Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule deer, 6.5x55 enough gun for Large Canadian Whitetails?

The Swedes use it on moose. Go forth and slay deer. Any decent bullet through the vitals will send said deer to the ground.

I know this is off topic but we do have a 300 meter offhand match at the Minneapolis Rifle Club every year. Iron sights no less! I believe they use the international target which has a small 10 ring.
whelennut

Since you are already off topic, wn, what kind of score does it take to win?

Look at all the Scandanavian Moose that are taken every year with the 6.5x55. No flies on the 6.5x55.

I've seen "elk" (Moose) taken in Sweden with the 6.5X55mm. I used to visit Sweden once a month on business and occasionally ate lunch at the cafeteria at the Volvo Proving Grounds in Boras and listen to the old-timers talk of killing 1500 pound moose with the 6.5X55. Good cartridge, and it just keeps on penetrating.

It's a perfect cartridge for deer-sized game. Moose can take - and stop- a lot of lead. I imagine we'd all be wealthier for getting a nickel for every time the Swede/Norske stuff is cited versus $10 for every time anyone relates firsthand experience with the cartridge on moose.

Even smallish deer bones will catch the 140 CoreLokt out of a 260, in my personal experience.

If I was getting headaches from shooting a 30-06, I'd be turning to something much lighter than a 6.5 myself.

Klik,

Swedish moose are a lot smaller than Alaskan, more like Shiras or the smaller Canadian moose. And most taken are not mature bulls. Probably 95% are calves, cows and young bulls.

I know an Alberta hunter who has taken a bunch of moose with the 6.5x55, no problem, but he isn't a trophy hunter and waits until he has the perfect broadside, top-of-the-heart shot.

However, I have yet to see a deer, even in western Canada (and I have hunted deer some in Alberta and Manitoba) that is as large as the average cow moose from anywhere. They will go 400 pounds live weight, but that still isn't a very big moose.

If you're shooting 2 MOA OFFHAND, you're a helluva shooter.

DakotaDeer,

There have been a few reasonably scientific studies of the effects of recoil. The general conclusion is that around 20 foot-pounds is enough to produce flinching and headaches in many if not most shooters, and 15 foot-pounds or so doesn't do so.

The .30-06 produces around 18 foot-pounds with factory loads of 150 grains, and 20+ with 165-180 grain bullets. The 6.5x55 produces at most 14 foot-pounds, even with warm 140-grain loads.

I have seen this division in a number of shooters myself, including my wife.

Exactly what I was thinking with that tongue-in-cheek comment. I love the 6.5 Swede for caribou. I think it is perfectly balanced for perfect, and not always so perfect, shots. (Which probably means it would seem quite ideal for many of the fine meat animals known as alces in northern Europe.) But I tire of hearing that it is the equal of the 30-06 - since it works so well on moose.......in Scandinavia. Heck, by that logic it should be the equal of the 375 H&H too. That must mean it's perfect for Africa as well.

The 6.5 Swedish is a fine cartridge on its own merit. I would have no qualms about using it on any deer with a proper bullet.

6" gong everytime at 300 yards offhand. . . . Are you a really serious big bore Silhouette shooter?

I've killed more than a few deer with a 260 remington and I have yet to see a bone stop any 129gr Hornady when started at 2700fps. I shot one buck at 180 yds breaking both shoulders and the opposite leg before the bullet was recovered in the elbow joint. I've shot deer out to 250yds and as close as 20 yds and the 129gr bullets go in breaking what ever gets in the way, and deer die in a hurry.

Experiences vary, but I've pulled more 260 Remington 140 CoreLokts out of deer than any other gun I've used or been around. I'm not really sure why as they don't seem to be overly expanded. Maybe I got all those underloaded lots of factory ammo that they were supposedly floating around. I've had better penetration with the 120 Ballistic Tip, though I haven't found that to be all that interesting to me either.

Yep, and with a plain Jane 140 too.

I guess that's another example of remington dropping the ball on the 260.

fixed it for you.

My son kills big WT's with a 243 and I used a 260 Rem. till this last season wish I could buy it back. These deer up here are not wearing armor. So take care of your health and lessen the recoil.

Best Alan

Buckfever, the 120 grain Barnes must be fairly long in 6.5. It sounds like you live in MB, and possibly hunt the Interlake area. I've never used the 6.5x55, only because the local store doesn't seem to cater much to folks in the know! From what I see after hunting around our part of Manitoba, there are a lot of hunters who use the .243 as Pacer97 mentions the Albertans do. You seem like you are on track...go for it.

Paul

More than enough cartridge.