6.5X55
Well you are going to hear............. well not something bad
but lets put things In perspective. People will tell you it punches above its weight it shoots laser flat ect. All this is bull.
It produces a bit more energy that a 243, it is modest in recoil because it produces modest velocities, it drops a 1/3 more than a 270 at hundred yards. All fact.
The great sectional density is wasted on UK game (a 243 100gn will go straight though a Sika or Red stag) you don’t need any more penetration on UK game assuming you are using proper game bullets (not thin jacketed varmint bullets).
The ballistic advantage(and sectional density) of the 6.5 are good when compared to a 30 cal, but put it by a 6.4mm bullet (25cal) or a 6.8mm bullet (270) and then it does not look anything special.
At normal stalking distances you don’t need spectacular BC, good velocity is more important.
Because the 6.5X55 cartridge was designed over hundred years ago (1894) the maximum loading pressure for it are modest so it does not destroy old Mauser rifles ect. People will tell you that you can push the 6.5X55 above the maximum recommended in the reloading manuals if you are reloading for a new modern rifle, well they might be right but if it goes wrong you are on your own and anyway you won’t have that soft shooting rifle any more it will kick and you will get increased muzzle blast.
Keeping to the manual that means a 2600fps for a 140gn bullet (a 270win pushes a 140gn at 3000fps) If you do use 160gn bullets don’t use them in Scotland as they are not deer legal they only make 2300fps.
My mate had used one for a number of years on red stags and in the end got ****ed off with it, as it did not kill as well as he would like, he now has a 270 for big deer and uses the 6.5 on hinds and fallow does roe ect.
IMHO the 6.5X55 is a good small deer calibre which produces a bit more energy than a 243 it will kill large deer if you place your shots but is not as good as the more powerful cartridges (no surprise there).
One thing I do like about the 243 is that if the rifle stock fits correctly I can see the bullet strike when using it, I can’t in the 6.5X55 as all other things being equal it kicks a bit more than a 243. Being able to see the deer’s reaction to the shot is more important than all that ballistic talk to me.
The 243 is a good choice for small deer roe/fallow red hinds and Sika hinds I would not pick it as my calibre of choice for big stags but it will get the job done if it has to. Not for nothing does the home Office allow us two rifles for deer.
The 260 works well with lighter 6.5mm bullets (most are throated for 129gn) but with heavy bullets you have to seat them deep in the case so they will feed from a standard 308/243 length mag’(them long bullets are now working against it) in doing so you are compromising case capacity.
The 6.5X47 looks a good small deer cartridge in the same class as the 243, if I was going to have one rifle then I would in a ideal world look at a 6.5-06 a 25-06 but with better bullet choice.
At the end of the day as Redmist says pretty much any deer legal calibre will get the job done and if I was given a 6.5X55 and told go and shoot deer the last thing I would blame if I came empty handed would be the calibre of rifle.
Best rgds
And waiting income from 6.5X55 and Blaser Owners.
Thar.