hunting with the 6.5mm/.264 caliber

[beltfedarmorer]

I am a big supporter of .264 caliber rifles and hunt with a 6,5x55 swede. Got any hunting stories with the 6.5's?

I am getting a 6.5 grendel upper for my long range AR sometime, wondering if anybody had any stories about it.

[DaveS]

I haven't heard much on that round for hunting nothing but Germans. Our local gunshop sells a ton of ammo for it, so it must be an awesome round for at least deer. I want to follow this thread as I am interested in that round also.

[ShaunM]

My uncle has shot a few deer with the 6.5 grendel. Not sure if he even has that rifle anymore.

[Steve_cru]

I have a 6.5x55 sweede well two actually. One is a Ruger M77 Mark II with a new Bushnell Elite 4200 scope on it. It shoots better than I do and drops deer like a sack of bricks. The other is an old Carl Gustafs. This was the first gun I ever bought and havn't shot it for 10 years. The recoil is minimal and if you reload you can load up or down based on what you are hunting. The Modern Relading Second Edition has loads from 70 grain bullets up to 160's. Mine tends to like 140's the best. Speer Grand Slam bullets work great for hunting deer also. If you have any other qustions feel free to ask.

[dlm37015]

I have several but I like the 6.5 x54 ms best

[Guest GunTroll]

The next rifle I build will be in that cartridge/caliber for myself. There is just something classy about 6.5x55 to me.

[Louisb]

Guntroll

If you are gonna build a 6.5 mm gun, then look at 6.5X57 or 6.5X257, 0.473 head size on brass and it will do what ya want.

24 inch barrel to get all you can and I think you will like the performance just fine.

[Guest GunTroll]

Those are interesting indeed. A buddy turned me onto the wonder of 6.5 bullets a while back in CO. Its a toss up as of now on what cartridge I go with. Kind of thinking the purpose of the rifle will be to get my son into hunting with a generally mild recoiling rifle that will get the job done on most game out there here in North America. 6.5 is that caliber to me.

[Guest 1shot]

I have one sporter 6.5X55 Swede Mauser 96 that I have killed deer with and a 264 Win Mag custom Rem 700. They shoot really flat and drop deer in their tracks. I have also killed one deer with a friends 260 Rem. I you keep the 120 Nosler ballistic tip under 3100 fps muzzle velocity it really makes a good deer thumper. The best all round bullet I believe is the 130 gr Nosler Accubond. I used it this past fall to kill 4 deer with my 264 Win Mag and it worked perfectly from 98 to 275 yards (These deer were killed in the state of NC). That statement was to please the moderator. The .264 calibers do not really get the recognition that they should in the US. Those long bullets really fly flat and the wind does not bother them as bad as most other calibers and those long bullets just keep mushrooming and going through game.

[Louisb]

Guntroll

260 Remington

[beltfedarmorer]

A buddy also turned me onto the 264. I have been hooked every since. I have an old turk mauser a guy converted for me to 6.5 swede. I have been using 142 sierra MK at 2650 fps and get .388 MOA 3 shot strings center to center. I have plans to get a 6.5 grendel upper for my AR and then maybe a 6.5 creedmore when I get a 308 lower. I was going to have a 6.5-06 built but am still extremely pleased with the long range performance of my swede. Its a frigin shame that people in the us havent taken to the 6.5's more, the europeans have used it for years for just about everything to good effect. I shoot high shoulder on whitetail and it really penetrates through bone and drops them in their tracks. We shoot mostly long range in bean and corn fields, and pastures when void of livestock. I havent used the 260 yet but dont think its far from the swede and I have a thing for old cartridges that just dont die.