6.5x55, .270 ?????

[Browning]

After my annual stalking trip to Scotland last week, I've decided to stick in a variation for a caliber more suited to Reds. I did take my .243, and it performed perfectly, but I'd like a little "comfort factor" for when we go after Stags this year.

 

Concensus of opinion among the ghillies was split between .270 and 6.5x55, with a few going for .308 and .30-06.

 

What do you experienced lads think 6.5x55 or .270 ?

 

I will be keeping my .243, as it's perfect for Munty, Roe and foxes, so the new rifle will be purely for stalking reds and probably fallow.

[dunganick]

the 6.5 is a lovely round, the things i like about it..... it quite happily shoots light bullets and very heavy bullets (so bullets to suit long and short range performance on fox and deer), it has very little recoil for the lead its moving. lapua comes in it , its now a very well documented round to reload for (and an easy one) in kent it is the largest specific fox round you can normally be graunted.

 

i do like the 6.5 alot, unfortuantly so do alot of people, and it dosent have the same exclusiveness it did 5 or 10 years ago

 

never the less a corker of a round.

 

the .270 i have very little experiance with. But im told its even worse than the 6.5 for meat damage.

[Dunkield]

Don't overlook the 25-06

[new to the flock]

6.5x55 my favourite, use it for all my big game including whitetail deer, black bear, wild boar, and moose....has never let me down.

 

NTTF

[dunganick]

been using and handloading for one for 6 or 7 years now, but dont own one.

 

i have to say all the experianced stalkers (i have spoken to (i am not experianced at all in stalking) have said the 6.5 is bad for meat damage) me and my old man had a days stalking with a chap called Peter Samway (not certain on spelling) in dorset last summer, and when we pulled the 6.5 out, he took a sharp intake of breath and asked that we did understand we had to pay for meat damage.

 

he also said that he had a .270 and only uses it for reds now as he was getting far too much meat damage.

 

i do realise that velocity causes damage and not projectile weight, but the 6.5 deffies this when foxing. consistantly, when the 6.5 takes a fox, it cuts the thing nearly in half, compared to the .243 or .222 which are both running 3 or 400 fps faster with balistic tips.

[Sargeant Bang]

I'm reliably informed that the Forrestry Commission have put their boys over to .25-06 for deer management now.

[dunganick]

A 6.5 will obviously mangle a fox, its a big gun for a 30 pound animal with light varmint bullets!

its still a heavy bullet going slower

 

which should expand less than a fast bullet which is very light say a .224 50 grain nosler b/t doing 3200fps

 

compared to a .264 95grain hornady vmax doing 2900

 

and we werent out stalking foxes with Peter Samways

 

.....

 

you have that 6.5 seated very long.

 

we had trouble getting the lapua scenar 139grn to come anywhere near the lands. ended up seating it a mile off, just to get the bullet to stay in the cartridge. the only draw back of the long profile of the bullets.

 

but my god....did those bullets group nicely, easiest load we ever worked up.

Edited January 18, 2006 by dunganick

[jonno 357]

been using and handloading for one for 6 or 7 years now, but dont own one.

Was you supervised at 9 or 10 year old Nick when you was handloading such high powered rifle cases ?

 

I wouldn't like to this I was using handloaded ammo made by a 9 or 10 year old

 

Scary stuff

 

Jonno

[dunganick]

If you think that 6.5 load is seated long, you have just shown a vast lack of knowledge about the round!

 

That is actually seated to SAMMI/CIP minimum COL.

i will get a pic of one of our rounds seated to sammi spec, and a pic of the lapua scenar seated a LONG way from the lands.

 

jonno, i was reloading supervised, as i still do. just cleaning out flash holes, priming and seating the bullet. all stuff which a 10year old could do

 

i still dont do anything to do with the powders etc.... if i blow anyone up i want it to me, not my old man

 

btw, does it matter how powerful the cartridge is, they can all kill or blow up just as well.

Edited January 18, 2006 by dunganick

[dunganick]

havent got any of the scenar's left....

 

will just get the pic of the hornady 95grain.

[Dunkield]

Oh dear Browning, what have you started

 

I bet you thought it was just a simple 'yes' or 'no'

[dunganick]

 

sorry for poor pic, cammera's about had it

Edited January 18, 2006 by dunganick

[Dunkield]

We have drifted of topic here a bit.

 

I shoot a 6.5, and shoot hinds with it in Scotland.

 

It doesn't meat damage.

 

If you want some pictures I will dig some out, but I don't think that will help you.

 

The reason I said don't overlook the 25-06 is that the Stalker who takes out on the hills really rates them.

 

Why would I listen to him?, he is out stalking 6 days a week throught both Hind and Stag seasons and shoots more foxes a year than most of us shoot in lives - that is sort of experienced person you listen to, as Fister says.

 

He has shot, or seen clients shoot, just about every calibre that is deer legal and now only shoots a 25-06. His clients shot 40 stags last year with it and they all dropped on the first shot, that is all that matters.

 

My advice, for what it is worth, would be to take advice from people who use the calibre for what you want to intend to use it for.

 

Good luck next week Fister, we don't go up in January any more as we saw too much nice scenary and not enough hinds for all that leg work

[dunganick]

Browning.

 

Either calibres are fine, just make sure you know where your advice is coming from!

 

I'm off to Scotland on the Hind cull next wednesday for 3 days and as it so happens, I will have my 6.5 and my pal is taking his .270. If you would like a real report back with real information, not gleaned from a reloading manual, i shall take photos for comparison for you. PROVIDING we get some Hinds of course

 

Dunganick.

 

Are you telling me that 95gr V-max in your picture is for deer stalking? KIll them, hopefully unless you touch a shoulder blade, muchos meat damage though me thinks and im not suprised you blew that fox in half either. Keep reading them books and cleaning those flash holes. Me and the Wife(nearly) want kids but now ive realised I can just get a tumbler.

i never said that round was for stalking.

