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Greetings All,
A friend is looking for a better projectile for his 6.5-06. He is currently using the 140 grain Hornady Interlock which is accurate in his rifle but does not penetrate completely on larger deer leaving little or no blood trail. The rifle has a 1 in 9.5 or 1 in 9 inch twist so the extra long projectiles favoured in the Creedmoor and PRC etc may not reliably stabilise. Suggestions please.
Many thanks Grandpamac.
140gr partition?
Done a lot of research for the long awaited 264 win mag project and that one pops up often. 130gr accubond would be my next choice.
@300_BLK did some good writing on projectiles for his 264 and think he was a fan of one of the mono metals like. Barnes or gmx. Only 124gr?
He also did some work with the new at the time sierra gamechangers. Think they did pretty well too
I'm running a 6.5-06ai I think its a 1:9 twist - the 140 AMAX & 140 Partitions are my go to pills. RL25 + Norma brass w 140AMAX gets me 2980fps and 1/2moa groups. Running RP brass (heavier) w same components the node is lower around 2930 fps. I have yet to try 143ELDx (for when I run out of the old AMAX's) but I'd think they'd be very similar as would the new 140 ELDMs.
Would think the 100 grain Barnes .264 would guarantee a passthrough and work with that twist rate, but poor BC and expense/availability may be a problem
140gr partition, old fashioned but excellent out to 350m for me. No need to change to a “better” projectile.
I'd go to a 140 gr eldm or 143 gr eldx and you won't need to worry about a blood trail, poke them in the right spot and they will be dead right there
@grandpamac I have done a lot of experimenting in my 264 Win Mag with 77gr up to 156gr.Quote:
Originally Posted by csmiffy
Bear in mind the might 264 has a few extra fps when loaded with slow powders that give good case fill.
I have had excellent results with the 140gr Hornady SST which usually passes completely through red stags out to 400m. I found the 130gr Sierra gamechanger (tipped gameking) too hard for my liking, it pencilled through and also found this with the 130gr accubonds. Those are the only two bullets I have not recovered an animal with when using the 264.
Recently I have moved to the 120 gr GMX and Barnes TTSX as my barrel is showing significant wear and will not last long. These bullets are excellent performers at high velocity (2800fps +) but I have observed they have a different impact sound which I attribute to the lack of lead and density of the projectile. The caveat with mono's is that you must drive them hard to work, and they respond well to this in load development also.
I am currently experimenting with the Cutting Edge copper Raptor bullets that weigh 110gr https://cuttingedgebullets.com/6-5mm...d-range-raptor and these are exceptional. They enter and go off like a grenade and the solid shank passes out the other side leaving large blood trails.
In short if you want a traditional bullet:
140gr SST
143gr ELDX
156gr Berger EOL (requires a fast twist)
If you want a monolithic:
120gr CX (New GMX from Hornady)
120gr Barnes
110gr Cu Raptor
Attachment 198360
And 124grn Hammer Hunter. (mono)Quote:
Originally Posted by 300_BLK
A good cheap and available 6.5. bullet is the 140 Speer Gold Dot. Bonded and penetrate well.
I am surprised the 140 interlock is not exiting.
What do recoverd projectiles typically weigh? Any pictures?
How fast are they being pushed and what afe the typical ranges he shoots reds at?
Im fairly new to 6.5mm myself so all this is quite interesting especially when the interloc is one of my favorites in 30cal.
Found that in my 6.5 06 the 143 Gr Eld-x and Re 22 was a great tahr hunting load when you often needed a bit of distance, but inside 300 I stick to the 130Gr HP Game kings - very destructive
That 143 gr ELD-x is bloody hard to get a hold of though aye
What sort of speed are you pushing the 130's at? They do have a good reputation for doing the damage.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bos
@grandpamac
We really need to know a bit more about the typical conditions this guy is shooting in. There’s a wide range of options that cover a wide range of conditions from close range bush and scrub to long range tops. As a general rule of thumb the closer your game the harder the bullet, the further away the softer it needs to be. But you already know all that.
Every single bullet mention so far will work but there will definitely be a subset that will be more suitable to how your mate is generally shooting deer.
From memory around 2900 with a magnum primerQuote:
Originally Posted by GWH
Oh ok, i expected much much higherQuote:
Originally Posted by Bos
I assumed no one would be using a 6.5-06 for close up bush huntingQuote:
Originally Posted by Flyblown
Thanks everyone,
Current use is for 200 metres up to 400 metres and the chronographed velocity is just under 2,800 fps. The slow barrel twist may limit the high BC options.
Regards GPM.
Anyone tried the 129 lrab, just picked up some for a 1in 9 260rem(seems to be a few available) could be an option just not sure if they will exit? I will let you know if they work as you want when I get a chance to take them for a test run
I've used the 142 LRAB in the .260 at 2800fps they work well.
Whey do they need to exit if they do the job
I use either 143 eldx or 142 LRAB at around 2800fps some exit some don't i try and hit shoulder bones and haven't lost one or had a runner yet.
