would 160 round nose in new 6.5 Weatherby Mag work for Elk?

[HARPERC]

Sure but what was the purpose of even buying this high veocity cartridge in the first place ???? By using those bullets your working against what you bought it for, high velocity at long range.. If your going to shoot under 50 yards grab the old 12 ga slug gun, it'll drop them and save you fancy barrel...this doesn't make sense, your working against what you'be spent your hard earned money for ??

Larger cases lend themselves to throwing heavier bullets. I can see circumstances where having the option could be desirable. It's about giving yourself versatility. Lots of sheep hunter posts, regarding a bullet for just in case bear problems.

If all your shooting is under 50 yards the 12 gauge slug certainly works, I know coyote hunters that carry a rifle and shotgun, but that doesn't work for me.

The main question I have is will the old Hornady hold up with the increased terminal velocity.

 

[SRHeer]

I am looking for the length of Horney's 6.5 interlock 160 RN bullet
to check for optimum barrel rate of twist info? Besides Hornady is there any other manufacture that produces 6.5 RNs?

 

[HARPERC]

Mid-south has the 6.5 Norma 156 grain, Vulcan, and Alaskan in stock. The Norma Oryx was bonded but no idea where to find any.

Midway has the Woodleigh Weldcore 160 6.5 listed available.

With the cartridge you named these might better serve you.

Unless it's a private party, I don't think we'll see the 160 Hornady anytime soon.

 

[toddc]

Mid-south has the 6.5 Norma 156 grain, Vulcan, and Alaskan in stock. The Norma Oryx was bonded but no idea where to find any.

Midway has the Woodleigh Weldcore 160 6.5 listed available.

With the cartridge you named these might better serve you.

Unless it's a private party, I don't think we'll see the 160 Hornady anytime soon.

A Woodleigh in front of that Weatherby would shoot thru anything on the planet including really large mammals that swim and eat krill.

 

[HARPERC]

A Woodleigh in front of that Weatherby would shoot thru anything on the planet including really large mammals that swim and eat krill.

Best of the day! Thanks!

 

[SRHeer]

Whale of a deal - so are you saying that RN bullets tend to punch through before mushroomimg?

 

[HARPERC]

Not necessarily,

Most if not all the early smokeless military cartridges made their bones using, long, heavy for caliber, round nose bullets. 8mm=225 grain bullets, .303=215, 30-40 Krag, 30-06 = 220, 8mm=225, 7mm=175, 6.5=156 .256=160. Mostly FMJ's, when they were phased out and shipped out to civilians around the world, the surplus ammo also went.

Some were used as is, some filed, drilled or notched the tip to improve expansion. The as is .256 is famous for braining elephants in it's unaltered form.

My guess is the 160 Hornady you're looking for, driven at the velocity, the 6.5 Weatherby can provide will give you at best erratic terminal results, very dependent on what range (impact velocity) you use them at.

The more modern controlled expansion bullets, will generally yield good results over a wider range of impact velocities, and the heavier offerings will (given the same construction) penetrate deeper than the lighter bullets in the same class.

Norma has a decent site for explaining their bullets performance expectation.

 

[J300UM]

You would be just fine with the 160. The case you're looking at would lend itself well to that weight. I shoot a 264 wm (slightly less velocity than the 6.5-300wby) loaded with 140 accubonds for my "general purpose" hunting load. It's 3 for 3 on 1 shot kills on elk. Ranges were 80, 365, and 635. I'm working on a 150 matrix load better suited for longer ranges but at distances out to 600-650 yds the accubond has been near flawless for me. I know an 8 twist will stabilize a 160 matrix vld so you'll have no problem with the round nose.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

Would be like owning a Z-28 or Boss 302 and putting a two barrel carburetor on it, WHY !!

 

[SRHeer]

Would be like owning a Z-28 or Boss 302 and putting a two barrel carburetor on it, WHY !!

because if I am not mistaken the disadvantage of a round nose bullet not being as aerodynamic as a spitzer is minimized coming out of the likes of a 300 Weatherby case - that elk cow that I shot with 7-08 at close to 10 yards would not have acted like it did had it been with a 160 RN - and if I have a scope that I adjust for bullet drop then medium range shots with RN out to like say 400 yards should not be a problem - should it? I have never tried a shot over 400 yrds - also does not the design of the RN lend itself to greater felt shock and with Weathery mag - penetration should not be a problem.

 

[toddc]

because if I am not mistaken the disadvantage of a round nose bullet not being as aerodynamic as a spitzer is minimized coming out of the likes of a 300 Weatherby case - that elk cow that I shot with 7-08 at close to 10 yards would not have acted like it did had it been with a 160 RN - and if I have a scope that I adjust for bullet drop then medium range shots with RN out to like say 400 yards should not be a problem - should it? I have never tried a shot over 400 yrds - also does not the design of the RN lend itself to greater felt shock and with Weathery mag - penetration should not be a problem.

The 160 will be fine out to 400. However, you do have the principle of velocity of the Weatherby making up for the horrible BC of a round nose kinda backwards. A small case can fire a high BC and do really well compared to a large case since velocity decay will be lower. A low BC can't really be overcome. Yes a big case is better than a small one with a low BC. You can FIX a small case with a high BC but ya cant FIX a bad BC with anything that won't melt a barrel in 100 shots.
Long range is 80% BC and 20% launch velocity.

400 isn't long range however and even a wadcutter at the 6.5x300 velocity will be fine out to 400.

 

[WildRose]

I like the 6.5 bullets that they are coming out with today but what about the 160 round nose in a 6.5 Weatherby Mag as an effective elk round?

I have not done a lot of shooting - have hunted and shot two cow elk - one shot in the lungs with 7-08 at 20yrds - it went 60 - 70 yards

The other with two shots one in the back paralyzing its hind quarters and then follow up shot in the neck with a 270 - at 60 yrds.

Both seemed a bit on the light side as far as I could see for hunting elk so am considering a stronger hitting round that can be used for antelope - deer - and elk.

The new 6.5 Weatherby could fill that nitch if the 140 or 160 gr bullets are used - especially maybe with the 160 round nose - wouldn't the round nose be more effective with it's initial shock transfer?

I hunt in Colorado and just got lucky with close up shots these last two times so yes I could have done better with a 338 Federal at those distances but that's not always the case with needing to shoot longer distances rather than shorter being the norm.

I can imagine that the Weatherby will be loud and kick more compared to either 7-08 and or 270 but maybe not that much since its a 6.5. And I know that a lot of folk talks about this round to be a barrel burner but I mostly would be using it for sleight practice and hunting and not competition -

Why would or would not the 160 round nose work well on Elk coming out of the 6.5 Weatherby mag rifle?

The round nose will work fine on Elk if you place the shot properly. It is designed for maximum penetration with minimal expansion so as to punch though thick hides and tough bones to get to the vitals.

The BC's on them are terrible though so keep your shots to 300yds or less.

 

[SRHeer]

That 140gr Berger will put down an elk.
If you haven't gotten a rifle yet, check out the 26 Nosler as well. Ok e you begin reloading, you should look into Matrix bullets. They offer a 150gr and 160gr that perform epically on large game.

Wilkup - thanks for site to order Matrix - heavy 6.5 hunting rounds - with Matrix I could only find a 150gr offered - maybe the 160 was discontinued or from another producer?

 

[WildRose]

Wilkup - thanks for site to order Matrix - heavy 6.5 hunting rounds - with Matrix I could only find a 150gr offered - maybe the 160 was discontinued or from another producer?

What twist rate is your rifle? You'll probably need a 1:8 to stabilize 140gr or heavier monometals and with lead core bullets from 150gr on up.