 

thanks for comparing me to a tumbler

 

 

 

the people who have told me the 6.5 damages meet (as i said i have no first hand experiance, nor do these people exist in handloading books) are all very experianced stalkers, one used to own a gunshop, one stalks for a living, the others are just experianced stalkers, whom i believe (not to say i dont believe either of you).

 

just because you disagree with what i have been told by experianced people and experianced myself 1st hand, does not mean you need to compare me to a reloading tool or can comment on my experiance. nor is it really your position to say where i get my knoledge from. as it happens most of it is from my dad and a good friend whom has taught me alot of what i know.

 

This just my take on what you have said, please dont take offence to it.

 

and good luck next week on the hinds

[kip270]

.270 for me

Used to stalk with a guy in wales only used a .270 for over twenty years, recently he has gone for the 25.06.

That's why i went for the .270. Have shot roe & Fallow no problems with meat damage at all. Not had any red yet.

Use 130 & 150 grain bullets, but rather the 130's

[roe doe]

having shot big woodland rutting stags with both the 6.55x55 and .270 both do the job as long as you put the shot in the right place.

but i would favour the 6.5x55 kinder on your fillings and a bit more forgiving if you want to shoot a odd roe .

but the 270 is flatter shooting at longer ranges

[kip270]

having shot big woodland rutting stags with both the 6.55x55 and .270 both do the job as long as you put the shot in the right place.

but i would favour the 6.5x55 kinder on your fillings and a bit more forgiving if you want to shoot a odd roe .

but the 270 is flatter shooting at longer ranges

Not if you put on a t8 reflex, it's a lovely rifle to shoot now

[flash]

my dad uses a 30 06 mauser 98 for reds up in scotland and there wasnt much damage on the meet and the deer was a royal red of more than twenty ston. it went down in one.

 

flash

[Frank]

From all the experience i have had on stalking so far and seen what different rifles do over the past 16 years, i would very much go for the 6.5 x55.

Fantastic knock down power, amazing caliber.

Its my next rifle. B)

[Guest Mr Pieman]

HI Browning,

 

well my old friend would you like an answer to the question based on experience of use? B)

 

I have used both calibres in the past and now have a single rifle that I shoot all my quarry species with - excluding rabbits!!

 

My Sauer 6.5 x 55 has been used to shoot all six deer species in the UK and none have suffered any significant meat damage. Shots have been either high neck or chest and the rounds have always brought the animal down.

 

I shoot 140grn Federal Powershok rounds at everything, including foxes. This stops the need to **** around rezeroing the rifle when changing bullet weights/makes of bullet etc. I view every round as valuable and don't like discharing them unnecessarily. This heavyweight bullet violently terminates foxes at very long distances and will drop the biggest deer you'll put cross-hairs onto

 

The other reason I have the 6.5 x 55 is that it is approved by the Home Office as a 'dual purpose' calibre. The guidance states that if you wish to shoot fox and deer, but only want to buy one rifle, it is acceptable for the rifle to be in the calibre of 6.5 x 55. This calibre is the only one that HO guidance makes the recommendation for. With this in mind, if you wanted to you could sell your .243 to help fund your new rifle and still legally hold a single rifle for deer and fox

 

Cheers

 

PP

 

PS Most meat damage is caused by poor bullet placement. If you shoot the animal through the shoulder, the energy from the bullet will not only break the bones, but cause severe bruising which makes the meat look horrible. The bruising will be viewed as damage to the meat. Any round, regardless of calibre (especially in the bigger sizes) will cause this type of mess.

 

PPS Most bruising can be removed by soaking the meat in salted wated overnight. The salt draws out the bruising and forms a jelly-like film on the meat. Blot the area dry with kitchen towel, scrape off the jelly with a knife and 'Hey Presto' most of the damage disappears!!

[Big Dog]

Ok it time for Big Dog to bark on this one.

 

Put me out of my pain here, where does the 308 fit in here? or does it?? Do any of you use the 308 for deer??

 

I have little experience with these calibers but have shot both on the range. I like both but felt the 6.6x55 was softer on the shoulder and I think i would favor it especilly for summer work where I would be clothed lightly. Like you Frank, once I get the .222 out of the way I think the 6.5 will be next.

 

Bow wow, bow wow

 

Ps could someone just list these calibers as they come in the power chain please?

[rjimmer]

.243W Federal 85 grn = 2080 ft-lb ME

6.5 x 55 Federal 140 grn = 2140 ft-lb ME

25-06 Federal 117 grn = 2320 ft-lb ME

.308W Federal 150 grn = 2650 ft-lb ME

.270W Federal 130 grn = 2700 ft-lb ME

.270W Federal 150 grn = 2705 ft-lb ME

30-06 Federal 150 grn = 2820 ft-lb ME

 

The stalker that I know, uses a .270W and shoots over 200 beasts a year. The meat ends up in places like Sainsbury's.

[Guest Mr Pieman]

BD,

 

.308 doesn't cone ANYWHERE in this thread. Browning's question was very specific - 6.5 OR .270

 

PP

[Frank]

Mr Pieman, with all due respect, i think Big Dog is only trying to find out info on verious high powerd calibers.

As deer stalking calibers are being discussed, he thought he would just mention it, i would imagine.

The .308 is a very popular stalking caliber over in the UK and is getting licenced over here in southern Ireland steadly and is becoming popular too.

[Guest Mr Pieman]

My mistake,

I thought he was BIG Dog, not small dog that someone has to talk for

 

My comment was to try and keep the thread on track, which seems virtually impossible at present. We hav ebecome the Pigeon Tangent site recently :blink: :blink:

 

PP