I have been reloading 6.5x55 for years. I just loaded up 100rds with the Speer 140gr Hot-cor over 47gr of RL22 For a new CZ 550 American I got. After sighting it on paper at 300yd I rang a steel plate on the hill 400yds behind my house and just for the hell of it shot at a 5/16" AR400 plate at the end of my driveway 60yds or so I use for handguns.
The plate didn't flop around the way it usually does. I look through the scope and to my disbelief there is a hole in the plate. I thought no way, walk over to check it out and find that the bullet went through the 5/16" AR400 plate, through the 10" birch tree that the plate is hanging on and blew a bunch of splinters out the back of the tree.
I walk back out 60yds or so and put two more through the plate with one of those exiting the back of the tree and one not.
Like I said I have been loading 6.5x55 for years and have a lot of older loads lying around. I tried a fast 120gr load, a 129gr Hornady, a 140gr game-king, a 142gr match-king and even some 144gr Mill Surplus. Nothing else will punch through the plate let alone the tree as well!
What the hell is the deal with these Hot-Cor's? The SD BC and FPS is pretty close on all these loads. Are the Hot-Cor's just that much harder or what?

tywt, I will be interested to hear other responses to your post also. I have really become fond of the 6.5 caliber. I have several 6.5x284's and find them remarkably accurate. I have not shot the Hot Core in these rigs, but a lot of other pills.

It sound like that is incredible penetration for that cartridge/bullet!

Thanks for sharing your result. I'll be watching for more intel.

I think they are a very good bullet in 6.5mm .I use them in 6.5-06,260 rem,264 win mag and 6.5wsm. Accurate and reasonably priced.Hunting applications.
Dan

The surplus I mentioned is 144gr FMJ and is listed at 2,651 fps. I got 800 rounds of this to run through my Ljungman AG42B. This is hard hitting stuff. I pulled a bullet and it weighed 145.5grs. I cut it length wise and it is FMJ with lead from tip to tail.
I would think this bullet would have a much better chance at penetrating the plate then a soft point spitzer!
I'm gonna search around on the NET and see if I can find any other results like these for the Speer 140gr.

I am surprised the other loads did not go through the plate too.
I shot a piece of 5/8 plate at 100 yards with a Sierra 100 grain spitzer with a 25/06. It blew a 3/4 inch diameter crater 1/2 inch deep.
Then there was my brother that shot a 3/8 inch thick gong with a .338 at 100 yards. Thought he missed 3 times in row and found it had 3 nice smooth holes through it.

With enough velocity behind them, soft-nosed bullets will do amazing things to steel.

When the .250-3000 Savage first came out, a lot of them were sold by such tricks. Savage reps used to like to stick a double-bitted axe into the side of a tree, then walk back 50 yards or so and shoot at the side of the axe's "eye". The 87 grain bullet would blow through the steel on both sides and the axe handle in between. Impressed a lot of people.....

In all honesty folks, I'd far rather hear that we shot the bullet into ballistic gellatin and it mushroomed twice it's diameter and penetrated 24".

Shooting thru a 1/2" plate of steel don't tell me much as most of the deer I shoot at have not yet discovered armor.

I have shot about 100 speers in my 6.5x55, did not notice anything special about them.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
In all honesty folks, I'd far rather hear that we shot the bullet into ballistic gellatin and it mushroomed twice it's diameter and penetrated 24".

Shooting thru a 1/2" plate of steel don't tell me much as most of the deer I shoot at have not yet discovered armor.

Thats what I would like to see as well! I was planing on hunting with these rounds this fall. From what I have seen so far I'm not sure the 140gr Speer will open up and perform correctly.
I have had near perfect performance with the 129gr Hornadys in the past so I will probably just stick to them.
I just cant figure why the Speer bullet reacts so different compared to the other loads even though they are all so similar???

How many speers did you shoot?

I think I have some left. I will do some comparison testing.

I tested some 6.5 bullets this year through 4 wet phone books at 100 yds. They all went right through and could not find any so I put 2 2x8 blocks of wood behind and caught a nosler and either a speer or hornaday, cant remember whitch

Ill have to try another test beter set up

tywt, interesting that you mention the 129 Hornady, that is the pill my last 6.5x284 liked the best, it is a 1/4" gun in my gunsmiths hands at least, and was devastating on a nice 14 1/2" antelope in NM a few weeks back. I have shot a fair bit of game with that bullet, and it is really effective on deer sized game.

