Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Hornady 160 Grain 6.5mm Round Nose

It seems Hornady has stopped making these, or any round nosed bullets or 160s at all, for that matter.

Anyone know where I can get a supply of a couple of hundred for my 6.5x54?

And a bargain too.

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/6186

Better bullets in that class to my mind. I really liked the 156gr Norma in the 6.5x54

Yeah, I would go with the Norma Oryx for a 6.5x54 as well--and have.

The 160 Hornady is one of the most erratic bullets I've used, even at moderate muzzle velocities.

Thanks, guys.

Tony, the bargain blemished bullets and the new Hornadys at Graf's are .268" diameter. I need .264" diameter. So far as I know, .268" is only useful for the 6.5x53 Carcano.

I just placed an order for 300 Norma Alaskan 160 grain .264" bullets from Graf's. They are about 50% more expensive than Hornady but I will have enough for a long time.

The Hornady website still lists the 117 RN in .257, the 160 RN in .264 and .268, the 175 RN in .284, the 150, 180 and 220 RNs in .308. Those .268s at Grafs are blemished (discolored) bullets, a good deal anyway.

While not a roundnose, I have heard good things about the 160gr Woodleigh. It is one I would like to try soon.

155 Lapua Mega is an excellent bullet. Grafs sells them for $40 a box.

When I first started shooting and hunting with a 6.5 x 55 some 22 years ago. Loaded 160gr Hornaday RN. And to this day its the only bullet I ever recovered out of a white tail deer, ok it was a big buck for CT it was about 180 lbs field dressed. They shot well enough. But they tend to fly apart some. There are better bullets Woodleigh makes a 160 gr bullet then as stated Norma 156 gr and the 155 Lapua Mega. Sierra made a 160 gr bullet that was very good for the 6.5 but they discontinued it, Maybe you can find some on the shelfs, I always keep an eye out for them. four our five boxes will last you just shooting big game for a long time.

I am not sure what the 160s are better for that they are not worse for?? A 140 Partition is going to penetrate as deeply as the 160s in my experience and shoot a lot flatter. I think that in their day, they had real merit, now, I am not so sure they are best for anything.

I would agree. The only bullets I load for my 6.5x55 is the 155 Mega and the 140 Partition. Most of my hunting is close so I like the traditional look of the 155 Mega. Certainly, they won't kill any better than the 140 Partition. The Mega is a very solid design, opens fast at low velocity and holds it's core with a cavernous mechanical lock.

Anyone ever try the 155 gr Mega bullet in the 264 WM? I would like to try them one day in my 260 Rem and 264 WM but wonder how they will hold up to the speed of the magnum.

Well I basically agree with dennisnaz. But like many things in shooting, it's not about how well they perform. It's about how cool they are. The 160 grain size was used in the 6.5x54mm at a velocity of about 2200 fps. With its sectional density, it penetrated pretty deeply and at this velocity did not blow up. It acquired a reputation for killing game all out of proportion to that usually shot with 30-30 type ballistics, like moose and elk and, in Africa, dangerous game. Its sectional density is the same as a 500 grain bullet from a .458 and better than a 300 grain bullet from a .375.

Someday I would like to return to Africa and shoot plains game in the 500 to 600 pound class with mine, or even take an eland with it. If it were legal, I would try to shoot a cape buffalo with one. In my opinion, there are very few things cooler than the Mannlicher Schoenaur Model of 1903 in this caliber.

Never used the Hornady's, but I loved (past tense) the Sierra 160's.

I Plan on using 140 Partitions for everything in Africa when I go.

Good plan!

The only "traditional" 6.5mm bullet in the 155-160 grain range that I'd consider right now (because I have experience with it on game) is the 156 Norma Oryx. It works very consistently--though not any more than the 140 Partition.

If you read enough of the older writings about the magical 155-160 grain bullets in the various 6.5's, you'll find some instances where they didn't work so well. And that's been my experience with the 160 Hornady RN from the 6.5x64 Mannlicher-Schoenauer. I've seen it break both shoulders on an average Montana whitetail doe and exit--and seen it not reach the far side of the ribcage on a behind-the-shoulder shot.