6.5x55 ammunition

[GarethW]

My FAC has just been posted through my door i have slots for .243 and 6.5x55 on it. I have a deposit down on a Tikka t3 hunter which I'm collecting on Tuesday.

Now the ammunition allowance is buy 40 hold 60. I live and stalking ground in Scotland, so need to be aware of MV and ME. Mainly woodland Roe with some Reds. No further out than 100 metres.

What makes and weight would you recommend I start with? Im asking as I am going to be limited to the amount I can hold so was thinking of buying 3 different makes in the same weight or 1 make in 3 different weights. Also need to find somewhere that hold stocks in or around Glasgow ish.

Cheers

Gareth

 

[243varmint]

Can only coment on the .243 side of things.

I use Remington 95gr Accutip for foxes and 100gr Rem core loc ultra bonded. They are near enough the same point of impact. The core CLUB clover leaf out of my T3 varmint. £24 for accutips and £18 for the Club.

If you want a cheap ammo to get you set up on 'paper' pivvy partisan do some good 100gr, they shot 1 inch groups through my rifle. £9.50 per box.

Whether they shoot clover leaf or 1inch groups they are good enough to drop a deer

Hope this is some use

Jonathon

 

[moses]

Always used the 120grn Nosler BT from Norma in my 6.5x55.

Great ammo and I know a lot of swede shooters who use them see details here;

http://www.norma.cc/sortimentjakt.asp?Kaliber=9&Lang=2&Kalibernamn=6,5x55

ATB
Moses

 

[Moonraker68]

I use Federal Power Shock 140 gn soft points in my Heym 6.5x55. It woorks well, so I've never bothered trying anything else. The only problem is that US ammunition can be harder to get hold of at the moment, because the manufactures are contracted to the military.

 

[Chris Rob]

Hi Gareth

I've always used Federal Power Shok 140 grn soft points & as Moonraker68 says they work very well & seem to suit my Mannlicher 6.5x55, never had a problem.

Be aware if you buy 3 different weights your zero will be different for all 3.

Good luck

ATB
Chris

 

[daniel paydar]

hi
In 6,5x55 .
for roe anything from 100 grain to 155 grain would work, but if you are hunting in open country handloading 120 gr nosler bt or norma factory loads are excellent. for bigger games norma 140 grain nosler PT is a very good load and finally for boar ad moose lapua mega 155 grain factory loads or hand loading hornady or woodleigh 160 grain bullets are working well.
regards
Daniel

 

[scotspine]

Federal Powershok 140g group well enough plus are reasonably priced. Norma 120g bt and 140g partitions are more powerful plus very accurate....expensive though. I have never had good results from Speer nitrex 140g grand slam in neither Tikka t3 nor Sako 85.

If I were you I would try a couple of brands before you go to Scotland then make sure you take a couple of boxes of your preferred choice with you to allow for zeroing/practice without the fear of running out.

 

[GarethW]

Thanks for the replies, I live in the Strathclyde area of Scotland. I have also been recommended the Norma 120 bt with the federals as a 2nd choice. Due to the limited amount I can buy (40) and hold (60) Im going to try those two. Driving from home to gun dealer then to zero to try the different brands, to then drive to the gun dealer to purchase more then home is going to cost me an arm and a leg in fuel.

 

[wicklow202]

6.5 ammunition

Ive used Remington, Federal, Hornady in the 6.5, I started using the Norma 120 grain btps this season, they are without doubt the best round i have used in the 6.5 and i wont be going back to any of the other brands.

Im using them on Sika, the entry and exit wounds are very good, the most an animal has run this year is about 40 mtrs, I was out yesterday and headshot a Hybrid at approx 60mtrs the damage is unreal, and shot a hind at approx 170mtrs, i chested her she ran about 10mtrs and dropped
the heart was completely destroyed.

I highly recomend the Norma 120 grain btps


Wicklow202

 

[flytie]

I used Federal 140gn powershoks in my 75 Finnlight and could get 3/4" groups from it off the bi-pod in the field. I could not get any more federals so bought some RWS 140gn, they do not group quite as well, but stop fallow a treat! Very expensive though.

I have just started reloading and am developing some 129gn Hornady SST loads. I have used some before that were loade3d by a friend, they were deadly.

 

[Lee 308]

Hi Gareth,
Glasgow Field Sports on Claythorn Street usually hold a decent amount of ammo, powders, heads etc and the guy in there is an experienced shooter/stalker himself so probably worth a visit and a chat.

 

[Mr Free Market]

Hi Gareth

In 6.5mm, I have found that both the Norma 120 grain BTs & the Federal 140 grain soft noses group equally well. Assuming your rifle likes them, you wont go far wrong with either

In 243, after quite a lot of testing, I have found that the Norma 100 grain go best

Hope that helps

 

[GarethW]

Thanks again for the replies.

I had forgotten about Glasgow Field Sports, only 15 min or so drive for me.

 

[Dalua]

I used Federal 140gn powershoks in my 75 Finnlight and could get 3/4" groups from it off the bi-pod in the field. I could not get any more federals so bought some RWS 140gn, they do not group quite as well, but stop fallow a treat! Very expensive though.

I tried to get some RWS 140gr DK 6.5x55 earlier this year, but was told that it was not imported into the UK.

Did you buy it in the UK? If so, could you let me know where, perhaps, as I'd like to get my paws on some.

As things are, I use Norma 120gr in my Finnlight, and RWS 127gr or Norma 140gr where ballistic tips are unwelcome.

As a postscript, would GarethW have good grounds for asking his FEO to increase his in my view outrageously small ammunition allowance?

 

[njc110381]

Why .243 and 6.5x55? They're very close together energy wise!

I'd have thought buy 100 hold 120 would be fair. A good lie (may as well be honest here) is to tell them you want to reload, then you have to be able to buy 100 to buy the boxes of bullets!

That ammo limit sounds a bit on the tight side for batch consistency if nothing else! I can buy 300!

As a final note I would try Prvi ammo just to see if it works. If you don't want to reload and your rifle likes it then you could save a lot of money on ammo! I found Norma 156s worked best in my 6.5 but I have no idea how fast they were. Federal 140s are good for me too and will certainly be over the minimum MV.

 

[MrYou]

Chop the 243 for a 1-1 , 223 or something in between, what you have , maybe a 357 cowboy ?

Go with the re-loading on the 6.5x55 useing 120gr s/p & vit 160, or like said try a box of ppu in 139gr.. all you need is a 2" @ 100yds , shouldnt be too bad to get .

6.5 will reload 85gr to 160gr..nice & flexable round, hare to red deer & more !