Specification
The numbers that define it
Factory loads
Published load data
Muzzle velocities are the manufacturer’s published figures, measured in their test barrel. Your rifle will differ — a shorter barrel typically loses roughly 5–15 m/s per centimetre. Chronograph your own load before trusting a long-range solution.
What it is
The 6.5×55 was born in 1894 as the joint Swedish–Norwegian service cartridge and became the standard tool of Nordic hunting. The recipe has not changed in over a century: a long, high-sectional-density 6.5 mm bullet at moderate velocity. Recoil is gentle and the heavy 156 gr loads penetrate deeply.
Use in Finland
This is one of Finland’s most common hunting calibres. The heavy 10.1 g loads (Mega, Oryx, Vulkan) clear the moose-class 10 g / 2000 J path comfortably, and the lighter 9.1 g lead-free loads use the 7.5 g / 1900 J alternative — see the hunting page for per-load checks. For roe deer and the deer species the cartridge is amply sufficient.
Note the Naturalis’ low published G1 (0.201): the blunt nose costs ballistic coefficient, and it shows in the 100 m energy sooner than with sharper bullets.