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

[andykat]

Hi guys,

im planning a Trip out on the red stags during the rut, in England . There are some real big 280-300lb beasts on the ground il be stalking. Having made the decision to solely use a 6.5x55 now days ( blaser R8) I'm concerned it may not have enough grunt to drop a big woodland beast, humanly.

i use Hornady SST ballistic tip-140grain, on just about everything. Any views or experiences on this would be really helpful.

i have bought a box of sako ammo which is 156grain soft point to try. But I'm inclined to think a BT would cause more damage than a heavier soft point.

Look forward to your views.

 

[User00003]

more than fine. buy the 156g norma vulkan, it's the type of hunting it was designed for (woodland moose)

 

[Muir]

Hi guys,

im planning a Trip out on the red stags during the rut, in England . There are some real big 280-300lb beasts on the ground il be stalking. Having made the decision to solely use a 6.5x55 now days ( blaser R8) I'm concerned it may not have enough grunt to drop a big woodland beast, humanly.

i use Hornady SST ballistic tip-140grain, on just about everything. Any views or experiences on this would be really helpful.

i have bought a box of sako ammo which is 156grain soft point to try. But I'm inclined to think a BT would cause more damage than a heavier soft point.

Look forward to your views.

I, and others, have found some dubious performance issues with SST's. My daughter hit a 150 lb whitetail broadside and had it run off. My hunting buddy shot a whitetail doe at 200 yards and the bullet went straight through without expanding any appreciable amount. There have been other stories, as well. I would use Sierra Game Kings -a bullet I have had nothing but great success with, or the Hornady Interlocks; #2 on my list of good, servicable bullets.

I have a good stockpile of SST in 6.5, 7mm, and 30 calibers and they will only get used for practice now.~Muir

 

[User00014]

Hi guys,

im planning a Trip out on the red stags during the rut, in England . There are some real big 280-300lb beasts on the ground il be stalking. Having made the decision to solely use a 6.5x55 now days ( blaser R8) I'm concerned it may not have enough grunt to drop a big woodland beast, humanly.

i use Hornady SST ballistic tip-140grain, on just about everything. Any views or experiences on this would be really helpful.

i have bought a box of sako ammo which is 156grain soft point to try. But I'm inclined to think a BT would cause more damage than a heavier soft point.

Look forward to your views.

Dump the SST's and go get some 140gn barnes tsx , that will do the job !

 

[norma 308]

I guess the guide your stalking with will have an opinion on your choice of cal and bullet type ask his advice also .
the guy I have stalked woodland red with in England prefers me to bring my 308 And leave the 6.5 at home in the cabinet

 

[User00003]

I guess the guide your stalking with will have an opinion on your choice of cal and bullet type ask his advice also .
the guy I have stalked woodland red with in England prefers me to bring my 308 And leave the 6.5 at home in the cabinet

benefit of the 6.5x55 is extraction from woodland, they run all the way to the roadside

 

[Muir]

Ouch! ~Muir

 

[andykat]

I guess the guide your stalking with will have an opinion on your choice of cal and bullet type ask his advice also .
the guy I have stalked woodland red with in England prefers me to bring my 308 And leave the 6.5 at home in the cabinet

It it was actually his opinion or lack of knowledge of the 6.5 that has made me ask the question, thanks for your feed back, all sound like good advice. I should have asked this before buying another 100 SST's

 

[Vipa]

more than fine. buy the 156g norma vulkan, it's the type of hunting it was designed for (woodland moose)

That's what I run through my R8... awesome cartridge.. will drop anything that gets in its way! Not cheap but well worth every penny

 

[andykat]

Dump the SST's and go get some 140gn barnes tsx , that will do the job !

can I get these in the UK? I seem to struggle to get a variety of 6.5 ammo anywhere

 

[Paul 600]

I've shot big woodland red with Barnes 120 grain with no problem at all. My preferred bullet in 6.5

 

[Markfox]

-Having confidence brings results !

-Having doubts in your equipment brings poor results fact !

Be confident in your own caliber and bullet choice that it will do the job which as long as you hit the right spot it should do , The 6.5 is fine with 156 gr bullets you say woodland stalking so I doubt you'll be shooting over 100 yards then probably less


would you really notice any difference between a 6.5x55 156 gr or a .308 156 gr at upto 100 yards in terms of performance ?

 

[rick6point5]

more than fine. buy the 156g norma vulkan, it's the type of hunting it was designed for (woodland moose)

Exactly.

 

[jb7x57]

There are a lot of moose in Scandinavia fell to the 6-5x55, I have never had a problem with mine on big red stags

 

[andykat]

Thanks Mark , I say woodland , but it's actually a mix of farm and woods, and shots can be upto 250yrds.

What at I really meant by woodland , was none hill stags, due to the size difference. I came across a few this weekend while out on roe bucks, the size of some of the stags, made me blush to say the least!

Not much difference I'd image between the 6.5 and .308, but I'm sure a 300 win mag would solve the confidence issue! ( which is on my wish list)

 

[alberta boy]

more than fine. buy the 156g norma vulkan, it's the type of hunting it was designed for (woodland moose)

+ 1 . I've seen a lot of Moose and Elk dropped cleanly with the above load , both of which are considerably bigger than Reds . It's not what I'd call a long range cartridge , but it'll work fine at the ranges you describe . Granted , Moose are a bit on the sort side , but I've found Elk to be tenacious of life . If it'll take a Bull Elk , it'll take a Red IMHO .

AB

 

[Scarlet]

I`ve shot enough big reds to say that the 6.5 in its various variations is well capable for large deer management.
The last 18 months ive used 120g soft points and before that I used 129g sst`s. Never had a problem with either bullet type/weights stopping big stuff.
This one was broad sided (sst129g) at about 90 yards. It went 35 yards jumped a sheep wire fence and then expired as soon as his front feet hit the deck.

 

[Boarboy]

Thanks Mark , I say woodland , but it's actually a mix of farm and woods, and shots can be upto 250yrds.

What at I really meant by woodland , was none hill stags, due to the size difference. I came across a few this weekend while out on roe bucks, the size of some of the stags, made me blush to say the least!

Not much difference I'd image between the 6.5 and .308, but I'm sure a 300 win mag would solve the confidence issue! ( which is on my wish list)

Id go with a well placed shot from a 6.5 over a badly placed one from a .300 win mag. Stick with what your used to?

 

[6pt-sika]

The Swedes have been using it for years for moose/elk what ever you care to call them , so in my ALWAYS biased opinion I think a Red Stag would be a piece of cake if it can handle Bullwinkle just fine !

 

[JMS906]

I would suggest a stronger bullet than the SST, in case you strike the foreleg bones. The Hornady Interbond is one to consider as it has a bonded core. So does the Norma Oryx. There are others of course, but you should be using a bullet designed to penetrate before expanding, rather than one designed for rapid expansion. Much more important, as you no doubt know, is to put it in the right place. Red stags are large deer by our standards, but if you put your bullet in the right place it will drop down dead just fine. Personally, I use a .30-06 with Hornady 180g Interbonds on stags, but my standby rifle is a 7mm-08 for which I have 154g Interbonds. That said, the professional with whom I stalk stags uses a single-shot .243 Win loaded with 100g bullets. I don't doubt your Sako 156g soft points will be fine.

-JMS