Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 6.5 Bullets

Doe's anyone make a 150 gr and or 160 gr sp in this diameter?

http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?pageNum=3&tabId=19&categoryId=7279&categoryString=652***19785***9016***

Dennis

I think you always have the good Hornady 160grs RN. Not sure if they are available in the USA the 156grs Lapua and best of all the 156grs Oryx from Norma. In the US you can go to Hawk bullets (www.hawkbullets.com) they make lot of odd caliber bullets and can even make some to your special specications, they have 6,5 that are excellent and easy on old barrels. You can even choose the jacket thickness. Woodleigh of Australia is making really tough 6,5, i think in 160grs.

I think you always have the good Hornady 160grs RN. Not sure if they are available in the USA the 156grs Lapua and best of all the 156grs Oryx from Norma. In the US you can go to Hawk bullets (www.hawkbullets.com) they make lot of odd caliber bullets and can even make some to your special specications, they have 6,5 that are excellent and easy on old barrels. You can even choose the jacket thickness. Woodleigh of Australia is making really tough 6,5, i think in 160grs.

Dom,

Generally through MidwayUSA or Grafs, and some others, we can always get Norma, Lapua, and Woodleigh bullets. Prices are generally higher than Hornady, but sometimes are the only choice. Personally, in my 6.5x54 Kurz and my .260 Remington, I shoot 120 and 129 gr bullets, because they kill deer just fine. If I want to shoot a bigger bullet, I move up to .280 for 139-140's, then to .338 Federal and .338 RCM for 185-225 gr bullets. If I really want to get big bullets, there are the .35 Whelen, .375 Ruger and .404 Jefferies waiting in the gunsafe.

It might be that I am covered up with niche rifles... .

Dennis

So you have good choice, Norma is making also the Vulkan and the Alaska in 156grs. I know some swedish guys who use them on moose in 6,5x55 and some french who handload them for red deer and wild boars in 6,5x57. But i think you're right they are much too heavy for the 6,5x54Kurz Mauser who was developped around 125 to 140grs years long gone by. Really nice little rifle.
I like the 35Whelen, got a 7600, really good in driven hunt while tracking, fast and powerful.

160g Woodleigh WeldCore (BC 0.509) shoots really well in my 6.5x284.

Also, Northfork is making heavy 6.5 bullets (160s I think). Norma Oryx is 156g as above.

In Canada Hornady 160's are the easiest to get but we can also get the Woodleigh and Lapua bullets for sure. I don't know about the Norma bullets though.

You are just about the only person on this site, other than the guy I bought the rifle from, who knows what a 6.5x54 Kurz is, and what twist the rifle barrel came with. Mine shoots 120-gr Speer bullets at 2600 fps very well, so that is the selected load.

Incidently, the company that built it reorganized in West Germany after WWII and named themselves Anschutz, after the family that established the original factory .

A picture, just for you ...



I have yet to shoot anything with it, but have hopes for this fall...

Dennis

Thanks to all for the help.

Sweet rifle,Dennis!

Alberta Wildcat 168gr VLD

The 156gr Norma Oryx is a wonderful bullet (love all the Oryx diameters for less than mach speed cartridges).

Been using the Lapua Mega bullets in 6.5 a bit also.

Someone did some 6.5 bullet testing a while back and posted results. IIRC it showed that the long heavy bullets didn't penetrate any better (or as well in some cases) as a good ole 140 grain bullet.

Hmmm... I got an idea...

Missouri River Breaks, this fall, you and I and our 6.5's. You can bring the beer

Oddly enough, beer brewed in Juneau is cheaper in Montana than it is here...so I don't even have to bring it with me .

It would be fun if we could connect somewhere and shoot the schitt, or deer, or something...

Dennis

I know even more swedish guys who'd declare you legally insane if trying to use those poor excuses for bullets on anything you'd want to kill. By far the most inreliable moose bullets I have ever seen, you never know whether they're going to explode on impact or just zip through...

If anyone feels the hankering to go the euro route, the Oryx works well in the x55. Lapua Mega does just as well, maybe a tad less retained weight but excellent and reliable for a non-bonded bullet.

The collected wisdom from the numerous discussions we've had on this topic over here, is that there is only one never-fail bullet: the Woodleigh. Always does the job quickly w/o turning half the moose into crow feed.
The runners-up are the Mega, the Oryx and Hornady 160 - in that order.
Bullets to avoid are any other Norma offering, the Partition (kills alright, but I want to eat at least some of the moose myself...), most over-stressed 140 gr conventionals and... Well, anything not previously mentioned on the good side...

Although not legal over here, my testing seems to indicate that the 130 gr TSX might be a really good choice as well. With impact speeds from 3000 fps down to 1600, it has expanded and penetrated sufficiently to excellent - regardless of hard or soft media. Truly a magic bullet in this calibre as well as others.

-- Mats

As a Swedish you for sure have extperience, i was speaking of the Vulkan and Alaska because they exist but i agree with you and don't use them. And the guys (working for Norma) i know use only Oryx for the job.I hunt mostly with bigger calibers than 6,5 but i seen the same thing, these bullets destroy to much meat but the Vulkan are well liked in central Europe, Germany and France because they stop game faster than Oryx. These people like to see the game fall like being lightning striked. It's not my way of thinking.
The Oryx is really well (use it till 2000 on moose, stags, wild boars, mouflon rams without any probs) made; as Norma guys explained me when he wes introduced in 2000 they are conceived to kill surely but cleanly, without destroying too much meat cause in Sweden moose meat is most of time sold.
I used also some Woodleigh bullets in 9,3 and for sure they are the right stuff.
A question: why the Barnes 130grsTSX forbidden? Not enough weight? Norma is loadind certain cartridges with TSX, are they all forbidden to hunt with?

regards
Dom

To muledeer and Danadair would be nice if i can come, could bring with me some awful, US banned, french products, wines and cheeses!!!And some Belgian Abbayes beers....

Dreaming!

Dom, I reread my last post and hope you didn't take it as an insult - wasn't bashing you, just the bullets...

The 9 g/139 gr Vulcan does - if it manages to reach far enough and expand at all - perform rather violently and the animal reacts more. IMO it doesn't necessarily die any faster, but the reaction is bigger. The problem is that they oftentimes grenade against bone and fail to penetrate, and sometimes thay just won't open at all which leaves you with a pin sized hole through the animal and little or no blood to track them by. The Alaska is a bit more reliable, but can behave exactly the same.

When it comes to the TSX it is perfectly legal for hunting, though not moose or any other "Klass 1"-game (moose, bear, boar and the like) since the minimum requirement is an expanding bullet of no less than 9 g (139 gr) and an energy level of no less than 2700 J (1990 footpounds) @ 100 meters, or 10 g/2000 J/100 m.
No doubt in my mind that it'll do the work but the sheriff won't let me try...

-- Mats