Hornady #2610 6.5/.264 100 gr softpoint

[john keyes]

I shot two deer with this bullet during deer season outa my  260 during my light for caliber phase.  blows up a boiler room pretty good.  today I was out walking around the woods with my kids and found a tree I had shot with this handload,   there was an entrance and exit from this bullet. I was surprised, the tree was about 5" in diameter. I was a little concerned that though a softpoint, the bullet was more of a "varmint bullet". 

I don't even know if this bullet is still in production, I had googled it last summer and got a link for an old gunbroker auction. I contacted the guy and bought what he had.  Gamaleila had a couple boxes too.

why did I shoot a tree?  Back in November the first deer I shot at dusk and couldn't immediately find it.  Pissed off I got back in my stand and to check my zero there was a bright spot on a tree and I shot, couldn't find the hole in the dark.  anyhow found my dead deer the next morning, meat still good and cold, happy ending,  and didn't look for the tree I shot.  meanwhile during the rest of the season I thought about looking for the bullet hole in the tree but didn't want to go tromping around in my hunting area,  so while hunting I would look with the binos thinking I could see it, confirmed it today.  I didn't think that bullet would penetrate like that.

At the end of experiment I didn't think it was that great to use the 100 gr in the 260. I just could not easily bust 3000 fps with it and feel like the loading data is really getting too conservative.  I personally clocked factory .243 100 gr that was faster (came with a gun I bought).    so anyway I bought 1,000 hornady 129 gr that I have a feeling are really tough bullets but they get the nod when I use up all of my 100 gr.

[Sweet 6.5]

Those 129 worked just great in my 6.5x55!

[Bigfoot]

Tell us how they performed on those deer John. How big were the deer and what angle was the shot? Did they exit? I don't think that these are Interlocks, how did they stay together?

Are they stiffer than the 100 gr Ballistic Tip?

Thanks

[shot1]

The 100 gr .264 Hornady is listed as a medium game bullet. It is not an interlock bullet like the 129 gr bullet is though. As you have found the 100gr should make a good average size 100 to 175 pound WT deer killer. I have used the 140 gr Hornady to kill a few deer but the best bullets I have ever used for deer in my 6.5X55 Swede which shoots the same velocity as the 260 Rem is the 120 gr Sierra or Nosler ballistic tip. My hunting buddy had one of the first Rem 700s to come out in 260 Rem. It had a 24" barrel. He could not even get ammo for it because it was so new to the market. We made cases out of 243 Win and had to find our own loading data like you would for a wildcat. We settled on a stiff load of H4350 with either the 140 or 120 Sierra SP bullets. He finally settled on the 120 gr because it shot flatter out to 400 yards which was about as far as most of his shots on deer would be in the bean fields where he was hunting.

[semperfi1970]

Slow down here guys, the 6.5 is a high ballistic coefficient bullet with great sectional density. Beats any 30 cal hands down but you all need to leave the 100 grain bullets to the wood chucks fields not the deer bean fields. With a little range work you will find the 140 grain bullets have a slower launch but a flatter trajectory in the loooong run. I have tried about all 6.5's there have ever been made from Lapua to Lead cast reduced loads just trying to see what the round could do in the real world not just on paper. Guns range from 6.5x55, 6.5 creedmoor and the 6.5x284 Norma. My shortest barrel is 26" and it is 2" to short, Best ballistics will be had from a 30" tube in any 6.5 round. Mind you most folks wouldn't walk around the woods with a long barrel but the 6.5 is a long barrel fast twist gun, a .308 win may like a 22" 1-12 barrel but we are talking about a 6.5. What I have found is the 140 grain pills are all around the most versatile for bench or hunting providing you have a min. of 1-8" twist. Out to 1000 the 140's hover there way in to the target bucking the wind the whole way. The 120's start to peter off at 400, the 100's poop out at 300 and die at 400 and the 160 round nose are like a real hard hitting 30/30 brush gun round good to 400 providing you have a scope to support the drop. I bear/moose hunt with the 160's, deer/hog with the 140's, varmint with the 120's and 100 to 1000 yard with the 140's with great success. Top pick would have to be the Nosler accubond 140's or Sierra match king's for any long work, Nossler custom comp's will do in a pinch, Lapua and Berger get no better results and cost way more. Barnes bullets will not find there way in my chambers but thats just me, anybody that lived the solid copper revolution with wicked pressure spikes , bolt set back and fouled barrels knows what I am talking about. Ya they fixed the problem but added tons of drag with pressure reduction rings, just silly to me thats all.

Here is a pic of my favorite 6.5 of them all for hunting, the mighty 6.5x55. Top down bullets are the 160 grain Sierra pro hunter, 120 grain Nosler ballistic tips, 140 grain Sierra game kings and the Nossler 140 accubond. Why the 6.5x55, well I have got up to 9 reloadings using Lapua brass and have yet to find it finicky with charge accuracy. My pet load for the 6.5x55 is the 140 accubond pushed by 37.3 grains of 4064, CCI bench primers in Lapua brass. This yields 2,710fps with 44,200 cup in a 28.625" tube. Not the fastest but the 6.5 makes up for it down range as  it refuses to go subsonic with a BC of .5.

The game kings expand just rite on deer and hogs as well as the accubonds but the later cost way more but do have the accuracy advantage.  The 160's deliver and retain tons of energy for larger game but drop like bricks, no need for a 300 win mag here boys. The 120 are rather explosive and very flat out to 300.

Not to babble but I am a huge supporter of the 6.5 in any chambering and believe one would be hard pressed to beat it for over all performance. Keep track of the 1000 yard competitions and you will see the 6.5 is taking over. Its funny to some that I grab my 6.5x284 and leave my .338 Lapua at home, my ageing shoulder thanks me every time. Long live the 6.5.

Just my 2 cents folks.