Looking at different rounds for the 6.5 CM and was thinking there are some damn good bulltes in 120-130gr for 6.5. Will the 6.5CM push the 120gr ttsx fast enough to be effective?

120gr NBT work well at deer killing velocities?

129 ABLR has worked really well for me over the past 2 years.

Sure will. So will the 125 Partition and 129 Interlock.

I did pick up a box of Hornady American Whitetail, which are 129 interlocks.

When I handloaded, I only used Hornady Interlocks for deer. I bought the Hornady American Whitetail 129s for my 6.5CM and it shoots .75", probably better in more capable hands. Always had good luck with that bullet.

I really like the 125 grain Partition and the 130 grain Accubond.

130g Accubond is my go to bullet in several 6.5's. Accurate and works very well.

I've used 120 BT, and 140 AB but really didn't notice any difference in the dead deer. Shot several with 143 eld x and they died also but neck shots are deadly anyway.
I shoot what's accurate and the 120 bt is fast and extremely accurate.

120 nbt and 129 hornady interlock sp from my 260 are excellent deer killers.

My wife has used both the 120g Speer and Sierra quite effectively on deer out of her 6.5x55.

All but one of the last 10-15 deer and antelope I have taken have been with 123 Scenar's out of 260 AI or 130 JLK out of a 6.5 SAUM. I've found them very effective.

T- The 120 grain BT is an outstanding bullet for deer or antelope in 6.5's. We have used it for decades with nary a hiccup. As a matter of fact, before I got out of the 6.5 business, it was the only bullet I used for deer.

Excellent.

And thank you to the rest of you as well. I appreciate it.

I’ve taken dozens of whitetail deer with the Nosler 120 grain Ballistic Tip in the now obsolete (😉) .260 Remington over the last 20 some odd years - it has worked wonderfully for me.

PennDog

Five or six big blacktail bucks with the American Whitetail 129 IL in my 6.5 CM.
Two cow elk with the same 129 Hornady handloaded in my .260 Rem Low Wall (80 yds and 257 yds)
Inexpensive, accurate and great terminal performance...... they’re always a good pick.

Tom,

I'm partial to the 130 AB but in this category it's harder to find a wrong answer than the right one. And I haven't seen a bullet mentioned in this thread that wouldn't be up-to-snuff.
Regarding your 120 TTSX inquiry, and, being reasonably familiar with how/where you hunt, heck yes, that's a good choice as well.

Not me, but my pard shot the 120 grain Sierra on several deer, never heard him complain of how they worked.

Not sure why he moved on, he even made mention of them yesterday and said he should have kept the rifle he was shooting them from and still be shooting the same bullet.

Thanks Scott. The 130 AB is on the short list to try as well.

Thanks again to the rest of you. These deer will be shot at from 10yds to 400.

Totally agree here. I've used the 130 VLD, 120 NBT, 129 ABLR, along with others. All have proven effective. Either it's tough to pick a bad 6.5 bullet or deer are just easy to kill.

My dad shoots the 100 grain TTSX in his 260 Rem. and absolutely loves them. I believe his furthest shot using them was pushing 300 yards. FWIW

I've never shot a deer with either bullet at ranges over +/- 300 yards, but all of the deer that I've shot with them have died promptly.

I think that the 130 grain AB offers a nice balance of accuracy, penetration, and velocity potential when compared to any of the other currently available 6.5mm component bullet suitable for shooting medium game. It has become my preferred bullet for use in medium case capacity cartridges like the 256 Newton, 260 REM, and 6.5 CM. Since I don't shoot anything except pdogs at ranges over a quarter mile, I don't need to shoot VLD style of bullets.

That said, over the past 25 or so years I've shot a bunch of deer with a variety of 6.5mm component bullets running in weight and style from the 95 grain VMax to the 140 grain Partition. Tags were punched every time.a rifle was fired and a bullet passed into or through the pleural cavity.

