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Reloading 6.5x55 for Eastern whitetails
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At the tender age of 62 I am 3 years into my transition from casual target shooter to wanna be hunter and reloader. I have only one trophy so far...A 200 lb Maine black bear. I have struck out 3 seasons with whitetail. I am going to Anticosti Island in Quebec in late October where I'm almost sure to lose my whitetail virginity. I will take my Tikka hunter, 22.5" barrel, in 6.5x55 Swede. I have selected 140 gr Sierra Gamekings and reloader 22. I get nice 1.25 groups with 44.5 gr of RL-22 and average 2500 FPS muzzle velocity. Using the free biggameinfo.com ballistic calculator I see zeroing 1.7" high at 100 yards gives 1.5 inch low at 200 yards. This is indeed what I get in real testing. I can only shoot out to 200. The calculated results for the next 100 yards from 200-300 are the easily remembered -3, -6, -9,-12 inches. If I use 2600 FPS I don't get calculated results all that different. I feel I have done about as well as I can with this rifle, bullet, powder combo and that there is no sense in pushing for greater velocity. My simple question to those of you with 6.5x55 experience is do you agree. A shot over 300 yds in Eastern forrests seems very unlikely and from 0-200 yards I have a rise and fall of +/- 1.5 inches with an accurate load. Thanks for the handholding!
 
Posts: 71 | Location: Dover, New Hampshire | Registered: 14 September 2005Reply With Quote
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quote:
I feel I have done about as well as I can with this rifle, bullet, powder combo and that there is no sense in pushing for greater velocity. My simple question to those of you with 6.5x55 experience is do you agree.

I sure do!
 
Posts: 908 | Location: Western Colorado | Registered: 21 June 2006Reply With Quote
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Stay under 200 yards, and just hit the deer in the lungs and you will do just fine. Bullet placement is "everything".


Remember, forgivness is easier to get than permission.
 
Posts: 3994 | Location: Hudsonville MI USA | Registered: 08 June 2000Reply With Quote
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sounds perfect


Mike

Legistine actu quod scripsi?

Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.




What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
 
Posts: 10164 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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2500 fps with a 140 grain GameKing duplicates a load I am shooting in a 26" MGM Contender barrel in 6.5x30-30 AI.

It works VERY well for me and will do the same for you.

By the way, that bullet is fairly stout, so don't be afraid to put it on the shoulder of an Anticosti whiteail.

But there are LOTS of bullet choices that would serve you well, including the Hornady 129 grain SP and 130 grain Nosler Accubond along with the 120 grain Nosler BT and 125 grain Partition, not to mention the Speer and Hornady 140 grain SPs.

Good luck on your hunt. thumb And be sure and post photos afterwards!



PS-My current load is just a fraction over 2500 fps as opposed to the original of 2601 fps in one of the posted photos, but it works no differently at 2500 than 2600... Big Grin

The hog in the top photo was taken at app. 225 yards with the 140 grain Sierra GK load and punched through both shoulders.


Bobby
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The most important thing in life is not what we do but how and why we do it. - Nana Mouskouri

 
Posts: 9438 | Location: Shiner TX USA | Registered: 19 March 2002Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Mike_Dettorre:
What I have learned on AR:
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified so it can carry at least 4 down.
thumb
 
Posts: 1733 | Registered: 31 January 2006Reply With Quote
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Wallace, If an Anticosti whitetail goes anywhere but into your freezer it won't be that load's fault. Good hunting! Take pictures.
 
Posts: 1733 | Registered: 31 January 2006Reply With Quote
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I prefer the original loading for the 6.5x55.4350 is appropriate and loads giving 2750 for the 140 worked very well for me for many years and many deer.It never failed to perform well here in NY. thumb
 
Posts: 7636 | Registered: 10 October 2002Reply With Quote
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fishingThe 6.5, 140gr. cup and core bullets have taken, cleany, a number of large mule deer for me.
The rifles were in 6.5 Carcano, 6.5 Arasaka, and a couple of 6.5x55s.
thumb Your rifle, cartridge and bullet are MORE than capable even over 200 yds. Enjoy and good hunting. beerroger


Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..
 
