- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Another plug for factory Norma 156 grain "Vulcan"-- a quality cup 'n core. Again, 6.5x55.
what 6.5 would you use if you were to hunt Moose and Black Bear?
- Thread starter Mr. Friendly
- Start date
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
If you want 600 meter shots
... those a real barrel burners! Quite impressive ballistics, and I actually considered purchasing a Weatherby chambered in 6.5-300... just no use for it in Southern Ontario.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
What? No 6.5x57?
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
To me, cartridges in the same class as the 6.5 Swede are a logical minimum for general big game hunting. Given the advantage of modern bullet technology, the faster the impact velocity the more dramatic the results. For the recoil challenged, the 6.5 Swede with a 140 gr bullet has little down side for use on any North American game, although a 160 gr would be my choice for big bears and bison, where that cartridge is legal.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Lots of boxes to click on, but only one choice. The Swede.
I voted for the .264 Win Mag but I have to agree with SuperCub, the 6.5-06 appeals most to me. Being able to pick up discarded .270 brass to quickly size down is very convenient. Although truth be told I have about 50 6.5x55 brass and a set of dies for it that I have never used so if I was to buy a rifle in a 6.5 cartridge it would likely be a Tikka T3 in 6.5x55.
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Good choice in rifle. Howa also chambers in 6.5x55. Ruger #1's can also be found in that chambering.
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Mine is a 264wm. Capable for anything, not wanting to eat me. I have missed some awfully short shots. Hit a few longer ones. Try to limit myself to 300 yards...with everything.
unstableryan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Beautiful Okanagan Valley
I’ve been hunting deer for about 10 years with a tikka t3 in 6.5x55. Can’t go wrong with a 140 partition. 129 sst’s drop deer like Thor’s hammer though but you pay for it in mess. 120gr ttsx bore a good hole with smaller entrance and exits but still kill pretty well. 140gr corelokt’s are a nice medium. Intentionally going after bears and moose, from what I have seen on game so far, I’d pick the partition, ttsx or the old gold standard the big round nose.
In reality though, going after bears or moose on purpose, I’d just use a mild 235gr load for my .375. Whenever I find myself loading near the top end of a rifle, I just buy a bigger one and start low again.
In reality though, going after bears or moose on purpose, I’d just use a mild 235gr load for my .375. Whenever I find myself loading near the top end of a rifle, I just buy a bigger one and start low again.
Wild_Thing
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- In the thick of it!
I have used a .260 Rem in the past. No reservations. Seem to be hearing a lot about the 6.5 PRC these days. Glad to see the Swede doing so well in the poll, deservedly.
6.5X280 Ackley
This is my first post in the hunting section, because, well, I'm a new hunter, and this will be my first season. Graced with a large family farm with a surplus of deer, I decided to ad venison to my menu this year, convincing my health nut woman that the benefits of organic, free range meat, were worth the $10 grand I was going to blow on hunting rifles, optics, ammo & gear. She was sold, and my quest began for the perfect tool on this magical journey.
I'm a good shot, having competed in a few PRS competitions, some long range(1800yds) events in the US, and have a ton of prior service training under my belt. I'm also a medic, with a comprehensive understanding of anatomy, what makes what bleed faster; I've plugged more holes than I care to remember, and have seen what injuries absolutely extinguish life in seconds. So, with that modest experience & knowledge, I had a list of prerequisites for my rifle & calibre of choice:
Rifle:
Accurate. #1
Reliable. #2
Consistent. #3
Light
Proven performance.
Under $1500
Easily repaired.
Classic. Something I could pass down to my kids.
Wood. Wood is cool, IMHO, and forces me to maintain it. Like good boots.
Blued. No sparkly-in-the-sunlight.
Special. I wanted to have a rifle that when folks asked "what is it", I could tell a great story around a fire with a bourbon in my hand, like I'm about to do now. But with no fire, and just cheap whiskey.
Calibre:
-Unique. I wanted something unique. Not a .308 or a F^%king Creedmoor or whatever was trending.
-Fast. Fast moving stuff kills really fast. Trust me. A nail in a stud wall that's been hit by a blast wave travelling at 50,000 fps, can work more magic than a 178grn @ 2600fps. Trust me on this.
-Flexible. Case capacity should be large enough to reduce minor powder throw variances.
-Available. I figured 50 brass and 200 bullets should last a season, with fire forming, load development, practice and probably 6-8 trips for game, tags dependant.
-Less recoil than my 300 Win Mag.
-Better big-game ballistics than my 6.5X47 Lapua.
-Minimum. 120 grain, @3000 fps.
Drumroll please.....
Here on Gunnutz(THANKS!) I purchased a literally new, 1970 's era Sako L61R, originally chambered in 6.5X55, then re-chambered in 6.5X280 Ackley improved. Gorgeous wood, classic fit, reliable, under budget, spares galore, superb action, light, proven reliable. Topped with a brand spanking new S&B PMii, its a real treat to shoulder, and a great conversation starter. (Why a $4000 optic on a $1000 rifle? Because you can't shoot what you can't see!) With all the boxes checked, it was on to the ammo.
