general purpose bullet for the 6.5x55 cartridge

[matt85]

ive finally got a new general purpose rifle on the way and its chambered in 6.5x55 Swedish. the details of the rifle will be for another thread when the rifle gets here. but for now im putting together the needed supplies to shoot the gun when it arrives.

so as the title says, what bullet would you recommend as a general purpose bullet for the 6.5x55 cartridge? I was thinking the 140gr weight pretty much does it all so id like to keep to that weight. but as far as brand/type im not sure.

my current thoughts are to use either the Nosler Accubond or the Woodleigh protected point. I really like the idea of the Accubond cause they have a very high BC and you can use Nosler's ballistic tip (cheaper) for load development and practice. I considered the Nosler Partition and the Swift A-frame but wrote those off as being a little too tough for lighter game like our black tail deer (think big dogs). I also prefer the higher BC bullets for the long shots that are often required when hunting black bear and mule deer.

note: while not as heavy as id like, the Swift 130gr Scirocco II is still being considered. this is mainly because im a Swift fan though.

thanks
-matt

 

[dsmerrills]

I have commented on this before under a great plains rifle thread and as I stated before it is one of my favorite calibres, load it heavy for the bush and light for the plains, it really is a flat shooter compared to a .270win.

In South Africa I tend to take the 6.5 x 55 before my .308'because I have grown to love it. I load the Nosler Accubonds and have found it to be great in all respects i.e. price, weight retention, accuracy in flight etc. I generally load the Nosler ballistic tips for range work and duplicate the load for Nosler Accubonds for hunting as the POI is pretty dead on.

With regards to Woodleigh, that too is a great bullet and I use them in my .308 and bigger calibres with no bad effects to date. In fact I have shot Eland with both bullets and they held up great but I must emphasize that shot placement is key, even a normal cup and core bullet will take down a Eland if the shot is placed correctly. I have seen many premium bullets fail due to shot placement.

My best and last advice would be find a bullet that works really well in your rifle and practice you shot placement and you'll never have to worry and what ever you hunt will go down.

 

[Divernhunter]

The 130gr Scirroco is a great bullet in the 6.5X55. I use them in my Tikka. Also the 120gr A-Frame. For plinking I use the 120gr Nosler BT or some bulk Rem 140gr bullets I have.

 

[matt85]

ive heard surprisingly good things about the Remington bulk 140gr bullet (for deer and plinking). the 120gr A-frame is a bit light for my liking, especially since elk and black bear are on the menu. another concern is that the rate of twist on my rifle is 1-8" which might be a bit fast for shorter bullets to properly stabilize for long shots (im no expert though).

-matt

 

[enysse]

Remington's Ultra Core Lokt bullets are nice, they work for me

 

[matt85]

see there is a bullet I hadn't considered, in fact ive never even heard of the ultra core lokt bullet. I don't see them for sale on my usual websites, where is the best place to buy them?

-matt

 

[enysse]

Well with the national shortage, Natchez use to sell them.

Look up Remington Core Lokt Ultra Bonded bullets on the web, they are available in 140 grain in 6.5mm.

 

[Divernhunter]

My Bass Pro has Rem bonded core-lock.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

6.5x55 Swedish is a great cartridge(even if I hate that it is called Swedish).

For reloading the 130 gr Scirocco II is great for the 6.5x55, but it can be a bit long for some magazines, but very good for longer shots.
Personally I like the 120 gr Barnes TTSX, for multi purpose out to around 300-350 meters as it has a high BC and close to 100% retained weight almost no matter what you hit.
For shorter ranges and as a factory ammo, I clearly prefer the Lapua Mega and is the ammo I usually use in my 6.5x55.
Both because I am not bothered to reload much for it, but also because I prefer to keep hunting shots at 200 meters and closer(300 meters is the absolute max distance I personally will shoot at while hunting as longer shots doesn't feel like hunting to me).
And even if I want to stretch it out to 250 meters, the Lapua Mega shoots flat enough for that.

 

[Uintaelkhunter]

I run a 140 berger hunting vld in my 260 rem imp. Which is very close to the 6.5x55. Very hi BC I have a few friends that use this same bullet for elk with there 6.5x284s and do very good.

 

[Nicholas Barcomb]

I have a Tikka T3 SS Lite in 6.5 x 55 SE. Love it! I have worked up Hornady 95 gr V-Max loads, 129gr SST loads, 140 gr SST loads; Sierra 85gr HP loads; Woodleigh 160 gr PPRN loads. My favorite load for varmints/ predators (pds, squirrels, coyotes, cats) are the Hornady 95 gr V-Max and 85 gr Sierra HP loads; light framed big game or medium game (white tail, mule deer, caribou) is the Hornady 140 gr SST, for smaller light framed game (antelope and roe) I use the Hornady 129 gr SST, and for heavy muscled/ boned medium/ big game (pigs, black bear, elk) I use the Woodleigh 160 gr PPRN. In the near future I will be testing the Woodleigh 140 gr PPRN just because I like the way the Woodleigh's perform. So, as for a utilitarian on plains game, I would go with the 140 gr Woodleigh PPRN. I have even seen comment on the Swift bullets too. Depending on the range and energy required to anchor the game animal will depend on whether you wish to use the A-Frame or Scirocco II. The A-frames would be great on anything out to and possibly just beyond 300 yards due to the flat base. The Scirocco II, on the other hand, is a boat tail and will be better out to ranges of 300 yds and beyond. Tough decision. Good luck and stay safe.

