6.5x55se.....120grain Ballistic Tip.

[Jenks]

Hello Gentlemen
New poster. I am going to Scotland in february to shoot some Red Hinds. My Rifle is a Blaser in 6.5x55se and has a 24.5 inch barrel with a 1_8 twist. I would like to use the 120grain Nosler ballistic tip. I would like the bullet to travel as fast and flat as possible. Using the data in Nosler reloading guide no:Four Using 48.5 grn Rel 19 I should be able to acheive an MV in access of 3000fps.(subject of course to working up the load) I expect to be shooting out to a range of 300 yards so if I zero 1.5 inches high at 100 yards I should be cock on at 200 yards and only 6.6 inches low at 300 yards Thus eliminating the problem of how much to hold over .This is using the published max velocity of 3002 fps out of a 23 inch barrel. Any Ideas as to how much velocity the extra 1.5 inch barrel length might produce, and How might I expect the bullet to perform vis terminal ballistics from 50 yards out to 300 yards.
Any help /advice much appreciated.

Jenks.

 

[centurian]

Jenks

Welcome to the forum, actually im kind of new also. I shoot the swede in a Rem 700 classic and have used bullets weighing 120, 129 and 140grs. While i dont have a chrony many people claim that some of the velocities out of #4 are optimistic.

I have also found that an extra inch in barrel length usually will provide no more than 30fps but it depends on the cartridge case size as well as bore size. I would guess that the extra 1.5 " will provide roughly 30fps gains in the swede.

The 120gr Ballistic tip- very good bullet but not for close shots at high velocity. If the animal was quartering more than you thought, and the shot was 50yds with a 2950fps muzzle velocity there could be trouble. When i say trouble i mean jacket and core seperation.

How heavy is a Red hind? i know that they are related to elk and are smaller. Im guessing a hind will weight up to 225lbs ? If that is the case and you plan to shoot from 50 to 300yds i would use the 125gr Partition or a 120gr Barnes TSX bt. If you get a really close shot you wont have to worry about the animals angle as much, and you can plant one on the shoulder, if thats what you like, and not have to worry about bullet failure. :wink:

 

[Jenks]

Centurian.
Thanks for your reply. Regarding shooting at short range using the 120 B/Tip I was concerned about bullet break up before it was able to dump its energy in the right place. I was reasured somewhat by the fact that Nosler had hardened up the bullet. Assuming that I was able to acheive a MV of 1950 according to Nosler I would be in the envelope for good expansion 1600-3000 ft per second impact velocity. I will be shooting from a prone position off a Harris bipod so if I were to get a shot at very short range say fifty yards I would almost certainly take a neck shot. The Red hinds where I stalk are on the open hill and are usually around 200lbs. I have some Barnes TX 130grn bullets. Have you used them? if so how did you get on with them? what was your seating depth & col? what size groups are you getting? Last year I was lucky enough to be invited to Scotland to shoot my First and probably my last Red stag. Its desperatly expensive way out of my reach. I used a Hornady 140grn SST. 200yard lung shot he ran fifty + yards before he dropped.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/ ... stStag.jpg

Friday of this week I got to sit in a high seat in a forestry block in West Sussex after two hours I hadn't seen a thing the light was going fast. Iwas just about to get down from my tree when I spotted a deer about 150 yards away. my scope is a Nightforce with illuminated reticle I had a good stable shooting position and we had a good deer dog with us. I estimated that he was about 150 yards away.It was in fact 190 paces as I have only got little legs it was probably 170yards. I went for a chest shot and he dropped to the shot I had gone a tad high and the bullet just bruised his spine. The bullet was a Nosler Partition 140 grn I was getting rid of the tail end of a batch that had been hanging around for some time in my ammo safe. The Deer was a fallow pricket, clean he weighed 85lbs. Earlier in the week I sat in an Oakand Birch wood here in hampshire where I live and I shot two Roe and ond one Fallow. Its been a very good week.

All the best

Jenks