Seems to me that the design of the Creedmoor begs the use of an Old School 155-160 round nose? Has anyone tried it and used it on hogs, or just heavier game? I think it would be fun, but I don't have my rifle yet, so curious....

Some of the testing that I have seen, does not show well for the 160 Interlock. Maybe others are better.

I have used the 160 Hornady some on deer, and will not use it again--and that was at a muzzle velocity of around 2200 from the 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer round. Saw it break both shoulders and exit--and fail to reach the far ribs on a behind-the-shoulder shot.

If you really want to try that sort of bullet I would suggest the 156-grain Norma Oryx, a bonded bullet that's sort of a cross between a round-nose and spitzer. They expand widely yet penetrate pretty well, because normal weight retention is around 90%. Have used them on all sorts of stuff, in various calibers, with very good results.

Why not just use a good pointy bullet designed for the CM? There's no real advantage to using an "old school" round nosed bullet.

The 140 grain bullets worked best in mine.

I'm just curious bsa is all. I will use whatever it shoots best, of course, but I sometimes like to "thump" a critter with a heavy round nose. Nostalgic I suppose.

How about a nice nostalgic 140 Partition?

If it works and you want to try it, I say try it. Yrs ago I loaded some 7 Rem mags with the 175 gr Hornady rd nose bullets and they were definitely thumpers. Double shoulder shots seemed to body slam the 2 or 3 mature does I shot with it.

I recovered one from a javelina. (Hornady)

I don’t get the belief that slower heavy for caliber bullets become “thumpers” and somehow are more effective on game. Hasn’t been my experience. The slower I’ve shot a particular bullet the less damage it has done. Additionally, construction trumps weight on penetration. Example: 160 gr Hornady RN 6.5mm.

grovey,

I have double-shouldered whitetail does with cup-and-core bullets as small as the 100-grain blue box Federal .243's--and they exited.

Plus, double-shoulder shots with bullets that make it through both shoulders (and don't even exit) generally "body-slam" animals, especially if they come anywhere close to the spine--and they generally do. It isn't a result of the bullet (or cartridge, or velocity) but placement.

All true guys, and I enjoy using them all! But they are still fun to hunt/kill game with, for me. My problem is/has always been a lack of time/money to use everything/hunt everything I want to use/try/experience! ha I'm one f those guys who could "literally" hunt/shoot every day of my life...but, didn't turn out that way.

That's about 180 degrees out of phase.

What I meant was the design calls for the ability to shoot a long bullet in a short action w/o crowding the powder space. Semantics, my bad.

Please forgive me for being picky, but it wasn't about the powder space either.

MD, do you have any experience on deer sized animals with the 155 gr Lapua Mega?

Oh you devil you!

I bought a bunch of really cheap PPU 156 gr from Grafs 3 years ago. The shape of the bullet is reminiscent of the old Nosler Semi Pointed. Kind of aerodynamic for a roundnose and they feed very well from the Mannlicher Schoenauer 6.5x54 (but Hornady 160's can occasionally drag on the feed ramp with their more exposed lead nose). The real bottom line is, I got the best groups ever from my rifle with them. Two dinky blacktail bucks don't tell the story on performance, but they worked and I couldn't do an autopsy, through the ribcage. I run them about 2350 fps which is awful tame compared to the possibilities offered by the much larger Creed case. Anyway, at 17 bucks a 100, it's an awful good bullet IMO.

+1 on the PPU's. Woodleigh has a fairly new 160 RN that should be good. No info on the velocity window it was designed for but their other 6.5s have a pretty wide velocity range something like 1,600 - 3,200 fps. They are good with info just ask them and see if they have any load data too.

I am tempted to load up some 160s in the Swede and burn up some AA8700 I have around for a sort of old school load.

The 7mm versions worked great on hogs of any size.

I hear ya and if ya like it and it works have fun. If you pay for the trip to Africa, I will load us up some heavy 6.5 solids and we can poke a hole in a elephants pumpkin and settle this 6.5 Creed debate once and for all!

More like 420° out.

OK I'll bite....just "what" about my Post is so far out? Seems it is viewed from 180deg out, all the way to 420deg!?? It was "designed" as a Target round, so, to me, it begs to be experimented with "as a hunting round". I don't see the problem??? Help me then???

It certainly has room for an old school heavy for caliber bullet. The design was for long pointy bullets, no reason you can’t go with heavier not as pointy bullets.

Bingo Pard, that's exactly where I am coming from, ha. I guess few people ever play around with the old heavy round nose anymore, but I like to. I shot my last hog (a Eurasian up on the U.P.) with a 35 Whelen AI and a 310gr Woodleigh, at 30yds no less, ha. It worked perfectly. I also like to use the other end of the spectrum...I like the light monos in any rifle caliber too. I've had people ask me why I used the 185 XLC/338WM (dating myself) on elk, why not just use a 300WM? Because...:)

Well if I decide to go old school with 160 gr RN 6.5's I'll load them in my M70 push feed Featherweight 6.5x55 "Swedee" MB

420 is a reference to marijuana (I don't know why, it's an urban slang thing).

