Can anyone provide some reloading data for a 120 grain Ballistic Tip in the 6,5x57R?

Avail. powder is Vihtavouri and Norma only.
I have loaded a 125 grain Nosler Partiton with 36,0 gr VN140..

Is it safe to use data for bullets that have almost the same weight? Or how to transform those datas?

N-140 From 36.0 grains to 39.0 grains
Federal 210 Primer

Anders,

First question is what rifle are you using?

Conventional 'book' loads for the 6.5x57R have a low pressure rating due (we surmise - nothing is definate) to the 'weak' break open actions the cartridge is chambered for.

I have a Blaser K95 in 6.5x57R, this has a Jaeger tilting block which enables the rifle to be made in calibres such as 300weatherby mag etc. The action is therefore safe to 60kpsi or so.

RWS brass is very stout and appears compatible with the K95 extractor (ie signs of expansion by the extractor cut out)

By carefull working up I have been able to obtain the following load.

RWS brass
WLR primer
52.5gr VVN560 powder
120gr nosler ballistic tip seated 10 thou from lands.
MV 3,000fps (25.5" barrel)

Norma MRP gave greater velocity but large variance in MV. It might work with a magnum primer.

I must be clear that this is for strong actions only and exceeds CIP reccomendations. It provides the same velocities as Nosler obtain with the 6.5x55, in effect it obtains 6.5x57 performance from a 6.5x57R

Montero who also posts here has shot many more similar style loads with his 6.5x57R K95

Hope this helps!

Thanks a bunch both of you!
The gun is a Krieghoff Plus Drlling. Is this a weak action?
I think a would go for a "book"-load no matter what.. I plan on using this bullet for roebuck pretty close to some houses and roads, so I would like a soft bullet. High velocity is not needed.
But thanks anyway. The information is appreciated.

Ricciardelli,
That`s what I thought as well. Just wanted to check.. Thanks!

With such a nice drilling and a conventional brake top action, don't take the risk. The game won't notice any difference, either, even though I admit that my K95 also shoots the "improved" 6.5x57R with the N140 load for teh rimless version. It is just fun to play around a little and Blaser is said to have modified the extractors of and proofshot K95s to shoot both rimless and rimmed 6.5x57s.

I shoot a 6.5 x 57.. as it is my favorite caliber....

When in doubt, 6.5 x 55 data is always usable for mine... It is on a Model 70 action with a very long barrel... in a heavy sporter contour ( so it is a heavy rifle)....

Mine is also long throated just like a 6.5 x 55, so I don't know how they are throated in Europe....

Good luck and cheers
seafire

The Krieghoff Plus also comes chambered in .30-06 and .30R Blaser, which both are CIP listed to 3500 bar Cu. Thus the gun should take loads for the unrimmed version of 6.5x57.

I have a Sauer 3000 drilling in the same calibre, and I load by the same reason with data for the unrimmed version or the 6.5x55.

BTW - does anybody of you have a good load for it with 140 grs Sierra SBT and IMR 4350?

Regards,

Fritz

Fritz;

Work up on this... but I did some load development with a bolt action Ruger and Winchester Model 70 in 6.5 x 55...

The Ruger had a 22 inch barrel and the Winchester has a 27 inch barrel....

But I load tested the 140 grain SP from Sierra up and got an MV of 2950 out of the Ruger's 22 inch barrel...

I shot a deer with this load, but in retrospect.... I didn't do it again...That is too much velocity for that bullet... shot placement I had was excellent and the deer stumbled down a bank and was down for the count...

However the bullet at that velocity, at 50 yds, the deer did not offer enough resistance to the bullet, so It passed thru without completely opening based on post mortum field cleaning....

I'd personally recommend backing off the velocity with the 140 Sierra or going down to a 120 grain bullet instead......My personal preference is the 100 grain... Sierra HP, Nosler Ballistic Tip ( will end up having blood shot meat tho)... 100 grain Partition or the 100 grain Hornady SP.....

