|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 78
Campfire Greenhorn
|
Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 78 |
Being from the country in which the 6,5x55 is one of the most used calibers I might have a go at this? Ohh, I qualify by having shot exactly ONE moose with it. Why not more? Well, while I do think that it is perfectly capable of killing any living moose on this sphere we call Earth I do not think it is perfect for the job. I prefer cartridges with bigger, heavier bullets. This is simply because I do not always have a situation where I can pick my shot and then I want a bullet heavy enough to kill eventhough it might have to pass through the point of the shoulder (the knuckle) on a moose quartering towards me. A 6,5x55 with a 130 gr TSX might do just that but as it is not legal for moose here it's a moot point for me. I've seen more "bad shots" from 6,5's than most other calibers - to be honest many was because the bullet used wasn't up to the job. So for me the combination of the available, legal bullets with the rather small diameter and weight of the 6,5 makes it less desirable then fx a 9,3x62, 30-06, 8x57JS or what ever might float your boat. The 6,5 is used less and less here for our larger species. In the south the wild boar population is increasing and in the north the bear population is also increasing. A lot of hunters simply want a little more bullet than our "National Caliber" can handle. Then again, if I ever get in a situation where I was forced the use the 6,5x55 I would keep hunting and not worry a bit! As long as the nut behind the butt use some common sense it will do what it is supposed to.
//K9_75
----------------------------- "one does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted."
Jose Ortega y Gasset. "Meditations on Hunting".
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 5,787
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 5,787 |
Monolithics banned in sweden? Please expound.
Good background info on your 'national caliber' for hunting. Thanks.
Member of the Merry Band of turdlike People.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 78
Campfire Greenhorn
|
Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 78 |
No,no,no - sorry Carl - I should have been clearer ! It's a weight issue! The 130 grain is 10 grains to light to be legal. Bad news is that even if it were 10 grains heavier it would still not be legal as its hard for a 140 grain bullet in the 6,5x55 to reach enough velocity to achieve the energy required at 100m. Then comes the stability issues with the loooong bullet too. Cheers K9_75
----------------------------- "one does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted."
Jose Ortega y Gasset. "Meditations on Hunting".
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 5,787
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 5,787 |
Thank you. I remember now. Is it not 9 grams/2700 J at 100 m or 10 grams at somewhat less for minimum?
Member of the Merry Band of turdlike People.
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 436
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 436 |
2000j 1475 ft/lbs for +10 grams +154 grains and up ....
9 to 10 grams 139 grains to 154 grains 2700j 1992 ft/lbs
notice in some countries there is a mini for brown bear : like 7 mm 170 grains 11 grams 3000j/100m 2212ft/lbs requiring at least a 7x64 or 280 rem. but that s another story.
Last edited by ruger375; 04/25/10. Reason: adding datas
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491 |
Did it once, four times - the 6.5x55 on an Alaskan bull at around 150 yards. He got two Partitions and two A-Frames, 140s all. The shots were well spaced in time due to several other animals he was mingling with and "re-acquiring/verifying" the original target was needed. All shots were lethal; through the lungs, but all included the meaty part around the leg area on one side or both. No big bones were hit. The Noslers made it to the farside hide. The A-Frames stayed in the meat of the offside leg. I was not much impressed and prefer the 30-06 or better for the big guys we generally kill. The bullets seemed to work well. If I were to use the same rifle again on moose, I'd undoubtedly use expanding solids of some type.
Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,220
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,220 |
I don't know about moose, but I've shot 1 Kudu and 1 Eland with a 6.5x55 in 1987, using Norma 156 grain factory loads, and they both died promptly and on cue.
Jeff
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,019
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,019 |
I watched a buddy's 11 year old boy take a nice bull at 150 paces with a 7-08. Hit him in the neck right behind the head. Moose didn't know what him. DRT!
Many here use 223 or 30-30. If they feel the need for something bigger, they use an 06. Personally, I like my 9.3x62, 358 Win, or my 375 H&H during fall moose where bears are plentiful.
************************ NRA Benefactor member
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 132
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 132 |
If a 6.5 Swede was all I had I wouldn't hesitate in a premium bullet. That being said, with other larger choices out there I would opt for something bigger - in complete agreement with Dr. Lou.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 853
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 853 |
My Canadian outfitter told me you can kill a moose with a tennis shoe.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 15,755 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 15,755 Likes: 1 |
well sure, but use enough shoe.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,762
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,762 |
From the little I`ve seen, moose are not hard to kill, they just don`t know they`re dead when you shoot them. I saw a big bull hit 5Xs with 180grs from a 308 @ ~100/150 yd, all in the ribs, and walk -not run- about 75 yds from the point he was 1st hit while my buddy kept shooting. He finally sat there on his haunches like a big dog, bawling a time or 2, then finally rolled over. All the while my buddy was trying fumble another shell in the gun, and figure out what to do next. I don`t think a 458 would have made any difference in how fast he dropped. BTW these were factory Cor-Locts, none exited.
