6.5 calibers for big game hunting question

LongBomber said:
If you are worried about wind why not just load some higher bc bullets in your 300wsm? Yes they are long bullets and will be seated fairly deeply, but they work. The 230 berger shoots very well in my wsm. I would be the new 190 LRAB would work well in the wsm as well.
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I was considering this but I generally use premium bullets so the cost to shoot a 300 WSM is much higher than say a 260 Rem/6.5 CM and the recoil is not exactly fun for longer shooting sessions. The plan was to load a pile of .260/6.5 CM and practice at long range a lot so that I could build some good proficiency at ranges up to 800m. I could do it with a WSM which is what I am planning to do this Summer but I thought if a 6.5 is better for this than it might be easier on both my shoulder and pocket book. At this point, there is no way I am going to shoot at an animal over 400m without practicing a lot. What spurred this was the number of animals I had to pass up a shot at last hunting season because I just couldn't stalk in closer. Embarassingly I only fired ~30 rounds of practice of my 300 WSM only up to 400m pre-season so I didn't feel confident at all taking a longer shot despite the fact that my reticle has holdovers for 5 and 600 yards. So my two plans at this point is to shoot better .300 cal bullets at ranges up to 800m or switch to 6.5 with the same shooting regimen.
 
Throttle_monkey1 said:
I shot a large whitetail buck with the 129grain accubond at 300 yards out of a 6.5x55. Velocity was around 3000 fps at the muzzle. Complete pass through both shoulders and the damage was significant. I'm wondering if I would have had a complete pass through on a moose or elk?

I would gladly use this load, the Barnes 127 LRX, swift scirocco II or nosler partition for moose or elk at reasonable ranges (up to 400 meters).

That ballistic studies website is a joke. He says the 6.5x55 is for animals that are 300 lbs max, then goes on to fellate the 270, which is a little quicker but has lower BC bullets in the same weight as the 6.5.

I would say if you're hand loading, the 6.5 matches the 270 (less velocity, higher BC).
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Thanks for the info. Would you take a shot at a moose/elk past 400m with this caliber or do you think is too small a calibre?
 
I've hunted deer with nothing but 6.5 mm cartridges (6.5x55 and .260 Rem) for the last 20 years. I wouldn't pass a shot at a moose if I had a tag while deer hunting but would make sure I had a perfect broadside shot. It definitely wouldn't be my first pick in my arsenal and wouldn't be the rifle I would go out an buy as a dedicated moose rifle. I've shot moose with 7mm Rem Mag, .35 Whelen, .300 WSM and .375 Ruger. Moose aren't necessarily hard to kill but they have big bones and lots of muscle to penetrate if your shot is not perfect.
 
The T3 of my son's was used from the muzzle to 300 yards on assorted BG and only one bullet was found in a large cow elk. His load is a 140gr Partition/47gr -RE#22 in Win cases and Fed mag primers.The 156-160 gr drills are best in my Win 70 FWT/Swedish 38 Husky and 42gr of IMR 4350 or N204 in Win brass and Fed Mag primers.Have never found a bullet from that load even on moose.His T3 also shoots the 130gr Scirocco into the same hole with a stiff dose of RE#22.....never shot game past 300 yards with the 6.5 except one coyote that paused to look back at a distance I won't repeat..A .243 will never be a 6.5x55 so comparing them is a mute point...Harold
 
I have owned and hunted extensively with 2 different 260's and a Tikka T3 in 6.5 swede. Total number of deer around 15, 3-4 were big bucks, 2 shot at reasonable distances, 260 and 350 yards. All were shot with either 125 partition or 130 gr TSX. The total distance I remember the deer going would have been maybe 20 yards, the vast majority dropped where they stood, a few may have moved a step or two.

I watched a guy shoot a young bull moose with my 260 and the 130 gr TSX, shot was broadside, about 80 yards, bullet made it out the other side, moose went about 50 yards before tipping over. I was watching it through the scope of my 300 win mag in case it didn't drop and was about to pull the trigger on my rifle just to make sure.

It worked fine, but I would have been very selective about shot angle and probably would have not carried the rifle on a hunt where moose was the primary target.
 
Gents, while I appreciate the effort to take to respond, I am not interested in knowing if 6.5 cal can kill in close (<300m), I already know that it can kill in close. I am trying to decide if this calibre is sufficient at long range shots (>500m up to 800m) on large game (moose/elk) because of the LR hype that I have been seeing, I was considering it for a long range hunting.
 
