hunterscabin said:
the 6.5 has near no entry wound and a very small exit
however the 243 has a exit comparable to a large fist.
steve
More bull is talked about this calibre than any other, I am with Edi on this, it produce slightly more energy than a 243 and that is were it sits in the scheme of things, it certainly is not a cartridge that can be seen as a alternative to a 30-06.
Steve in a way you have made my point for me.
A modern rifle bullet kills in two ways, hydrolastic shock and direct tissue damaged to main body organs and archeries.
A key critical factor in achieving a large amount of hydrolastic shock is having the bullet travelling at high velocity (this is one reason that the 22-250 is such an effective round.) the old swede does not produce high velocity their for it produces little hydrolastic shock compared to a 25-06 say.
To cause mass tissue damage you need a wide wound channel, the better your bullet expands (with the provision it does not break up) the wider the wound channel and the more energy is expelled into the mass of the animal. A critical component in expansion is of cause velocity, the thing the old swede does not have.
As you have pointed out you get pencil thin holes though you’re animal with little of the projectiles energy being transferred into the tissue. Little meat damage means your bullet has not produced as much tissue damage, therefore it is less effective at humanely dispatching your animal. Personally I put a humane dispatch ahead of another 3lbs of venison on the hook every day, anyway the dogs have got to eat something so it is not wasted even if it is a bit blood shot.
People bang on about what good BC and sectional density 6.5 bullets have, well it only looks good when compared to a 30cal look at the figures of a 6.4mm bullet (25cal) or 6.8mm(270) then it is not so impressive.
I have news for you a, 308 with it’s big blunt bullet will punch straight though a big red stag so why do you need a bullet with better penetration?
The 6.5X55 is not flat shooting it drops 1/3 more than a 270win at 300yrds.
My friend has a lovely Mannlicher in 6.5X55 for 5 years in a row we when to a big estate in Sept/Oct on the red stags, and almost every year he had animals run or had to shoot them 2 or more times to put them down, he tried 129gn then 140gn bullets. He then came out with me and watch me drop a big rutting stag on the spot with a 270. The following year he turned up with a 270 Tikka. I have shot with him on the range and while lamping rabbits and foxes many times and we are either equally good or bad shots.
Go figure.
Here’s a thought for you, in the Second World War Japan entered it using a 6.5mm cartridge with very similar performance to the 6.5x55 Swede.
and a 7.7mm(30cal) with performance close to a 303 British, guess which cartridge they were getting rid off?
yep the 6.5 was being replaced with the 7.7mm round, the 6.5 lacked "stopping power".
Don’t try and use 160gn bullets up here in Scotland in your swede they are not deer legal because you need to reach a velocity of 2450fps.
I am not against the 6.5mm calibre a friend of mine has 3 a 6.5s a 260 a 6.5-284 and is now having a 6.5X47 built. Nothing wrong with the calibre just remember the swede sits between a 243 and a 7-08 in power, that is all, nothing more, use it with that in mind and don’t try and kid anybody else or yourself with BS like it “punches above it weight”, “it kills better because it bullets are moving slowly” if that is the case I will leave the 223 behind when going foxing and just use the 22 RF as it bullets are doing a 3rd the speed it will kill far better.
Now climbed down from my box.
Tahr.