6.5x55 Sierra bullet choice

[charlieboy-shooter]

Hi,

Recently acquired a 6.5x55. I have to date only fired 140gr Federal power Shok and they seem very accurate. However moving to reloading.
I have used Sierra bullets, Gameking and found them to be effective and good value and are therefore not really interested in the premium bullets.

So looking at Sierra bullet I was wondering if anyone can provide thier experiences and views on the following bullets in the Swede. I will be mainly using on Fallow.

Sierra 130gr HPBT Gameking 1728
Sierra 140gr SBT Gameking 1730

I picked up some Prohunter 120gr 1720 as that's all shop had at time.

Equally was thinking/looking at using Viht N160 as a powder I can get and have load data for.

Advice and views greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Border]

I would imagine that all will work fine on fallow. The 1728 probably being most agressive carcase wise.

 

[Yorric]

You should find the Prohunters will do everything perfectly well. You don't need to drive them at lightning speed to get nice terminal performance & at stalking ranges, so load development will be easy. They will probably group at least as well as the Gameking boat tails and they should hold together a bit better due to their flat base design..
As for powder the Viht N160 will work but there are better options out there that will give better velocity for lower pressures & a more complete powder burn. Ramshot Hunter , Reload Swiss RS60 & RS62 spring to mind.

Ian

 

[tom308w]

the prohunter 120 gr work fine with n160

 

[LuckyEddie]

I use 44.5gn of N160 for my 140SSTs or AMaxs so would seem a good place to start.

Ed

 

[Davee]

130 grain Gameking (1728) under 43.8 gr RS62 at 2680fps gives me a 10mm grouping at 100m. Leaves a 1 inch exit hole on Muntjac none of which ran more than 5 metres, just avoid the shoulder blade!

 

[jimsim]

Used 140grain gamekings with swiss rs60 and vit n160 for a good few years worked very well mainly muntjac , roe , and fallow,
Just got a 6.5 barrel and about to work aload for the 120 grain pro hunters as i had 2 boxes to use up sure these will work fine aswell

 

[njc110381]

You'll find all of those bullets pretty good I reckon. Go with whichever one the gun likes the most as they'll all do the job.

Viht 160 is an ok powder I believe. Until now I've usually loaded my Swede with Alliant powder, but not being a fussy cartridge you'll probably find it will shoot well with most things. It's a great round, my favourite for UK stalking. If I could only have one rifle it would probably be a Swede as it vaporises foxes pretty well with 95gr V-Max too!

 

[charlieboy-shooter]

Thank you all for the replies.

 

[big ears]

N160 does work well with 120gr prohunters. I found that the speeds were a bit low on the 140gr as I only had a 20” barrel. Rl17 worked well for this and as said RS60 is an alternative.

 

[charlieboy-shooter]

N160 does work well with 120gr prohunters. I found that the speeds were a bit low on the 140gr as I only had a 20” barrel. Rl17 worked well for this and as said RS60 is an alternative.

Hi, Can I ask the implications of the low speed of the 140gr with N160 ?? Was it a bit loopy for target shooting or to slow for good expansion whilst stalking ???

One of the reasons for thinking of N160 is it's a single base powder ( plus good load data and obtainable). I remember reading in 1 threads along the lines that RS60 as it was impregnated with nitroglycerine despite it being listed as single base but it therefore is not. Therefore would RS62 be a less aggressive powder from a throat / erosion point ???
However looking at the Energy content RS62 is 3750j/g and N160 3650j/g would it likely be of no real benefit using RS62 over the N160 from a low velocity point as I too only have a 20" barrel.
( I'm not trying to start a debate about single or double base powders).

Thanks

 

[big ears]

Hi
Yes I found poor accuracy with N160, and very dirty moderators due to not all the powder being combusted before the bullet leaving the barrel. This caused the moderator to get very hot and as such a poor burn shot to shot variability made longer shots risky.
I ended using Rl17 which is double based but to be honest the amount I shoot it will be quite a few years before I need to worry about throat erosion.

 

[jonty h]

I use 120gn Gamekings with 47gns of H4831, not pushing them particularly fast (about 2650 fps) but superb accuracy
this is a 4 shot 100yds group

 

[dave1372]

I use 120gr Prohunter with 47.0gr of N160 and it performs very well without a lot of meat damage.

 

[charlieboy-shooter]

I use 120gn Gamekings with 47gns of H4831, not pushing them particularly fast (about 2650 fps) but superb accuracy
this is a 4 shot 100yds group
View attachment 129016

Not kidding that looks super accurate.

 

[charlieboy-shooter]

I use 120gr Prohunter with 47.0gr of N160 and it performs very well without a lot of meat damage.

Thanks. Very good to hear not a lot of meat damage. That was one of my concerns. I have the 120gr Prohunters so will see how my rifle likes these.