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right..well I will say it as it appears no one else has the balls to do so.......Quote:
Originally Posted by grandpamac
200-400 meters starting out at 2800fps and a 140grn isnt penertrating well???? Im not sure what size deer your buddy is shooting or where he aiming for but with my old bog standard .270 using same projectile just a LITTLE bit fatter (so in theory should penertrate LESS) two red hinds at 350ish yards,both were good meat saver in the crease shots...one went 10 yards the other 75 downhill towards me.... didnt loose much meat on either,did loose most of one shoulder as projectile went out that way on one of them and it was a long way to carry.... slow twist..yeah nah mine is 1:10 so his spinning faster.....
bog standard interlocts work boringly well..... ASSUMABLY he knows they not penertrating well after disceting dead animals???? so what is the issue???
maybe all that is needed is a SLIGHT change in the point of aim????
years ago when I bought the reloading gear there was 3 packets of interlocks with it....I stoped using the 140s as found them too hard...actually it was case of wrong projectile for wallabies,they died for sure but faster expanding work better...so really struggle to see how your buddy is finding them lacking..
[QUOTE=300_BLK;1322993]
In short if you want a traditional bullet:
140gr SST
143gr ELDX
156gr Berger EOL (requires a fast twist)
LMFAO........ how you could call ANY of those three a traditional projectile is beyond me........ correct me if Im wrong but none were around 30 years ago let alone 100 years ago when the 6.5 calibre was in use world wide.....
the hornady interloct in question would just about have to rate as the mosttraditional projectile out there along with speer soft point spitzers etc....traditional to me implies cup n core with exposed lead tip,either round nosed or splitzer
So pretty standard NZ open country hunting then.Quote:
Originally Posted by grandpamac
Sounds like your mate want’s a geyser of blood on the exit side. There’s a lot of very solid old school bullets out there that will do the job just fine, just a matter of finding the one that shoots well enough. With the 1:9” twist in mind I would look at:
Sierra 130gr HPBT Gameking
Sierra 140gr SPBT Gameking
Hornady 129gr Interbond
Speer 140gr Grandslam
Speer 140gr Hot-Cor
Of the above, for guaranteed exits and blood assuming he’s poked the hole in the right place, I’d go with the 130gr GameKing first, drive it around 2,900fps, it will work. Good solid medium game bullet.
[QUOTE=Micky Duck;1323195]Great words of wisdom from the DuckQuote:
Originally Posted by 300_BLK
When he said 'traditional' I'm picking he meant copper and lead, as opposed to solid monolithic bullets like Barnes ttsx.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyblown
[QUOTE=Micky Duck;1323195]@Micky Duck I'm sorry my definition of traditional bullet design doesn't fit into your narrow selection of 2 projectiles. When I say 'traditional' I am referring to copper cup, lead core as opposed to mono metal design.Quote:
Originally Posted by 300_BLK
The SST and ELDX are cup and core with a red plastic tip and good marketing behind them.
The EOL has an enclosed lead core with a longer draw on the swaged jacket and then a separate pointing exercise to increase BC.
yip but none of them are more than 25-30??? years old..... plastic pointy bits in the end is still a relatively new fandangled idea..... but agree cup n core is traditional...just for me its the older lead tip designs that would wear that label and I still believe for what GPM has described the 140grn hornady interloct should for all intents and purposes be just about ideal..... cannot see any rhyme nor reason for the issue discribed other than maybe needed a wee tweak in place to place said projectile...and furthermore your SST and ELDX (a slipperier shapped SST ) will more than likely compound his issue not improve the penertration as both will open as fast if not faster than the interloct....but both should work just as well if again point of impact is tweaked slightly.
I for one are very interested to hear where said animals were hit.....and what internal damage was seen......
Aye, maybe the plastic is new, but a tip made of a different material is not new at all...Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
https://youtu.be/esOM76P6vE4
Hornady do a metal (aluminum) tip with their A Tip but these are their sooper dooper long range 'target only' ;) bullets.
Really nothing new in the firearms world
I didn’t take any notice of the whole traditional or modern business. I was only looking at what was going to stabilise comfortably and shoot accurately in the 1:9” twist barrel, and kill the deer cleanly (which remarkably these bullets have been doing for decades!). Anything <1.5 stability is out in my book, so ELD-X for example doesn’t make the cut. There’s no point suggesting even longer bullets that require a fast twist because he doesn’t have one!Quote:
Originally Posted by GWH
+1 for the 130gr hpbt gameking. Will cut a hole through the animal and leave an outstanding blood trail
If more penetration is required then a projectile of stouter construction is required, look at bonded or monolithic options.
Barnes tsx,ttsx or lrx, Hornady gmx or cx, Nosler etip, Nosler accubond, Hornady interbond, Swift aframe or sccirrco are a few examples.
Personally for the shooting you've described I'd be going with something softer and the interlock he's using would be reasonably high on the list, as the .277 version has worked well in the past for me in that range.
Another for the 143 Eldx at 20m https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0d9d713b41.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
For what its worth, my Creedmoor with 1:8 twist had the same problems with all tipped projectiles. Changed to Sierra Game kings 140grain, massive improvement. Im not using any tipped bullets now