Good shooting--Don

quote:

Originally posted by tywt:
I just cant figure why the Speer bullet reacts so different compared to the other loads even though they are all so similar???

I think the answer lies in what cartridge the bullets designers were trying to engineer for- I believe that in the case of most 140gr 6.5mm bullets, the design envelope is skewed towards the .264 Winchester, hence it's "toughness".

But then, what do I know........

And then, in over 20 years with 6.5mm rifles and carbines hunting deer in the USA, I have never seen a recovered 6.5mm bullet. They all blow thru, from 6.5x54mm, 6.5x55mm, 6.5x57mm, and .260 Remington. Could it just be the ballistics of the 6.5mm slugs?

Shooting through steel tells you little about a bullet.

In fact, the 140 grain GameKing is a stouter bullet than the 140 grain Hot Core.

sierra2 wrote: "And then, in over 20 years with 6.5mm rifles and carbines hunting deer in the USA, I have never seen a recovered 6.5mm bullet. They all blow thru, from 6.5x54mm, 6.5x55mm, 6.5x57mm, and .260 Remington. Could it just be the ballistics of the 6.5mm slugs?"

Actually, the moderate velocity coupled with the high sectional densities of the 140 grain 6.5s combine to afford excellent penetration with standard bullets. You don't need a premium projectile in the 6.5x55, etc. to get exceptional bullet performance.

Bobby: do you have any experience with the 140gr Sierra BT at 264Mag velocities? I have a load that shoots lights-out, but I haven't used it for serious deer hunting due to Sierra's reputation, especially at high velocities. thanks

In the .264 WM, that GameKing bullet works great -- beyond 200 yards, that is. Up close, it's pretty soft at those higher attendant velocities, regardless of what Sierra may claim.

I love it in the 6.5x55 and similar cartridges and in the 6.5mm Bullberry IMP that I am currently shooting, but the MV from the 26" Contender barrel is 2600 fps. Here, it gives textbook expansion and excellent weight retention out to 300+ yards.

If you can keep the impact velocity at 2700 fps or less, it's a terrific deer bullet and has even done quite well on the 2-3 dozen hogs I have taken with this bullet.

As you have found, though, it's a very accurate projectile and shoots right along with some of the higher-priced match bullets.

One thing I forgot to mention: even at .264 WM speeds, the 140 grain Sierra GK will do the trick at shorter ranges as long as you stay away from heavy bone. Put it through the thin ribcage and into the lungs, and you'll have one very dead deer...

Yep, I just worry about what happens when "Mr. Big" appears at 50yds, and the only shot you have is throught the shoulders or quartering from behind. Think I'll save the Sierra's for the hogs and put in the partitions when it's time to get serious. thanks for the input!

That's probably a good idea if your luck runs like mine. And you can never go wrong with a Partition.

quote:

Originally posted by Super Bon Bon:


I think the answer lies in what cartridge the bullets designers were trying to engineer for- I believe that in the case of most 140gr 6.5mm bullets, the design envelope is skewed towards the .264 Winchester, hence it's "toughness".

But then, what do I know........

I actually think that makes a lot of sense Super Bon Bon , but that probably means little, cause many will tell you--'what the hell does he know' referencing me......

Super Bon Bon wrote: "I think the answer lies in what cartridge the bullets designers were trying to engineer for- I believe that in the case of most 140gr 6.5mm bullets, the design envelope is skewed towards the .264 Winchester, hence it's "toughness"."

Actually, most of the 6.5mm bullets were geared towards the Swede and not the .264 Win Mag., and most are quite "soft."

What makes these bullets penetrate so well, however, is the moderate velocities they are launched at along with their high sectional densities.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
In all honesty folks, I'd far rather hear that we shot the bullet into ballistic gellatin and it mushroomed twice it's diameter and penetrated 24".

Shooting thru a 1/2" plate of steel don't tell me much as most of the deer I shoot at have not yet discovered armor.