A random trip to Precision Gunsmithing in King City Ontario, rewarded me with two boxes of loaded Norma in 280 Rem, at least 30 years old, which I promptly neck only sized to 6.5X280Rem, fire formed, the resized to 6.5X280ai, holding .004 tension on the necks, with an .001 shoulder bump, assuming I'd be at a low pressure. From past experience, with proper annealing & care, I'd get at least 15 reloads out of these little gems, so the equivalent of 600 factory loads, for $75. Not too shabby.
Bullet selection was interesting. I shot a few large ham hocks at the farm, from 100-600m. I do this for two reasons:
1. They replicate humans well, which helps me train for work. Usually, I hook a pigs blood IV bag up to a major artery in the hock, put a brick on the bag to simulate blood pressure, shoot the artery, then try to save it, using straight packing techniques, hemostatic agents, or new gear I'm not yet familiar with. This prepares me for anything I might find at work, and keeps skills sharp.
2. This also shows what round can best cause a complex pneumothorax(double lung in hunter speak), heavy arterial beed, or other major, non survivable injury, a bone ricochet, and entry/exit/shock damage to tissue. Knowing this makes me confident selecting rounds, for the appropriate species/weight of animal I'm going for.
In the end, I had a couple options. No preferences, just what worked. I'm not going to hate on Hornady, Sierra or others, they just didn't do what I wanted them to do. This was my specific wish list, yours may vary.
1. Berger Elite Hunter 140. Perfect, but impossible to find! I had a partial box from the Orangeville gun show. Can't find anywhere, so this ones dead. A true sub moa load(seriously, more like a sub 1/2), at 3260 fps over Reloader 22, near max capacity but zero pressure signs.
2. Naturalis 140. Great at protecting the meat, great stopping power, poor performance on bone/shoulder(bone shattering), IMHO. Sub Moa at 3120 fps, RL-22, but scrubbed velocity fast based on holds required at 600m, losing accuracy unpredictably at long range. This would be ideal for large deer/moose, IMHO, at up to 300m, when loaded for 3000FPS+.
3. Partition 125Gr, A wonderfully lethal, clean cutting precision round, similar in ballistics to my favourite Scenar 123.
4. 120 Ballistic. I read an article from a 1990's hunting magazine, while sitting in the outhouse up at MilCun Training Range, it sold me on these bullets, and they are available. Found some in the classifieds, and they shot well. Pass through just about everything in their path, but the shockwave really does a nice job on tissue, causing massive, fast, unstoppable bleeding, but little tearing and blowout. The tips are quite robust, so they won't deform in the heat like some other red tips do....
I settled on Nosler Ballistic 120 6.5mm, over 60.1 gains of H4831SC, CCI Magnum Primers. 3290fps, sd 6, es 14. I'm sure with testing I could get these up over 3400, but the best accuracy was just under 3300, and again at around 2970, which produced a very flat accuracy plateau, even with different powders. (VV N550, RL-22).
So there it is. A long read, but I hope it validates my choice.
.264 120 Grain Nosler Ballistic Tip BT, at 3290fps, from 6.5X280 Ai Norma Brass at .004 tension, 60.1grains H4831SC, CCI Magnums, in a 45 year old Sako.
Moose Slayer. Bear Dropper.
(I'll be in WMU 31 for the fall season if anyone wants to meetup, or come find me at Orillia or Silverdale if you'd like to try this rig out.)
This is my first post in the hunting section, because, well, I'm a new hunter, and this will be my first season. Graced with a large family farm with a surplus of deer, I decided to ad venison to my menu this year, convincing my health nut woman that the benefits of organic, free range meat, were worth the $10 grand I was going to blow on hunting rifles, optics, ammo & gear. She was sold, and my quest began for the perfect tool on this magical journey.
I'm a good shot, having competed in a few PRS competitions, some long range(1800yds) events in the US, and have a ton of prior service training under my belt. I'm also a medic, with a comprehensive understanding of anatomy, what makes what bleed faster; I've plugged more holes than I care to remember, and have seen what injuries absolutely extinguish life in seconds. So, with that modest experience & knowledge, I had a list of prerequisites for my rifle & calibre of choice:
Rifle:
Accurate. #1
Reliable. #2
Consistent. #3
Light
Proven performance.
Under $1500
Easily repaired.
Classic. Something I could pass down to my kids.
Wood. Wood is cool, IMHO, and forces me to maintain it. Like good boots.
Blued. No sparkly-in-the-sunlight.
Special. I wanted to have a rifle that when folks asked "what is it", I could tell a great story around a fire with a bourbon in my hand, like I'm about to do now. But with no fire, and just cheap whiskey.
Calibre:
-Unique. I wanted something unique. Not a .308 or a F^%king Creedmoor or whatever was trending.