While I do not approve of long range sniping at animals, [>600 yards]
I am quite comfortable with the 6.5x55 out to 500, and the 264 Win Mag
as far out as anyone should take a shot at an animal.

The 140 grain bullets are Ideal, as long as they have a good BC. [Bergers are not hunting bullets, IMHO, so will leave them out]

I personally have shot 2 moose with 6.5mms at over 450 yards, and one Elk at 420. None went over 30 yards after the shot, and only one of the 3
held the bullet, which I have kept. The rest were pass through, with exits big enough to show expansion.

That being said, for Elk particularly, I prefer the big 7's and 30's, since Elk can be a bit more difficult to put down quickly.

Some may feel differently, but 50+ years of hunting have made me somewhat opinionated. :)
 
Eagleye said:
While I do not approve of long range sniping at animals, [>600 yards]
I am quite comfortable with the 6.5x55 out to 500, and the 264 Win Mag
as far out as anyone should take a shot at an animal.

The 140 grain bullets are Ideal, as long as they have a good BC. [Bergers are not hunting bullets, IMHO, so will leave them out]

I personally have shot 2 moose with 6.5mms at over 450 yards, and one Elk at 420. None went over 30 yards after the shot, and only one of the 3
held the bullet, which I have kept. The rest were pass through, with exits big enough to show expansion.

That being said, for Elk particularly, I prefer the big 7's and 30's, since Elk can be a bit more difficult to put down quickly.

Some may feel differently, but 50+ years of hunting have made me somewhat opinionated. :)
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I am pretty much in agreement of "sniping" animals but in the badlands/praries of S Alberta, it can be really challenging to get in close to skittish animals and some of the best shots can be on standing animals at 600m. I had to already let a black bear go last season because there was no way I could get in close on him, he bolted when I approached to within 500m. Prior to moving here, I shot most of my animals at less than 150m but since I got here the closest animal I have shot is 250m (Mule Deer). This is getting close to the limits of my hunting rifles so I am exploring some options. I want to be ethical and select something that is going to be clean. I may just stay with the 300 WSM and pick better bullets and practice more but if there is a better mousetrap...
 
Use a good bullet with it and hit em where they need to be. A guy I used to be friends with shot a white tail buck at 39 yards and it ran 80-100 yards. He was using a 7mm mag. I shot a white tail buck from teh same blind at teh same distance and ran maybe 20 feet. I was using a 30-06.
 
I too do not approve of sniper shots at animals.
Having bared my soul with that confession, I believe the 6.5 with a 140 grain bullet is ideal for deer, elk or moose out to MPBR.
 
I've hunted southern AB my whole life and shot many, many animals under 250m. I've on a few occasions had to stretch past 500yds.



Im as large as they get and dont subscribe to the idea that you need to be able to shoot out to 800 down there. You just need to change your tactics.

Stick with your 300 or dont and at 30rds a year your checking zero. Not practicing.

I wouldnt expect bang flops from moose or elk out of a 6.5.
 
Beside head and/or neck/spine shots I've never seen a moose bang flop. I've seen them take any type of bullet, up to 5 rounds of 338 win mag.

It seems they all die the same, take a fatal hit or two, stand there, look around for a few seconds and then tip over.
 
You will have about 1000 ft lbs of energy at 500 yds. At 600 yds you will have 869 ft lbs of energy. Provided you are getting 2700fps at the muzzle with a 140 gr bullet. This is from my hornady manual. I would use the 300 wsm for long range at large game.
 
Glock4ever said:
Gents, while I appreciate the effort to take to respond, I am not interested in knowing if 6.5 cal can kill in close (<300m), I already know that it can kill in close. I am trying to decide if this calibre is sufficient at long range shots (>500m up to 800m) on large game (moose/elk) because of the LR hype that I have been seeing, I was considering it for a long range hunting.
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I have a pre-64 Winchester, in 264, but for large game it's not my first or even second choice. . To be truthful I haven't had the need to stretch out to distances you're asking about for deer, moose or elk and use larger calibers in standard and magnum. . I doubt I'd take a shot beyond 300 yds. except if it was a clean broadside shot on a very good day. I bought the rifle to add to a collection and use for sheep or antelope. . Nice shooting rifle all the same. .
 
