Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters John, will we ever see a commercial 6.5/06 loading?

Reloaders should know as much as they can about the bullets they wish to use.

This is not directed at you, DF. Every couple of years I post something about paying attention to the manufacturer's recommendations, and the message always needs repeating.

It seems that most posters here and other sites load up bullets, push them as fast as they can and later, some complain about failures in the field. I can't help thinking that the reloader was the defect, not the bullet, in many of the cases.

Reloading manuals, websites and even bullet boxes will have the information a reloader needs to properly assemble their cartridges. You can also email or phone their tech lines. One of the better companies for providing this information is Nosler.

Look at this picture.

At the bottom of the box lid you will see that Nosler clearly marked the "Optimum Performance Velocity". They are telling reloaders that for the bullet to function optimally, the impact velocity must be between 1800 and 3200 fps. Nosler says this because they tested it. When you reload this bullet, you should check your manual, your chronograph or a computer program to discover the muzzle distance at which the bullet is moving between the min and max velocity recommended by the maker. How far from the muzzle will the bullet cease to function properly? And something that few people realize: Lighter bullets do not have the reach of their heavier brothers.



But it's more than velocity and impact energy!

What about bullet construction? Is your bullet actually made for the animal you're hunting? For example, using Game Kings or varmint bullets to take whitetails. We've seen posts about using target or varmint bullets on deer quite a bit here. Using the wrong bullets isn't a good idea.

Is your rifle's barrel twist sufficient to handle that Barnes hunting bullet, shot from your 223?

The message is simple: Use the bullet according to the bullet manufacturer's recommendations.

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Checking in with the manufacturers. It's a good idea!

I talked with Speer several times about how they rate their bullets. They use energy figures, and recommend 1000ft/lb of energy for deer, 1200 ft/lb for elk and 2000 ft/lb for moose. These align closely with the energy expended by bullets striking at Nosler's optimum performance velocity.

I had to email Barnes about their recommendations. They recommend minimum and maximum velocities for their bullets.

Hornady's method, using MV Range, is sketchy. Like any bullet, the farther it gets from the muzzle, the slower it goes and the less energy it will impart on arrival. If you rely on Hornady's recommendations, you might be disappointed. It seems that you must be good out to any distance, as long as you launch their bullets somewhere between their MV Range. They need to update their recommendations. I wrote them for clarification, but they did not answer. Perhaps they are going to do this. It's long overdue.

Ex: The Hornady 165 gr. SST has a MV Range of 2200 to 3400 fps. My question: If you launch that bullet at 2200 fps, a velocity within their range, when does the bullet become ineffective? IOW, when will it fail to expand on impact? Or doesn't it expand no matter what the distance?

Did I mention to take advantage of the manufacturer's tech lines or websites?!

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Recommended reading: The Handbook of Metallic Cartridge Reloading Ed Matunas, 1980. Chapter 8 deals with bullets and what happens on game when your bullet strikes game outside of its design envelope.