Just picked up a Ruger Hawkeye African in 6.5 x55....came with half a box Hornady factory loads using the 140 SST's. Will be handloading for it eventually. Was going to use 140 Nosler Partitions, but was shocked by the price. Am now learning towards Speer Grand Slam 140s....any experienced users have recommendations? This will primarily be used on Whitetails.

I have a 6.5X56 Mannlicher and I use the PPU 156 grain RN bullets in it. So far they have been excellent and priced right. I shot Sierra 160 grain and also Hornady 160 grain bullets in my rifle and killed game with both. The PPU bullets seem better then either the Hornady or the Sierra in staying together inside the bodies without break ups Also are every bit as accurate and possible a bit more accurate then either of the American bullets.

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/29102

I will check on the PPU stuff. Only had one experience with PPU ammo and it wasn't good.

I have several 6.5 swedes and have taken several whitetails with them. No need for the Partition or the Grand Slam, whitetail are not that tough unless you want to take a Texas heart shot stern to bow.

How long distance do you plan on shooting?

The fast load 120G Scenar will do very nice (Lapua makes the load in 2 speeds as far as I can see), Accubond are good, the 156G Norma whitetail works well, I suspect for whitetail that the S&B 131G softpoint would be fine also. If nothing else the S&B provides good, inexpensive brass for reloading. I took a doe a couple years ago with the Lapua 156G Mega and she dropped and never moved, most impressive DRT I have ever seen. Lastly, dunno if you can find any but Sako had a load out for deer that shoots real well in a couple of my 6.5 rifles.

RAS

PS this is the Sako loading - I caught some on sale couple years back for a good bit less $: https://www.impactguns.com/rifle-am...-box-082442949536-c663436hsa10x#ammoseek

For whitetail - any bullet over 100gr will work in the 6.5

A lot that would work well. 129gr Hornady SP interlock. There was a thread on those recently. 140 SST, 143 ELDX, 140gr Sierra Gameking, 127 LRX. There are multitudes of bullets that will work very well for your application. I'd personally just run a good C&C, and call it a day. No need for a controlled expansion, expensive bullet like a partition on a whitetail. Same can be said for the LRX, but it seems to be a pretty good accurate bullet, and not nearly as expensive as the partition.

The 140 grain Partition @ 2,700 fps was the sweet spot in my Swede. But you're right - the price of Partitions is something else.

Today, I'm loading the 143 grain BondStrike in the 6.5 CM at the same MV or just a touch beyond. Same kind of sweet spot.

I don't think there are many bad 6.5 bullets at sensible velocities, but I bought a bunch of PPU 156 RNs because they fed well in my 6.5 Mannlicher (and they were cheap) , ended up using them in 6.5 Swede and 6.5 Norwegian Krag also. With great results. They are not target bullets...but for killing deer, I don't see how they can be improved on. In these days, I realize it's not very trendy to shoot deer at modest velocities under 200 yards, but if that describes your hunting, they work very well....there is a lot of lead exposed at the tip and it opens fast. Some of the newer offerings made a pretty small entry hole...and they would seal up with fat and hair. I have seldom hunted much of anything but Blacktail and Black bear, and a heart shot is not a stopper...they will go up to a hundred yards, which doesn't sound far...unless you are in steep ground with undergrowth. Then it's nice to have some blood to follow.

I40 ballistic tips kill deer just as dead as a partition. I load 120 TTSX in a 6.5 Creed and a 6.5mm-06. They do well.

For deer it is hard to find a bad bullet in the Swede. I have used the 140 grain Speer, Hornady IL, Corelokt, Sierra game-king, Power Point, and others I cant remember. They all worked great on deer and feral hogs. I have also used the 129 Hornady IL allot and really like that bullet.

The Speer 140 gr Impact bullets shoot really good in my Tikka T3 6.5 Swede

Haven't taken any game with it yet but wouldn't hesitate to plug a black bear with an Impact bullet

It's Speers version of the Accubond with a slightly higher bc at .526 g1 vs .509 , not enough to make any difference at the usual hunting distances but it's .66 cents vs $1.03 per bullet (Midway) , .61 cents each at Blue Collar


6.5mm 140 gr Impact bullets at Blue Collar


6.5mm 140 gr Impact bullets at Midway

140 Sierra Game king, all i use in my 260 with the 1:9 twist. I've killed deer, elk, black bear and coyotes as well as one pronghorn. Longest shot was 508, most much closer. Awesome bullet, not a VLD for the long range crowd