I like to use the 129gr or 140gr RN Hornady bullets in my 6.5x55. My rifle shoots them well. Problem is my supply is almost gone and they have both been discontinued...(anyone have a box?) The only 140gr RN I could find in current production were the ones made by Hawk.

Has anyone here used the round nose bullets made by Hawk ? I very rarely hear anything about the company good or bad. Any first hand experiences ?

Thanks

I thought I still had some,(hornady) but must have got rid of them all.
Hawks are like the old Barnes originals.
You are not pushing them to magnum velocities, and 129's and 140's both have a lot of length.
The Hawks I have used at modest velocities worked fine. They will kill deer plenty dead for you.

I have been happy with the Hawk bullets I have used on game in .318" and .375" at 2000 to 2200 fps in various old cartridges. Accuracy has been very good and using .030" thickness jackets none have come apart at those velocities. Back when I hunted with a 6,5x54 I was also very pleased at the performance of the Hornady 129 spire points at 2500 or so.

I use the 160G. Hornady Interlock RN in my 1903 6.5x54 Mannlicher.That is what it was regulated for. A few years ago when the word went out that they were going to discontinue this bullet I bought up all I could find. Enough to last my lifetime. since I don't have a 6.5-06 anymore I may have some 129s or 140s. I'll look in the loading room.

Were it me sir, I might try some of the 156 grain Privi bullets. Semi spitzer look to them. Certainly reasonably priced. Of course the Hornady 160 RN's are great as well.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/c...duct/productId/29102

Thanks for the responses. I haven't tried the Hornady 160gr RN bullet yet. Felt like It was a bit heavy for my purposes. Will probably give it a try at some point down the road.

I get the idea that most folks recomend not pushing the Hawk bullets too fast. It sounds like they are a relatively soft bullet. Would that be correct?

Thanks.

If you get the thicker jacket material, you cant push them fast enough in a 6.5 swede to worry about. They do expand well, but there is so much length to a 129-140 grn bullet it will not matter. There is still plenty of bullet to keep it pushing onwards.
The original barnes bullets were the same thing. Nowdays unless it has "super wiz bang" in front of the name it can't kill deer.
A deer is a soft animal,they die easily, try the Hawks, and get back to us with your own experiences!

You might also try the Lapua 6.5mm, 156-grain Mega. It's been accurate in my rifles and has proven effective on deer. The Swedes use it for moose in the 6.5x55mm. Lapua bullets are available from Graf & Sons.

Thanks for the advice on the Hawk bullets. I may go ahead and give them a try.

I don't try to make a magnum out of my 6.5x55. My loads are more moderate, but accurate, and have killed everything cleanly.

Guys out west have some long shots for sure. In the area I hunt, the woods are thick. Hunting ranges are short. The longest shots are out on our planted fields and rarely over 150yrds. Yet for some reason the 300 Win. Mag. is what everyone wants and buys. Doesn't make sense to me...

The 6.5X54MS and the 6.5X55 Swed got their BIG game reputation from the 156 & 160 gr RN bullets.

Really large game such as Moose in Sweden, Polar bear, elephant by WD Bell etc. are well known.

I have shot fallow deer with the 160 RN in my 1903 Mannlicher shoenauer. Ample for deer up to 250 meters.

My MS rifles had the 0.268 bore and shot more accurately with the Hornady Carcano bullet (rather than the 0.264 cal)