Actual 6.5mm penetration

[swampthing]

Has any one shot a 140g 6.5mm into wet newspapper or phone books? How deep did it go? Any game,  what was it, angle, distance, how far did it go , etc... 
I have heard a lot about the "outstanding" penetraion capabilities of this caliber, especially when shot in the 2300-2500fps {6.5x55/260rem} range.

[Slamfire]

6.5x.257, a wildcat equivalent to the 6.5x55 or .260. Cow elk, texas heart shot, 140 partition. Found the bullet in the brisket. Don't do this, its way to messy. 

[Sweet 6.5]

I am going to hunt kudu with my 6.5x55 end of April. Hornady 140gr interlock loaded to 2550fps.
Range will be less than 150 m because of the dense bush.

I have hunted impala before (Sierra GK 140) but have not recovered a bullet.

I hope to give a better answer in May

[7x57]

Factory federals (known to be a soft bullet) 140 grains  the box claims 2660fps but doesn't say in what length barrelwill blow through 13 inches of dried pine like a knife through butter!

I have shot some round nose 160 Hornady's @ 2300 into a 15 inch pine rounds and they are still penetrating some where I'm sure.

Try em you'll like em.

[james]

I shot a 70 pound white-tail doe this past season with a 139 gr Hornady reload that goes about 2450 fps. It was a facing shot to the chest at about 60 yards.  The copper jacket was loose in the rear of the body cavity and the lead core was in the rear hind quarter.  The bullet followed the spine and ruined most of one backstrap.  Next time I think I'll get a rest and try for a head shot.  The gun was a TC encore with a 24" 6.5 x 55 barrel and a Leup. 3 x 9 tactical scope.  I got a 8 pt buck the same day with two broadside shots to the lungs but they were complete pass throughs.  He ran about 30 yds after the first shot and it was getting late so I chose to waste another bullet rather than risk a night-time tracking job and a longer drag (uphill).

[TC2]

This last season shot a button buck at 50 yards broad side.    Shooting an TC Encore 6.5x55, 22 inch barrel, federal factory 140gr soft points.  Hit it a bit high breaking the spine, dropped it in it's tracks.  The exit wound was, to say the least, large.  As this was the first deer I had taken with the 6.5x55 I was very impressed. 

[deltecs]

The 6.5 x 54 had an enviable reputation in Africa on game.  Bell even used one to take elephant with head shots using 160 gr full patch bullets.  Most PH's agreed that it was an excellent weapon for plains game and that if really shouldn't be used on DG.  However, all agreed that penetration with the heavier bullets was excellent.  I paraphrase Taylor and Robertsons remarks about the 6.5 x54.  The 6.5 x55 Swede or .260 Rem should have similar or better ballitics and penetration.  I'd use it for hunging in Alaska and would not desire a more powerful cartridge.  I would request one more powerful and with a larger bore for DG hunting up here though.  I'd feel undergunned facing a big brown with the 6.5 loaded with 160 gr, but if the occasion arose where the bear was broadside, little intervening brush and conditions just right, I would not hesitate to use it.  I expect if I do my part, the bear will be dead and me alive to tell about it.   
Greg
deltecs

[jdt48653]

years back a Friend and i were target shooting,using some old 16'' bridge timbers as a backdrop,
these were creosoted and hard.i was using a 6.5x52r carcano,and he was using a 30/06 150gr
mine was millitary ? my lead went all the way through,while none of his did.

[whynot]

I shoot big whitetails with mine, and never worry about shooting from any angle. As long as I can angle thru the chest or spine.
I use the Hornaday 160 gr. round nose at about 2,350 fps. At under 300 yds. It will penetrate as well as any .30 cal. I ever shot.

