Maximum Range 6.5 x 55 ?
- Thread starter Ratc
- Start date
countrryboy
Well-Known Member
Probably not the answer u want to hear but a lot lot further than most people could normally place the 'perfect' shot, and that will be different for everyone. So really irrelevant in grand scheme of things
Wot is more imporant is wot is the max range U can place ur 'perfect' shot time after time after time in field conditions, and that will vary from day to day
Wot is more imporant is wot is the max range U can place ur 'perfect' shot time after time after time in field conditions, and that will vary from day to day
The old army test for lethality was whether or not a round could penetrate a 1" thick pine board at a given range. If it could penetrate the board then it was considered the round had enough energy and penetration to kill someone.
Believe it or not a .22LR can penetrate such a board easily at 600x (I've seen it done aiming at a big old 8'x4' piece of board) so a 6.5x55 would be lethal over miles of range.
I heard about an incident fairly recently in Scandinavia where a chappy shooting 6.5x55 shot a bird out of a tree and, chance in a million, the round came to a stop 3.5 miles away back at camp after passing through his mates leg! It was only luck the round didn't go higher as it would have killed him if it had.
And a good few years back when I started shooting I remember being told as part of a safety talk about a young fellow in the US shooting a 9mm pistol and for a "joke" with his mates fired the pistol towards a dog walker on the other side of the ranch they were shooting on and killed the guy, and I gather that was over a mile of range.
Thats why having a safe backstop is absolutely the number 1 consideration before you pull the trigger because that round will definitely seriously injure and quite possibly kill whatever it hits regardless of the range.
So to your original question, assuming you could achieve perfect shot placement the round would be lethal over several miles quite easily.
Believe it or not a .22LR can penetrate such a board easily at 600x (I've seen it done aiming at a big old 8'x4' piece of board) so a 6.5x55 would be lethal over miles of range.
I heard about an incident fairly recently in Scandinavia where a chappy shooting 6.5x55 shot a bird out of a tree and, chance in a million, the round came to a stop 3.5 miles away back at camp after passing through his mates leg! It was only luck the round didn't go higher as it would have killed him if it had.
And a good few years back when I started shooting I remember being told as part of a safety talk about a young fellow in the US shooting a 9mm pistol and for a "joke" with his mates fired the pistol towards a dog walker on the other side of the ranch they were shooting on and killed the guy, and I gather that was over a mile of range.
Thats why having a safe backstop is absolutely the number 1 consideration before you pull the trigger because that round will definitely seriously injure and quite possibly kill whatever it hits regardless of the range.
So to your original question, assuming you could achieve perfect shot placement the round would be lethal over several miles quite easily.
As a little aside - The last words of John Sedgwick
Strelok shows my 140gn 6.5*55 SP load as still around 400ftlbs at 1000m.
Strelok shows my 140gn 6.5*55 SP load as still around 400ftlbs at 1000m.
bewsher500
Well-Known Member
Thomas Haugland used a 6.5x55 on a range to shoot 6" gongs at 800m
will see if I can find video
will see if I can find video
Vipa
Well-Known Member
you don't really want a terminal energy of less than 1,000ft/lbs so whatever range your software tells you that would be the case is the limit on that basis.. Of course, a bullet carrying much less than that could kill, but in a humane hunting situation, look at 1,000 being your floor.
Woodsmoke
Well-Known Member
I've shot my .270 at a thousand yards with a 6x42 (with something like an 18' holdover if memory serves), and the round still had sufficient energy to fully pass through a 10" pine trunk. That was a factory 130gr round at 3065fps at the muzzle. Would that kill a relatively large deer? No doubt it would. Would I ever be confident of a shot like that at live quarry? Not a hope
Wrens Mews
Well-Known Member
Ballistically the x55 is extremely good. I've shot mine out to 18 10 yards on reactive fig 11 targets with decent success, although the wind is a killer.
Matt Roberts
Well-Known Member
I shot a red stag at over 400m with a 6.5x55 and 120gr Norma's. I got a load of flak for it on here and can't argue with most of it. I'd question the morality of intentionally looking for long shots on quarry as the game is getting as close as possible in my book but, as has been said already, it'll do the job wayyy past the point of sanity / morality.
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
Can't speak for the 6.5x55 as have never handled an early military rifle in that calibre, but the 6.5x55, 7mm and 8mm Mauser, our .303 and the American 30 Kroger, 30-03 and 30-06 all appeared in the last decade of the Victorian era or first few years of the last century. Most had rear sites graduated to 1000 yards and can provide accurate and deadly fire out to that sort of range. Boer marksman caused havoc with their 7mm mausers at very long ranges. As to deadly range that's probably getting on for a few miles.
