We are talking GA whitetails that are considered big at 175 pounds. I think a 140 gr Hornaday SP might be OK. It shoots well in my rifle and is the least expensive bullet I have found. I think it is long enough and slow enough in the 6.5x55 that it will have adequate penetration but there may be something else out there that is better yet. Any ideas or am I already home and just don't know it? Good hunting. "D"

Nothing wrong with Hornady Interlock SP bullets. They have worked very well for me in 30-06. If your rifle likes them then I would have no worries.

my favorite

129 grn hornady sp
45.5 grns imr 4350

This is the beauty of the Swede, it does not blow the bullet all to hell. One does not need 3000 to 3400 fps to kill ANY whitetail.

My favorite is the Sierra 140gn Game King at 2500 fps. It has not failed me in 33 years. My longest shot was a lazered 402 yrds out of my Blaser 93.

I was going to put $3000.00 in a Blaser rifle and my choice of caliber was the Swede. Its been to Africa and Scotland and has worked every time..........................JJ

40 grains of Rl 15, IMR 4064, or IMr 4895, or W 748 will give you an MV of 2800 fps out of a 22 inch barrel with a 120 grain Bullet...

120s are better performers on deer than most of the 140s....140s have better sectional density and all of that, but can pass thru an animal before opening up if it is not a big animal..

my preference has always been the 120 grain balliistic tip, followed by the 125 partition, and then the 129 Hornady SP...I haven't used the 120 grain TSX or the 130 grain Accubond, but both of those would be dandy choices also...

I find the mid range powders less finicky than the slower ones...and usually more accurate...

140 Hornady SP , with a max charge of Reloader 19 at 2630 f.p.s. Will shoot the balls off a gnat and drops deer like a stone.

My personal favorite is the Sierra 140 grain GameKing launched at 2700 fps by 46 grains of Re-22, but pretty much any of the 140s intended for game will do just fine for deer. You absolutely do not need a premium bullet in the Swede. The long, skinny bullets have a high sectional density, and that, combined with the modest velocities, ensures more than adequate penetration.

But hey, a 120 grain Nosler BT is around 2800 fps is extremely lethal on deer and does quite well on the local porkers also. Nonetheless, I prefer the positive performance of those wonderful 140 grainers as they tend to put game down in its tracks.

Put me down as another vote for the 140s, and I am shooting a 13" barreled handgun. I got outstanding performance from Hornady's 140 SST last year. That deer dropped so fast I thought I had missed. I am getting a little better than 2,500 fps with 50.0 grains of VV N560 powder out of a 6.5 JDJ Mini-Dreadnaught, which is bases on the 220 Swift case. This year, I am trying the Berger 140 Gr VLD bullets...Rusty.

140gr Hornady and R-22. With the 129gr Hornady, I used H450 and got great results.

Whatever your rifle shoots best from 120 to 156gr. conventional ( std.) recognized hunting bullet.

With 6.5 bullets I've taken large mule deer with 140 grainers at 2200 fps.& 160 grainers at 2100 fps in a Carcano. and 156 grainers at 2800 fps. in a 6.5 X .284. These are the extremes.

A 6.5 X 55 with 140 to 160 grain bullets has accounted for a few more mule deer. roger

I really like the 120 NBTs for deer and antelope. Lou

129 grain Hornady SSTs and Re19 work real well in mine. Passed right through a big muley last year at about 130 yards with evidence of excellent performance inside him.

I always thought the best bullet for the 6.5x55 is the 140 .I've used Normas and Hornady but any will do I run about 2750 with 46 gr 4350 which is mild in my custom M98.

hornady 140 grain a-max with a max load of RL-19, minus 0.2 grains on hornady manual load. my steyr likes them seated way out there.

There was an article recently published by John Barsness, in Rifle Magazine covering the use of Berger VLD bullets hunting Red Stag in NZ. I don't remember exactly but I think about 50 animals were taken up to 800 pounds, at all kinds of ranges and most were one-shot kills, and JB and his wife were shooting with 257 Roberts chambered rifles. Others in the party used a range of larger calibers.

Berger and Co is trying to advertise the fact that their VLDs are great hunting bullets as well as fine match grade bullets by selling them in Hunter Orange colored boxes.

Two things stand out about the Berger VDL bulets: The first is that they have very high BCs, the 140 Gr VDL in 6.5 has a BC of .640, and requires a 1 in 9 inch or faster twist to stabilize it. The second thing is that the VDLs, regardless of caliber, usually penetrate a couple of inches before expansion is initiated. Then, the expansion is very violent but the pure lead cores and J4 Precision Jackets stay together even when bone is hit.

There is a video on the Berger sight that you can down load to watch at www.bergerbullets.com
Rusty

I´ve shot quite a few whitetails using the Lapua Mega and it has worked well -loaded to moderate velocities that is.

My rifle likes the Speer,or Sierra in 120gr. with IMR 4831, or the Hornady 129gr. with RL# 22. All three run about 2800 FPS.

6.5 SWEDE.

I honestly haven't found a bad deer load for the 6.5x55 when using any 120-140 grain bullet. I just use what shoots the best in my particular rifles. My 6.5x55 likes 140 Sierra Gamekings and IMR4831. The rest of my 6.5 rifles (6.5-284, 6.5-06AI, 264WM, 260) prefer 120-129 bullets. They all work very well.

