6.5 156 EOL

[codyadams]

Ive got a 5 year old that's pretty anxious about going antelope hunting so the first buck we see is going to be in trouble

Nice!! I love taking kids pronghorn hunting, always have action, you can actually hold their attention for the entire hunt ha ha

 

[johnnyk]

I picked a box up last week and after a phone call I had load data for RL-26, H4831, H1000 and Retumbo in my 6.5-284Norma. I was a bit surprised as the Retumbo data for the 156 and 147-M is over lapping. I loaded five at 56.0gn of Retumbo and after a 2-shot group (same hole) for fouling, I adjusted the scope up and right. After a few minutes I shot the other three which produced a .3" group.
I was definitely paying attention now and thinking "this is the easiest Bergers have ever shot for me!". Velocity over the Lab was averaging 2932fps, 24es, 13.2sd. Not too bad for the first group with the new Berger and very encouraging.
I went back in and loaded three more at 56.5gn's, which is the same that I used for the 147gn ELD-M. Not the fastest I've ever shot the 147's (2976fps) but the numbers (9es, 4.5sd) and accuracy (sub .3") was consistent and I figured about as good as I would ever see.
The high temp that day was in lower 70's so barrel heating was not a problem. It seemed so good to be able to shoot my rifle and not have to worry about torching the barrel (28", 8t, Lothar Walther).
The next three (56.5) were "good" at 2967fps, 23es, 11.6sd and accuracy was in the .4". This is where I'm currently at for now. Very pleased with this bullets consistency and I loaded up 20 rds for Saturday (rifle opener/N.C.). I still have 20 or so rounds of the 147's loaded so something's liable to get shot.
I'm gonna push the 156's a little harder with Retumbo and also try RL-26. With deer season upon me who knows when I'll get back to it (better write myself a reminder).
Happy shooting fellas.

 

[Wachsmann]

Great video and great shot. No tags this year. So I just looking around at some of the different bullets out there. Seems like a winner. Cant wait to hear back on an elk.

 

[xsn10s]

Plus one excited to hear results on elk this year with the EOL!

 

[Wachsmann]

I was also reading over the 6.5 RPM and this might also be a good option for the 156 Bergers with the right twist barrel. Also its a standard bolt face so it would just be a re-barrel on the savage. Sounds like there may be some reamers already out there as well. I don't know what is better suited for the longer bergers or the 160 such bullets for as the throat is concerned. It may be a toss up but you can always get 7mm brass and neck them down so that may be a big factor.

 

[PPR]

156 still doing work!!


View attachment 152193 View attachment 152194
My co-worker at the Sheriff's Office had only ever shot 1 deer while road hunting, and really wanted to go on a good deer hunt. I know her well, she has more work *Rule 1 Violation* and more try than 10 average people combined, so I figured she earned it.

I took her up to one of my secret spots, and we picked this guy out of several other good bucks. He may not have scored quite as good as a couple other we looked at, but he was an OLD brute, and had the biggest body of any deer I have ever seen.

Due to the contour of this basin, we were as close as we could get, 940 yards. Any further forward was a cliff drop off, around and lower and we couldn't see him. I am the firearms instructor for the county, and I know that she follows instruction to a T and does it right, I was confident that she could do it. I had her take a bunch of dry fires waiting for the buck to step out of the timber, and when he did this went down.

The first shot, she was so focused on making a good trigger squeeze she didn't notice that he stepped about 10" forward, and hit the liver. She reloaded, got back on target, and her second shot was on point with a narrow target zone. Her excitement was pretty awesome. I recovered both bullets under the hide on the off side, though I lost them in the snow because it was blizzarding when I was cutting the deer up. I would guess they were around 80-100 grains, and mushroomed beautifully. Normally I may be concerned, but this was a huge deer, and a long ways away. Of ONLY meat and no bone, I packed out over 100 lbs, and we didn't take the lower leg shank meat, cut off probably 10+ lbs of fat, and a little meat loss from the shot. Here is meat damage on exit side of second shot.

View attachment 152195

Not bad, total we lost around 5-6 lbs of meat, so I was happy with them for sure. Impact velocity was 2075 fps, with 1492 ft-lbs of retained energy. I may do another thread in the mule deer hunting section detailing the hunt more, it was a lot of fun and an adventure. Look for it there in the next day or two if interested.

I love this bullet guys!! Excited to try it on elk.

Wow! That lady can surely shoot! Great video. Amazing how she kept her composure under that kind of pressure. Nicely done.

Paul

 

[graywolf]

Powder charges, primer, bullet jump? I have a 6.5x55AI and a lot of RL23 laying around. Very interested.

I have a new tikka 6.5x55 22". Just started testing the 156 EOL with RL26. It's going 2775 fps with 51 gr at 3.28 coal. No pressure signs and good accuracy.

 

[laker]

Nothing special about the antelope just a fun hunt. 574 yards broadside. Caliber sized entrance behind the shoulder with a tennis ball size exit opposite side and mush in between. Didn't take any internal pictures as it was getting dark quick and had a 5 year old waiting at home to read a book she brought home from the library before bedtime. Just your typical berger internal damage

She asked me if "I have hunting off my brain now". Had to explain to her that once mom gets an antelope then it's coyote calling for a couple weeks then I head elk hunting for a week then more coyote hunting with some deer hunting thrown in then it's trapping season till March. She rolled her eyes
I'm never surviving 3 girls in my house

 

[codyadams]

View attachment 153197
Nothing special about the antelope just a fun hunt. 574 yards broadside. Caliber sized entrance behind the shoulder with a tennis ball size exit opposite side and mush in between. Didn't take any internal pictures as it was getting dark quick and had a 5 year old waiting at home to read a book she brought home from the library before bedtime. Just your typical berger internal damage

She asked me if "I have hunting off my brain now". Had to explain to her that once mom gets an antelope then it's coyote calling for a couple weeks then I head elk hunting for a week then more coyote hunting with some deer hunting thrown in then it's trapping season till March. She rolled her eyes
I'm never surviving 3 girls in my house

Nice!!!!

