.243 or 6.5...
- Thread starter J.kerslake
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glasshalffull
Well-Known Member
6.5x55 shot everything from rabbit to red stag, and b4 any jobs worth starts it's on an open ticket 
J.kerslake
Well-Known Member
6.5x55 shot everything from rabbit to red stag, and b4 any jobs worth starts it's on an open ticket
that’s what I’ve bought, just waiting for my ticket to come back!
Go and fire a few of each and see which you prefer...both calibers have accounted for more deer than can be counted so both will be fine, both have a large range of rounds available.
the reason I say fire them is there may be a difference in the way they shoot that may make the decision for you.
neither would be disappointing.
regards,
Gixer
the reason I say fire them is there may be a difference in the way they shoot that may make the decision for you.
neither would be disappointing.
regards,
Gixer
J.kerslake
Well-Known Member
You seem to have misread the title...
I have a. 243 and I got the 6.5CM. My 243 stays in the cabinet now. Only reason it come out now, is to use in the truck as its got a 20" barrel. My cm is 24" varmint barrel.
I do think we will all be copper one day in the near future. But the cm has nearly all its bullet weights in the deer size. So it will be easy to get one for it.
The accuracy of the Cm is amazing. I have struggled to get a cloverleaf with 100gr bullet in my. 243. I think you will struggle not to get one with the 6.5 calibre in general. Mate has 6.5x47 and his is the same. Recoil is nice. I've shot it out to 930yds.buy not at live animals. I'm really pleased with it.
6.5 doesn't use a lot of powder either.
I've got space for a 308, so my 243 will be traded in for it.
I do think we will all be copper one day in the near future. But the cm has nearly all its bullet weights in the deer size. So it will be easy to get one for it.
The accuracy of the Cm is amazing. I have struggled to get a cloverleaf with 100gr bullet in my. 243. I think you will struggle not to get one with the 6.5 calibre in general. Mate has 6.5x47 and his is the same. Recoil is nice. I've shot it out to 930yds.buy not at live animals. I'm really pleased with it.
6.5 doesn't use a lot of powder either.
I've got space for a 308, so my 243 will be traded in for it.
I. Farticus
Well-Known Member
6.5x55 with 140+gr ammo will take everything that the UK has to offer. No joined up thinking required
Grannysmith
Well-Known Member
270 one cal does all
Grannysmith
Well-Known Member
Sonicdmb73
Well-Known Member
For many years my former boss used his for Roe through to Reds. The Roe didn’t seem to mind and I don’t recall wasting much meat off any carcass I got from him.
6pt-sika
Well-Known Member
I’ve had very good luck with a CZ 550FS 6.5x55 using 140 gr handloads and at the moment I’m working with my newer Mannlicher Schoenauer MC carbine in 6.5x54 MS and six different 140 grain bullets . Little less uhmph than the Swede but I was killing deer last year with my other 6.5x54 MS using lighter and heavier bullets . But to be honest a deer the size of a Sika , Fallow , Axis , Whitetail or Mule deer isn’t that hard to kill if you put the bullet where it should be .
big ears
Well-Known Member
Go 6.5. You can match the 243 with 100gr bullets and trump the 243 with 140gr bullets. All this rubbish about flat shooting is made by those who don’t shoot their rifle enough to know the drop at set ranges. On top of that the 6.5 bullet bucks the wind better than the 6mm which gives you more margin for error.
The 243 is a great calibre and will kill all deer including big red stags but the 6.5 just does it a little bit better particularly 2-300yards which you might need on the Scottish hills.
BE
The 243 is a great calibre and will kill all deer including big red stags but the 6.5 just does it a little bit better particularly 2-300yards which you might need on the Scottish hills.
BE
JabaliHunter
Well-Known Member
I still think that the best piece of stalking advice I was ever given when starting out was to buy a Sako .308 and a 8x56 scope.
I’m sure, with hindsight, that if I had listened to that advice that I would probably still have that set-up and have saved myself a small fortune along the way...
Now I have a 6.5 and a .308 - not sure I could say which is better really, for general stalking that is...
I’m sure, with hindsight, that if I had listened to that advice that I would probably still have that set-up and have saved myself a small fortune along the way...
Now I have a 6.5 and a .308 - not sure I could say which is better really, for general stalking that is...
The 6.5 is a far more versatile round, it’ll take a longer and heavier round with more power, greater ballistic properties-B.C/S.D etc etc. It’s a far superior all rounder. I have both a 243 and a 6.5x55 in the cabinet. The 243 always strikes me as a perfect fox/deer crossover, it really depends what you are planning to do with it.
6.5 swede is about the perfect all rounder, but only when hand loaded. Over the last few months I have seen chronographed 3 premium 6.5x55 factory rounds. Sako 120gn TTSX were on the advertised velocity...through a 26 “ barrel so it’d be significantly less though a 22”. Hornardy super performance 140gn SST were well down through the same rifle-this was the round that forced me to go to handloads through incessant runners. Normal 120gn nosler BT were running at 2600fps through my mates 22” barrel, so less power than many 243’s, around 1800 ft lbs. The 100gn TTSX load I am now running is around 2500 ft lbs by comparison.
If factory rounds are mandatory I’d go creedmore as much as it pains me, I see the swede as a hand loaded option only.
6.5 swede is about the perfect all rounder, but only when hand loaded. Over the last few months I have seen chronographed 3 premium 6.5x55 factory rounds. Sako 120gn TTSX were on the advertised velocity...through a 26 “ barrel so it’d be significantly less though a 22”. Hornardy super performance 140gn SST were well down through the same rifle-this was the round that forced me to go to handloads through incessant runners. Normal 120gn nosler BT were running at 2600fps through my mates 22” barrel, so less power than many 243’s, around 1800 ft lbs. The 100gn TTSX load I am now running is around 2500 ft lbs by comparison.
If factory rounds are mandatory I’d go creedmore as much as it pains me, I see the swede as a hand loaded option only.
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I have chrono'd the Sako 120gr ttsx ammo in my 520mm [20.5"] barrelled 6.5x55mm.
Sako claimed MV for their [493H] ammo is 2800fps/855ms. As measured in my rifle with a MagnetoscopeV3 it is 2764fps/842ms. So down by just a fraction. Not enough of a drop to affect ttsx terminal ballistics at typical woodland hunting distances. But...
If you are hunting at extended ranges, I agree with JH83. You will probably want to reload to achive higher MV to assure monometal terminal performance.
I recall we were absolutely on the money with a 26” barrel. A good friend is using these rounds to great effect in a t3 light. I also killed some red deer with them in a finnlight a few years back and it worked well, but yes start to push the ranges and I’d expect some slower kills!
The Op will be handloading, probably Sierra 120 pro hunters. 120 NBTs handloaded through my 23.5” Shoot well at 2860 fps, 2500 ft-lb is pretty hot from the swede, especially from a 22”
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