6.5 Bullet Recomendations
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fj40mojo
Well-Known Member
140grn Hornady SST
diriel
Well-Known Member
The 140gr Amax is also pretty good. I have shot a lot of Sierra 140gr GameKings, they work real well. The Barnes TSX, or TTSX work really well. For that matter, Berger VLD hunting bullets in any of the Hunting VLD weights work great.
Good Hunting,
Gary
Good Hunting,
Gary
The plain old Sierra 120 gr SP or the Nosler ballistic tip 120 gr is all you need with H-4350 powder. With a max load that is usually tack driving accurate you will get around 3000 fps and they will hammer deer in their tracks. Sight in POI 3" high at 100 yards and at 300 yards you will be between dead on to 1" low depending on your scope height. Hold center of front shoulder out to 350 yards and not worry about shooting over or under a deer. Been doing it for a long time.
johnnyk
Well-Known Member
I agree with RT2506 on the 120gn Nosler BT, H4350 and a 300yd zero. Bad Arse combo for the .260Rem. and it clobbers whitetails. JohnnyK.
6.5shaggy
Well-Known Member
I use a 6.5-284 and usually stay with the heavies because of my twist, but here are my experiences. The 120 barnes tsx is either spectacular or a total bust. I saw a buck shot 4 times from 150 out to 275 with them, all double lung, before he fell. All were strait thru, "0" expansion. The Hornady 140 sst and amax both were inconsistant in expansion, blow up too close and strait thru too far or if no bone was hit. I think this partially due to the high sectional density inheirent to the .264 cal.
The only bullet I have had consistant results with is the Berger VLD in both 6.5 and 7 mm at any distance. My 6.5 smoked a 128 inch 7 point whitetail at 170 yds, dead right there, bullet fragments exited ,both shoulders broke, internals smoked, meat heavily damaged, no tracking needed. Same results on other deer and on coyotes, coons, and hogs out to about 400 yds. From 500 to 800 they still penetrate about 4-6 in then come apart. I mostly shoot hogs and they usually get up and stagger off with the 6.5 past 500 but they do it bleeding A LOT. The 180 vld in 7mm usually leaves them layin.
Vlds can be finicky to get to group, but their performance is worth it. I think in a .260 the 130 berger would be a killer ticket.gun)
The only bullet I have had consistant results with is the Berger VLD in both 6.5 and 7 mm at any distance. My 6.5 smoked a 128 inch 7 point whitetail at 170 yds, dead right there, bullet fragments exited ,both shoulders broke, internals smoked, meat heavily damaged, no tracking needed. Same results on other deer and on coyotes, coons, and hogs out to about 400 yds. From 500 to 800 they still penetrate about 4-6 in then come apart. I mostly shoot hogs and they usually get up and stagger off with the 6.5 past 500 but they do it bleeding A LOT. The 180 vld in 7mm usually leaves them layin.
Vlds can be finicky to get to group, but their performance is worth it. I think in a .260 the 130 berger would be a killer ticket.gun)
diriel
Well-Known Member
+1 6.5Shaggy,
I have only shot a couple boxes of the 130gr Berger Hunting VLd's, but the results on Ca Pigs have been convincing out to about 400 yards or so. The 140gr Sierra Game Kings have actually been pretty good too.
Gary
I have only shot a couple boxes of the 130gr Berger Hunting VLd's, but the results on Ca Pigs have been convincing out to about 400 yards or so. The 140gr Sierra Game Kings have actually been pretty good too.
Gary
hypersonic
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125 Partition over H-4831 give's up nothing to the 120 btip in trajectory or drift at the ranges you are shooting. Do not know how big your deer are where you hunt but the 125 open's fast on a lung shot and will punch through a shoulder if you need to with out blowing it to hell once you get past 200 yards or so. I have been using this combo for a quite a few years now and it has been flawless on WT's and MD , meaning I have not made a bad shot yet and do not plan too. One deer made 60 yards from the shot the rest have either been straight down with a high shoulder shot or have made a couple of wobbly steps or hops and then gone down with a lung shot.
Outlaw6.0
Well-Known Member
I would first say the 120grn Barnes TTSX (not to be mistaken with the TSX), the tipped Barnes will open more reliably on the soft tissue, the BC is quite a bit higher (.381-.450) & you will never have to worry about the Barnes blowing up on the shoulder of a big buck.
Yeah, they are more expensive than most of the other options (as noted in other threads), but nearly regardless of price, they are still the cheapest part of your hunt & at the same time the most important.
Take it for what it's worth...
Yeah, they are more expensive than most of the other options (as noted in other threads), but nearly regardless of price, they are still the cheapest part of your hunt & at the same time the most important.
Take it for what it's worth...
Dano1
Well-Known Member
Dano,
Your rifle with the 1-8" twist will stabilize any thing out there so what it will shoot isn't the question so much as what velocity and what bullets construction type you would like or think you would need.
At 300yds BC doesn't factor so much and the velocitys that a .260 Remington is capable of you may want a bullet that will readily expand if you are keeping it to deer.