I’ve had really good results from the 129gr Interlock and the 130gr Accubond. My personal favorite is the 130gr Berger Hunting VLD.

If wanting a mono and not shooting past 300 or so, I’d probably pick the 100gr TTSX over the 120. Impact velocity matters with the monos. Anything farther and I’d be looking at the 127gr LRX.

John

I load and shoot the 130 Accubond and the 130 Swift Scirocco in a 6.5 Swede and they are both devastating on game. I've taken several whitetails, hogs and feral sheep with both bullets and everything had been boom/whop/thud. I see not reason why those bullets wouldn't work well in the Creedmoor.

Very true.

I've been hunting with the 147ELD for the last couple years and been very happy with its performance on deer and elk.

But this year I got to witness a friend shooting his Alberta WT buck with the 127LRX. ~100 meters, maybe a little under. Shot #1, full frontal. Penetrated stem to stern, left a ~2" exit just above the tail. Deer went down hard, spinning 180, but was making some noise about getting up. So the hunter put shot #2 stern to stem- broke several ribs, passed thru/along the spine/busted front shoulder and came to rest against the skin. Bullet looked like it came out of a Barnes promotion piece. I'll have to put a picture up.

I'm going to try out the 127 for myself next year.

Pretty tough to argue with that!

I’m glad I don’t have to field dress that one!!

My father length wised one front to back with a 300 Win. mag and a 165 grain Sierra. Innards were a bit messy on that one.

I did the same with a 30-06 and 165gr core-lokts. Dropped and pulled itself about 10yds on the ground. Picked its head up and I shot it in the neck.

When I walked up to it, the guys were hanging out the pelvis. It was a bit sporty in there. Lol

It actually wasn't too bad at all. Both bullets missed the abdominal cavity because of the shot angles. The deer was shot from slightly below, so the first bullet entered the brisket, skipped above the guts, and exited beside the spine right near the iliac crest. The second bullet entered the back near the diaphragm and came to rest under the skin just below the jaw.

my preference in my couple 260 rems is the 120 bt.until it fails on me thats what i'll shoot in them. when/if the 120 bt fails to do what i require i'll switch to the 125 partition or 130 accubond and won't check up. all that said the 120 bt is about as good a combo for speed/accuracy and on game performance there is in the 6.5mm realm imho. the 129 interlock ain't no snoozer either but alas...................big H has seen to NOT factory load the 129 interlock in my fav 260 rem.
good luck picking projectiles,
Big Ed

I am very happy with the 130AB. Accurate and deadly on deer with my 260REM.

Not sure what you're hunting, but also look at the 100gr TTSX

Shooting 6.5X55. Shot some whitetails with 120NBT. After seeing the effects of the 100TTSX I'm switching to it. Got some loaded with IMR 4451. Accurate, fast, clean.

Jim

130 Berger Hunting VLD is my choice for my 6.5x47....

In:



Out:



In between:

The 100 TTSX at 3100 from my .260 is one of my favorite bullets for deer and pigs. Farthest shot with so far has been 212 yards and dropped where it stood and did not even twitch. The 120 TTSX works equally well and have not noticed any difference between them in terminal performance.

Aalf - what do you use in the 47? What bbl length and speed? Thanks.

FWIW, my go to for a long time has been the 130 AB in 6.5......but a mono 100, or most conventional 120-130s, designed for hunting, or PROVEN for hunting, gets the job done.

Mono's need speed, so keep them high at ranges used, and I'd go for bone if using a mono. After the 130 AB, my pick for deer would be 120 BT, 125 PT (not needed) but a good one none the less, the 129 SP is a LONG Time proven bullet. 120 Corelokts have dumped some for me from the Swede. Many people use them with great results, but for me to say 400 yds, I think a good 120-130 is plenty BC, SD, and mass for deer. On the Berger 130s, heard nothing but great things, and they are very accurate. That said, even the 100 BT is a killer on deer to modest ranges, though I would always pick a 120 BT over it. The Barnes is one exception in 100 gr if using at closer ranges where impact speed is high.

