I know the A max is not 'designated' as a hunting round.

How many have used it for hunting?

I'm at a loss to find good 6.5 projectiles for hunting and this is the only one that I can find at the moment.

Am I just totally bonkers for wanting to use it?

Let me know what your experiences with it are.

Your conjecture and what you think and what you've read, are not really important to me, feel free to say it but be prepared to be ignored.

Are you at a loss to find an accurate bullet, or one that kills?

I think the myth of Scenars -and- Amaxes not being suited for hunting has been debunked several times on this site.

I'm at a loss for one to hunt with.

I can get some A max's but not sure if they'll do well for hunting.

I hear/read that "others" use them but no one with first hand usage.

A buddy of mine used one in his 6x47 on deer last year, and was pleasantly surprised from what he relayed to me. I'm not the person who used it, though, so not sure how valuable that info is for you...

Blammer, how heavy are they? Sectional density can be part of the decision when picking a lightly constructed bullet for hunting. I have an A-max load for hunting, and wouldn't hesitate to use it on elk, but it is a 208 grn 30 cal with a .313 SD. I have only shot lightly constructed and 'target' bullets at game the last few years.

At slower speeds A-max are more of a controlled-expansion bullet. That is why guys use them in moderate cartridges at long ranges.

You can't expect them to traverse an animal end to end, but for deer, at moderate speed, picking sane shots, they are just about ideal. Neck shots, high shoulder shots, and ribs shots.

If you're committed to the A max go with it. I've found that 140 Hornadys put stuff down real quick. The accuracy is better than minute of deer at 200 yards.

looking at 140gr, A max

6.5x55 is no barn burner for velocity that's for sure, probably around 2500fps or so.

tddeangelo, at least your info wasn't from a "story" you read.
Trying to avoid those who just relay info that they read somewhere. Thanks.

You are over thinking this! At 2500-2700 fps your favorite cup and core will work just fine. There a plenty of fine .264" bullets out there. Here are some for sale:

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/916?


Dad shoots a 6.5x55 and has killed deer very dead with 120gr Speers and 140gr GameKings.

I shoot a .260 and use 140gr GameKings. I have no trouble keeping 300yd groups under 2". This bullet kills stuff just fine, including a DRT pass through on an aoudad at 385yds.

Find what your rifle likes and go hunting. The Swede has been getting the job done for a long time.

Blammer, you're set with that bullet. And I've found it's easy to get them to shoot well. Hope you have the same experience. You won't be disappointed in their killing ability.

I'm just trying to use what is available to me.

I'm looking for a decent cup and core, but none are to be had.

I see Sierra HPBT MATCHKING bullets, are available. I'd pose the same question on the Matchking bullets. Would they be suitable for hunting even though the maker suggests otherwise? If they were Gameking's I'd be all over them!

the 120 speers are not in stock and the 140gr gamekings are also not available.

The deer around here are small 150 lbs is a good sized one!
Longest shot will likely be 100yds.

the lighter wt bullets (110gr and less) don't fly as well as the 140's.

I usually buy from Graf's or Natchez. I see Natchez has several hunting bullets in stock. I see you are in NC, is that one of the areas that Natchez will not ship to?

Here is a link:

http://www.natchezss.com/bullets.cf...outOfStock=0&orderBy=&startRow=1

I see Widener's has some Ballistic Tips and Partitions:

https://www.wideners.com/itemview.cfm?dir=278|281|1079|1088|1555

Good hunting,
405wcf

ah, nice, for some reason when I was looking I couldn't find them at Natchez.

got some on the way.

the SST's should work well.

My wife is in NC. Don't ask me where, exactly, as I don't recall. Somewhere near the northern border. I love SST at moderate speeds: they open readily and exit. Good choice! For future reference, don't be afraid to try a heavy for cal A-max for deer. Thousands are doing it.

2500fps? The Swede can do better than that, if you want it to do so. You can reach 2700 without touching 60k for pressure, even with a 22" barrel. I ran IMR7828ssc, a good powder for it, with a 140SST, and left the rather anemic pressure cap untouched. That caps pressure at 55k. You could run it from a modern rifle to the same sensible pressures as other rounds and squeeze a bit more juice from it, if desired, but at 2700, you'd have a pretty nice compromise of speed with low recoil.

The 6.5 is a nice round for NC. I've hunted a bit south of Roanoke Rapids over several years, and the deer body sizes I saw and the deer I killed would have been well handled by the Swede.

Save yourself a some money and head aches, 120 gr Speer SP will be just about right, and if you can find Remington 120 gr 6.5 mm Core locks bulk bullets buy those! Some Reloader 22 and work up a load, around 48 to 50 gr will do the trick, zero and then go shoot deer!

I use Sierra Gamekings and Matchkings in 120 and 140. They work good. Also have some 120 and 130 grain TSX that work very good. It isn't hard to find a 6.5 bullet that kills well and is accurate. Most all of them are.

gmsemel, I was going to run with RL22 for QL, but lately I've found (and others I compare reloading notes with, too) that 7828ssc, while very similar in performance to RL22, is also more consistent/tracks closer to predicted data.

But yes, RL22 is a good on in the Swede, too.

I'm guessing the AMAX would work okay. A friend had really poor results with that bullet out of a 6.5/06 on a few whitetails (LOOOONNNG tracking jobs) but he was pushing them nearly 3000fps.

For years, I used 140 gr Game Kings and H4831, at about 2600 fps.

Now I use Nosler 130 gr AB"s with 4831. Chronied just shy of 2800 fps and they are more accurate than the 140 GK.I think these long AB's match the twist in the old Swede better.

I have only killed two pronghorns with the AB's so far, but I have a late season buck tag this year for deer that I might get to try them on.

When I tried to run the 140GK faster ,the accuracy went to pot.

You could try these, 140gr. Ballistic Tips at $13.95 at SPS.

http://www.shootersproshop.com/nosl...sler-6-5mm-140gr-ballistic-tip-blem.html


SD

"Guessing" - love it.

OP - a 129 or 140 Hornady SP will do fine, I prefer 130 NAB.

140 AMax are deer deadly, dumped a deer w/a 105 Amax at 400 yds, stick to lung shots.

SST's have a reputation for blowing up, so do not expect much more from them. Avoid heavy bones and you will be fine.

I've tried every weight of bullet in my Swede. The 120's seemed to offer the most velocity while still providing a decent BC.

The 6.5x55 is one of my favorite and most often used deer cartridges. I have come to prefer the 124 and 140 grain Nosler Partition bullets.

blammer,

I'd get me several different bullets and try loads know for their accuracy with those bullets and let the gun tell me what it likes.

I think any bullet mentioned so far will kill deer.

I agree with lower speed A-Max bullets being great.

Nathan Foster in NZ has done a bunch of comparative work on bullets and how they perform on game. I know in the 7x57, he claims the 162 gr. A-Max is one of the best. Check him on line to see what he says about the 6.5x55.

In my 6.5x55, I'm shooting the 139 gr. Scenar as this bullet groups the best.

DF

I agree with you Dirtfarmer, but I'm thinking that 'best shooter' is a bit irrelevant when longest shots are less than 200yds. A 4 moa shooter would work fine on deer at that range.

If I were shooting sub 200yds, I would guy some ballistic tips.

Why not try these?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/12...264-diameter-140-grain-spitzer-box-of-50

The 6.5x55 is very behaved and well balanced in the same category as a 7x57 IMO as I load for both.The Swede with 1:8 or 8.5 twist will stabilize and digest anything I put down the tube be it mono's or C&C.Barnes and Partitions are my first choices but Speer & Hornady also shoot well....They aren't finicky.

I've been around Swedes on and off for many moons,if one doesn't shoot it's most likely the guy behind the trigger.

Definitely with the Swede, and usually with a lot of other combos. Tweak the shooter, not the shooting iron.

I purchased 3 boxes of bullets when I got my build back from the smith:
140gr Bergers
130gr Barnes
and 120gr NBT

I was able to find a load using the 120gr NBT with 39grs of Varget. Group size was under .30 @ 100 yards. Just can't bring myself to finding loads for the other bullets.

Try some Varget. Work your way up the ladder as 39 grs is the published max. Let us know what you find.

HaYen

EDITED:
Ok I should mention I haven't killed Deer size game or larger with this rifle and load, but the round is accurate. I have no doubt that when its her time to hunt, she will put down a Couse WT if I do my part.

My Swede is a CZ 550 American. The first bullet I tried was the 140 gr GK. Could not find an accuracy node. I read that 1:8 twist is better for 140 gr bullets and mine is 1:9. So I tried 130 gr Berger Hunting VLD's and they were so accurate I haven't tried anything else. The Bergers have worked just fine on deer for me.

Where you finding all that Varget...?

DF

If I owned a 6.5 Swede, I'd find out what Scandinavians use because they use the Swede to hunt moose.

The 6.5 Swede is an excellent North American big game cartridge.

If it was me, I'd load R19 and 120gr NBT as fast as I could safely push them and commence killing deer.

"Longest shot likely 100 yds"

No need to push them hard, 2200-2400 MV w/a 120 NBT will kill deer all day long - modest load at 2700-2800 is way more than enough.

This tracks with my experience. 140s at 2600-2650 were wicked and more than enough at 200 yards.

AMax will kill what you shoot stone dead. I had great luck with 6.5 Berger VLD hunting. My favorite projectile by far. I hunt in Georgia. So don't think it's only a long range bullet....

The Scandinavian loads are typically 160 grain round nose. Not a high BC bullet but brutal on game.

Hornady says not to use a-max bullets for hunting, so I don't. I know many have had good luck with them and they are very accurate and consistent.

140 gr Partitions with RL-22 in my 25" barreled Swede are sure killers at 2800 fps, low noise and recoil.