There is a way to have you cake and eat it to with a 6.5mm bullet. A 129g Hornady SST is the bullet that fit's this bill, giving you velocity capability with a G1 BC of .485 is a really good option and will allow you to stretch the range out even further let's say 500-600yds. What's even cooler is that the 129g Hornady Interbond is identical in every way minus cannalure of the SST and the fact that it's a bonded bullet, It has the same BC... So if you wanted to hunt heavier game you could switch to the Interbonds and practice with the SST to save cash.
I actually am using both in my 6.5-06 AI (1-9" twist BBL) and I'm getting 3300fps. this is actually my accuracy load. I could push it faster, but why?This is my aproach to the same question. however I am limited because of BBL twist. I wanted to use 140g Bergers and 140g Sierra Gamekings, but I couldn't push them fast enough to overcome the slower twist. I knew going into this build that I could have this problem and I fought it for a full year before I fealized that a 130g or less was the solution.
Hope this is helpful,
Dan
Your rifle with the 1-8" twist will stabilize any thing out there so what it will shoot isn't the question so much as what velocity and what bullets construction type you would like or think you would need.
At 300yds BC doesn't factor so much and the velocitys that a .260 Remington is capable of you may want a bullet that will readily expand if you are keeping it to deer.
There is a way to have you cake and eat it to with a 6.5mm bullet. A 129g Hornady SST is the bullet that fit's this bill, giving you velocity capability with a G1 BC of .485 is a really good option and will allow you to stretch the range out even further let's say 500-600yds. What's even cooler is that the 129g Hornady Interbond is identical in every way minus cannalure of the SST and the fact that it's a bonded bullet, It has the same BC... So if you wanted to hunt heavier game you could switch to the Interbonds and practice with the SST to save cash.
I actually am using both in my 6.5-06 AI (1-9" twist BBL) and I'm getting 3300fps. this is actually my accuracy load. I could push it faster, but why?This is my aproach to the same question. however I am limited because of BBL twist. I wanted to use 140g Bergers and 140g Sierra Gamekings, but I couldn't push them fast enough to overcome the slower twist. I knew going into this build that I could have this problem and I fought it for a full year before I fealized that a 130g or less was the solution.
Hope this is helpful,
Dan
0-300 yards you are wasting your time with a BT --- I would go to the FB. On rifles that I develop loads for that are 400 or less the FB get the nod almost every time.
Why do you think that the 0-200 yd BR guys shoot FB's....... Now for longer shots only use BT's for load development. Can tell you that I have never seen anyone shooting a FB in a 1K Match LOL!!!
Why do you think that the 0-200 yd BR guys shoot FB's....... Now for longer shots only use BT's for load development. Can tell you that I have never seen anyone shooting a FB in a 1K Match LOL!!!
He ain't match shooting he is deer shooting. Most of the best game bullets for the 6.5 come with a BT. The 120 Sierra Pro Hunter and the Hornady 129 interlock and the Nosler $$$ partitions are about the only good FB game bullets for his criteria. For the price and results I will have to agree that it is hard to beat the 120 Sierra Pro Hunter FB bullet for deer out to 300 or so yards.
From a practical performance perspective the FB is more accurate at the ranges the OP is speaking about - fact. The BT bullet does not completely stabilize until 250 to 300 yards-fact. There are many bullets available that will fit the requirement here perfectly that are not and this is a tired over used term "premium" bullets. Remember in many respects "premium" bullets which I understand are the rage now are a marketing departments dream! Do not misunderstand my point as there are situations that one can make a case for a "premium" bullet. Unfortunately, most people do not fully understand or have access to people who actually test and manufacture bullets.
In short, at the ranges the OP has stated and he did not say how accurate he wanted the load to be why introduce a variable that is not really required? I have more than a couple 6.5's but they have more case capacity and slower twist than the OP's rifle but given his scenario I would start with the Sierra # 1720.
If you had killed as many feral hogs for example as I have with everything from 55gr fmj out of a SR 15 to my 338 Slowpoke (338 Lapua parent) using the 250 gr SMK it is very apparent that to some extent the premium bullet thing is a little over stated because I hunt almost exclusively and compete exclusively with the SMK (have never lost an animal with on either). Now with the exception of the 223 SR 15 all of my rifles are built the same albeit for competition or as a sporter. The load preparation is the same for either one because accuracy is the only thing that makes a rifle interesting.
In short, at the ranges the OP has stated and he did not say how accurate he wanted the load to be why introduce a variable that is not really required? I have more than a couple 6.5's but they have more case capacity and slower twist than the OP's rifle but given his scenario I would start with the Sierra # 1720.
If you had killed as many feral hogs for example as I have with everything from 55gr fmj out of a SR 15 to my 338 Slowpoke (338 Lapua parent) using the 250 gr SMK it is very apparent that to some extent the premium bullet thing is a little over stated because I hunt almost exclusively and compete exclusively with the SMK (have never lost an animal with on either). Now with the exception of the 223 SR 15 all of my rifles are built the same albeit for competition or as a sporter. The load preparation is the same for either one because accuracy is the only thing that makes a rifle interesting.