I bought a box of this stuff and it put three shots into under half an inch at 100m. I shot two fallow does last year with it and the good old, ever reliable Hornady SP knocked the snot out of them. I worked up some handloads with the same 129gn Hornady SP and they shoot a bit over half an inch, but I haven't been able to match that group with the Whitetail ammo. However, I am currently loading the 130gn Sierra Game Changer with H4350 but have only taken a middle sized pig with it. The GC fully penetrated.

The OP got it right with the 120 - 130gn bullet weights. There are a bunch of good bullets in that weight and to me that was the weights I had in mind when I put the 6.5 CM barrel on. If I want to shoot a 140gn bullet I'll take a 7mm. One that nobody mentions is the RWS 127gn Cone Point. I'm loading that in my 6.5x55 and it groups very well at around 2 800fps. It also kills very well.

I used Speer 120 hot cores for a few years with success, now use 140 Hornady interlocks and 140 Partisions, in my Swede
Deer ain't hard to kill.

I re-worded my post to clarify, that was with my 6.5x47....130's at 2820.

Buck was shot at around 225 yards, typical double lung 75 yards death run.

130 Accubond in our 6.5’s. First bullet I tried and they were extremely accurate and worked great so I stopped there.

Anyone have experience with the 120 Speer Gold Dot?

Thanks for clarifying. I have some to try on deer, they make small groups.

I'm going to throw the 129 grain interbond into the ring.

Not a Swede but my daughter uses the same bullets from her 260 rem with excellent results on deer.

For as long as I can remember the Sierra 120 gr has put down mature muley bucks with ease. Also bullets like the Barnes 100gr TTSX, Nosler 100gr partition will also take the largest muley buck with no sweat. Nothing magical about it. Properly placed, works every time..I have observed hunters using large magnum cartridges hitting deer improperly , then have to hunt up the wounded game. Proper placement always a winner.

I'm a fan of Hornady bullets but for some reason when I want a bonded plastic tip bullet I always go with the Accubond or Scirocco.

120 gr BT's and TTSX's are big medicine on eastern whitetails in both of my .260's. I haven't seen a need to go to a heavier bullet.

Hornady 129 gr SST, not hot-rodded from a Tikka Swede. Excellent accuracy and terminal performance, 2 WT does at 150 yds.

I use the 120 Barnes in Creeds and 6.5-06’s. I like them, DRT kills

I like the factory loaded 127gr Barnes LRX. Shows well and kills deer amd pigs dead.

I shoot 120gr Sierra so in my 6.5 grendel and 125 no in my 260. Both work great for deer.

I have shot at least 40 deer (lost count) with Hornady 129 Interlocks. It is my go-to bullet for my .260s. I have killed deer and antelope out to 430 yards. It shoots as good as most target bullets in my rifles and hammers critters. In the .260, I load it to 2950. I had it faster, but my second rifle did not like the load in the summer, so I backed it down a bit. For factory, I think the American Whitetail is as good as it gets. I have seen that ammo shot in several rifles here on my range, and they all shot it well.

I shoot heavier bullets in my Creeds, because I can! I really like the 147 and also the 140 God Dot. Both do well on deer. My rifles do well with the 129, however, and I have killed a handful of deer with them at around 2800 fps. Inexpensive, accurate and effective.

I think I'll pick up some 130AB on Tuesday or Thursday when I swing back around by the gun shop.

I used the Nosler 120 BT and 125PT in a 6.5/284 for antelope in Utah and exotics in Texas, wicked. In fact, I play with bullet weights from light to heavy, just for the love of it, and for deer/antelope, I really like the flat shooting lighter weights. But I'm not a LRH, I can see where 140 and heavier work way out there. I used to zero +3@100, but for the really flat shooters, I dropped back to +1-2", wherever it settles down. I'm also not a turret turner. I used the 85gr xbt in a little 6mmx47 ( 222 mag necked up) going 2900 on exotics, it was just as wicked, ha!