Due to a lack of time I think I will use a 140 gr Hornaday SP for this year. I am still open to suggestions for load development.

OK, here is what has worked for me, but I have a Douglas barrel throated for 120 B-tips:

140 Rem PSP-CL 45.0 RE-22 <.75"
140 Sierra SBT Ganeking 43.0 IMR4831 <.5" (basically one ragged hole/cloverleaf 5 shots)

Neither of these is close to max, but both are extremely accurate in my rifle. Hope it helps.

D Hunter,

My CZ500 shoots this load very well and it's quite effective on deer:

140gr Hornady SP
46.5gr Re-22
Lapua brass
Fed 210 primer

Seat bullet to just a hair below the top edge of cannelure and give a medium crimp with Lee Factory Crimp die.

Where in WNC? I'm originally from Hendersonville.

CZ 550
129 gr Hornady Interlock
45 grains H4350
Knocks Sika right off their feet.

John

Barsness did an article not long ago on the swede. One of the bullets he recommended for it was the 140 gr speer flatbase. While I currently dont have a swede , I am thinking of getting one just to use that bullet. Ie great expansion and penetration combined with low recoil., and its cheap. My experience with that bullet in other calibres has been excellent.

My old sportered Swede likes 129s with 48gr Re 19. 140s with 46gr Re 19. Both Hornadys. Accurate to the extreme and deadly.

quote:

Originally posted by JAYB:
CZ 550
129 gr Hornady Interlock
45 grains H4350
Knocks Sika right off their feet.

John

I worked up a similar load for a friend to shoot deer with. He called a week later very excited telling me his daughter had knocked down a nice cow elk at 300 yds with a broadside shot and the bullet passed through.

I informed him my next loads will be using 140 grain bullets. We're very impressed with that gun/caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by D Hunter:
Due to a lack of time I think I will use a 140 gr Hornaday SP for this year. I am still open to suggestions for load development.

either H or IMR 4350 will suit you just fine....start at about 37 grains and work up from there.

My manual shows 41.5 grains as max for the '96 Mauser usinf IMR-4350 and 2,600'/sec.....if you have a more modern action you might go beyond this.

Mine is on a VZ-24 action and I've gone substantially past the book!

2,600 is not exactly sitting still!

Blackhawk, interesting load. The load my Swede likes is 46.5 gr re 22 and 140 gr Hornaday SP and win brass, fed 210 primer. I have not chronied that load. I will soon. I am from about an hour and a half west of H'ville. Near the Park. H'ville is a nice place. One of my best friends and a member of our hunt club lives there.

Thanks to everyone for all the replies and I will try some other loads in the coming year. D

First choice is a 125gr Nosler partition with a max charge of IMR4350 Or as you have nerve to fit) though similar results can be expected with RL19


AD

quote:

Originally posted by Mark Taylor:
My old sportered Swede likes 129s with 48gr Re 19. 140s with 46gr Re 19. Both Hornadys. Accurate to the extreme and deadly.

I agree. My Swede likes the 120 Barnes Fb x Bullet also. 48 GR of RL-19. The 129 gr bullets puts you in the ballpark with 270 Win and better BC's.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Mark Taylor:
My old sportered Swede likes 129s with 48gr Re 19. 140s with 46gr Re 19. Both Hornadys. Accurate to the extreme and deadly.

my best load is 140 Hornady SP, 46 grns. Rel 19 powder, WW case , with the WW Large Rifle Std primer. 2630 fps., E.S. of only 9 fps. Will shoot the balls off a gnat and not touch his legs.
haven't tried the 129 Hornadys' yet , but will as I bought out a guy I work with. Got about 300 129 grn. bullets in the deal plus a bunch of the 140s as well. I love my Swede Maus.

Any .264" diameter bullet in the 100 to 160 grain ranger will cleanly kill deer when fired into the pleural cavity.

I think that the biggest common consideration when selecting a bullet for a 6.5x55 is the depth/length of the throat in the particular rifle in question. Military 6.5x55s are usually throated for 160 grain bullets, so loading a shorter/lighter bullet means that you have some free-bore jump before the bullet engages the rifling. For a deep throated 6.5x55, I think that a bullet with a minimum length in the +/- 1.300" range is probably a good choice.

For shorter throated 6.5x55s, like the Remington 700 Classic, you can use shorter/lighter bullets. My Remington 700 Classic does well with 129 grain SpirePoints and SSTs, while my Winchester/USRA 70 Featherweight doesn't shoot particularly good groups with any bullet (that I've found) under 140 grains. There might be a shorter/lighter X style bullet that would work well, but I haven't found it.

As with many things, YMMV.

Jeff

quote:

Originally posted by 390ish:
hornady 140 grain a-max with a max load of RL-19, minus 0.2 grains on hornady manual load. my steyr likes them seated way out there.

my steyr (s) love the AMAX as well and as steyrs go they are accurate enough to put the shots in there with surgical presision.
the last AMAX was the 168 .30 and recovered weight was 66.9 gr.

120 Grain Core-Lokt Over H414.

129 Hornady and 4350!!!!Proven performer!!!
Aloha, Mark

I have had good luck with the 120 NBTs and RL 19 for deer and antelope. I am looking forward to trying the new 130 Accubonds. Lou

140gr Rem Core Lokt.