Posts: 10226 | Location: Temple City CA | Registered: 29 April 2003Reply With Quote
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thank you all for your prompt replies and posivite feedback. Load developement is now over! So it's practice, practice, practice.
 
Posts: 71 | Location: Dover, New Hampshire | Registered: 14 September 2005Reply With Quote
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Dear Mr. Gaye:

I used three Sierra Gameking 100 grain bullets in a 243 Winchester to take three deer in the eastern Pennsylvania woods. My longest shot was approximately 80 yards.

Moreover, at that time, I would just sight in for 100 yards, since shots here were never over 100 yards.

Based upon my exerience with the Gameking bullets, they should easily do the job for you on white tail deer in a 6.5x55 set up.

I, too, will have my own 6.5x55 in the near future. Just have to get the barrel. I already have the reamer and a 1909 Mauser action for it.

On another note, one of my hunting buddies just died last year at age 85. He started hunting in his late 30's, and was a Methodist Minister in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania (coal regions).

At the tender age of 62, when I was in my twenties, he would blow us off the mountain. He hunted like a demon.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis
 
Posts: 2594 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: 30 July 2006Reply With Quote
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When you are ready to try a different bullet consider the Nosler Accubond. I use 130 grains in my 6.5 and they are super accurate and very dependable on big whitetails. I get best accuracy with RL-22 also.
 
Posts: 3073 | Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Registered: 11 November 2004Reply With Quote
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My very first deer, a New Mexico mulie that field dressed 254 pounds, was shot with the Sierra 140-grain PSPBT at 2600 FPS from a 6.5X55mm Norwegian Krag. Range was about 200 yards. One shot kill. I recommend that bullet highly (same as the present Game King).


"Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen."
 
Posts: 4386 | Location: New Woodstock, Madison County, Central NY | Registered: 04 January 2005Reply With Quote
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i am a big fan of the hornady a-max 140 grainer going at about 2550. deer don't like it one bit. i load it with rl-22. can't remember the charge off hand. i stick with lung shots. nice big exit every time.
 
Posts: 831 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 28 January 2005Reply With Quote
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LJS: I actually bought a box of the 130 gr Accubonds. But I'm trying to apply the principle that if at first you succeed, quit trying. When primers and powder become more available, I may work up the Noslers. Right now, to conserve supplies, I feel I should practice with the Sierras.
El Deguello: Wasn't it WC Fields, the renowned imbiber of alcoholic beverages, who when asked "Warum trinks du nichts das Wasser?" replied "Weil dahin haben die Kunhen gesheissen!"
 
Posts: 71 | Location: Dover, New Hampshire | Registered: 14 September 2005Reply With Quote
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Entschuldigen Sie mich, bitte..."Kuhen"
For those here not conversant in German, which obviously includes me, I'm just trying to have a little fun in keeping with the wonderful international flavor of the Accurate reloading forums. My translation of the previous exchange would be: "Mr. Fields. Why don't you drink water? Because fish poop in it!" I then misspelled fish and said 'excuse me...fish" Proper translations, of course, welcome!
 
Posts: 71 | Location: Dover, New Hampshire | Registered: 14 September 2005Reply With Quote
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I`ve had real good luck with the Hornady 129 gr SP here in Michigan from both a 6.5x55 and 260 Rem. I can`t tell the difference in performance on whitetail between them and the 140 Hornady SP or 140 Sierra SPBT on deer.
47.5gr of R22 drives them quite accuratly at just over 2900fps from my 6.5x55 24" BBL.


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"Why shouldn`t truth be stranger then fiction?
Fiction after all has to make sense." (Samual Clemens)

"Saepe errans, numquam dubitans --Frequently in error, never in doubt".



 
Posts: 2535 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 20 January 2001Reply With Quote
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I shoot a .260 and have found a load that is ballistically similar to yours to be sudden death on WV whitetails.
Don't angst over the long shots. If you have a plex type cross hair scope, get a proper sized deer siloquete(spl) and see how it looks at 200-250 yards so you can correctly estimate the range. Actually a varible power scope can be used quite accurately as a range finder without all the whistles and bells that some have on them today.
 