-Fast. Fast moving stuff kills really fast. Trust me. A nail in a stud wall that's been hit by a blast wave travelling at 50,000 fps, can work more magic than a 178grn @ 2600fps. Trust me on this.
-Flexible. Case capacity should be large enough to reduce minor powder throw variances.
-Available. I figured 50 brass and 200 bullets should last a season, with fire forming, load development, practice and probably 6-8 trips for game, tags dependant.
-Less recoil than my 300 Win Mag.
-Better big-game ballistics than my 6.5X47 Lapua.
-Minimum. 120 grain, @3000 fps.
Drumroll please.....
Here on Gunnutz(THANKS!) I purchased a literally new, 1970 's era Sako L61R, originally chambered in 6.5X55, then re-chambered in 6.5X280 Ackley improved. Gorgeous wood, classic fit, reliable, under budget, spares galore, superb action, light, proven reliable. Topped with a brand spanking new S&B PMii, its a real treat to shoulder, and a great conversation starter. (Why a $4000 optic on a $1000 rifle? Because you can't shoot what you can't see!) With all the boxes checked, it was on to the ammo.
A random trip to Precision Gunsmithing in King City Ontario, rewarded me with two boxes of loaded Norma in 280 Rem, at least 30 years old, which I promptly neck only sized to 6.5X280Rem, fire formed, the resized to 6.5X280ai, holding .004 tension on the necks, with an .001 shoulder bump, assuming I'd be at a low pressure. From past experience, with proper annealing & care, I'd get at least 15 reloads out of these little gems, so the equivalent of 600 factory loads, for $75. Not too shabby.
Bullet selection was interesting. I shot a few large ham hocks at the farm, from 100-600m. I do this for two reasons:
1. They replicate humans well, which helps me train for work. Usually, I hook a pigs blood IV bag up to a major artery in the hock, put a brick on the bag to simulate blood pressure, shoot the artery, then try to save it, using straight packing techniques, hemostatic agents, or new gear I'm not yet familiar with. This prepares me for anything I might find at work, and keeps skills sharp.
2. This also shows what round can best cause a complex pneumothorax(double lung in hunter speak), heavy arterial beed, or other major, non survivable injury, a bone ricochet, and entry/exit/shock damage to tissue. Knowing this makes me confident selecting rounds, for the appropriate species/weight of animal I'm going for.
In the end, I had a couple options. No preferences, just what worked. I'm not going to hate on Hornady, Sierra or others, they just didn't do what I wanted them to do. This was my specific wish list, yours may vary.
1. Berger Elite Hunter 140. Perfect, but impossible to find! I had a partial box from the Orangeville gun show. Can't find anywhere, so this ones dead. A true sub moa load(seriously, more like a sub 1/2), at 3260 fps over Reloader 22, near max capacity but zero pressure signs.
2. Naturalis 140. Great at protecting the meat, great stopping power, poor performance on bone/shoulder(bone shattering), IMHO. Sub Moa at 3120 fps, RL-22, but scrubbed velocity fast based on holds required at 600m, losing accuracy unpredictably at long range. This would be ideal for large deer/moose, IMHO, at up to 300m, when loaded for 3000FPS+.
3. Partition 125Gr, A wonderfully lethal, clean cutting precision round, similar in ballistics to my favourite Scenar 123.
4. 120 Ballistic. I read an article from a 1990's hunting magazine, while sitting in the outhouse up at MilCun Training Range, it sold me on these bullets, and they are available. Found some in the classifieds, and they shot well. Pass through just about everything in their path, but the shockwave really does a nice job on tissue, causing massive, fast, unstoppable bleeding, but little tearing and blowout. The tips are quite robust, so they won't deform in the heat like some other red tips do....
I settled on Nosler Ballistic 120 6.5mm, over 60.1 gains of H4831SC, CCI Magnum Primers. 3290fps, sd 6, es 14. I'm sure with testing I could get these up over 3400, but the best accuracy was just under 3300, and again at around 2970, which produced a very flat accuracy plateau, even with different powders. (VV N550, RL-22).
So there it is. A long read, but I hope it validates my choice.
.264 120 Grain Nosler Ballistic Tip BT, at 3290fps, from 6.5X280 Ai Norma Brass at .004 tension, 60.1grains H4831SC, CCI Magnums, in a 45 year old Sako.
Moose Slayer. Bear Dropper.
(I'll be in WMU 31 for the fall season if anyone wants to meetup, or come find me at Orillia or Silverdale if you'd like to try this rig out.)
Last edited:
Rem 260 with Barnes 120 gr TTSX bullet or a 6.5 Creedmoor or a 6.5 x55 Swede all with the same Barnes TTSX bullet ! RJ
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
The 6.5X55 is what I started hunting moose with. It's a very capable round. I used the 160 grain bullet in a Carl Gustav 96. I also used it on whitetail where I found the 140gr Nosler BT worked well out to 300meters or so. Never shot anything beyond that with it.