As as to being able to ensure an accurate one shot kill, well most modern sporting rifles should be able to hold with a deer skill zone out to 400 yards if not a bit more. It is then down to the skill of the stalker to know the trajectory and to read the wind and place that bullet accordingly. That takes an awful lot of skill and time on the range. Most of us run out of skill at 200 or so yards.
As as to being able to ensure an accurate one shot kill, well most modern sporting rifles should be able to hold with a deer skill zone out to 400 yards if not a bit more. It is then down to the skill of the stalker to know the trajectory and to read the wind and place that bullet accordingly. That takes an awful lot of skill and time on the range. Most of us run out of skill at 200 or so yards.
Woodsmoke
Well-Known Member
Why? If you were confident of the shot, and it was within the capabilities of both yourself and your load, then why not?
Far too many people are quick to condemn others for their actions, based (most of the time) on the premise that if they aren't capable of it, then neither is anyone elseFrom a theoretical perspective this article may be of interest:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/game_range_caliber.htm
Also Bryan Litz book "Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting", 2nd Edition, Chapter 15, "Lethality of Long Range Hunting Bullets" covers similar territory - comes as an eBook (now in 3rd Ed):
http://store.appliedballisticsllc.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=0006
He talks about the theory as in the article above but then has calculations for various bullets, case sizes, game weights and ranges - so with a Berger 140 VLD bullet in a 6.5x55 case for a 300lb game animal he calculates the max. lethal range at 350 yards but you need to read his article for all assumptions etc. although I think he does not specifically consider head shoots at long range...
bewsher500
Well-Known Member
Seems very short range
Assuming a chest sized target a 140gr leaving at 2650-2700fps has 12-1400 ftlbs energy at 350 yards
that's a .223 at point blank!
I need to re-read this material for the assumptions - but I think all comes down to an overlay of what is "ethical". They are not staying it cannot be done, but presented it as a model for what should be done in the author's opinion. Another Chuck Hawkes article summarised considering the Maximum Point Blank Range as a good bellwether:
"In his various articles, Jack O'Connor often mentioned what he felt was ethical hunting range. He recommended zeroing a big game rifle so that the bullet did not exceed a maximum of 4" above the line of sight to take advantage of the rifle's trajectory and minimize or eliminate holding over the target. Although Mr. O'Connor didn't use the term “maximum point blank range” (MPBR), that is what he was essentially referring to. Briefly stated, a “six Inch maximum point blank range” allows you to aim at the center of the heart/lung area of your targeted big game animal and your bullet's trajectory does not exceed three inches high or three inches low during its flight to target. Three inches above or below the point of aim is peanuts and will result in a killing shot on even the smallest big game animals without adjusting for bullet drop.
....This is what makes the six inch MPBR a reasonable, practical and ethical approach on animals ranging in size from pronghorn antelope and small deer on up."
http://www.chuckhawks.com/mpbr_hunting.htm
A well placed head or heart/lung shot could still be an ethical kill or an immediate or eventual kill of an animal. I recognise the question posed asked what is the maximum rather than the "ethical" maximum - but thought it was nonetheless an interesting framework...
"In his various articles, Jack O'Connor often mentioned what he felt was ethical hunting range. He recommended zeroing a big game rifle so that the bullet did not exceed a maximum of 4" above the line of sight to take advantage of the rifle's trajectory and minimize or eliminate holding over the target. Although Mr. O'Connor didn't use the term “maximum point blank range” (MPBR), that is what he was essentially referring to. Briefly stated, a “six Inch maximum point blank range” allows you to aim at the center of the heart/lung area of your targeted big game animal and your bullet's trajectory does not exceed three inches high or three inches low during its flight to target. Three inches above or below the point of aim is peanuts and will result in a killing shot on even the smallest big game animals without adjusting for bullet drop.
....This is what makes the six inch MPBR a reasonable, practical and ethical approach on animals ranging in size from pronghorn antelope and small deer on up."
http://www.chuckhawks.com/mpbr_hunting.htm
A well placed head or heart/lung shot could still be an ethical kill or an immediate or eventual kill of an animal. I recognise the question posed asked what is the maximum rather than the "ethical" maximum - but thought it was nonetheless an interesting framework...
Tom D
Well-Known Member
The real question is has the bullet still got the speed at the extended range to open up and cause serious damage? A pinhole wound could lead to a long walk in search of a carcass, or a beast dying slowly without ever being found. You need the right bullet, something soft that will reliably expand even at lower velocity.
as an aside is 2650 the max speed you can achieve? Seems slow but I know nothing about the 6.5, just that it has as much or more powder capacity than my 7-08 and although the bearing surface will be smaller in the 7mm it would chuck a 120 gn bullet around 3000fps...
as an aside is 2650 the max speed you can achieve? Seems slow but I know nothing about the 6.5, just that it has as much or more powder capacity than my 7-08 and although the bearing surface will be smaller in the 7mm it would chuck a 120 gn bullet around 3000fps...
Similar threads