My rifle:


Hornady 95 gr V-Max loads:


Hornady 140 gr SST loads:


Woodleigh 160 gr PPRN loads:


All 3 for comparison:

 

[bassasdaindia]

Matt

I shot my 6.5 x 55 at the range today, I needed brass and it worked out a similar price to purchase some Sako 156g ammo and fire them , then buy brass .

I didn't chrony them but look at this 3 shot group at 100m

 

[enysse]

Matt

I shot my 6.5 x 55 at the range today, I needed brass and it worked out a similar price to purchase some Sako 156g ammo and fire them , then buy brass .

I didn't chrony them but look at this 3 shot group at 100mView attachment 30013

Excellent, love to see groups like this!

 

[bassasdaindia]

d's,

I have commented on this before under a great plains rifle thread and as I stated before it is one of my favorite calibres, load it heavy for the bush and light for the plains, it really is a flat shooter compared to a .270win.

In South Africa I tend to take the 6.5 x 55 before my .308'because I have grown to love it. I load the Nosler Accubonds and have found it to be great in all respects i.e. price, weight retention, accuracy in flight etc. I generally load the Nosler ballistic tips for range work and duplicate the load for Nosler Accubonds for hunting as the POI is pretty dead on.

With regards to Woodleigh, that too is a great bullet and I use them in my .308 and bigger calibres with no bad effects to date. In fact I have shot Eland with both bullets and they held up great but I must emphasize that shot placement is key, even a normal cup and core bullet will take down a Eland if the shot is placed correctly. I have seen many premium bullets fail due to shot placement.

My best and last advice would be find a bullet that works really well in your rifle and practice you shot placement and you'll never have to worry and what ever you hunt will go down.

what load data do you have for the nosler's please (also in SA )

 

[guerero]

Hi everyone,

I found SAKO 6,5x55 Deerhead 10,1g(156gr) (122H) very Effective.
Do you have it in your stores?
In my T3x superLite it works great.
All the best!

 

[machinistbutler]

6.5x55 Swedish is a great cartridge(even if I hate that it is called Swedish).

For reloading the 130 gr Scirocco II is great for the 6.5x55, but it can be a bit long for some magazines, but very good for longer shots.
Personally I like the 120 gr Barnes TTSX, for multi purpose out to around 300-350 meters as it has a high BC and close to 100% retained weight almost no matter what you hit.
For shorter ranges and as a factory ammo, I clearly prefer the Lapua Mega and is the ammo I usually use in my 6.5x55.
Both because I am not bothered to reload much for it, but also because I prefer to keep hunting shots at 200 meters and closer(300 meters is the absolute max distance I personally will shoot at while hunting as longer shots doesn't feel like hunting to me).
And even if I want to stretch it out to 250 meters, the Lapua Mega shoots flat enough for that.

I have a Sauer barrel for my SSG3000 that is marked 6.5 SKAN, much more pleasing to those with Norwegian heritage than the "Swede"

Hope I didn't offend any swedes


I have bought the 6.5 accubonds for a hunting bullet in my 6.5's, havent tested any yet in the 6.5 but they are brilliant in my 25/06 and 375H&H.

 

[shootist~]

For something currently available - Midway-USA has the 155 gr Lapua Mega in stock. (Reloading component, not loaded ammo.)

 

[Joker12]

One of my favorite cartridges. I really like Hornady interlock 140gr flat base spire points. If you need something tougher then switch to 140gr Nosler partitions. A bonus is that in my rifles the two bullets shoot to the same point of impact with the same powder charge. That combo will handle anything that the old swede is suited for.

 

[Matthias5662]

The 6.5x55 is an remarkable caliber. I've found great success with 140g Hornady SST and Sako 156g Deerhead in my Ruger 6.5x55 African. I've not tried the Nosler Accubond or Woodleigh bullets yet.
My wife being Norwegian, I am not allowed to refer to it as a "Swede"

 

[ChrisG]

Matt,

I just bought a bunch of speer Gold dot 120 grain bullets for mine. I am cuurently loading with a boatload of RL26 and getting 2,800 fps. Your mileage may vary. The bullet holds together decently at those speeds as it is bonded and is fully capable of lighter american game including black bear. Speer also makes a 140 grain gold dot that should be really good at 2,550 -2,650 fps.

The 120 grain barnes TTSX penetrates better than any 140 I have tried in my 6.5x55, but I havent tried an A-frame in it yet. I have only every recovered 1.

The swede is the most accurate rifle I have ever owned and is just a sporter weight ruger factory barrel. This is a 0.6" group at 200 yards and it will do this all day with that load. Unfortunately not a hunting bullet and not terribly speedy but pinpoint accurate.