Thread: First fail - 6.5mm 143gr ELD-X

Ive shot many deer and Tahr with my 6.5x55 using 140 grn Amax (and somme with 140 Gamekings). Ive shot them out to 500 yards. Of maybe 100 animals I have only had one fail which was a Amax surface blow up at about 150 yards on a nannie Tahr. MV of 2840 fps.

But I have always said and learned through experience that the 6.5 can be a slow killer past approx 350 yards. Its likely the high SD and the bullet zipping through combined with slightly poor shot placement.
A myriad of things can go wrong at longer ranges and in this regard the 6.5 caliber is not immune and certainly not magic.

If you want to kill stuff consistently at longer ranges I would be stepping up in caliber and case size, but even then you will still get the odd unexplained failure.

I think.