120 gr. Ballistic Tip or the 129 gr. Interlock SP. I’ve used both with good results.

Don't forget the 123 Scenar at 6.5 CM, .260, Swede speeds.

Very accurate. A good application, IMO, is chest shooting WT's.

Agree with aalf on the 130 VLD. Seems to me the Scenar may stay together a bit better than the VLD. I think they both have a velocity ceiling for optimal terminal performance. For higher velocity, I'll go with a tougher bullet.

DF

120 BT's rock outta the 260....... I'm loading up another 150 of 'em tonight.

Great buck huntsman.....love that pic.

That’s a nice one Huntsman, spread, mass everything 😊

well since I started shooting 6.5's(mostly 6.5 x 55) I have had such good experiences with 120 grain nbt and sierra 120's that I've never loaded or shot any heavier bullets, may be missing the boat but i've had more drt than any other caliber.

Indeed nice buck H22

TZone - as I said the 130 AB has been my go to...you will not regret it....I have shot 1/2 MOA and it's deadly - 100 yds will bust both shoulders and exit, flattened another at 275.....

As we see above, SO many 6.5 options that do VERY when placed in vitals. I'd venture to say there are more good bullets that work very well on deer than not....even though some are made for paper, though I would avoid shoulders and raking shots, if anything to avoid meat loss.

I’ve used 100gr NBTs and partitions, 120 NBTs, TSX and Cor-Lokts and Amax,129 SSTs, 140 NBTs, H interlocks and CorLokts. Everything died from in your face ranges to out there at 540 yards. Disappointments were the 120 Amax at about 30 yards and the Hornady SST and Interlock. The Amax had little penetration but I did shoot her in the shoulder so I could revisit it and pick a different shot. The SSTs and interlocks shed their cores which they will do but the four deer shot with them all shed their cores. This was 15 years ago though but I hear changes have been made to them so I will burn up the ones I have and retry them. The 100gr NBTs are mean little buggars and hold together very well with minimal recoil.

It’s funny that we all ask questions about bullets in various cartridges yet a lot of us in this thread, me included, kill deer with the 223 and I’ve used soft points on them and they have died also. Meh, it’s winter and I’m laid up so this is entertainment that’s better than TV.

Shot a big doe with the 120 Hot Core in a 6.5x55. Maybe 75 yds. In the right shoulder and out behind the left ribs. Blood soup with giblets in between. We've shot a number of deer with the 129 Interlock in a .260. If that won't kill them they probly can't be killed. And accurate.

260 MM - those little 100 BTs shot bugholes in a friend's MOA handgun w/ Carbine stock - 6.5BR in about an 18-20" barrel. KICK myself not buying it from him when I had the chance, awkward to load, but hair trigger and deadly accurate, light and handy too. Yes, that is a tough bullet, and I agree the SSTs have a reputation for shedding weight as the Amax can. I think the 100 TTSX is a little gem when velocities are kept high, not that they have anything on a 120 version....which have done in some elk as you know.

I will give BT's a shot. I know quite a few people that like them.

I haven't killed any deer with the .223 but my kids have. It's completely smoked them. All were killed with 55gr TTSX bullets. All died VERY quickly. I carried it all last season in WI and was never presented with an opportunity on a legal deer.

Years ago , I hunted some with a nice sporterized M38 Swede 6.5x55 .. I used 140gr PPU ammo .. Which worked great on Whitetails .. I then starter reloading the 6.5x55 and worked up a load using the Hornady 160gr RN ... which also worked well ... I ended up trading the the little carbine .. And now Im on Im planning on getting a rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor... mostly because I look at is a ballistic twin of the Swede .... It seems most of the posts in this thread lean toward the 130ish gr bullet ..... ?
Myself I was looking into the 140gr bullet ... are there a advantage with the lighter 130gr bullet ?

