Is a 6.5x55 sufficient enough to drop a big woodland red stag ?

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andykat said:
thanks everyone - the advice is over whelming! il try some heavier bullets and see how we get on - its a little way off yet till the rut - but il let you all know how i get on (or not if i shoot miserably :doh:)

im going to give the Norma Vulcans a try at 156g down the range and see what they are like - in a nut shell you all saved me £1200 for a new 300win mag barrel for my R8. -

happy shooting peeps!
Click to expand...

They cloverleaf out of my R8. If it any indication... I neck shot a roe do back end of last year Fed Powershok 150gn with my .308 R8 (now been replaced with 6.5 in pro success flavour) 90 yards... did enough damage to kill her but a hole either side with plenty of disruption to the spine etc.. neck shot a buck last week at around 70 yards with a 156gn Vulkan out my 6,5 and there was not much left of it! spine, and all surrounding tissues completely destroyed... They don't half hit hard... To echo what others have said, I don't think it would be my round or even calibre of choice for anything BIG beyond say 300yds, but inside that range it will be very , very effective. :thumb:
 
mchughcb said:
Sorry, off topic but as you've brought it up.

Serious question, how many moose have you shot with the 6.5x55 and had a complete pass through? Just asking because I've hunted them with 308, 8x57, 300Win mag etc and we didn't always get a pass through.
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I've taken 6 moose with my 6.5x55mm. However, I have taken 2 with a previously owned .260 and also 1 with a .264 WM. Projectile weights from 120 grain up to 156 grain. 140 grain Partitions, 130 grain TSX and 140 grain Accubonds have been the most consistent not only on moose, but elk, bear, caribou and deer.

Projectile recovery, in my experience, is a function of penetration. Penetration is a function of SD, but we all know it is more complicated then that. Bullet construction and expansion are going to play a huge role as well as velocity, which can be and usually is correlated with expansion. In the handful of moose I have taken with any 6.5mm, all one shot kills, I've recovered two projectiles: one was from the .264 WM using 130grain Accubonds and the other was with .260 using same bullet. There are obviously a lot of variables. Both held up, but the accubond from the .264 WM definitely shed more weight and was a little larger in diameter. It was a broadside shot at about 125 yards.

One bull I took 3 years ago with the 6.5x55 and a 140 gr Parition @2700 hand loads was a really bad angle. I will not shoot through the stomach in an effort to reach the vitals regardless of cartridge because it makes a mess of the meat and makes field dressing more of a chore. I finally got him quartering away, took the shot at about 75 yards, he ran about 20 paces and dropped. Bullet was a complete pass through smashing through the front leg bone. I was actually quite surprised at the damage it did to the bone. Very happy with the performance.
 
Canadian1 said:
I've taken 6 moose with my 6.5x55mm. However, I have taken 2 with a previously owned .260 and also 1 with a .264 WM. Projectile weights from 120 grain up to 156 grain. 140 grain Partitions, 130 grain TSX and 140 grain Accubonds have been the most consistent not only on moose, but elk, bear, caribou and deer.

Projectile recovery, in my experience, is a function of penetration. Penetration is a function of SD, but we all know it is more complicated then that. Bullet construction and expansion are going to play a huge role as well as velocity, which can be and usually is correlated with expansion. In the handful of moose I have taken with any 6.5mm, all one shot kills, I've recovered two projectiles: one was from the .264 WM using 130grain Accubonds and the other was with .260 using same bullet. There are obviously a lot of variables. Both held up, but the accubond from the .264 WM definitely shed more weight and was a little larger in diameter. It was a broadside shot at about 125 yards.

One bull I took 3 years ago with the 6.5x55 and a 140 gr Parition @2700 hand loads was a really bad angle. I will not shoot through the stomach in an effort to reach the vitals regardless of cartridge because it makes a mess of the meat and makes field dressing more of a chore. I finally got him quartering away, took the shot at about 75 yards, he ran about 20 paces and dropped. Bullet was a complete pass through smashing through the front leg bone. I was actually quite surprised at the damage it did to the bone. Very happy with the performance.
Click to expand...

Amazing performance with a 6.5x55 with SD of 0.287 or less. From what you say all 6 were pass through on moose should be good reds then.
 
Vipa said:
They cloverleaf out of my R8. If it any indication... I neck shot a roe do back end of last year Fed Powershok 150gn with my .308 R8 (now been replaced with 6.5 in pro success flavour) 90 yards... did enough damage to kill her but a hole either side with plenty of disruption to the spine etc.. neck shot a buck last week at around 70 yards with a 156gn Vulkan out my 6,5 and there was not much left of it! spine, and all surrounding tissues completely destroyed... They don't half hit hard... To echo what others have said, I don't think it would be my round or even calibre of choice for anything BIG beyond say 300yds, but inside that range it will be very , very effective. :thumb:
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good to know, thanks for the advice, il hopefully be taking a representative trophy, so i wont be trying neck shots. - i will be striking straight into the engine room!

well..... that will be the intention!
 
vipa, re your R8 - do you find you have to slam the bolt forward 'almost to hard' otherwise you get a click when you press the trigger? that simulates a miss fire?
 
Great tread guys.

Yes I use a 6.5x55 to shoot large Red stags. I use RWS Ks 127 grain or Norma 120grain ballistic tips and have never had a issue.

The stag in the attached photos is from a friend as you will see its quite a large red stag and was shot using a 6.5x55mm

Regards,
Glendine.
View attachment 56507
 
PKL said:
I have a box of the original normal BT's you describe from around, oh, must be early '70's, in 6.5swede believe it or not..
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I do. Many metrics I was raised on were only fed Norma for the lack of any options in the US. I shot as much of it as I could afford on a box-boy's salary.~Muir
 
I'd be tempted to try this: GECO: Centerfire rifle cartridges

Use this in my in 165gr form in my 7x64. Dropped in the UK Dartmoor Red, Fallow, Roe, CWD and Muntjac. A relatively heavy for calibre bullet going not too quick is a great thing.

Sierra Game Kings are another to try, running 117gr in my 257 Roberts but another soft pointed, relatively heavy for calibre bullet.

I'm sure you're 6.5x55 will do fine.

Good luck on your stalks,

Scrummy
 
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