Yup, I get off the morning of the 17th, gonna be elk hunting for 4 days, hopefully tag a bull. Then starting the 1st, back to elk hunting for my late season cow/calf tag. Then beginning of December, starts the annual Northern Wyoming Whitetail doe/fawn beat down with the guys. Then starting end of January usually is ice fishing.....then starting at ice off is boat fishing, May on is spearfishing, then starting mid July is high country mule deer scouting, August 15th is the opening of doe/fawn pronghorn, September 1st is archery opener for deer and elk, as well as early goose opener, September 10th is buck pronghorn opener, September 15th is mule deer opener in the high country, 4th Saturday in September is duck season opener, October 1 is mule deer opener for other areas near by, October 15th is opener for elk, and over and over we go.....

 

[codyadams]

Still whackin and stackin with the 156. My dad got this decent buck at a buddies ranch a couple days ago at 825 yards, not quite the views or as big of bucks as our high country areas, but we only had to drag this guy about 50 yards to the truck, so it wasn't too bad.....ha ha.



His second shot went over the bucks back if I had to guess, he walked towards us from where he was shot, was walking down hill during the shot, and the first shot was just a little high anyway. Bullet sized entrance, 1" sized exit, both lungs were jelly, and the liver was also destroyed from bullet fragments. The exit side had a lot of bloodshot against the rib meat, but thankfully rib meat was the only loss, the bloodshot against the inside of the shoulder was all able to be scraped off. Retained velocity was 2202 fps.

 

[rockwallraider]

156 still doing work!!


View attachment 152193 View attachment 152194
My co-worker at the Sheriff's Office had only ever shot 1 deer while road hunting, and really wanted to go on a good deer hunt. I know her well, she has more work *Rule 1 Violation* and more try than 10 average people combined, so I figured she earned it.

I took her up to one of my secret spots, and we picked this guy out of several other good bucks. He may not have scored quite as good as a couple other we looked at, but he was an OLD brute, and had the biggest body of any deer I have ever seen.

Due to the contour of this basin, we were as close as we could get, 940 yards. Any further forward was a cliff drop off, around and lower and we couldn't see him. I am the firearms instructor for the county, and I know that she follows instruction to a T and does it right, I was confident that she could do it. I had her take a bunch of dry fires waiting for the buck to step out of the timber, and when he did this went down.

The first shot, she was so focused on making a good trigger squeeze she didn't notice that he stepped about 10" forward, and hit the liver. She reloaded, got back on target, and her second shot was on point with a narrow target zone. Her excitement was pretty awesome. I recovered both bullets under the hide on the off side, though I lost them in the snow because it was blizzarding when I was cutting the deer up. I would guess they were around 80-100 grains, and mushroomed beautifully. Normally I may be concerned, but this was a huge deer, and a long ways away. Of ONLY meat and no bone, I packed out over 100 lbs, and we didn't take the lower leg shank meat, cut off probably 10+ lbs of fat, and a little meat loss from the shot. Here is meat damage on exit side of second shot.

View attachment 152195

Not bad, total we lost around 5-6 lbs of meat, so I was happy with them for sure. Impact velocity was 2075 fps, with 1492 ft-lbs of retained energy. I may do another thread in the mule deer hunting section detailing the hunt more, it was a lot of fun and an adventure. Look for it there in the next day or two if interested.

I love this bullet guys!! Excited to try it on elk.

that was freaking awesome, its almost more fun to watch someone get excited like that than shooting yourself

 

[graywolf]

I have a new tikka 6.5x55 22". Just started testing the 156 EOL with RL26. It's going 2775 fps with 51 gr at 3.28 coal. No pressure signs and good accuracy.

Just for comparison I loaded some EOLs in a 20" Tikka CTR rebarreled to 260 AI. 48.5 gr RL26 got to 2725 and shot even tighter groups, 1" at 300 yds. I'll get some dope out to 550 yds over the next few days. A couple hundred FPS slower than Cody's 30" 260AI but 10" shorter. I'm happy to hunt elk with either out to about 600 yd.

 

[codyadams]

Just for comparison I loaded some EOLs in a 20" Tikka CTR rebarreled to 260 AI. 48.5 gr RL26 got to 2725 and shot even tighter groups, 1" at 300 yds. I'll get some dope out to 550 yds over the next few days. A couple hundred FPS slower than Cody's 30" 260AI but 10" shorter. I'm happy to hunt elk with either out to about 600 yd.

That is good performance with a 20" barrel!! I'm using 49 grains for my 2940 fps, that isn't quite max, that was around 2980-3000. Mine are HBN coated, and that is where they shot best. I have really thought about building a 22" .260 AI for the wife to use for deer and elk, I think 2750-2775 with a 22" wouldn't be out of the question, and would do pretty good for elk out to moderate distances. I will see how they do on elk hopefully tomorrow morning!!!

 

[xsn10s]

Just for comparison I loaded some EOLs in a 20" Tikka CTR rebarreled to 260 AI. 48.5 gr RL26 got to 2725 and shot even tighter groups, 1" at 300 yds. I'll get some dope out to 550 yds over the next few days. A couple hundred FPS slower than Cody's 30" 260AI but 10" shorter. I'm happy to hunt elk with either out to about 600 yd.

That makes me pretty excited to see what my 25" Rock Creek barrel will do in 260 AI.