I don't think your idea is all that strange, and the Creedmoor should handle long heavy bullets as well as anything else. I would point out though that with most barrels you probably won't come close to utilizing full magazine length capacity before running into the lands with heavy round nose bullets, so just back off the loads appropriately.

Using heavy round nose bullets in the Creedmoor doesn't appeal to me personally, since it seems to give up a lot of advantage for not much gain, but if a guy wants to, go for it. It'll go bang, and kill just as well as the same bullet in a Swede or whatever. I wouldn't try to claim that it's better for hunting though.

Magnum Bob,

A PUSH-FEED Model 70 for a 6.5x55? Are you some kind of Philistine?

Most hunters "know" the 6.5x55 requires a classic controlled-feed bolt action, just they "know" you're not supposed to use heavy round-nosed bullets in the 6.5 Creedmoor....

It would be like using a VLD in a vintage Rigby made 275. Some things just aren't done.

"Egad Lovey, he must be a Yale man."

Thurston Howell III

A 6.5mm/140 of equal build to .308/180 will out-penetrate the latter. I just can't see any reason to go beyond a 140 in the Creedmoor, just like I really wouldn't shoot anything more than a 180 in the 308 Win.

The 140 out of the 6.5 CM hull gets all that can be reasonably gotten IMO.

Nooo….JB not a Philistine but a Gackconite collector. Only ever seen 2 of them. One of them is mine, got it back in 1988 or so but just so you know, its normal diet is 129 gr Hornady SP's. MB

The 140 out of the 6.5 CM hull gets all that can be reasonably gotten IMO.[/quote]

I'm sure I will not go beyond this myself, I was just curious if someone had tried it. I know the "Swede" is used on moose with the 160, so most think "Old School 6.5" think of it. I also understand ( MM) about not using a VLD in a .275 Rigby, ha. So far, the only "limb" I'm willing to climb out on for the Creedmoor is using the 139 Scenar. Too many good reports not to at least try it myself. My hesitation with using Match bullets is a doe I saw my uncle kill at 30 steps. Hit her in the neck, made saucer sized (and saucer deep) wound. Pure shock killed her. I asked him what he was shooting in his beloved Mod 742 30-06? He showed me a "handful of rounds so & so gave him". They were Match loads! ha But, I'm willing to see at least how they shoot. If I did end up playing with the 160RN in the Creed, I'd want to try it on a big hog. Hogs are great bullet Tests!

Jim, I know you asked if anyone has tried RNs, and I have not. Not from the 6.5 CM at least. I would suggest that you buy a box of RN bullets and give them a whirl. If not Hornadys, then Normas, Lapuas or Prvis. Who knows, you may just teach a few people here a lesson. Despite what others advise, nothing beats doing it yourself. Don't follow the herd!

Take some hog hunting and let the folks know how you made out.

Better yet, has anybody tried a 160-ish RN cast bullet? I have a mold for same coming and will give it a whirl out of my Ruger No.1 6.5x55.

Slapped a couple deer silly 40 years ago with 160's (Hornady I think) out of a Swedish cavalry carbine. I don't know what velocity was but it was undoubtedly slow. Nor do I remember much about where they were hit but I don't remember having to trail them.

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If you really want to try that sort of bullet I would suggest the 156-grain Norma Oryx,

Is the Alaskan similar tot he Oryx John? (or anyone? I haven't located a source of the Oryx yet)

Both are 156 gr. The Alaska is soft point jacketed bullet. The Oryx is a soft point, bonded bullet. I don't know where you would get them in the US.

Thanks Steve, supposedly the Alaskan is also bonded. You know, for almost 50yrs I have read about the effectiveness of the7x57/160gr/2600fps combo. Eleanor O'Conner used it on elk, etc just fine. I would think that the 155-160/6.5 around the same speed would work fine too. Sure, I know the lighter weight Monos will work as well, but under 200yds, the 155-160 going 2550-2600 can't be that bad of a choice, even for elk, at least in my 420 "mind", ha. ( Hey it was the 60's!)

The Alaska isn't bonded. It is a traditional bullet designed for low and medium velocity cartridges like the Swede. A good MV for this bullet is 2300 to 2600 fps. Really, it's a 150 yd moose bullet. I've never tried them on deer, but I wouldn't bother with them beyond 150 yd for whitetails either. There are better choices. Because of its nose, it begins to shed velocity quickly.

For a time, Sierra made a semi-pointed 160 with a very long shank which shot very well in my 6.5x55. I throated a 260 to allow the use of this bullet as well. It shot very well and performed beautifully on deer. Sadly, they quit making it. I have been going to try some 155 Lapuas but have not gotten around to it. GD

Continuing with my year of shooting only factory ammo in the Mesa 6.5 CM I tested a box of Norma 156 gr. Oryx. The nominal MV printed on the box was 2560 fps. I don't know if that's based on a 22, 24, or 26 inch barrel. Given where the groups landed on target I suspect a 24" test barrel.

I sorted the ammo by B-t-O seating depth and shot 5-round groups @ 100 yards. The deeper seated groups shot better than the longest seated groups. B-t-O seating depth variance for the box was 0.006"

Groups were 0.73", 0.86", 0.97" and 1.17".

Given those numbers I bought 1 more box from the same lot # to squirrel away for if and when I ever draw a lower-48 moose tag.

Pud