[coyotejoe]

When discussing "classic cartridges" there is always more fable than fact brought into the picture. You can't get around ballistics and the ballistics of the 6.5x55 are adequate but not spectacular, spectacular ballistics are seldom needed. For the past 15 years or so my primary hunting rifle has been an M-70 featherweight in 6.5x55. Others have come and gone but the M-70 has been a keeper because it does all I need done without a lot of fuss and bother. I settled on the 120 grain Nosler ballistic tip loaded to about 2800 fps as my do all hunting load. That is a bullet NOT noted for deep penetration but it always exits and I don't see how more penetration could be of any value, I neither know nor care how deeply the bullet penetrates the tree behind the elk.
 If your interest is purely academic, the 160 grain Hornady 6.5 shows a sectional density of .328, the 175 grain 7mm runs slightly less at .310 and the .30 caliber 220 grain at .331 is slightly better. However, sectional density really means very little with expanding bullets since that figure changes as the frontal area increases. Assuming bullets of similar design and construction I doubt that the 160 grain 6.5 would penetrate as deeply as the 220 grain 30/06. That is, if you could ever find an animal big enough to stop either one of them. It would take quite a pile of ballistic gel.

[swampthing]

Thanks for the feedback. I think a .260rem is just what the DR. ordered.
                                  When I hear stories of one shot elephant kills with the 6.5X55mm and 7X57mm cartridges they all seem to leave out the part that their bullets were loaded backwards and the shot was to the brain. Still not bad considering it was no .470nitro.
           I like the idea of having one cartridge and one load that will take care of my deer/boar/bear hunting journeys, and be flat out to 200yds without any holdover or holdunder.
140g @2400fps. nice, quiet and clean.
Thanks again. 

[deltecs]

Thanks for the feedback. I think a .260rem is just what the DR. ordered.
                                  When I hear stories of one shot elephant kills with the 6.5X55mm and 7X57mm cartridges they all seem to leave out the part that their bullets were loaded backwards and the shot was to the brain. Still not bad considering it was no .470nitro.
           I like the idea of having one cartridge and one load that will take care of my deer/boar/bear hunting journeys, and be flat out to 200yds without any holdover or holdunder.
140g @2400fps. nice, quiet and clean.
Thanks again. 

Sorry to burst the bubble, but Bell shot his elephants with a 6.5x54 Mannlicher not a 6.5x55 Swede, he used soild 160gr bullets straight from the manufacturer.  The 6.5x55 Swede has a bit better ballisiticss than the 6.5x54, but not enough to notice from the ranges these elephant were shot.  The 260 Remington is just the ticket for a ballistic match to both calibers above.  Bell as a professional ivory hunter on very dangerous game would not even consider the idea of shooting a bullet backwards, much less risk his life on the outcome.  Kevin Robertson, a vet and professional hunter of note in Africa for many years and the author of The Perfect Shot, would be the first to tell you that no professional hunter would reverse bullets in the case for hunting DG.  I'm sure some d*** fool out there has tried it and succeeded, wrote about how it was done, but I would not unless I was committing suicide.

[Slamfire]

Not that there's any difference, but the Brits called the 6.5x53R Mannlicher, and the 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoner. You can use the same dies to reload either round.  Bell's was most likely the Belgian military rifle, worked over by Rigby.  He did say he had trouble with the 6.5 bending in the skull, and not tracking straight. He generally shot for the heart, so the old bull would run off, taking his askaris with him. 

[coyotejoe]

Actually, Bell used the 7x57 a lot more than the 6.5 for elephant. But brain shots on elephant with FMJ bullets really have nothing at all to do with North American hunting.

[rickt300]

I like the 6.5x55 but I would choose a bigger rifle for Kudu. These are wary and tough beasts, you might not get that perfect shot. I'd start with the 30-06 and a good 180-200 grain bullet and go up from there.

[Sweet 6.5]

Next time !     Couldn't find anything. (Good excuse to start planning
the the next trip.)
I would also like to use something bigger but to get a license
for a new rifle is such a nightmare, I am just trying to get a renewal
for the one I have. I just have the 6.5, so when the time comes
it will have to do.