will also be suing for damages and costs. I'm sure the police might also be interested in why the gun shop/specialist dealer is supplying the public with a short barreled rifle that might not be deer legal.

 

Anyway I've divulged the name of the rifle I bought so for those who are interested it shouldn't be too hard to find the name of the 'specialist importer'. In time I'll also tell the name of the gun shop I used as I want to discourage as many people from using them as possible after what they put me through. Their customer service is rubbish and they can't even be bothered to return phone calls or emails. The thing that makes me livid is that the rifle cost me nearly 3 grand and the customer service from my gun shop and importer is s***. Part of me wishes that they fail on their promise to deliver the new barrel in 3 month so I can take them to court for the sheer satisfaction of paying them back for all the trouble they caused me.

 

Watch this space

 

 

rqubak, your best bet might be trading standards! If the shop are supplying goods not as they describe them, they could be prosecuted by TS. There will be a local Trading Standards Office near you, all it will cost is a phone call and 10 mins of your time.

 

I hope you get satisfaction (pistols at dawn?) in your dispute soon. You have more patience than me

 

ft

Edited March 3, 2010 by flytie

[rqubak 0]

Thanks for all the advice. The takedown/modular rifle I bought was a Mauser M03 Extreme. The barrel is detachable from the stock and measures 19.5 inches but the bolt head locks into the barrel so the bore of barrel is only 18.5 inches therefore effectively making it an 18.5 inch barrel. Despite my gun shop giving it the 'it will be alright' crap, I haven't put a bullet through it and am waiting the 3 months for them to get hold of another barrel. If its a day late I'm going to insist a full refund and if they wont agree to that then I'm taking the whole thing to court and will also be suing for damages and costs. I'm sure the police might also be interested in why the gun shop/specialist dealer is supplying the public with a short barreled rifle that might not be deer legal.

 

Anyway I've divulged the name of the rifle I bought so for those who are interested it shouldn't be too hard to find the name of the 'specialist importer'. In time I'll also tell the name of the gun shop I used as I want to discourage as many people from using them as possible after what they put me through. Their customer service is rubbish and they can't even be bothered to return phone calls or emails. The thing that makes me livid is that the rifle cost me nearly 3 grand and the customer service from my gun shop and importer is s***. Part of me wishes that they fail on their promise to deliver the new barrel in 3 month so I can take them to court for the sheer satisfaction of paying them back for all the trouble they caused me.

 

Watch this space

 

 

rqubak, your best bet might be trading standards! If the shop are supplying goods not as they describe them, they could be prosecuted by TS. There will be a local Trading Standards Office near you, all it will cost is a phone call and 10 mins of your time.

 

I hope you get satisfaction (pistols at dawn?) in your dispute soon. You have more patience than me

 

ft

[rqubak 0]

Thanks for all the advice. The takedown/modular rifle I bought was a Mauser M03 Extreme. The barrel is detachable from the stock and measures 19.5 inches but the bolt head locks into the barrel so the bore of barrel is only 18.5 inches therefore effectively making it an 18.5 inch barrel. Despite my gun shop giving it the 'it will be alright' crap, I haven't put a bullet through it and am waiting the 3 months for them to get hold of another barrel. If its a day late I'm going to insist a full refund and if they wont agree to that then I'm taking the whole thing to court and will also be suing for damages and costs. I'm sure the police might also be interested in why the gun shop/specialist dealer is supplying the public with a short barreled rifle that might not be deer legal.

 

Anyway I've divulged the name of the rifle I bought so for those who are interested it shouldn't be too hard to find the name of the 'specialist importer'. In time I'll also tell the name of the gun shop I used as I want to discourage as many people from using them as possible after what they put me through. Their customer service is rubbish and they can't even be bothered to return phone calls or emails. The thing that makes me livid is that the rifle cost me nearly 3 grand and the customer service from my gun shop and importer is s***. Part of me wishes that they fail on their promise to deliver the new barrel in 3 month so I can take them to court for the sheer satisfaction of paying them back for all the trouble they caused me.

 

Watch this space

 

 

rqubak, your best bet might be trading standards! If the shop are supplying goods not as they describe them, they could be prosecuted by TS. There will be a local Trading Standards Office near you, all it will cost is a phone call and 10 mins of your time.

 

I hope you get satisfaction (pistols at dawn?) in your dispute soon. You have more patience than me

 

ft

 

Thanks flytie. Went to see them on my lunch break and they gave me some very good advise. Although they wont prosecute unless a repeat offender they are willing to talk to the gun shop if they fail on this latest agreement and advised me to go to court if there are any more f*** ups. Its my wife that has the patience and encouraged to be patient aswell, I'm all willing to go legal on this and give them something to remember so they wont screw someone else over.