RL 15, IMR 4895, IMR 4064 or the equivalents will give you a MV of 3350 to 3400 fps in a 22 to 24 inch barrel... and all the deer I have taken with them, went down instantly... were all at about 300 yds.... and the recoil was light enough that I saw the deer go down without loosing site picture in the scope ( 3 x 9 Leupold with the power set on 4 power)....

And you and I definitely agree on shot placement!

cheers
seafire

Seafire,

I agree fully about velocity and bullet weight. However, it doesn't go about practical use - it goes about legality. The law here prescribes a bullet of at least 139 grs hitting the target @ 109 yds with an energy of 1991 ft/lbs for big deer, bear, boar and moose. That demands 2743 fps at the mussle with the Sierra SBT 140 grs. (I have converted from meter units to anglosaxon units.)It's easier to achieve that with a high BC bullet. That's my simple reason.

I have tried Norma powder for that load but I'm not quite satisfied. As I have a canister of IMR4350, I'd like to give that a try.

But this is a step aside - I don't want to hi-jack the thread from our norwegian friend.

Regards,

Pete

Fritz,
In my 6,5x57 (not rimmed) I get about 840 m/s with 46 to 47 grains of H4350 behind the 140 grains Sierra SPBT and the 140 grains Sierra Match using a CCI-250 primer with a COL of 77 mm.
However, for the species you mentioned, I would certainly prefer the 140 grains Nosler Partition with the same load. I think the BC of the Partition is .490

Dutchgus,

The 120gr BT offers little advantage over the 100gr version for roe IMHO. I used to use the 120 but have used the 100gr BT for the past 5 years now. It is very good on roe!

Montero's experience shows that the 120gr speer hot core is a very soft bullet, failing to exit 2 chamois shot at alpine ranges.

The 125 grain Partition is in my experience better suited for roe deer because it destroys much less meat and kills about as well as the 120 grain BT. It even kills chamois quite reliably. I load Vihta N140 and got my last 6.5 mm roe buck two days ago in Bavaria near Ulm.

Fritz:

If it has to be a bullet weight of 139 grains or better, I would try and recommend the partition from Nosler....

Or plain old Hornady 140s... they are designed to open up better at lower velocity.....

Or even the Speer or the Remington Corelokt...

I really think the Sierra 140s were designed for the 264 Win Mag.... It would perform well on Moose or Elk sized game....offering heavier resistance once the bullet hit the game....

Guess it is nice our government here has not gotten into regulating how much a bullet must weigh etc....each state has its own calibre requirements per game animal.. but no bullet weight.....

sometimes they can conflict on boarding states...
Minnesota and Wisconsin make their deer seasons coincide so that residents from both states can hunt in each others states.... Minnesotas ends the weekend Wisconsin's starts....

But the interesting thing is... in Wisconsin you can take deer with a 22 caliber centerfire, and in Minnesota it is illegal... it must be 6mm or better ( 243)....

IN Wisconsin, if you use a shot gun, you can not use a 410 for deer hunting even with a deer slug in it... in Minnesota it is perfectly legal...

Wisconsin thinks a 22 caliber centerfire has enough energy for a deer... but not a 410 shotgun...

Minnesota thinks a 22 caliber centerfire doesn't have enough energy for deer, but a 410 does...

Government at its finest.....

cheers
seafire

I must agree that the Partition is a better bullet.. Just wanted to try the 6,5 BT for roebucks. I have shot a few using 150 grainers in .30-06, and it`s not all that bad after my little experience with them.

I actually ended up using MRP powder from Norma, because I didn`t have any N140 left. It worked out fine using 46-48.0 grain. I found data for 129, 140 and 160 grain bullets with MRP, and they were much the same (a little less powder the heavier bullet), so I experienced a bit.

The 140 grain bullets have been a standard in my 6,5 rifles. It`s a great allrounder I think. The Sierra GameKing is the bullet I have used the most.

No problem with hijakcing Fritz. It only make me learn more..