Glock4ever said:
Gents, while I appreciate the effort to take to respond, I am not interested in knowing if 6.5 cal can kill in close (<300m), I already know that it can kill in close. I am trying to decide if this calibre is sufficient at long range shots (>500m up to 800m) on large game (moose/elk) because of the LR hype that I have been seeing, I was considering it for a long range hunting.
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I would say no, it's not at those ranges.

There would be very little remaining energy.
 
The 6.5X55 has been killing moose in Europe for over a hundred years. I would have no issues shooting one at 600m if a good shot was presented. 140 grain 6.5mm bullets are like needles of death. High BCs, and they penetrate like crazy.
 
Input Data
Manufacturer: Barnes Description: Triple-Shock™ X Flat Base
Caliber: 0.264 in Weight: 130.0 gr
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.335 G1 (ASM)
Muzzle Velocity: 2900.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 10.0 ft
Sight Height: 1.50 in Sight Offset: 0.00 in
Zero Height: 0.00 in Zero Offset: 0.00 in
Windage: 0.000 MOA Elevation: 0.000 MOA
Line Of Sight Angle: 0.0 deg Cant Angle: 0.0 deg
Wind Speed: 10.0 mph Wind Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Speed: 10.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Height: 12.0 in
Temperature: 32.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg
Humidity: 60 % Altitude: 0.0 ft
Vital Zone Radius: 5.0 in
Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: No Pressure is Corrected: Yes
Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: No Target Relative Drops: Yes
Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: No Include Extra Rows: No
Column 1 Units: 1.00 in Column 2 Units: 1.00 MOA
Round Output to Whole Numbers: No
Output Data
Elevation: 3.538 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA
Atmospheric Density: 0.08056 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1087.0 ft/s
Maximum PBR: 331 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 283 yd
Range of Maximum Height: 159 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 1152.5 ft•lbs
Sectional Density: 0.266 lb/in²
Calculated Table
Range Drop Drop Windage Windage Velocity Mach Energy Time Lead Lead
(yd) (in) (MOA) (in) (MOA) (ft/s) (none) (ft•lbs) (s) (in) (MOA)
0 -1.5 *** 0.0 *** 2910.2 2.677 2444.4 0.000 0.0 ***
100 -0.0 -0.0 1.0 1.0 2613.4 2.404 1971.2 0.109 19.1 18.3
200 -3.6 -1.7 4.2 2.0 2335.9 2.149 1574.7 0.230 40.5 19.3
300 -13.6 -4.3 10.1 3.2 2075.6 1.909 1243.3 0.366 64.5 20.5
400 -31.8 -7.6 19.0 4.5 1832.7 1.686 969.4 0.520 91.6 21.9
500 -60.3 -11.5 31.6 6.0 1609.4 1.481 747.6 0.695 122.3 23.4
600 -102.3 -16.3 48.6 7.7 1409.9 1.297 573.7 0.894 157.4 25.1
700 -162.0 -22.1 70.4 9.6 1240.2 1.141 443.9 1.122 197.4 26.9
800 -244.2 -29.2 97.4 11.6 1107.7 1.019 354.1 1.378 242.6 29.0
900 -354.8 -37.6 129.3 13.7 1014.1 0.933 296.8 1.662 292.5 31.0
1000 -499.2 -47.7 165.1 15.8 947.0 0.871 258.8 1.969 346.5 33.1
17-Jan-16 22:01, JBM/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

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A 130 gr TSX at 2900 fps muzzle velocity has 573 ft/pounds of energy at 600 yards and is only travelling at 1490 fps, the bullet probably wound't even open. That would be below marginal on elk/moose sized game. A traditional cup and core bullet would at least open, but wouldn't penetrate very well.
 
martinbns said:
A 130 gr TSX at 2900 fps muzzle velocity has 573 ft/pounds of energy at 600 yards and is only travelling at 1490 fps, the bullet probably wound't even open. That would be below marginal on elk/moose sized game. A traditional cup and core bullet would at least open, but wouldn't penetrate very well.
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I can't speak about the 130 grain tsx bullet , but the 140 grain x bullet will open up at extended ranges ( think 4 - 5 hunded yards ) when used in a 6.5x55 fired out of a 96 mauser with a 20 inch barrel .
 
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