160gr 6.5x55

CheeseBurger

CheeseBurger

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
51   0   0
Location
Invermere, BC
Has anyone pushed a 160gr RN out of a 6.5x55 modern action? Did you hunt with it? Would you use it again? Also wondering what the penetration is like. Just noticed the 160's listed in three out of my four reloading manuals but have never heard of anyone using them.
 
Thanks burnt servo! I completely forgot about bcsteve's work and had completly forgot that it was on .264's.If anyone has any other experience with the 160's I'm all ears.
 
I have never hunted with a 160 rn but i have tried them on paper.

My only finings were with the twists on my Tikka 6.5x55 shot the 139-140 bullet the most accurate.

performance on game was excellent with every 6.5 i have ever used, so i cant believe you would have any issues if you find a load your satisfied with with 160s. these even longer bullets should penetrate well.
 
CheeseBurger said:
Has anyone pushed a 160gr RN out of a 6.5x55 modern action? Did you hunt with it? Would you use it again? Also wondering what the penetration is like. Just noticed the 160's listed in three out of my four reloading manuals but have never heard of anyone using them.
Click to expand...

CIL

6.5 x 55 mm 160 SP

Vel
muzz 100 200 300 400 500y
2420-2190-1960-1760-1580-1420

Ene
muzz 100 200 300 400 500y
2080-1700-1360-1110-885-715

A moose load...sorry I don't hunt moose...
 
CheeseBurger said:
Has anyone pushed a 160gr RN out of a 6.5x55 modern action? Did you hunt with it? Would you use it again? Also wondering what the penetration is like. Just noticed the 160's listed in three out of my four reloading manuals but have never heard of anyone using them.
Click to expand...

I am a heavy bullet fanatic.. I bought a bunch of 156 grain european bullets for the 6.5 x 55 Ackley. Mine is built on a M96 mauser, I have a 23 inch barrel. I have a reciever sight, and I hunt in the brush. I get about 2700 fps with surplus powders. I shot a moose at about 70 yards, and the first bullet was a bit high, and went just in front of his diaphragm. This bullet went right through. He did not like this. He turned and charged me, and the second bullet hit him in the sternum, at about 35 yards, and this stopped him. This bullet turned a bit and wound up in his shoulder. Luckily a charging moose is an easy target. With a standard chamber you will not get quite the velocity I do, but it still makes a potent hunting load.
 
i killed two moose with my 6.5 swed using the 160 gr rn, preformance was fantastic. the first moose i shot with it was about 250 feet and the bullet went completely through.
the second time out with, same preformance but the distance was a bit shorter.
 
I can't recall who exactly said it, but someone on here once stated that a 160gr round nose would go through "two moose and a fire hydrant", something that has stuck with me for some reason.
 
Ormachek said:
I can't recall who exactly said it, but someone on here once stated that a 160gr round nose would go through "two moose and a fire hydrant", something that has stuck with me for some reason.
Click to expand...

But a 130gr TSX will out penetrate any of them (except for a solid).
 
Penetration

Ormachek said:
I can't recall who exactly said it, but someone on here once stated that a 160gr round nose would go through "two moose and a fire hydrant", something that has stuck with me for some reason.
Click to expand...
That would be me.............42 grs or either N204 or IMR 4350 and a 156-160gr drill bit..........shot many moose and never recovered a bullet yet.......Harold
 
Just an FYI about the (now discontinued) Hornady 160gr RN. Although they did very well in my 6.5 bullet test, John Barness, who is a very experienced and very well respected gun writer has said that it was the most inconsistant bullet he had ever used.

Some times it would go right through an animal without expanding, other times it would blow up on impact and than again, sometimes it would work perfectly.

Food for thought although it might not be that relevant since they are now discontinued, unless you had been stocking up.
 
I have a lifetime supply of 160 gr round nose CIL component bullets. My local gunsmith claims that they auger through what ever they hit. I will find out this fall with my Ruger No 1 in 6.5X55. I can testify that a Swift A frame 140 grain went brisket to butthole on a 55 yard bull moose a few years back out of my old Tikka bolt rifle. 160 should do as well.

Darryl
 
bcsteve said:
Just an FYI about the (now discontinued) Hornady 160gr RN.....
Click to expand...

I'd heard this elsewhere as well but the #2640 160gn RN still appears on their website. A few years ago I bought a couple of boxes to try out in my sporterized M-S 6.5x54 but whoever rebarrelled it did so with too slow a twist for the 160's.

:) Stuart
 
Nothing beats the 156-160 grain bullet in the 6.5x55 at 2450-2600 fps. IMHO the 160 grain bullet makes the swede a top notch killer while the 130 grain ish bullets make it marginal. Shot alot of animals last year with the Nosler offerings at 2900fps and wont go that route again. Right back to what I knew worked 156 grain Norma Alaskans. Too bad about the hornady's being discontinued they always worked well for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom