Preferred Long Range 6.5 bullet.

[MagnumManiac]

i know bullet selection is often preference so I am looking for everyone's preferred 6.5 bullet. I have a 6.5 WSM enroute and plan to run 140gr bullets at 3200 fps. Main use will be deer and elk to 800 yds and steel to a mile.

Due to my uses I am leaning to a high BC projectile but know next to nothing about the 6.5 offerings.

Lots of guys like the eld series bullets and I have had good accuracy and good terminal effects with the .284 180 eld-m and the 212 eld-x over 500yds but haven't shot any game with them under 200. My concern is how they will hold up based on muzzle velocity at 50-200 yds should I be presented with that shot.

I hear good things about the Berger vld's But again it's always long range stuff and not short to medium ranges where my concern lies.

Any insight or on game performance from 50-800 yds is appreciated.

For hunting, I really like the 140gr Accubond.
For target work, I use the Berger 140gr VLD in my 264WM.
Shooting short range (300-600) with my 6.5x47 I use the 130gr VLD.
Both bullets are supposed to be 'hunting' but I wasn't impressed at the ranges I hunt at. The Accubonds perform better for me.

Cheers.

 

[MallardAddict]

I shot a few 143 eld-x's this weekend. 63 gr of R26 at 3275fps shot into .4" with no extractor marks and smooth bolt lift as if the gun didn't have a fired round in it. 64gr had slight bolt lift tension and slight extractor marks so that's a no go.

I understand how the Berger vld's work and most of my shots will be 300yds and out. I am just concerned about any of them holding together at 50yds if I jump a deer or elk up close.

I know there is no magical bullet but 3200+ and up close shots gives me concern with most vld's. Maybe I am over thinking this.

I haven't heard good things about the LRAB and don't know about the BC drop with the standard accubonds as I ah ent shot any in years.

I loved the accubonds when they first came out until I used them on game and had ****** performance like the original Ballistic tips. Maybe they are better now but it's still a decent hit in BC versus the vld or eld-x.

Also I had a decent supply of R26 and it's fine good things in a few wsm's and a few standard and magnum rounds for me. But I also ga e a good stash of h1000 so I am all ears on load advice for h1000 as well.

 

[lancetkenyon]

127 Barnes LRX will withstand 3300+fps impact velocities just fine. I am just finishing a load for these in my 6.5SS @ 3360fps into the .3s.

I had a .257" 100 TTSX from a .25-06AI @ 3640fps that took several deer and javelina from 40 to 488 yards. Laser beam and turned innards to red Jell-o. Yet they still work @ 2050fps too.

 

[codyadams]

The 127

127 Barnes LRX will withstand 3300+fps impact velocities just fine. I am just finishing a load for these in my 6.5SS @ 3360fps into the .3s.

I had a .257" 100 TTSX from a .25-06AI @ 3640fps that took several deer and javelina from 40 to 488 yards. Laser beam and turned innards to red Jell-o. Yet they still work @ 2050fps too.

The 127 LRX has a lower bc than the 140 AB he was saying he didn't want to try because of the lower B.C.

 

[Edd]

Based on information I've found while researching this, including information in a bullet performance test on this website, I think the best choice for your hunting bullet is a 130 gr Swift Scirocco.

 

[Zen Archery]

143 Eldx under 500 yards. Deer/Hog
120 Alco under 800 yards. Elk
100 Amax or 122 Lehigh Defense. Target.

 

[BJH]

I would throw out trying the 140 Berger Hybrid. I know i may get blasted for suggesting the Hybrid for hunting, but... I run the 180 Hybrid out of my 7mm's and have had nothing but stellar performance. My family has taken everything from elk at 30 yards, mule deer at 150, bull buffalo at 650 and elk out to 1,000. There has been a pile of elk and mule deer at about every range in between. Everything we have ever hit with this combo has gone down with one shot and have yet to track a single animal. Just my thoughts...with the velocity, the slightly thicker jacket of the Hybrid may give you better results. My personal opinion is that the Hybrid is tough to beat at any range.

 

[FURMAN]

The hybrids work. Some are better than others but they work. The 215 is a hammer.

 

[BJH]

I agree. Gotta try them to find out if they fit your bill. But I have a really hard time using anything else. I grew up hunting with the Nosler Partition and still think that it has its purpose and is a great bullet. But once i got introduced to Berger Bullets I have never looked back.

 

[lancetkenyon]

The 127

The 127 LRX has a lower bc than the 140 AB he was saying he didn't want to try because of the lower B.C.

Yep. I agree. They have their place and limitations. But I know for a fact they work from 0 to moderate ranges excellently. Even from my 6.5 SLR @ 3020mv, my 14 year old took a big mule deer buck at 637 yards and dropped him on the spot. Retained muze velocity was probably somewhere around 2050fps and about 1200 ft/lbs. You add an extra 300fps to the MV, and that should still be effective to about 920-930 yards for deer sized game. Farther than 97% of people should be shooting.

 

[lancetkenyon]

I would throw out trying the 140 Berger Hybrid. I know i may get blasted for suggesting the Hybrid for hunting, but... I run the 180 Hybrid out of my 7mm's and have had nothing but stellar performance. My family has taken everything from elk at 30 yards, mule deer at 150, bull buffalo at 650 and elk out to 1,000. There has been a pile of elk and mule deer at about every range in between. Everything we have ever hit with this combo has gone down with one shot and have yet to track a single animal. Just my thoughts...with the velocity, the slightly thicker jacket of the Hybrid may give you better results. My personal opinion is that the Hybrid is tough to beat at any range.

I shoot the same bullet in my 7RM @ 2996. Dropped my big bull last year @ 662. Exit was about $.50, insides were Jell-0. My daughter also shot her big fat cow @ 75 yards with a baseball sized exit Blood trail that Stevie Wonder could have followed.

 

[MallardAddict]

I appreciate the insight gents. I am not new to long range shooting at steel, just looking to increase my comfort level on game.

I was always a devout tsx,ttsx, accubond type hunter when I never shot game over 500 yds. I am having a hard time finding a happy balance mentally of a good BC bullet with good retention as admittedly I like exit wounds. Where I mainly hunt is open wheat fields and the steep canyons off of them so wind is often stout and unpredictable hence my impetus to hedge my bets with BC.

Now that my profiecency level has me reliably hitting 12x12 steel at 1000 yds I feel comfortable reaching out on deer and elk to atleast 800 and am curious if it's an equitable trade off to lose BC yet gain some more weight retention?

I am just having a hard time wrapping my head around the vld type bullets for hunting. This is mainly because guys are talking about the bullets entering the chest cavity and grenading even out to 6-700 yds. This makes me leery of these bullets up close, but may be a needless thought.

 

[codyadams]

Yep. I agree. They have their place and limitations. But I know for a fact they work from 0 to moderate ranges excellently. Even from my 6.5 SLR @ 3020mv, my 14 year old took a big mule deer buck at 637 yards and dropped him on the spot. Retained muze velocity was probably somewhere around 2050fps and about 1200 ft/lbs. You add an extra 300fps to the MV, and that should still be effective to about 920-930 yards for deer sized game. Farther than 97% of people should be shooting.

I completely agree, I have seen good terminal performance from the LRX line of bullets, they kill great. The main reason I choose not to use them is the extra wind drift you get with the lower bc in high winds or extended ranges. I hunt in very open areas, and wind is always of concern, and if I have 28" of drift vs 38" of drift, that is a significant difference, and 10" of extra drift takes away alot of your room for error. I know the exact range, therefore can account for that exactly, but wind is ALWAYS an educated guess, no matter how good you are at judging it. So the more room for error, the better!!

I would have no problem using LRX bullets, I would just have to take 100-200 yards off of my maximum comfort range on any given shot, considering wind conditions, vs my 140 Berger load, based on the extra wind drift and the room for error I like to have on my side for a shot. Plus, as you can see from my video I posted on post #5, The VLD's have worked awesome for me ha ha. If I lived somewhere that my maximum shot would be 500ish yards, I would consider the LRX. But, so far the farthest shot my rifle has made was 925 yards on a bedded buck, with 1-3mph wind.

Here is just a quick comparison of the difference in wind drift between my load with 140 vld, the barnes lrx at the velocity I would expect with it, and a solid .308 load with a 168 Berger Hybrid. essentially, I would be limiting the wind drift performance of my .260 AI to a 26" barreled .308

 

[Plinker147]

I have had good luck with -LRABs thus far. The bonded core has held together at close range shots, plus good fragmenting in front half of bullets. It's hard to find a bullet that will hold up at high speeds close range and still expand reliably at 800 plus yards. I think you can find failures in all of the new designed " long range" bullets.

Shot an elk at 500 with Berger 140 vlds bullet performed great

I shot an elk at 500 yards with old ABs 200 gr out of 8mm-338. It hardly opened but killed the elk just fine. I also shot a mule deer at 300 yards with 250 gr AB out of 338 RUM and it exploded on spine, no exit and just found fragments, dead deer

Had a guy shoot an Oryx with EDLX, 2 didn't expand(hit ribs)and another exploded on contact no penetration(shoulder)In same shooting sequence. Most have performed great but here's an instance where they didn't.

Point is you can find inconsistencies in all of them, don't over analyze something simple. If it shoots good in your gun it will work