At normal ranges I’d say there’s not much difference between a 130 and a 140. Even the lightweights do well way out there which in my case was 540 yards with a 100NBT.

I’m using 130 game changers for deer and target practice. No kills yet... but think They are the best bang for the buck.
For elk I got some LRX to work up a load

I’m a huge fan of the 120GMX. They flat kill!

Go forth and kill deer. We used that load on a young bull moose a couple of years ago.

I've taken more deer with the 100 grain Ballistic Tips and 100/105 grain Partitions, than any other 6.5 mm bullet..

3350 fps out of the 22 inch Muzzle.. longest pair were about 300 to 325 yds.. both dropped at the shot..

The 120 grain Ballistic tip, 125 partition and 129 SP are just more of a good thing....as I've used those also.

Even moreso with the 140 gr Ballistic Tip...140 gr Partition, 140 grain Corelokt, 140 gr SP Hornady ALL work real well also..
even on bigger stuff than deer...

Hard to find a bad choice in the 6.5 world....

Yep.

Good and gooder....

DF

I just bought a box of 129 accubonds to work up a deer load with. I'll let you know in about 9 months lol.

I'm optimistic though.

When I got my Tikka in a Sweede, I called Sierra to get some
Data for the 140 Gameking. No modern data, but, I was told
their 120 would be better. The 140 would expand, but I would get
better results with a 120. Well... I had the Gamekings, and everybody
knows about the 6.5 and heavier bullets.

1 rodeo, a deer shot 5 times. Lucky, it didn't do much damage.
At least from a meat perspective.

2 deer hit, lost. Who knows, but that's unusual for me.

Bought 140BT's (slow learner ?). Results weren't much
more impressive. I hate hunting for shot deer.

So, I got a brilliant flipping idea. I bought some Sierra 120 Pro-Hunters..
They make deer sick. A decent amount of damage, and quick endings.

Should finally break out the 264.
I bet with some more smoke, those 140s would act different.

Among other bullets my father used 140 Sierras out of a 264 mag. I loaded them with IMR7828 and maybe some H1000 when it was new and still manufactured in Scotland. Pop didn't have any runaways get away.

130AB at everything, tough to find a better bullet for me

That is a fine buck!

I think it's well known that any bullet you shoot out of anything has the ability to close the deal on anything you shoot with it IF you do your job. I don't care for 120gr bullet's in 6.5. I like the 130 class and 140gr class. If I wanted to shoot a 120gr bullet at game, I'd use my 25-06. Love the 117gr bullet in it. The only cal I have a problem deciding what I want to use in 6.5 and it's back and forth between 130 class and 140gr bullet's. For lighter bullet's the 24 and 25 cal have what I'd call better entry's. For bigger than 140gr I think the 7mm owns the world. 270 has simply never touched a thing with me!

Im just getting started with the 6.5 Creedmoor, I used to have a Swede in 6.5x55 ... I preferred 140gr -160gr bullets ... Im planning on using 140gr in my 6.5 Creed .. 6.5 x55 built its reputation with heavy & long bullets moving at a moderate velocity ....

My hunting partner shoots a Kimber Mtn Ascent with 22" bbl chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor. He is not a reloader, which isn't needed for the creed with all the factory ammo options. We chrono'd his rifle with my magneto speed shooting the 120 GMX Superformance. Avg velocity is 2962 fps with a SD = 6.4. With that type of results why even attempt to reload just go hunt.