I would be wondering how well such a bullet would expand in a light animal like a deer....... It sounds like an AP.....

quote:

Originally posted by GSP7:
How many speers did you shoot?

I think I have some left. I will do some comparison testing.

I tested some 6.5 bullets this year through 4 wet phone books at 100 yds. They all went right through and could not find any so I put 2 2x8 blocks of wood behind and caught a nosler and either a speer or hornaday, cant remember whitch

Ill have to try another test beter set up

I have gone through about 20 or so.
I thought maybe my new CZ 550 had a tighter (new) bore and was generating greater pressure causing greater velocity. I tried the speer loads out of my Ljungman (gas impingement semi auto) and my worst bored M96. The same results were observed (plate penetration).
I tried two of the 144gr FMJ loads through the CZ 550. These just left a lead splatter and small divot on the plate like everything else.

I have never been let down with the Hornady 129gr Spitz's so I think I will stick to them. They even preformed flawless on two smaller black bear 200-250lbs. They also group a bit better for me then the speer's have.

I'll save the speer loads in case I ever get a moose tag or go out west for an elk hunt!

Was shooting the sweeds today and thought of the nasty 140 gr speer hot cores I wrote about last year. I got an old section of pipeline pipe I'm gonna use for a fire ring so I shot it with the 144gr Surplus mill spec FMJ's I was shooting to no surprise it put a shiny dent on the pipe. Thats when I got one of the speer's I loaded op last year and sure enough she popped right through the 1/2 pipe witch I'm sure is a hardened or ware resistant steel. Here are the photos.

The plug it knocked out witch looked like a punch knock out was so hot it burnt my fingers! It was laying inside the pipe on the ground. No trace of the bullet just splatter around the inside of the pipe.

You can see inside the pipe the silver looking splatter marks. Thats some hot lead folks!

I think it is the crazy sectional density of these bullets that allow them to do this.

I have taken a deer and bear with these loads since my last post. Both were drop in there tracks kills. the deer was a heart shot at around 150yd and the bear was a head shot through the sides of the skull at around 50yd. Both kills were full penetration through and through. The deer buckled down into a beading position like it was sleeping zero movement!

I wish they grouped a bit better. I'm sure I can play with loads a bit to get better groups but they ain't bad around 2-2.5 MOA

quote:

tywt

welcome to the forums...

as a user of the 6.5 bores for several years, none of that surprises me...

also good performance out of Hot Core Bullets also doesn't surprise me...

folks often overlook Speer Bullets.... I sure don't...

Rating bullet performance and accururacy over the years it comes to mind:
SPEER, decent accuracy, renders stuff dead with good shot placement.
HORNADY good accuracy, renders stuff dead with more blood and guts than the Speers with good shot placement.
SIERRA GAMEKINGS or PRO-HUNTERS, accurate, perform the same way every time on stuff up to mule deer size and render them for the most part, "DRT", "dead right there"! Without having to spend extra bucks on hyped up advertising and pretty plastic tips!
sidenote: HORNADY VMaxs and SIERRA BLITZKING varmint bullets are the class of bullets for that venue! Either one gives great accurracy and performance.
NOSLER was not mentioned due to the fact that they cost too much and performance from one example to the other can differ substantially!! Nosler generally can be made to have great accuracy but trustworthiness on receiving end of even great placed shots leads me to go in other directions! This ought to start a reply session! And yes before someone brings it up, that 100 grain Nosler BT from a .260 Remington has accounted for my daughter never seeing a deer take a step after the trigger falls on 3 good whitetails at 271,195 and 28 yards!! But on the other hand, that 117grain SIERRA SPBT from a 25-06 has done that countless times on whitetails, muledeer and antelopes for 33 years.........and always performed the same. I've seen whitetails shot with BT's from 243 up to and including the short Magnums where the bullet sometimes acted like a Varmint bullet(blow up on entry) and then act like a match bullet(drill a hole and render either a non productive tracking or a recovery of dead deer after miles of tracking). Charlie (GHD)

The way in which a bullet reacts to a hard, thin target such as steel plate may not tell you much about how it reacts to a soft, thick target like animal tissue. I used the Speer 6.5/140 extensively for deer hunting for a number of years and found its terminal perfomance in game typical of cup and core bullets -- that is to say, very good.