I'm just wondering how these particular bullets hold together/expand on small deer/antelope? I will be shooting them fast, for the trajectory "point and shoot" kind of hunting I do. This will be a moot question IF this rifle likes these 118 HHT Hammers, but I'd like some opinions, no wrong answer, last thing I want is bullet blowup, that just ruins too much meat, even ab exit hole over a silver dollar size bugs me. Thanks;
The Hornady 120 IL...or SST....the 130gr Sierra Tipped Game King....Speer 120gr Impact.

I've had good results with the 129 InterLock on pronghorn at 303 yds and 177 yds. Both exited, more meat damage at 177 yds but it was a smaller antelope too. I was shooting a 6.5x55 at modern (high) pressures. I usually punch the lungs.
I also had good results with the 25 cal 120 SST from a 25-06 at 330 yds. In the brisket and out the arse. Baseball size exit, but somehow I managed to miss all vital organs. Follow up shot in the neck.
No experience with the others. Actually, I could have sworn that Sierra stopped making hunting bullets. The ONLY Sierra bullets I have found for 3 years are match/competition bullets

I can’t get the tipped game kings to shoot worth a damn in multiple calibres and tries. The 120 Sierra prohunter is my favourite vanilla 6.5mm bullet however.

I just got a couple boxes of TGK’s in 130 grain .264 to try in my 6.5x55 because I wasn’t getting the amount of damage I wanted with the 130 grain SGK HPBT. I was killing deer alright, but not messing up lungs as much as I’d like. The TGKs in 165 .308 out of one of my .308’s were a little messier than I liked. Maybe the 130 HPBT would be the sweet spot for you if you’re pushing them hard, just a thought.

I've used the 129 SP Hornady out of the 260, 6.5 x 55 and 6.5 x 57, and the 6.5 Grendal.

I have run them fast and then "Slow" out of the Grendal. The bullet has NEVER failed to work, at close range or at distance.
Fast or slow. It and the 139 Hornady SP in 7mm are exactly the same. Old School bullet, yet works consistently if you put the bullet in the right spot.

I've tried the Tipped GameKing in 6mm, and contrary what I was told via Sierra, the bullet is very hard and intended for game larger than deer in general. It barely opened up on a smallish deer at 150 yds, leaving the muzzle of a 243 at 2500 fps. The 129 gr Hornady will certainly work at that distance, leaving the muzzle at 2500 fps or even less. The Grendal proved that to me, by dropping a buck on the spot, a season or two ago.

I like a bullet that has been proven for decades. I'd take the 129 SP by Hornady and never even consider the others listed above. It has been proving itself for 5 decades or more., in SP or the older RN version.

It also works (129 sp) just fine at 3150 out of a 264 win mag..mb

For what you want I doubt a cup and core is gonna work with that light a bullet. I don't use monolithic bullet's but for what you want that's what I'd try. Actually though, in my 6.5's I'm shooting 149gr Speer hot cores. Haven't shot anything with it yet but di like the hot core I used to use in aa 7nn mag. With my 25-06 I started out with 100gr bullets but they made a mess inside the animal. Went to a 117gr cup and core and most the mess just went away. Velocity is not your friend with fast cartridges! Killed three elk with my 6.5x06 and 140gr Hornady and no mess inside.

Well ,Don in the 6.5x55 and the 264 I haven't caught a 129 gr SP yet on deer. They work..mb

I'm a fanboy of the 129 SP's, and have been since the mid-80's when I gave them a whirl in a new Winchester M70 Fwt 6.5x55. Still using them in my current 6.5x55 Ruger 1A. For accuracy and lethality I would be content if it was the only 6.5 bullet on the market. I have a bunch of Scenars and Berger VLD Hunting gathering dust waiting their turn which may never come.

Thanks guys, as I have mentioned in other places ( I first read it in Jack O'Conner's Book, late 70's, early 80's?)that Hornady's were considered "hard bullets", and bullets like Speers/Sierras on the "soft side". It seemed that way to me too. In fact, I loaded a wad of the Hornady 150SP for friend's 30-06s for the little SE Texas deer, but we had big tough hogs too. It's a good bullet. For years, I have made up my hunting loads ( usually Barnes or Noslers (PT/BTs) and then I tweak a load with Hornady's for a practice round. With the Markey gone nuts now Components, I find myself cutting way back/Conserving my efforts if you would, ha. BTW, I killed my first cow elk with a 30-06 Light Magnum round loaded with the Hornady 180SP. It worked.

I've become a fan of the Speer 120 grn. Gold Dot over the last couple of years very good performance on game.

What are you shooting that Gold Dot in Uncle grumpy? I know many guys out here ( that do not handload) who use the Fusion line on deer/elk from 270's through 30cals and 7mm Rem Mags.

I hand load everything I shoot. I shoot them in a Montana 260, and a 260 Savage with excellent results so far also shoot the 140's out of my 264 and 6.5PRC.

fast and less meat damage would dictate a mono in my mind

Where did you find 25cal, 120 SSTs? Don't see them on Hornady's website

I've used the 120 Sierra Prohunters on whitetails in my 6.5 Creedmoors for several years now and they just flat out work.

Hornady, with its interlock bullet, has the "cup and core" design refined to a high art.

If you went back 20 years on this forum and asked the same question (I have!), you'd get the same answer.

It's the Nosler Partition of the cup and core world.

I’ve about come to the conclusion it’s hard to find a bad hunting bullet in 6.5…not sure if that is more bullets being refined these days or the fact that so many 6.5 cartridges are moderate enough to be in the sweet spot for cup and core performance. I’ve never played with the hotter 6.5 rounds, maybe that would change my mind.

Shot a couple mule deer bucks with 130gr Gamechangers in my 6.5CM. Excellent bullets, very accurate. Only issue I have with them is that they have not been on store shelves for 4 years now.

A local shop just got about 10 boxes in the other day. They sold me a bunch in .277 and .284 that theyd had for a while at a steep discount. I tried to get the 6.5mm 130s at a discount but they weren't about to mark those down because they just got them.

I've wondered if the gamechangers are any good. I'm going to load the 140g 277s for a few 270s I accidentally had to buy. Ones a pre 64 win m70 that was priced right and the other was a slightly used bergara premier at about half the new price. I've never been a big fan of Sierra bullets on game but I'll see how these TGks do. I think the tgk and ganechangers are the same things right?

Bb

I used to believe that and was a big fan until I realized they change them dramatically from lot to lot over the years. We sanded a few different lots down and they had totally different jacket thicknesses and the interlock rings were in completely different places. I used to load them for different friends for a cheaper all around hunting bullet.

Then about 15 years ago SPS had nosler partition seconds for cheaper than I could buy interlocks. Since then if a friend wants me to load them some hunting ammo for up to moderate range I just load them the partition 2nds. I've mostly used higher bc stuff for myself over the last few decades.

I was working up some loads for my new to me m70 30-06 last night and almost loaded some 200g partitions. But I compromised and went with 200g accubonds to pick up a little bc and some 190g ablrs for even a bit more bc.

Bb

Ditto.

When I got my 6.5CM I tried most of the plastic tipped bullets at the range (100/120gn Ballistic Tip, 123/129gn SST, 130gn Sierra Gamechanger, 130gn Accubond etc.). However, when I went to take it out after a fallow deer I chose the 129gn Hornady SP. They are a good reliable hunting bullet on medium deer and pig sized game.

I've used them a lot on deer. The largest mule deer I've taken so far was a DRT, after taking one of those through the boiler room. What the 130 grain.277 will do so will the 129 grain .264 do. Same, same.

The 140 TGKs worked great for me for broadside shots on whitetails. I used HSM’s 6.5 CM factory load.

Expat

I’m a bit surprised nobody has mentioned Barnes LRX yet. I live in California, so had to come up with a new bullet for my .264, since we have to shoot lead free bullets. I was shooting Nosler ABLR’s but switched to the 127 grain Barnes LRX. My load is 65.0 grains of Reloader 26 which gives me 3,220 fps. In my rifle I get groups of 0.35” and excellent performance on game.

I bought a bunch of pulled 127g lrxs from our firemember in Arizona that sells pulled bullets. I've been thinking about trying them in my 700 cdl sf 264 win mag. They probably hit pretty hard at those speeds. I once loaded 120g nbts in it over 7828 and had them going 3450. I took them rock chuck hunting and it was like fireworks.

Bb

Let us know how the 127 LRX works. Barnes specs say 1:8" twist or faster. If the Remmy has a 1:9.25, you may be outta luck.

I've settled on the 130 grain AB as my medium game bullet of choice in the 260 and 6.5 CM.

Barnes twist suggestions are like those of other bullet manufacturers--they're for the "worst" conditions, such as cold temperatures at sea level. Higher altitudes make a BIG difference.

Plus, some twist calculators count the length of plastic tips in overall length, and it's been demonstrated many times that such tips have very little effect, since they're so light. JBM Ballistics' formula takes that into account.

The 129 grain SP I have used over the last 30+ years took a caribou at 415 yards in the early 90's and it expanded out there pretty well when started at 2900fps in a 6.5 Rem Mag. It also killed very well with caribou at closer range right down to 50 yards. In my newest Remington 600 it shoots better groups than anything else and is averaging well under MOA out to 425 yards at the range. Only 2775fps in the 18.5" barrel but it shoots really well. I haven't tried the 130 Tipped Game King the original poster talked about but 130 grain Sierra HPBT hunting bullets shoot almost as well as the Hornady with the same powder charge of IMR 4831. I am less confident in the ability of the Sierra HPBT bullet to open up consistently at long range based on previous use however. The 140 grain Speer Hot Core is also a shooter. Twist is a relatively slow 1-9" in the old 600 but those Remington barrels seem to shoot really well from that era! It isn't doing as well with anything with a plastic tip but I think that has more to do with rifle variability than twist rate, as some of these bullets worked well in other 6.5 Rem Mags in 600 and 660's and a Ruger from the past. You have to try them and see it seems.