That's what we did. Here is the link to the performance of that 120 GMX vs. CO muley buck, 175 yd shot straight on in the chest, bullet was lodge on the back ham almost went the entire body length & exited: https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/14575484#Post14575484

I have a Rem Model 700 Classic in 6.5x55 Swedish. The most accurate round I have ever found for it is the factory load from Seller & Belloit loaded with the 131 gr softpoint. I tried for a couple of years to beat it with a handload and couldn't do it. Since that ammo tends to be reasonably priced I laid in more than 30 boxes and have been happily shooting through them for more than a decade. I have 5 or 6 boxes left. When it runs out I'll lay in more. Very accurate and very effective on game like deer and pronghorns.

I picked up a box of them. We'll see how they go!

I load up 123 amax's in my 260. Good deer and lope round, and very accurate out of my rifle

My 6.5-06 and 120gr NBTs have killed a bunch of deer from 120 pound Texas Edwards Plateau to 200+ pound Alabama versions. Complete shoot through on every one.

Nice buck and goat.

I was asked earlier about the 123 Scenar out of the 6.5 CM, how it would perform on a WT. I replied that I had not yet killed anything with one.

Given your experience with the 123 AMax out of your .260, I would think performance of the 123 Scenar out of the Creed should be very similar.

DF

And if no one's mentioned it, the 123 Scenar.

Just saw DF's post above, I've used it on a couple of pronghorns and a Dall sheep, worked well. 2850 MV.

I try and shoot high shoulder / neck shots with amax. Everyone I hit in that area tips over dead.

Getting around 2800 2850 fps. Probably squeeze a bit more but happy with accuracy.

[quote=ribka]I load up 123 amax's in my 260. Good deer and lope round, and very accurate out of my rifle


I too have used the 123 Amax with great success, 2900 fps out of a Creed, 5-5 one shot kills on Mule Deer bucks. Bought 500 off GunBroker right after they were discontinued.

The 140 Partition will kill anything it encounters also, and is soft enough to open up on deer chest shots.

The 140 Speer is about the same, if you like guaranteed performance on odd angles.

Tom, my last two Kansas bucks died using the 120 TTSX out of my 6.5. The one this year was quartering toward me. Bullet entered shoulder and I found the perfectly mushroomed bullet in hind quarter near the ball joint of the hip. I see no need to use anything else.

Agree,

Better question, what WON'T work in a good 6.5 rifle.

More will than won't. To me it boils down to the game hunted and what the rifle likes best.

DF

I’ve used the 130gr Scirocco II in 6.5-284 Winchester, 130gr ELD-Match in 6.5 CM, and 130gr Berger H-VLD in .260 Rem. The only one that performed poorly was the Berger.

I just recently decided to run with these in my Creedmoor. Mainly because my Xbolt really likes them. Most likely what I’ll be using when I’m chasing muleys this Fall.

Ive been hunting with all the 6.5s for 30 years. In the end just go with a good 140 and kill stuff. Just throw a few at you the 140 AB is awesome, Hornadys 140 BTSP and 143 eld-x (my #1 pick), or One of Normas killers Ive racked up quite the list of kills with those Hornady ELD-X's the last few years, near and far they lay em down. But hell, the 6.5 is just a killin machine. They are all from a long line of serial killers.

I loaded up a bunch of 120 NBTs for my folks out of their 260 Remington's and they worked awesome this past year for them. I reckon the 6.5 can push them almost as good for similar results.

My daughter shoots the Sierra 120gr PH's in her 260 with excellent results on deer.

Have used 120gr BT in my 6.5 mags once. Too much damage. Switched to 125 PT's and over a dozen deer later never had 1 single thing to complain about. Have never seen a need for 140¹s with 125's around.
George

108gr Lapua in my Swede does it nicely too! Doesn’t take a lot weight to kill a WT tho......

A guy on the deer lease uses 120 Ballistic tips. He swears by them!

Used some Prime ammo. 130 OTM was quite deadly at 226 yards , heart shot and exit dead right there.

Nosler... 120 BTips or 125 Partition....if its real big.. okay, go with the 140 partition....

for deer tho.. a 100 B/Tip or 100 Partition works just fine, regardless of the size of the deer...