hi guys, just back from the the czech rep for the weekend and i have managed to blag a weekend shooting Roe and boar later in the year. my 6.5x55 will do for the Roe but would it have the horsepower for the boar??? if so what bullets will do at the moment it is running very well if 140gr sst's
or should I just take my heavy brute of a 308 with me?

Personally, I use a good quality heavy bullet (180 gr soft point) and thats what I tell people to bring with me.
Hear all the stories of shooting them with smaller calibres occasionally, but you want to be sure of stopping them more than occassionally.
This Bullet was taken out of 50lbs pig,shot @ 50 yrds.the bullet entered just behind the front shoulder and stuck under the skin of the far rump !
Client was using my 30-06.

If you are going to be shooting animals on a driven hunt, I wouldn't advise the 6.5x55 (if you have a better option) since you may not always be presented with an ideal shot.

It is adequate with well placed shots and proper bullets. I believe it is used by some in Norway and Sweden for moose too.

The most important thing is that you take whichever rifle you can shoot best or shoot the most often with and place you shots properly.

Power is no substitute for accuracy however it will let you reach the vitals of an animal from raking and rearward angles.

Uless you have a special "oneness" with your 6.5 take the .308 since you are on a holiday hunt and wouldn't want to have it ruined by lost and wounded animals.

308, I shot one 55kg boar on Friday afternoon past with the 270win. Using Norma 150gr factory rounds. Did the job perfectly - but I did hit him in the head.

If you will be hunting Roe and boar at the same time, then it will be from a highseat in August or September. I would have no fear of using the 6.5 with a good quality bullet.

I personally would take the 308 for driven boar. As I have used my 30-06 to good effect wth 150gn hornady interlocks, But I would also stand by John in his choice of 180 gn bullets as well! I've used both on boar and roe.

I second John.d.m. and Express advices, forget about the 6.5x55; the 308 W with a 180 gr. bullet is a much better choice for boar hunting. If you don't expect long range shooting, you could consider RN bullets, for instance Lapua Mega or Hornady.

Having some idea of the number of Wild Boar that EXPRESS takes in a year - his advice is worthy of attention.

rgds Ian

hey 308, wanna borrow my .243?

I hear you dont need your 243 now you have ur bent stick and length of string!

I do a lot of my boar-hunting - drivehunts and hunting from stands - with my .308 and I never thought of beeing overgunned. For me as a professional hunter, I see the .308 as a minimum caliber for boars, but with a good bullet - and I must always repeat - like the Lapua-Naturalis, it will do the job without problems. There are a lot of very good modern bullets for the .308, perhaps not the Nosler BT and the Hornady SST, but last week I got very good results with the 165grs Speer Deep Shok.

Plenty of good advice given here, as usual. .30 calibre bullets are considered by some to be the minimum for boar. However 6.5x55 with a quality bullet will certainly work. As usual it's more about bullet placment than how big and powerful your cartridge
is. Good hunting.

thanks guys, looks like its the old faithful 308 mod 70 it's just that my 6.5 is about 1/2 the wieght of the 308, but which bullet would do for roe and boar? I always use 150gr in the 308, too light????

load up some barnes xlc 140 grainers for the 6.5. 308 is pedestrian.

use your 6.5,i have shot boar with 6.5 with no problems whatsoever,stick it in the right place and they die
regds scirroco

308, the question is will the boar be driven or stalked/highseat?

If you are stalking or sitting in a highseat, I would use the 6.5 with the best 140gr bullet you can get for it.

In any event you do not want to be hauling a heavy tactical style rifle around on a driven hunt.

243 = for a man who cant handle anything bigger

180 grains Woodleigh PP will do the trick.


Regarding the 6,5 and boar hunting, in a high seat, maybe on a driven hunt, no way.

My advice regarding the 6,5 dont fall for the 140 grains TSX or whatever, get the heaviest RN bullet you can get and use it well.

/C

quote:

Originally posted by 308mate:
thanks guys, looks like its the old faithful 308 mod 70 it's just that my 6.5 is about 1/2 the wieght of the 308, but which bullet would do for roe and boar? I always use 150gr in the 308, too light????

quote:

243 = for a man who cant handle(or does"nt need) anything bigger

good shooting

I use a 165gn Nosler Partition @2680fps in my 308. It will open relatively fast on your deer yet penetrate deeply. It's probably the best compromise and a good one at that! Nosler also makes a 140gn Partition in 6.5. I'm not sure there would be much difference, but I'd probably go with the 308. capt david