Hey 6.5 guys

[Oldschool280]

Have an invite for deer and chamoix in NEW ZEALAND. I believe my husky 6.5 swede mauser is gonna take the flight with me. I have been shooting 140 game kings and 140 sst's with fantastic results as far as accuracy .25 moa or better! @ 2650fps (book) I have not fired on game at more than 350yards . The ph says 500 yard shots on deer and chamoix all day. I see the bergers vld's have a .612 bc . Wont be headed down under for months so i have load development and practice time. If any of the experienced 6.5 long range hunters would care to share their thoughts , i would greatly appreciate it.

 

[firstcoueswas80]

First things first, chronograph your load.

 

[Oldschool280]

First things first, chronograph your load.

I hear you and thank you so much for replying. the book latest nosler actually has me at 100 feet over what I stated , I do have a new chronograph that I intend to test this load with next week.

 

[jpd676]

I shoot a 260 with 140 gr Amax at 2800fps. I don't have a ton of LR hunting experience with this rifle but I shot an antelope at 934 yards two years ago and it went right down. I have seen others shooting a Berger kill many antelope out to about 400 yards no problem. A friend shoots a 6.5-284 with the 140 at 2900 and he has shot some deer out to 6-7 with no problem. Given the high SD of the .264 bullets I think you would be fine out to 500 or so on deer. You should get your speed and run the numbers for sure.

 

[Danehunter]

Try some Hornady 143 gr. ELD-X bullets as well. Very accurate in my 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger American Predator, as in consistent 3/4" at 100 yds. average.

Eric B.

 

[Rich Coyle]

tag

 

[stomp442]

You will be fine out to 600 yards with the set up you have. The ol swede is a remarkable cartridge and kills very efficiently. A higher BC bullet will help you retain more energy down range but the important thing is hitting what you aim at where you want to hit it. A slow hit is always more effective than a fast miss.

 

[86alaskan]

at 500yds and with decent velocity those game kings will do the trick nicely. I'd spend a little extra time practicing with a known good load rather than try to work up a new load in time for a special hunt. I've used the game kings for a while now on big white tail deer and they just plain work. also, you're at almost .500BC as it is with that bulelt, which is also more than adequate for 500yds. practice and be ready, that's what I'd do

 

[Oldschool280]

at 500yds and with decent velocity those game kings will do the trick nicely. I'd spend a little extra time practicing with a known good load rather than try to work up a new load in time for a special hunt. I've used the game kings for a while now on big white tail deer and they just plain work. also, you're at almost .500BC as it is with that bulelt, which is also more than adequate for 500yds. practice and be ready, that's what I'd do

Alright, i'll go with that. Guess i'll get some reaal chrony numbers as stated by the first response and give it hell

 

[codyadams]

If you do anything different, still keep your old load on hand just in case. I would try the 140 VLD, 143 eldx or 147 eldm, I believe all are excellent long range bullets. And 2800+ should be no problem with the 140 weight range, my father has his 140 hybrids shooting 2855 with .25" @ 100 and half MOA out to 800 yards or more, and this is reduced. He had loads up to 2950 with them before he ran into pressure.

I killed 3 pronghorn and 2 deer last year with a 140 VLD going 2930, the closest was 440, the farthest was 925. They work great and are very accurate.

 

[Chopperguy]

My wife and I have both used the 6.5 Swede to cleanly take animals from pronghorn to plains game in Africa.

She has been using the 120 Swift A Frame and limits herself to shots user 300 and a vast majority of her animals were taken under 200 yards.

I've been using the 130 Berger VLD Hunting loads in the Swede for both hunting and long range steel. My loads run 2875 FPS. Not fast, but very accurate and effective on the range to 1200 yards. Accuracy is in the .2 to .3 for groups. It has been very effective on everything I've ever shot with them.

In New Zealand last year I did use my 6.5 Creedmoor with the Hornaday ELD X bullets (factory load). Speeds were right at factory specs. Performed very effectively on chamois and tahr. Both clean first shot kills at 225 and 285 respectively.

I did shoot the ELD X loads on the outfitters range to 660 yards and they were pretty impressive for factory fodder. 3" groups on the steel targets from prone.

I can highly recommend either of these from my experience with them in the field.

 

[djtjr]

at 500yds and with decent velocity those game kings will do the trick nicely. I'd spend a little extra time practicing with a known good load rather than try to work up a new load in time for a special hunt. I've used the game kings for a while now on big white tail deer and they just plain work. also, you're at almost .500BC as it is with that bulelt, which is also more than adequate for 500yds. practice and be ready, that's what I'd do

Youre getting some really good advice. at Medium ranges like 5-600yds the extra BC isnt going to get you all that much from a proven 1/4" load. Build your drop chart and practice. Assuming youre diailing in your drops a few extra clicks really wont change much. I rather have a proven 1/4 MOA load than a slightly higher bc 1/2 MOA load especially at those ranges. Good luck

 

[lancetkenyon]

We normally shoot a 140 Berger HVLD in my 6.5 SLR @ 2940 & .260 Rem @ 2850. Great accuracy, great performance on game. Here was my daughter's deer from 2015 @ 719 yards using this load.



Last year, the area my daughter drew requests the use of non-lead ammo. We worked up a load using a 127 Barnes LRX @ 3050fps. My daughter took her buck at 637 yards with a single shot and dropped the buck in his tracks. I don't see a chamois or a tahr surviving any better than a big muley.

 

[Oldschool280]

Nice work! Thanx for the input