Re-barrel 1895 Browning/Winchester to 6.5x55

H.W. French

New member
I have a Browning (Miroku) 1895 lever action. It is currently chambered in .30-06. I was thinking about re-barreling it to 6.5 swede. Has anyone attempted this? Doesn't seem like there would be much problem with the bolt face or magazine. My Google Fu has not worked on this particular combo.
 

dakota.potts

New member
From some really cursory research:

Bolt head diameter should be fine. Some European ammo is apparently a larger bolt head (.480 vs .473) but your bolt head may have enough clearance to use both types comfortably. You should be able to check this with a 6.5 case and your bolt (although I'm not overly familiar with the 1895 to know how straightforward the process would be).

According to really quick Google data, there is roughly a .200" difference in case length which could cause magazine feeding issues.

I don't see that there would be any problems with pressure, especially with common sporting loads that are known to be a relatively mild pressure.

With that said, have you considered a 6.5-06?

All of the above is speculation on my part based on some real short research, but I wouldn't feel bad about the chances of such a conversion working out.

The 1895 is a very cool rifle indeed. I'd like to see the conversion if it's successful.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, in my searches I found a Tikka T3 magazine for sale for use with cartridges in the .30-06 family but they also listed 6.5X55 as one of the compatible cartridges.
 
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Scorch

New member
Should be no problem, but you will likely have to put in shoulder stops in the magazine. You can braze or solder in a wire down each side of the mag just ahead of where the cartridge shoulder is to keep the rounds from moving forward under recoil.
 

kraigwy

New member
'06 to 6.5X55 on a SS M1895????



That sounds like a winner to me. I love the rifle and the 6.5,

I just checked the scamatics of the Browning Lever '95. They do have a treaded action/barrel.

It would be a simple project. All you would need is a reamer and headspace gages. And a method of threading the barrel shank (lathe).
 
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H.W. French

New member
Thanks for the input. I got the rifle because I like the 1895's funky action and was looking for something that I could use on White Tail and Muleys. I'm close to elk country so that's not entirely out of the question, but I prefer quarry that's a bit easier to pack out. I looked at a 6.5 Swede bolt gun but in the end early 20th century "western romanticism" won out. Since it's pretty much an iron site only proposition the high octane rounds seem kinda moot, not to mention completely incompatible with that steel butt plate. I plink way more than hunt so for now it sees mostly light loads. I don't handload (yet) so it looks like the 6.5-06 is out. Just figured the '95 in 6.5x55 could be the best of both worlds.
While it does seem fairly straight forward, the work is above my level of comfort. I will look into the issue of magazine compatibility. I am in southern ID and will have to farm out the work.
 

Wyosmith

New member
How about a 270?
Winchester made some in that caliber. I have one. I like it (other than the stupid 'lawyer-proof safety") But zeroed at 250 yards I can hold my front bead on a deer or antelope to any range that the buck-horn and bead sights will allow, and squeeze. My old eyes will not allow me to shoot buck-horns past about 350 anyway, so with the flat shooting 270 I don't hold up at all on any game.
If they are past 350 years I don't fire, and if they are 350 or closer I just hold on the chest. I like it a lot. So far I have never needed a 2nd shot.
 

H.W. French

New member
The .270 is not off the table. I've actually considered it before. I plan to augment the buckhorns with a repro Climbin' Lyman. All this "trouble" when it's a perfectly fine .30-06:).
 

Pathfinder45

New member
Now you're starting to think reasonably. The whole idea was ridiculous to begin with. The 30-'06 has been taking deer with commendable efficiency for well over a century.
 

James K

Member In Memoriam
There is nothing wrong with the 6.5x55, but there is not enough advantage over the .30-'06 to make converting that rifle worth while. A simple bolt action conversion might be OK, but that 1895 is not easy to work on and the differences might make the whole project a real PITA and ruin a good rifle to boot. I am rather glad you chose to back off on that one.

Jim
 

T. O'Heir

New member
The Swede's case head diameter is .480". Vs the .473" of the '06. Case lengths are .329" in favour of the '06.
6.5 max load pressures are around 45,000 vs the 58,000ish for the '06.
Suspect the real issue would be finding a barrel unless 'cu$tom' is ok with your budget. Douglas makes a 6.5 x 55 chambered barrel though. So does Shilen.
 

Wyosmith

New member
I have re-barreled three 95s in the past. Two in 338/06 an one in 35 Whelen. It is not really any more difficult than re-barreling a Springfield 1903 or a Mosin/Nagant. And if you copy the barrel contour of the 30-06 you don't harm the future value of the rifle because you need only swap out the barrel for the original. No modification are done to the original parts at all.

On all 3 of the barrels I did I installed scout mounts and scopes, so there was no rear sight to deal with. It would not be hard to install irons if you wanted them however.

But given that you can buy a 270, which shoots flatter than the 6.5 Swede, I personally can't see any advantage to doing the job over just buying the 270.

And as was stated above, there is nothing at all wrong with the grand old 30-06 anyway.

The only reason I can see for a re-barrel job is more power, not less. And in 99% of the cases, you'd never need more power than you can have with the 30-06 anyway.

Custom work is sometimes done because of a need or perceived need, but in most cases, custom work is done for the most important reason of all.

Because we want.
 

Gunplummer

New member
Times have changed, I guess. Years ago the reason for a lot of re-barrels was ammunition availability. But, with the magnum craze over the years, I can see your point.
 

Gaucho Gringo

New member
I wonder how they shot in 7.62X54R? Over half of them ever manufactured were in this chambering for Russia in WW1. Probably close to 30.06 since they are very similar cartridges. I wonder how they held up using the steel cased 7.62X54R cartridge? Anyone ever own or shoot one on this forum? Don't mean to hijack your post but this thread got my curiosity ramped up.
 

Wyosmith

New member
They were very good rifles and very smooth in 7.62X54R.
Steel case ammo was not made in the days of the Czar however.
It was all brass.
 

smarquez

New member
Winchester and Remington brass are .473 case head so that is not a real problem.
That would be a sweet shooting lever rifle.
 
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