I must confess, I was born at a very early age. --Groucho Marx
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when they deserve it. --Mark Twain
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,477
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,477 |
FroI saw a big bull hit 5Xs with 180grs from a 308 @ ~100/150 yd, all in the ribs, and walk -not run- about 75 yds from the point he was 1st hit while my buddy kept shooting. He finally sat there on his haunches like a big dog, bawling a time or 2, then finally rolled over. That's pretty standard, no matter what you shoot them with. The first shot would have had the same result. It takes a while for the lungs to fill up. A buddy here in BC went from a .308 to a .338 WinMag, thinking that he would have quicker kills. He went back to the .308 when he saw that the results were exactly the same: shoot moose, moose walks off about 50 yards, moose lays down and dies.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491 |
Where you hit 'em matters. A 223 is a fine moose caliber....if you are able to head or neck shoot them with a 55 FMJ or better, and you have a rapid firing rifle along the lines of a AR-15. But there are much better choices.
For lung shots, getting bigger hole(s) out the back side helps to get the lungs deflated. It's the difference between drowning them and suffocating them. Drowning takes longer than collapsing the lungs. Bigger calibers and bullets tend to work better, though expanding solids also make the needed holes, if perhaps not as large.
Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,128
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,128 |
Rug 3, I see your point. I'm not a moose hunter and the only one I have been in camp with was an Alberta whitetail camp. One of the guys had moose tags and he shot one twice with a .375 H&H and both TSX bullets were recovered. That doesn't cause me to think a 6.5 Swede would be ideal, but hey if they can be killed with a bow and arrow or 30-30 they can probably be killed with a Swede.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,161 Likes: 13
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,161 Likes: 13 |
The lightest cartridge I have used on moose was the 7x57 (with 160 North Forks) which worked fine, but a friend from Alberta has used the 6.5x55 on about 20 moose. He shoots them in the standard chest-spot, about 1/3 of the way up behind the shoulder, and they do the standard moose thing: stand around a little while and keel over. He has used a bunch of different bullets but I believe he mostly uses the 140 Nosler Partition, as it also works very well on Alberta deer (or about any other non-dangerous game on the planet).
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491 |
Perhaps I need to repeat my single test (of four shots) at least one more time. I may still be having a hard time with getting aced by the guy with plain old Core-Lokts in his '06 which took the air out of the sails of that critter. Of course, his plain-jane bullet exited the back side and let out a lot of air right now. He, having never creased the stomach of a moose, was less afraid to place the shot a bit farther back hitting nothing but ribs and lungs.
Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 889
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 889 |
Somewhere in my mans room is a magazine with an article about Moose hunting in Sweden. The jist of the article was a study done by the Swedeish Game Departmment, in which their officers went with hunters who shot Moose with different rifles and cartridges, and actually measured how far they went after the first shot and any follow up shots. IIRC this was done on at least 1000 Moose. They found 6.5x55's killed just as well and many times quicker than larger daimeter and more powerfull rounds. The exception was IIRC the 358 Norma (or some such round) and then it was only marginally better. It was a very interesting read, and the number of animals killed was a certainly adequate to prove or disprove a point. I know that some of you guys saw that article, as it has been hashed out here before. Thee Moose I've seen out West, I could kill with a 22 pistol.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491 |
That study does not jibe with my experience, but then, as was pointed out earlier, many of the moose in that study were likely often younger, smaller animals than those we kill here in Alaska. There is no question that moose can easily be killed with the 6.5 Swede and smaller stuff. Of course, there is nothing that roams North America that cannot be killed with the same. However, heavier, thicker bullets give up nothing and, in general, work faster and more soundly, which is many times a good thing.
I willingly admit that the 223, 243, etc have been used very effectively to bring home the winter's meat, even when that involved these thousand pound-plus animals. However, based on a substantial collection of bullets I have taken from moose I've killed - including a number of expanding solids, I can say that moose are not a target to be trifled with in terms of how little one can get by with. No animal deserves less than a humane death.
Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,538
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,538 |
Can a moose tell the difference between a 0.568 inch hole (2x 0.264) and a 0.678 inch hole (2x 0.338) through its lungs/heart?
Assuming similar construction with 2x expansion of the bullet with similar penetration. Lets compare 160g Woodleigh in 6.5x55 and a 300g Woodleighs in .338. SD for the 6.5 is 0.328, SD for .338 is 0.375.
|
|
|
|
690 members (01Foreman400, 160user, 16gage, 12344mag, 10ring1, 16penny, 65 invisible),
3,025
guests, and
1,359
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,192,618
Posts18,492,662
Members73,972
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|