6.5x55 bullet choice for moose

pbonura said:
Woodleigh has a bc of .50 160 grain. Can be purchased at tradex. Cost is 39 plus shipping for 50. Not cheap but that is the cost of a premium 160 grain.

http://www.woodleighbullets.com.au/bullet-lists/traditional/264q-333q
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I always find it curious that people put such a high importance on BC for a heavy for caliber bullet from a 6.5x55. At the moderate speeds the 6.5x55 can push these bullets when exactly does a BC of .5 make a difference over a bullet with a BC of .3?

Moose are big targets and the 6.5x55 isn't exactly a powerhouse that can kill them way out there. If you keep you shots to ~200 yards BC isn't a factor at all, JMHO of course.
 
AlexF said:
In Scandinavia, the 6.5 moose load gold standard is a stiff 156-160 load.
So I would go with Norma Oryx 156gr bullet driven at maximum accurate velocity.

With handloads, this load is almost as good as the classic 270 Win Nosler Partition 150gr load, a good 200 yards moose load.

Alex
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x2, That's what I've used for Bear, Deer and Moose. Great round, complete pass through in all 3 game and super accurate in my Tikka. Good Luck
 
barnes used to make a 140 grain x bullet that was the exact same length as the original 160 grain bullet , meaning it filled the throat perfectly on the old 6.5x55 mausers .

sadly they don't make the 140 grain x bullet anymore .

so my next choice would be the 130 bullet from barnes .

but i would prefer to use either the barnes ttsx or hornady gmx 120 grain bullets .

the biggest reason why i haven't yet is the long throat on my rifle , i need to either shorten it up , or lengthen the neck on my brass so i can seat the bullets out to the lands .

bcsteve's thread on 6.5 bullets is very similar to my personal experience .

i have a large stock pile of 6.5 hornady interlocks that are very accurate that i use for plinking / practice .... and they do seem to hold up not too badly when i find recovered bullets in blocks of wood .

but when hunting i really prefer to use one of barnes solid copper bullets .
 
I only ever used the 6.5x55 on the one elg in northern Norway back in '90.

The rifle was a cut-down Carl Gustaf m/96 with open sights, the property of our interpreter's father since the late 1930's. I had fired about twenty shots to get the feel of where it was going, and was very confident out to 100m, having put all my rounds in well under two inches at 50m resting on a tree in the interpreter's back lot, which consisted of a large chunk of Finnmark.

The shot was taken at about 60-65m on a so-called starving elg - it was a winter cull shoot. I took him 3/4 front on, and he dropped where he stood.

He weighed right on 1050 pounds, and the pm showed that the 140gr Norma SP had done all it said it would do on the box - most of it was recovered just under the skin on the right behind the foreleg, having dumped all its energy in the chest cavity.

I never shot another large animal since then.

tac
 
Forget paper numbers.I used to sight 3" high at 100 yards ,dead on at 200 and about 14" low at 300 .How can you miss a broadside moose?Still never found at bullet........Harold
 
kman300 said:
I always find it curious that people put such a high importance on BC for a heavy for caliber bullet from a 6.5x55. At the moderate speeds the 6.5x55 can push these bullets when exactly does a BC of .5 make a difference over a bullet with a BC of .3?

Moose are big targets and the 6.5x55 isn't exactly a powerhouse that can kill them way out there. If you keep you shots to ~200 yards BC isn't a factor at all, JMHO of course.
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I agree completely, 6.5x55 loaded at high pressure is the equivalent of 270 Win, a 200-250 yards moose cartridge.
If you want more range, simply get a bigger cartridge:
  • 350+ yards for 7 Rem Mag or equivalent
  • 400+ yards for 300 Win Mag or equivalent
  • "unethical" range for 338 Lapua Magnum or equivalent ;)

My big game long range load was 270 WSM bonded 165gr hunting VLD at 2850-2900fps but I've been recently converted to a more conventional 270 WSM bonded 140gr bullet at 3200fps (flatter trajectory and much lower felt recoil).

Alex
 
Thanks for all the input. I decided on the 160's simply because I already have 100 on hand. Going to work up a load with rl 22 and keep it to under 250 yard shots.
 
I like the 140 Hornady but I'd prefer the NPT. That said, I'm just about as close to a dyed-in-the-wool NPT guy as you'll find without being part of the Nosler family.
 
I have only seen one moose shot with a 6.5x55, one shot in the lungs, by my hunting partner's wife. She used a 140 Partition ahead of a case full of H4831. The moose died in its tracks.

Ted
 
Why not? said:
I have only seen one moose shot with a 6.5x55, one shot in the lungs, by my hunting partner's wife. She used a 140 Partition ahead of a case full of H4831. The moose died in its tracks.

Ted
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I just bought a box of Nosler Partitions today and will be also loading my .260 with H4831SC. Hope for the same results :D
 
I have shot three moose with the 6.5x55.
I have used the 140 partition exclusively.

Two were taken at close range. [<100 yards]
However, one was shot at 320 yards.

The result has always been the same....dead moose.
None went more than 25 yards from the spot where they were shot.

I load Norma MRP behind my 140's, 47.5 grains. [Please don't start with this load!]

I regard the 6.5x55 as a pretty effective chambering.
I have clobbered deer right out past 450 yards with mine.

Accurate, mild recoil, effective....what more could one ask for?

Eagleye
 
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