Posts: 1287 | Registered: 11 January 2007Reply With Quote
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quote:
El Deguello: Wasn't it WC Fields, the renowned imbiber of alcoholic beverages, who when asked "Warum trinks du nichts das Wasser?" replied "Weil dahin haben die Kunhen gesheissen!"


Could be!


"Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen."
 
Posts: 4386 | Location: New Woodstock, Madison County, Central NY | Registered: 04 January 2005Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Wallace Gaye:
...I can only shoot out to 200. The calculated results for the next 100 yards from 200-300 are the easily remembered -3, -6, -9,-12 inches. ...
Hey Wallace, Congratulations on the Bear.

I'd strongly encourage you to not shoot farther than you have practiced. Once the distance gets from 300-400yds, minor details in Shooting Form, unknown wind gusts, etc., can move the Bullet completely off the Game or worse yet into a place where it only wounds. Getting farther out tends to compound the minor variations at a significantly higher rate.

Sounds like a fine Load for those Deer. Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.
 
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Wallace Gaye:
Entschuldigen Sie mich, bitte..."Kuhen"
For those here not conversant in German, which obviously includes me, I'm just trying to have a little fun in keeping with the wonderful international flavor of the Accurate reloading forums. My translation of the previous exchange would be: "Mr. Fields. Why don't you drink water? Because fish poop in it!" I then misspelled fish and said 'excuse me...fish" Proper translations, of course, welcome!


Wallace,
My german is not very good but I as I remember "Kuhen" translates as "cattle" not fish. bewildered


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Posts: 567 | Location: Kansas | Registered: 02 February 2002Reply With Quote
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You're right. It's cows...or cattle. I remain fluently unilingual!!
 
Posts: 71 | Location: Dover, New Hampshire | Registered: 14 September 2005Reply With Quote
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Hot Core: I will take that advice. My greatest fear is to wound an animal and cause suffering. I'm not going to kill but to hunt. I've been invited by a group from my rod and gun club who are making their 19th yearly trip to anticosti. I'm sure I'll get a lot of help. I'm going to donate any meat I harvest to the New Hampshire food bank. So for the first 3 days I'll be looking for a decent buck. The last day will be a meat hunt.
 
Posts: 71 | Location: Dover, New Hampshire | Registered: 14 September 2005Reply With Quote
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WOW Lots of good feed back on the 6.5mm! LOVE IT! I sometimes get these guys into my threads talking about nothing under .308 cal! or stick with .223's

I do all my hunting with my 6.5X55 Swede and have not had a issue yet with it!
There is not a thing in North America you cant take with a 6.5X55 let alone my home state Maine.
Happy hunting!


Disabled Vet(non-combat) - US Army
NRA LIFE MEMBER
Hunter, trapper, machinest, gamer, angler, and all around do it your selfer.
Build my own CNC router from scratch. I installed the hight wrong. My hight moves but the rails blocks 3/4 of the hight.....
 
Posts: 934 | Location: North Anson Maine USA | Registered: 27 October 2008Reply With Quote
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Wallace, you've gotten very good advice so far. A decent bullet launched at the velocity it was designed for placed in the right spot equals a dead critter. Maybe one that runs upwards of 100 yards but a dead critter nonetheless.

This year I had Texas whitetail deer run after being lung shot with a .30-06 and a .375H&H. Power is clearly not the answer. Neither exhibited much sign of being hit other than to run away at 2/3 speed, but neither went very far. And Stevie Wonder could have tracked the one shot with the H&H. The one shot with the H&H left a tremendous blood trail. The 300 grain TSX had clearly fully expanded before exiting ribcage left!

You can shoulder shoot them, and I wouldn't hesitate to shoulder shoot a whitetail with the load you are describing, but that trashes a lot of meat. (Why are you going to donate the meat? Venison properly cooked is delicious.) If it's a trophy buck that I want down right there immediately, I'll take the shoulder shot. Otherwise, it's the lungs for me.

On another note, I too took up hunting after being a gun guy. Made the mistake of going with some guys one time. I was hooked. Wife can't really complain though since I don't golf, gamble or drink to excess (except at the deer lease), and she knows where I am. If you can get to Texas, there's plenty of deer here.

LWD
 
Posts: 2104 | Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Registered: 16 April 2006Reply With Quote
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